Are you becoming brand agnostic? Twenty years ago the PGA Tour season would start in Hawaii and it was always interesting to see what players, had switched to what brands, over the holiday break. 12-14 clubs, bags, hats, balls…these were big endorsement deals. The big manufacturers pushed product on the backs of who was “playing their stuff”.
Fast forward to today, it’s not really like that anymore. There is an increasing trend on Tour to become brand agnostic. Why is that? Look no further than money…money controls everything. On today’s Tour, the purses are so much bigger. A top 5 finish carries the same weight as a club endorsement deal. How do you ensure that you have a chance to get one of those top 5 finishes, you make sure that everything you play is perfect for you, even if that means you carry 5 different manufacturers in your bag.
Downside of Brand Agnostic
Twenty years ago, Tour players had to know that when they married a manufacturer, they would have to take the good with the bad. Driver great, wedges bad. Putter great, irons bad. Fairway woods great, ball bad. That endorsement paycheck plugged the holes of bad finishes. Todays Tour rewards the Top 50 in the world. Majors, World Golf Championships, Fed Ex Cup, you name it…it’s all based on high finishes. You get “higher” finishes when all your equipment is optimized.
Golf Course Owner Guy is not sure where that leaves the business of big name endorsements. We used to want to play what the Shark played…now we have no idea what Koepka plays. If you are stuck in the mindset that everything in your bag has to match, I have news for you…the world has changed. Finding stuff that works is the name of the game.
