What is the most under appreciated brand in golf?

[David Leighton Reid]

I believe Wilson golf clubs are under-rated and to some extent Cobra clubs.  For golf balls, I believe the Maxfli Tour is greatly under-rated.  Last year during testing, I was talking to a fellow golfer about the Maxfli Tour and his response was, "but it's a Maxfli".  

[Erin B]

On 3/12/2024 at 1:59 AM, GolfSpy_APH said:

Don't think or believe there is one right answer, but with so many brands in the market there are likely some doing amazing work that just don't get the recognition. L.A.B. could definitely be one of those, but their tour success has certainly vaulted them. 

Red Rooster is our unheralded glove brand that does do much but is very much an unknown outside of some forum and other spaces. 

what do you think?

I would be on the Cobra and Srixon side of being pretty undervalued. Wilson is another brand in the bigger named markets. On the DTC companies I’d say New Level and Sub70 are very underrated. Ball wise I used to think OnCore, but I’m not so sure now. Putters, Sacks Parente. Shafts, Steadfast Jupiter, and Newton. Steadfast did it to themselves when they first started but have seemed to correct their path. Still it’s hard to get back in the good graces of the golf world when you piss us off. Overall the quality of a lot of equipment has risen because of the competition. I’m a fan of the smaller companies as long as they are of good quality and back up their products.

Edited March 18 by Erin B
Data loss

[Preeway]

I definitely see Cobra and Srixon woods as getting less love than they deserve. Srixon irons are pure and rival any top name brand out there. I also think the Srixon ball series are underrated, or maybe just under appreciated. For the price, I can’t see any ball holding a flame to the Z Star . Especially when you load up during the buy 2 get 1 free deals. 

[Subdiver1]

5 hours ago, bens197 said:

I’ll go with Tour Edge for this reason. A lot of casual golfers who are not tuned into gear would skip over Tour Edge for a bigger brand. 

Pound for pound it’s the best product for the money and the best value. 

A long time ago when I was in club sales, I’d love to toss in a Wilson Deep Red, Nicklaus air max and a Cleveland launcher to the R580 and 975J test just to see a reaction. 
 

Our shop sold more of the former than the top names combined that summer. 
 

Moral of the story…there’s a lot of great product hidden in plain sight.  

When I was looking at various manufacturers for the other discussion that led to the legal and business class on warranties I noticed that they have a lifetime warranty, standard.

That's from date of purchase, BTW 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Cobra seems to have the “little brother” image in the major OEM world, in my opinion. Case in point I had never even considered a Cobra club until the Cobra challenge. Now I can safely say they will ALWAYS get a run when I look to replace a club in the future. The Aerojet 3 and 7 woods are the best I’ve ever hit and will be in my bag for a very long time. 

Wilson is also a great answer after being an original dominant force, then fading out and being viewed mostly as cheap box set clubs, to now rising back in the club world. I love the looks of their irons. 

[CFreddie]

Agreed completely Jason - Cobra would be my vote for major OEMs.  

[Bobbers]

Cobra, Cleveland, LAB.

What gets me is how, looking at history, things get so convoluted.

Dunlop goes to BTR, later sold to Sports Direct, later sold to Sumitomo (Srixon), etc., etc., etc.

 

 

[ChiefMikeOfficer]

Great topic. I used to get frustrated with things like the Golf Digest Hot List, because part of their rating included "Demand" -- it was only 5%, but it seemed to give the bigger brands a bump and made it harder for newer brands to hit Gold (of course demand for an unknown brand is low...). They cut that metric last year, which I think is great. 

I have to echo the Tour Edge comments, especially for FW -- or at least they were underrated a handful of years ago. I haven't tried their newer models, but some of the old Exotics Beta 3Ws were some of the best I've ever hit. They've made strides in some markets, but I still have this lingering thought from High School (20+ years ago now  ) of seeing Tour Edge irons in someone's bag and thinking they were inferior clubs (chances are they weren't, but the brand name just seemed to carry that perception, likely because it sounds generic). 

