Why you no longer have manufacturers up here.

SMT · 2021-12-14T17:42:58+00:00

aka: The recent SMT hollow iron head post. A simple overview. 76 unique posts in that thread by the group of golfers, friends, clubmakers and "experts." Th...

Rickochet

Sparky I have goo inside of many of my cavities.

TMI

colej

Jelopster

The attitude I’m feeling from mike is that none of us are qualified to talk about this issue. That is bullshit. None of this has anything to do with why iron heads aren’t manufactured here. That was just a slap in the face.

Jelopster

colej that none of us are qualified to talk about this issue

Not qualified?! I’ve been building clubs for over
9 months now! My uninformed subjective opinion matters!

In all seriousness, I appreciate you sharing your experience with the product, one I may still try (but will measure if I do) in the future. I also appreciate Mike’s willingness to jump in. I know he’s no longer in the day to day and was put on the spot a bit with the @.

Even this little kerfuffle highlights why I’m glad to have found the Buzz right as I got back into golf and club building. Knowledgeable and invested people willing to share their time and experience.

darpar

SMT Not upset in the least.

You keep saying you're NOT upset, when in actuality maybe you should be!
I know I'd be pissed if a product with my logo on it was not up to snuff and
somebody brought it to other's attention.
Otherwise what's the point of starting this thread in the first place?

brownmoose13

Chuckie Brownmoose here and I am upset that I was last on the list...I need to try harder. But I never did see an answer whether they were Kobe steel or is that another subject that should not be discussed.

Par4QC

brownmoose13 Carpenter steel. 😉

brownmoose13

Par4QC
Carpenter Steel WOOD make too much sense but I think you hit the nail on the head and threw the hammer down.

ode

Same BS, different era. This forum must not have red and blue font!

Par4QC

ode This forum must not have red and blue font!

🤣

Tinker

Fact of the matter is that I don’t think you can single out SMT from any other component or OEM for that matter. Manufacturing today is about producing a product at the lowest possible cost. Low cost labor, cheapest materials, least amount of hands on craftsmanship. You sell it with “hi tech” jargon and marketing. A few years back Tom Wishon was proud of the fact that his irons where being produced with a five step forging process that created a much more precise head. Do you think any of the current companies are interested in making an iron head that is struck five times, hand ground, triple chrome plated? It’s cast a chassis, sheet metal face and sheet metal back or plastic decorations. Fill it with expandable foam so it doesn’t sound like a beer can and vibrate your fingers off. Maybe add some “ tungsten” weights( sounds much more hi tech than lead) inside to get the weight up.

Par4QC

Tinker I don’t think you can single out SMT from any other component or OEM for that matter.

I don't think anyone was. Not from my understanding, of what I read.

But, Mike should not have taken offense at any of the posts, as he most certainly did....... Why you no longer have manufacturers up here.
He should have been very thankful that someone pointed out a major problem at the foundry, their lack of quality and very lax QC. Instead, he went on the defensive & now he has even more of a problem.

DC300

Tinker spot on, I work for a manufacturer, they obsess about cost cutting, down to .03 per box in packaging on $139 items (wholesaler cost), it’s crazy how pissed they get when you suggest an extra screw in something etc. I’m a guy they hate talking to bc I believe right is right and Pennies saved that cost me sales are not ok, especially when I point out other stupid wastes that we could avoid in lieu of it.

Rickochet

Par4QC But, Mike should not have taken offense at any of the posts, as he most certainly did.......

Do you remember the Nemesis fiasco on FGI?

colej

Par4QC

It’s almost like dad yelling at his kid: this why we don’t have nice things! Why there’s no manufacturing is our fault???

garyt1957

Par4QC He should have been very thankful that someone pointed out a major problem at the foundry,

he should be happy that somebody is talking about SMT at all.

Par4QC

Rickochet Of course.
He is not easily offended. 😅

pellmell

Rickochet Do you remember the Nemesis fiasco

Yes, and the fact that SMT branded shafts were actually Accuflex.

Par4QC

colej Yeah, and there is more than 1 problem, with what you have discovered/disclosed. And I'm most certain Mike will come back to tell me just how far off base I am.
But, although the original problem lies overseas, with the foundry, the big question is.....how did these get to market?? Where is the "local" QC? Do you really think that I'd ever send out any product that I did not check 100%....maybe a couple times? Fuck. NO. Don't care if it was 100K parts....they will all be inspected before selling!! (yes, I have worked in factories. yes, I do know their inspection procedures/percentages. But, they are not MY factories.)

And I do not want to hear any Covid bullshit about 'can't get anyone to work', or how much more costly the components would be if someone checked every one. Bullshit.

Typhoon

SMT am 59 years old, I raise money for charity. THAT is my job.

Sounds like Jeff or anyone else should only be contacting the place you bought the heads from, not Mike. He has nothing to do with clubs anymore. Sold his name off?

As a side note… at least the T- Shirts we’re all good quality👍.

LBlack14

Typhoon I raise money for charity. THAT is my job.

🙄

johnnydoom

I think what he was asking for was a chance to resolve issues personally first rather than starting with the public airing. How many of us, after making a mistake at work, would like the boss to announce that we are a screw up on a company wide email as the means of letting us know we made a mistake? Or have our wives go forward in church to bring marital issues before the congregation without discussing it with us first. The public airing should come after personal interaction, either to point out that the owners don't want to correct the defect even when brought to their attention, or that this issue was found and this is how they responded to resolve it.

colej

johnnydoom

I don’t think your comparison is apples to apples.

KCee

One person did mention mfg mistakes can happen to even the best. No mention of that though. Thanks for nothing Mike 😒

johnnydoom

colej May not be, I don't have the ability to look into the hearts of people and I tend to look at companies as composed of people, not as detached entities. I should also add that I do not understand how egregious the extent of the problem described in this thread might be. I haven't experimented enough (at all actually) with variation in iron faces to know if the condition shown is serious or not. It looks bad, but does it play bad?

« Previous Page Next Page »