Cobra Connect Five-Pre Challenge Chatter-Testers Announced.

[Brian A]

5 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

I'm of another mind, where Cobra may be prioritizing paid orders given backlogs and the fact that while this is indeed marketing for them, the participants are all getting their gear for free. Does that excuse some of the more concerning things, like 4th choice shafts that completely don't work? No, it doesn't. However, I still choose to look at things in a big picture sort of way. 

Of course, I'm a bystander here, as are the rest of us - any frustration on the part of the participants is 100% understandable. 

While they may be getting to the “paid” orders first, how much positive or negative marketing is this generating for them? If you were considering a cobra club and saw the delay and also not being able to read the reviews, how likely are you to go out and drop $400 on it? I think that’s where frustration from non participants comes from. From the competitors, it’s the excitement and delay that’s killing us, then to not get the clubs we wanted and in @jlukes case shafts that aren’t compatible with him, it’s frustrating…

[russtopherb]

Just now, Brian A said:

While they may be getting to the “paid” orders first, how much positive or negative marketing is this generating for them? If you were considering a cobra club and saw the delay and also not being able to read the reviews, how likely are you to go out and drop $400 on it? I think that’s where frustration from non participants comes from. From the competitors, it’s the excitement and delay that’s killing us, then to not get the clubs we wanted and in @jlukes case shafts that aren’t compatible with him, it’s frustrating…

Truthfully - given the fact that there's widespread problems with inventory and shipping across nearly every industry right now, I would not view the wait times as negative marketing. A quick perusal of MGS and other forums shows frustration over delivery times from nearly every OEM. 

[null]

20 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

Truthfully - given the fact that there's widespread problems with inventory and shipping across nearly every industry right now, I would not view the wait times as negative marketing. A quick perusal of MGS and other forums shows frustration over delivery times from nearly every OEM. 

It's funny - I was in Golf Galaxy yesterday talking a few of the guys I always see there and they said Callaway and PXG are the only two manufacturers that were seemingly prepared for the supply chain issues.  

They mentioned Cobra and Taylormade being the absolute worst for delays on custom orders this year.  

[null]

52 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

I'm of another mind, where Cobra may be prioritizing paid orders given backlogs and the fact that while this is indeed marketing for them, the participants are all getting their gear for free. Does that excuse some of the more concerning things, like 4th choice shafts that completely don't work? No, it doesn't. However, I still choose to look at things in a big picture sort of way. 

Of course, I'm a bystander here, as are the rest of us - any frustration on the part of the participants is 100% understandable. 

My guys at Golf Galaxy yesterday told me that they have customers with custom orders from Cobra from early April that have not been fulfilled yet.

[Nolan220]

22 minutes ago, jlukes said:

It's funny - I was in Golf Galaxy yesterday talking a few of the guys I always see there and they said Callaway and PXG are the only two manufacturers that were seemingly prepared for the supply chain issues.  

They mentioned Cobra and Taylormade being the absolute worst for delays on custom orders this year.  

Was at CC getting the specs for Titleist review and the fitter I go to told me some orders for TM they put in came back as earliest delivery time Feb 2022 ... that's insane. 

[txgolfjunkie]

20 minutes ago, jlukes said:

It's funny - I was in Golf Galaxy yesterday talking a few of the guys I always see there and they said Callaway and PXG are the only two manufacturers that were seemingly prepared for the supply chain issues.  

They mentioned Cobra and Taylormade being the absolute worst for delays on custom orders this year.  

In my experience, Ping and Cobra have been the longest when it comes to custom orders. Srixon and Taylormade were pretty good...at least they were pretty darn close with their shipping estimates. 

However, Miura...I had a friend in Nashville wait 54 weeks for a set of blades from Miura. Fifty...four. So maybe if Cobra is mirroring Miura's production, we should get this show on the road in time for the 2022 US Open!! 

[txgolfjunkie]

3 minutes ago, Nolan220 said:

Was at CC getting the specs for Titleist review and the fitter I go to told me some orders for TM they put in came back as earliest delivery time Feb 2022 ... that's insane. 

Some shafts are backordered for a long, long time. Some heads are out of stock and being placed at a lower priority to replenish the inventory levels. The timing in getting all the components in stock at the same time could take 6-8 months. If you're super picky with your setup, I don't know if now is the time to order new sticks. 

[null]

2 minutes ago, txgolfjunkie said:

In my experience, Ping and Cobra have been the longest when it comes to custom orders. Srixon and Taylormade were pretty good...at least they were pretty darn close with their shipping estimates. 