Other notables: Mizuno non-irons, especially woods and putters - rarely see someone with them, but they are great products. Evnroll (or really any Guerin Rife putter brand) -- they're better known these days too and have landed on top lists (like GD Hot List), but I think too many people gravitate toward brands like Scotty and Odyssey and don't even consider Evnroll. 

[Steve F]

11 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

Cobra seems to have the “little brother” image in the major OEM world, in my opinion. Case in point I had never even considered a Cobra club until the Cobra challenge. Now I can safely say they will ALWAYS get a run when I look to replace a club in the future. The Aerojet 3 and 7 woods are the best I’ve ever hit and will be in my bag for a very long time. 

Wilson is also a great answer after being an original dominant force, then fading out and being viewed mostly as cheap box set clubs, to now rising back in the club world. I love the looks of their irons. 

Could not agree more @GolfSpy_KFT on the Cobra perception. It almost feels like at times there is that "wink, wink" from people when you tell them your driver is a Cobra Aerojet. It's simply not one of the "big names" and seems to get a down the nose look from some people. I have to say, I just had a fitting about 3 weeks ago and was fortunate enough to test Ping, TaylorMade, Titleist, Cobra... and like one of our threads said, you have to go with what feels right as well. Well, during my fitting the Cobra clubs "felt", sounded and responded best to my style of golf at this time. 

I also have to agree with the Wilson: I have my fathers old sand wedge that I still use and have no complaints. 

Dare I say Vice balls? I've been using them for a year and enjoy them! Same thing though: people ask why I don't use a ProV1 or TPX5... for my bang for my buck, Vice does a very nice job! 

[ChiefMikeOfficer]

1 hour ago, Steve F said:

Dare I say Vice balls? I've been using them for a year and enjoy them! Same thing though: people ask why I don't use a ProV1 or TPX5... for my bang for my buck, Vice does a very nice job! 

Almost mentioned Vice in the ball category -- in 2016, definitely underrated; today, probably still are, but they've at least gotten some recognition over the years (Hot List Silver and Gold, some MGS reports, etc.), and a lot of people are playing them. Underrated or not, they definitely outperform their price. 

[tony@CIC]

2 hours ago, Steve F said:

Could not agree more @GolfSpy_KFT on the Cobra perception. It almost feels like at times there is that "wink, wink" from people when you tell them your driver is a Cobra Aerojet. It's simply not one of the "big names" and seems to get a down the nose look from some people. I have to say, I just had a fitting about 3 weeks ago and was fortunate enough to test Ping, TaylorMade, Titleist, Cobra... and like one of our threads said, you have to go with what feels right as well. Well, during my fitting the Cobra clubs "felt", sounded and responded best to my style of golf at this time. 

I also have to agree with the Wilson: I have my fathers old sand wedge that I still use and have no complaints. 

Dare I say Vice balls? I've been using them for a year and enjoy them! Same thing though: people ask why I don't use a ProV1 or TPX5... for my bang for my buck, Vice does a very nice job! 

Totally agree on Cobra. I've got a Radspeed 3 wood that outperformed the Qi10 at a recent fitting. It's getting a bit long in the tooth and I'm considering a Darkspeed 3 wood as a replacement. As to my irons, I still love my Speedzones - they're well over 5 yrs old (playing roughly 150 rds. a year) and look brand new. No need to be thinking about replacing those. 

Same for Vice, although I'm disappointed they're out of stock on the neon green version of Pros. Had to buy some Maxflis until they neon greens are back in stock. 

[quod erat]

On 3/18/2024 at 5:51 PM, Preeway said:

I definitely see Cobra and Srixon woods as getting less love than they deserve.

I hit some Srixon irons during my last fitting and loved everything about them: feel, look, performance ... great stuff. I really wanted to like the driver/woods when I came back the next day, but just couldn't get along with them.

[GolfSpy_APH]

For grips I am going to throw out Lamkin and Star. I'm not a big Winn grip fan, but feel both Lamkin and Star make a truly fantastic product that often isn't appreciated enough.

[Nemac]

There are a number of brands that I think are underrated. Wilson is definitely one name that stands out across the board and that is a shame given their heritage and price point. You just need to look at their balls to see their quality.

