Which Callaway Driver is Right for You?

Tony Covey MGS · July 9, 2013

If you follow Callaway's Facebook feed...or TaylorMade's Facebook feed, or really any golf company not named PING or Titleist's Facebook feed you'll notice a groundswell of outrage each and every time a new driver is released. It's a mind-boggling phenomenon probably worthy of its own article. There is a consumer segment that believes there should be a mandate that golf companies wait X number of days after his purchase to release a new driver. They act as if the existence of a new driver in the marketplace magically robs them of 10 yards of distance (that would explain how each new driver can be 10 yards longer than the last.

With the concession that R1 buys who bought white when they would have preferred black have a legitimate gripe, most of it is nonsensical whining. From the OEM's perspective, for every golfer that bought the latest model, there are 10s of thousands who didn't. The guy who bought any new driver...whatever the model, will always be in the minority. More drivers = more potential customers.

New releases aren't intended for the guy who just bought a new driver. They're intended for the guy who didn't...and again...he will always be the majority.

But I digress...

In the case of the FT Optiforce the "F-You I just bought RAZR Fit Xtreme", and "F-You I just bought X-Hot", or even "F-You I bought RAZR Fit Xtreme, and then I bought X-Hot, so seriously, F-You, I'm done" crowd is particularly nonsensical. Having hit all 3, and having what I think is a pretty solid understanding of what Callaway...or rather "who" Callaway is trying to serve with each, it's safe to say the angry group is missing the boat. No Callaway driver...no anybody's driver (despite what the Grenade guys might tell you) is ever going to be the longest, the most accurate, THE BEST for everybody. There is a relatively distinct market for RAZR Fit Xtreme, a likely broader market for Xhot, and again, a relatively distinct market for FT Optiforce.

They are very different drivers for very different types of golfers. Can you really fault Callaway, or anyone else for specifically servicing (targeting, if you prefer) as much of the viable market as possible?

All off that rambling brings me to my actual point. Callaway is doing a solid job of trying to preempt the outrage, and address any potential confusion about their 3 driver lineup (true story: PING also has 3 distinct offerings in their lineup, yet nobody seems too upset about it). They put out that handy little chart above, and they've released a Callaway Talks Segment that discusses where each of the 3 drivers in their lineup fits in the larger market.

It's not ground-breaking stuff. Videos aren't new. Golf companies talking about their own products isn't new either, but what Callaway is doing better than anyone right now is bringing the golfer into the conversation. This Callaway Talks Episode is just one really good example of many recent examples. I'm not sure how well this approach is resonating with the offline consumer (guess is slow momentum, but not a single-handed game-changer), and I'm not sure how sustainable the approach is, but for now it has created the momentum.

JohnBarry · July 9, 2013

blah

apprenti23 · July 9, 2013

I bet if they released all options at the same time it'd be understood more by the consumer. I don't think that's be. A good business decision by them though. Idk you like to think that they already know how many different drivers they're going to release a couple years ahead, so why not let the public know ahead of time?

Tony Covey MGS · July 9, 2013

I bet if they released all options at the same time it'd be understood more by the consumer. I don't think that's be. A good business decision by them though. Idk you like to think that they already know how many different drivers they're going to release a couple years ahead, so why not let the public know ahead of time?

Pretty simple, I'd guess. You can't let the public know what's coming without letting your competitors know what's coming too. If you're competing for market share you have to trickle (rather than release everything at once). As I said in the TMaG post yesterday, nothing kills momentum for a new product like a newer product. If your competitors know what's coming, and when it's coming, it's much easier to kill the momentum (especially for these mid-season releases, which generally more niche-type products).

RoverRick · July 10, 2013

PING also has 3 distinct offerings in their lineup, yet nobody seems too upset about it.

You are right there. Ping, IMHO, has done an excellent jog of creating the G and the I lines, although I am not sure where the K comes in. What is the greatest about them is they have stuck with the same nomenclature to the point where the huddled masses of golfers are not confused by what to get. G = Game improvement I = better players. Ok, I got it. No chart needed.

Callaway, Opti Fit, Razr Fit, X Hot, Pro, Hex, Extremes, blah, blah, blah

TMag, R1, Rocketballz, Rocketbladez, Penta, Lethal, blah, blah, blah

They are adding confusion with the cutesy names. Take Titleist Pro V1. This is now the fifth or sixth generation of that ball and to the educated you can tell the difference, but the weekend hacker would not know the difference in a 2013 and 332. Yet because they have continuity in the nomenclature they are still number one. Whether they deserve it or not is a matter of opinion. Ping is the same way.

Man-Shop.

I made this word up for how men like to shop. One time I was needing some new pants. Half time of the football game came on, I went to the store, bought a pair of khaki, grey, and black slacks and the only reason I missed the second half kickoff was because I stopped at McDonald's and also got lunch. I will spend hours in the golf store, but every time I see one of my friends with new clubs I ask about their buying experience. The overwhelming majority man-shopped their new club. Walked in the store grabbed the I15 of G25 or Titleist 9(this year). I ask "Did you even hit it?" "Oh, Frankie had one at the scramble Wednesday and I hit his." Did he have the same shaft? "Don't know but it was black."

It hard to say that Callaway and TMag are missing the boat since they are number 1 and 2 (?) but all these names confusing to the uninformed.