However, Miura...I had a friend in Nashville wait 54 weeks for a set of blades from Miura. Fifty...four. So maybe if Cobra is mirroring Miura's production, we should get this show on the road in time for the 2022 US Open!! 

I think you have two issues: Production (of heads) and Sourcing (of components).  Some companies over-ordered shafts and grips to stock their build shops so they could be prepared for this.  Other companies clearly operate a more lean operation where they order certain shafts/grips in more of a Just In Time fashion.

Heck - TXG - a custom build shop - ordered tons of heads, shafts and grips to prepare for this and mentioned on last week's livestream that they don't really have any delays in building customer orders right now.

[gavinski91]

Really struggled off the tee today - 5 penalty strokes and only 2 fairways hit. However, my wedges were on fire, and I was putting reasonably well (1 disappointing 3-putt) so I managed to post an 86. Also outdid my projection for margin of victory over my father-in-law, beating him by 27

Next up I need a few more range sessions with the driver to get fully comfortable with it, and I need to get the lie angles adjusted on the irons. Once I get all that sorted I feel like breaking 80 is a distinct possibility during the challenge!

[LeftyMatt89]

9 hours ago, gavinski91 said:

Really struggled off the tee today - 5 penalty strokes and only 2 fairways hit. However, my wedges were on fire, and I was putting reasonably well (1 disappointing 3-putt) so I managed to post an 86. Also outdid my projection for margin of victory over my father-in-law, beating him by 27

Next up I need a few more range sessions with the driver to get fully comfortable with it, and I need to get the lie angles adjusted on the irons. Once I get all that sorted I feel like breaking 80 is a distinct possibility during the challenge!

5 penalties off the tee and an 86 is a great day all things considered. Did you use the driver primarily or multiple options off the tee box?

[Brian A]

10 hours ago, gavinski91 said:

Really struggled off the tee today - 5 penalty strokes and only 2 fairways hit. However, my wedges were on fire, and I was putting reasonably well (1 disappointing 3-putt) so I managed to post an 86. Also outdid my projection for margin of victory over my father-in-law, beating him by 27

Next up I need a few more range sessions with the driver to get fully comfortable with it, and I need to get the lie angles adjusted on the irons. Once I get all that sorted I feel like breaking 80 is a distinct possibility during the challenge!

This was my problem with the driver as well, however when I kept it in play I was bombing it. Same for you?

[PMookie]

On 8/9/2021 at 9:41 AM, txgolfjunkie said:

Some shafts are backordered for a long, long time. Some heads are out of stock and being placed at a lower priority to replenish the inventory levels. The timing in getting all the components in stock at the same time could take 6-8 months. If you're super picky with your setup, I don't know if now is the time to order new sticks. 

To this point on shafts, my replacement Honma irons haven’t made it to me YET and it’s been 4 months… Honma says they can’t get my Modus shafts, but a golf store here can. Yeah, warehouses may have some, but it’s funny that I can get grips, shafts, etc but an OEM can’t. Crazy!!!

Where are Cobra clubs assembled? Overseas? I wonder if Callaway doing there’s in Mexico is why they’ve been quicker.

[PMookie]

Lots of comments about this CCC being a bad look for Cobra. Yeah, for us who follow MGS it is, but the other 24 million golfers in the US have no idea. This might affect our purchasing choices going forward, but it won’t even be a blip in Cobra’s eyes. As we all have also said, supply-chain is a problem for everyone. I feel for our folks in this challenge, and the folks inside MGS who help put this together this year. Frustrating for sure. I feel for the participants. I’d be pretty upset too, but I really don’t think this hurts Cobra at all in the long run.

[LeftyMatt89]

4 minutes ago, PMookie said:

Lots of comments about this CCC being a bad look for Cobra. Yeah, for us who follow MGS it is, but the other 24 million golfers in the US have no idea. This might affect our purchasing choices going forward, but it won’t even be a blip in Cobra’s eyes. As we all have also said, supply-chain is a problem for everyone. I feel for our folks in this challenge, and the folks inside MGS who help put this together this year. Frustrating for sure. I feel for the participants. I’d be pretty upset too, but I really don’t think this hurts Cobra at all in the long run.

I would agree. I have not given Cobra a fair shake in the past but now I get to test all clubs and also play with different people at my course. Once we get the challenge up and running, I am sure it will be positive news and good marketing for sure.

[Getoffmylawn]

8 minutes ago, PMookie said:

Lots of comments about this CCC being a bad look for Cobra. Yeah, for us who follow MGS it is, but the other 24 million golfers in the US have no idea. This might affect our purchasing choices going forward, but it won’t even be a blip in Cobra’s eyes. As we all have also said, supply-chain is a problem for everyone. I feel for our folks in this challenge, and the folks inside MGS who help put this together this year. Frustrating for sure. I feel for the participants. I’d be pretty upset too, but I really don’t think this hurts Cobra at all in the long run.

