Nike: Tiger & Rory are in the US Open!

[GolfSpy MBP 2,279]

Just so you all know, Nike Golf has updated their home page so you know Tiger & Rory are playing in the US Open. I've heard rumors other members of their stable are playing too.

 

http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/golf/

 

It's just starting to seem like a slap in the face to the rest of their guys... Oh hey we have #1 & #2 in the world, that's all you should care about...

 

[BadgerGolfer 712]

Im sure the other Nike staffers know their role.

[GolfSpy WD 13]

Gotta agree with Badger. Only us forum addicts even know about Stanley or Watney. I'm not even sure which of them is in the Open, but it won't be nearly as interesting to watch as Tiger or Rory.

[Super Tuna 0]

Now would be an excellent time for Watney to find his game and smash both of them.

[GolfSpy_X 895]

Which of their other guys move the needle?

[Super Tuna 0]

None of them, but does Rory?

 

Tiger at least has the added benefit that he sells clothes and shoes at an absurd margin. Does Rory sell anything as of yet?

[Super Tuna 0]

One might argue, it's the same tactic as Callway right now.

 

If Phil wins, hu-freaking-za since people love him and he directly influences sales (see Razr fit move up date last year after we won with it). After Phil, who else is there? Guys that hit the ball a long way and are never on the leaderboard.

 

Insert Tiger instead of Phil into the above and you've got Nike. At least Callaway has an absurdly active Social Media team to keep their name and products in the public concious. Meanwhile it seems Nike doesn't trust their team to type anything more then a "Yeah!" or a smiley face.

 

I still think Nike got it backwards. Golf isn't about the athelete unless they're stupidly dominant, it's about the count and getting those logo's in front of people's faces. Or at least it seems to be right now. Besides Palmer, Nicholas and Tiger no one else has seemed to grab the game by the scruff the neck and backed up those athelete claims. Nike got this in basketball. Yeah, it was all about MJ to start but then they FLOODED the game snapping up teams and players everywhere. They dominated the count and thus the sales. I still think they're going to have to go the same thing in golf. Otherwise, it looks a lot like the Ping model where they want consistent players that win a big one now and then (something that I would also argue is right in Cobra's wheelhouse though it would really help if they could add another guy or two). That isn't a tactic to get to #1 in golf.

[whiskey golf 61]

I'm sick of all the Tiger and Rory advertisements. I know they are the top Nike golfers but still.

[SPY ZINGER 411]

It's like the MyGolfSpy staff. There is SPY ZINGER, and the rest of them.

 

By the way, I'm at 30,000 feet and about to renew my membership in the elite club.

[Rickles 0]

None of them, but does Rory?

 

Tiger at least has the added benefit that he sells clothes and shoes at an absurd margin. Does Rory sell anything as of yet?

 

My answer is yes. I was at one of the largest junior golf tournaments in the country. The Starburst Junior in Waco Texas. The kids play my home course. (it's one of 8 courses used for the tournament.) Monday morning I am hitting balls on the range when about a hundred 11 and 12 year old boys show up. 90% are either dressed just like Rickie Fowler or like Rory. Unfortunately for Nike most of them were sporting last years look with the Oakley shirts. The other 10% were wearing old school looking stuff that their parents probably bought them. I started asking most of them who their favorite golfers were. The answers were overwhelmingly, Rickie, Tiger, and Rory and thats the way most of them were dressing. What's interesting is that most of the ones who like Tiger were not dressed in Tiger stuff. They were dressed more like the other two. The guys I see dressed like Tiger are a lot of the guys who are relatively new to golf and think it's cool because of people like Tiger, middle aged guys, and black guys. There are lots of guys who fit these demographics. Between Tiger and Rory I would say that they are definitely moving the needle.

[apprenti23 604]

There are so many people that dislike tiger though...

[silver & black 5,556]

Tiger rocks. So does Rory. Honestly, all I care about is how either one of them plays. Nothing they do or don't do influences me one way or the other as far as buying merchandise.

 

I just want to see them play well and challenge each other and the rest of the field .