Observation from Jack Nicklaus, " talent is still there ".

PA-PLAYA the rumor, for years, has been that his Nike golf balls have always been made by B'stone.

    LBlack14

    Very well might be. Who knows.

    I personally found the Nike One ball (when it first came out) to feel heavier. Not sure there's a better way to explain it... I'm sure the specs with all of the other balls were pretty much the same or nearly the same, but for whatever reason this ball just didn't seem to travel as far as the other balls I played back then.

    And when the B330 first came out I bought a sleeve of them, and just like the Nike One ball - the B330 felt heavy too.

    Might just be a coincidence, or maybe there's more to it.

    Mattyv Thanks for not mentioning the double I made on 11.....oops

    agree. Played well and seemed happier on the course.

    Release

    There will be increased brand recognition with Tiger but no where near what it was before.

    Plus it's a golf ball, ,,,,,,If Tiger were bagging the club's I would agree that it could be a boost but not going to see much with the ball.

    he played Nike clubs and balls forever and Nike balls remained a distant competitor to Titleist and Callaway and Nike clubs never took off , in fact were a laggard in the business despite Tiger using them . Nike even stopped making clubs with Tiger, Rory etc using them. Nike branded clothes is different and have done well since Jordan made them famous.

    I'm betting that The Costco Kirkland ball Will sell way more than Bridgestone balls ( with no pro golfer using them) as long they can keep up to demand. the Costco ball is already selling more than most other brands

      As far as golf club goes, it's in the work.

      Not only the price has to be right, the ability to customize and accommodate the top caliber player such as TW and Rory McIlroy need a dedicated lab for fitting. Not sure if Bridgestone has the facility here , pretty sure they have something similar to Nike's lab in Japan.

      LBlack14

      Let's not forget that "branding" is far more lucrative than endorsement and has a longer life span.

      TW logo has been branded for years, and the branding could cross over to other industry like the Golden Bear does. Much to be discussed if T.W. is going to switch golf equipment besides the golf ball.

      You'll never know what will be bearing the TW logo in the future. An electric automobile ? A restaurant chain ?
      Even a golf equipment company ? I would not be surprised if T.W. partner with a major OEM to form his own brand........

        Release
        Why wouldn't B'stone golf have a testing facility in the US? Damn near every place in town has one these days.

          Release Release

          "Even a golf equipment company ? I would not be surprised if T.W. partner with a major OEM to form his own brand."

          I am sure this would have already happened had Tiger not had the scandal and fall from grace.
          Nicklaus, Palmer, Hogan, etc have all done this , makes sense that Tiger eventually goes down this road. Golf equipment industry isn't doing so well so it's not likely going to happen now, but should the equipment industry recover and Tiger be able to resurrect his career ( and even if he doesn't) this should be an eventuality.

          The Tiger Woods driver, no bias, goes equally long right of left 🙂

            Really a no-lose deal for Bridgestone, outside of the endorsement money obviously. It's not like their reputation is going to take a huge hit if Tiger's game doesn't come back, and should he become competitive again - they get a little more advertising bang for their buck.

            It's not like Bridgestone is paying these handsome endorsement deals to a lot of players. The other factor is more a rhetorical question. He might still move the interest needle, but is his game going to return to the level where he can more confidently command endorsement money comparable to that of Dustin, Rory, Jordan, Jason, etc.? Or does he automatically qualify for that type of money based on his name and overall career?

            He used to never have to be concerned about endorsements that packaged overall performance-based criteria as part of the deal, but I do wonder if that has changed now.

            Weirfan

            Good time , bad time, as long as the deal is right could survive the economic condition and have a head start when it turns around.
            I'm sure there was no attractive proposal for TW to jump in at the present time. Whomever has the cash in the next 5 years could call his own shots.

            Weirfan

            Tiger maniac had simmered down over the last couple of year but lots of loyal fan. Not quite as Arnie;s Army but very close.
            You will be surprised of the recognition of Nike brand golf equipment within the group of younger golfers. Titlleist and Nike are the 2 most popular brands for the younger golfers ( whom have others to flip their bills ).

            How long has Callaway , Titleist been in business ? I remembered it took Callaway quite a few decades to get going and become a major OEM brand. Namely the S2H2 and the Big Bertha lines.
            Nike exit the equipment scene for a variety of reasons but don't count them out, It may resurface after 3-5 years after the current endorsement contract runs out and this time they will not be the major player as endorsement provider. If Nike returns to the equipment scene, I would not be surprised should they change the marketing effort a little different than the apparel section which targeted toward the younger consumers.
            I mean, not a lot of country club members interested in Nike equipment nor the Nike apparel . I had never seen an older golfer using or wearing Nike products around here.

            Kirkland branded golf balls is another case. Costco marked their items 15% over cost, and they negotiate the hack out of everything they carry, for price and the warranty terms....... not easy to do business with Costco in a long term relationship.
            When a 4 piece urethane covered golf ball priced below every entry level golf balls on the market, you'd bet there would a strong demand...... how long this will last ? Your guess is as good as mine.

            One thing for sure, Kirkland Signature golf ball started a revolution, which will bring the price of golf balls down across the board in 2017, or until the supplier of the K.S. golf ball ended the current agreement with Costco,

            • ode replied to this.

              LBlack14

              Cost ? They don't have a working Lab here because they are not based from the N. America. and they don;t have enough business to make economic sense by having a permanent lab here.

                Release
                Lab? Really? They have a presence here so I doubt cost is an issue to have a, more than adiquate(sp?), fitting facility.

                We are talking about a working lab ? Not a fitting center ?

                Working lab would produced a prototype from scratch, and not many OEM has one. Nike had one called "the oven" capable from design with CAD to forming prototype with metal or resin to custom fitting.
                Rumor had it when the Oven sent several irons ( wedge )to TW for testing and selecting, he could feel the difference of a couple of grams variation in head weight. which Nike R & D denied saying they were identical but later found out TW was correct.

                In the meantime, TMAG might sell a gazillion M2 drivers and fairways just because he appeared on TV with them. Imagine what will happen if/when he and Rory (and other Nike players?) sign with TM.

                  sdandrea1

                  First really noticed the TM was the inverted cone behind the face plate, which was non-conforming with .86 COR then a barrage of new drivers out in a hurry.

                  M2 is good as I had seem what it did fro some of the guys I play with.
                  They don't need TW to move the M2 .