I'm sure you're right, and honestly this feels like a perfect storm...industry-wide supply problems, this OEM maybe not being quite as well-positioned as others to weather it, and then even some extended absences by the personnel at Cobra assigned to manage it.  Just really sucks when it happens to you, ya know?

[GolfSpy BOS]

23 minutes ago, PMookie said:

To this point on shafts, my replacement Honma irons haven’t made it to me YET and it’s been 4 months… Honma says they can’t get my Modus shafts, but a golf store here can. Yeah, warehouses may have some, but it’s funny that I can get grips, shafts, etc but an OEM can’t. Crazy!!!

Where are Cobra clubs assembled? Overseas? I wonder if Callaway doing there’s in Mexico is why they’ve been quicker.

Last year our clubs were shipped from Carlsbad, so I'm guessing that's where they were assembled.  I know I had to shop around a little bit but was able to get Modus wedge shafts from a retailer last year, and got a set of 120x iron shaft pulls on eBay, but yeah it's always weird when you can find it at retail and the OEM's dont have it.

[GolfSpy BOS]

12 minutes ago, LeftyMatt89 said:

I would agree. I have not given Cobra a fair shake in the past but now I get to test all clubs and also play with different people at my course. Once we get the challenge up and running, I am sure it will be positive news and good marketing for sure.

Yeah we got going last year I had several conversations on the course with some people people I got paired up with or even groups in front/behind us on slow days (probably due to having no woods or no irons depending on the challenge, or the flashy speedzone bag) about the challenge and MGS... hopefully one or two of them joined up, but it was great for starting conversations.

[PMookie]

7 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

I'm sure you're right, and honestly this feels like a perfect storm...industry-wide supply problems, this OEM maybe not being quite as well-positioned as others to weather it, and then even some extended absences by the personnel at Cobra assigned to manage it.  Just really sucks when it happens to you, ya know?

Yep, totally get it. For us here, CCC is THE opportunity. It’s exciting, fun, great to follow, and even better for the actual participants. I would be extremely bummed and jaded if I were one of the folks in this year’s challenge for SURE.

In the end, though, it will still be fun. It will still be a great follow, and it’s probably going to be even more intriguing to see what happens just because of the challenges being faced at the beginning. I wholeheartedly believe that even with all this crap, the participants will still have had a good time, and they’ll DEFINITELY have a new golf bag, and an entire set of clubs! They may not fit perfectly, but it’s still a great honor!

[PMookie]

9 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Yeah we got going last year I had several conversations on the course with some people people I got paired up with or even groups in front/behind us on slow days (probably due to having no woods or no irons depending on the challenge, or the flashy speedzone bag) about the challenge and MGS... hopefully one or two of them joined up, but it was great for starting conversations.

I thought about that this morning. I was a participant in another website’s original trip to Callaway Golf and we got to play with the Callaway guys at an exclusive country club in Palm Springs. It was a great trip! We didn’t get our clubs until we got back, and when I got my clubs, I was showing them to everyone I worked with, played with, etc. Turned-out my fitting at ECPC was crap, and I had to replace every club in my bag but one. On my dime. Sucked. It didn’t take away from the great time I had, but it put a damper on my feelings for Callaway fittings. I didn’t buy Callaway for a few years after. I do know some folks tried some of Callaway’s new clubs that launched in 2014 because of my conversation, but it was only three people…. It didn’t have a huge effect on sales for Callaway in my area. Callaway sold more clubs by having Shiels/Crossfield and the YouTube folks demo them because they have a huge audience. Yeah, folks on the site also gave the new offerings a try too, but it didn’t make the sales year for Callaway in 2014.
Like I say, I really don’t think CCC builds sales by the thousands, and I don’t think this will hurt sales by the thousands, but it’s STILL gonna be great to follow, and it will still be fun in the end. No matter what, I’m going to follow the fun, give crap to the LOSERS, and still look at CCC in a very positive light!

[PMookie]

18 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Last year our clubs were shipped from Carlsbad, so I'm guessing that's where they were assembled.  I know I had to shop around a little bit but was able to get Modus wedge shafts from a retailer last year, and got a set of 120x iron shaft pulls on eBay, but yeah it's always weird when you can find it at retail and the OEM's dont have it.

So odd! Heck, for five guys here it seems like a Carlsbad Cobra rep could get a local store to sell them the shafts and grips they need! HA! It’s a hassle, but would solve some issues.