I also agree that LAB continues to be underrated even though the tech is undeniable. I think this primarily stems from the looks side and hopefully the new DF3 will allow them to get better recognition. I use the LINK and it has improved my putting no end and could not be happier with it.

[Usmcgyrene]

On tour, it has to be Mizuno. They are the best irons made.

[acatalano32]

My first thought was Srixon, being from Huntington Beach California I always thought it was cool being from the same place. 
but I would say Ping putters are under appreciated. Not a lot of tech but they do feel great and the black putters with white sight lines are very pleasing to look at.
most people gravitate to odyssey or Scotty’s  

[goldenhawk]

Pinnacle.  Because who hasn’t spent hours working on their swing at the range with Pinnacle Golf Range Balls

[Jeremy26]

Big brands? Cobra. Their clubs are awesome. My buddy would say Martini Tees. He's been using the same tee for 3 years. 

[Dr Strangelove]

49 minutes ago, acatalano32 said:

My first thought was Srixon, being from Huntington Beach California I always thought it was cool being from the same place. 
but I would say Ping putters are under appreciated. Not a lot of tech but they do feel great and the black putters with white sight lines are very pleasing to look at.
most people gravitate to odyssey or Scotty’s  

Srixon is in Huntington Beach?

[Cosmic Duffer]

Adams Golf.

Clubs for the everyday hacker.

[golfgame]

On 3/12/2024 at 2:59 AM, GolfSpy_APH said:

Don't think or believe there is one right answer, but with so many brands in the market there are likely some doing amazing work that just don't get the recognition. L.A.B. could definitely be one of those, but their tour success has certainly vaulted them. 

Red Rooster is our unheralded glove brand that does do much but is very much an unknown outside of some forum and other spaces. 

what do you think?

For me, it is Sub 70 golf...

[Cosmic Duffer]

22 minutes ago, Jeremy26 said:

Big brands? Cobra. Their clubs are awesome. My buddy would say Martini Tees. He's been using the same tee for 3 years. 

Yes. Definitely Cobra.

I played their S2 Driver for years until I wore it out and discovered that it was actually costing me distance. It was a great fairway splitter!! 

[Desous17]

Like others have said, I think Maxfli has made leaps and bounds to making a great ball in the Tour and Tour X, great performance and awesome price! Wedges I would go Cleveland, I go back and forth with my old Cleveland’s and Vokeys. For someone looking to get into golf I always recommend Cleveland wedges for the price and performance. Finally for irons, I don’t think they make anything new but for used clubs I’m a sucker for Bridgestone irons. I honestly don’t know who built their clubs but I enjoy playing them, from the few sets I’ve owned. Every time I get a chance I fall back in love with them and it seems only forum members know about these

[DiscipleofPenick]

SeeMore Putters. They had a surge years ago, but they are still around. I put one in the bag two years ago and I don't know if it's ever coming out.

[gibmathster]

Time for people to jump on the Sub70 bandwagon. Great clubs, easy company to work with.

If you live in the area it is worth going for a club fitting!  As a lefty I appreciate their selection.

 

[PDIDDYMARSH]

Being in the UK and talking to people close to my age (26) PING is considered the old man clubs, I personally would have Driver, 3 wood 5 wood 7 wood of PING just because of how forgiving they are. Cleveland Wedges are massively underappreciated in this game again by our age group as they see Vokeys as the one answer to it all.

[kovek]

On 3/12/2024 at 1:30 PM, KC Golf said:

I think DTCs like Haywood, Takomo and Red Rooster are brands that a few years ago were totally unheard of.  All are basically DTC that built their brand through Instagram.

I remember putting these names in my bag and guys would just grab it and ask me all about it.

This happens to me all the time with my Takomo irons

Edited March 20 by kovek

[Eric F]

Wilson Staff played them for 35 years always get looks and always pay less and score better than my group........Staff irons and wedges.......

[Dukhook52]

TourEdge Golf.  Their clubs are easy to hit and won’t break the bank.  Perfect for weekend players. IMHO

[KSxFinesse]

Surprised to not see many saying Mizuno as they are not really popular on tour. They make some of the best irons out there and their 2024 driver is pretty close to hanging with some of the bigger brands performance wise when I swung it.