It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.

[mnfats95]

I have a question for anyone with insight into the OEM world of golf clubs.

 

I don't know exactly when it happened, but at some point it was decided that not only should the top of clubs have color to the, but also the bottom. Obviously the top of most clubs have been painted since metal woods came about. But I'm talking about the bottom and face of today's clubs.

 

It used to be that the bottom and face of most metal woods/hybrids were simply chrome or silver. I assume that this was whatever the color of the metal used looked like when brushed or polished.

 

The last few sets of metal woods I've had have all been colored black on the face and bottom.

 

Now, this does actually look fairly snazzy in my opinion, but as someone who likes to take good care of my equipment I find it very annoying when I look down at the face of my new toy after a few rounds of play and it looks like I took a wire brush to it. I have a brand new almost $500 driver that is all black and less than three months old. It looks worse than the last chrome bottomed driver I played for 2 years from 5 years ago.

 

I know I'm being picky as it doesn't affect the performance of the club and the chome/silver versions were just as beat up, you just can't see it as easy.

 

I have seen some claim that the black face helps align the shot etc.... But I had another more sinister thought this morning. Is there any chance that golf companies are doing this because if a club "looks" worn more than usual someone will think about replacing it sooner?

 

Just a thought, curious if anyone else hates this as much as I do and if anyone has come to this possible reasoning before?

 

P.S. I also hate that the black shows every colored tee I hit on the face and bottom. Handy if you want to see where you hit the ball, annoying as heck if you are OCD like me when it comes to clean looking clubs.

 

Just a Monday morning thought.

 

Have a great week everyone!

[BK in TEXAS]

I like the conspiracy theory.....but I'm pretty sure the sad truth is that people just buy what looks pretty on the shelf

[Jondagcl]

I like the conspiracy theory.....but I'm pretty sure the sad truth is that people just buy what looks pretty on the shelf

I also like the theory. I'll add same thing with phones. My black iPhone looked awesome when I pulled it out of the box.

[markb]

There is a hidden advantage.  I stripe all my balls to see where on the face I'm making contact and adjust according.  The black face clubs show the impact stripes nicely.

[RookieBlue7]

Black sharpie will color them in

[jpcgolf]

My rbz stage 2 3 wood was used for a year and a half, and I am a big range rat, but the club face looks like total crap, and my course uses pretty nice range balls.

[whiskey golf]

I don't mind the worn down look, mainly because I don't switch around unless it will benefit my game and because I like that look on clubs such wedges. I have a Titleist 910H which I've had for 3 years. The face is pretty worn down and the lead part of the sole is completely worn down so it's silver now. I also have a PING Anser 3 wood which is starting to lose some of the bottome finish but the face is still good.

[wbealsd]

The first "full colored" clubs I've actually used are the Bobby Jones Blackbirds I got to review and, like whiskey golf, I don't really care much that they show the wear as long as they perform well. I took pics and mentioned the wear in my review, as I know some folks prefer to keep their equipment as near mint as they can.

 

I've generally donated my used clubs to First Tee or given them away to friends new to golf, so I'm not really concerned about resale value, either.