Are you brand biased?

**Bullitt5339** · February 7, 2010

I just have a simple question for you guys:

At the range today, I was talking to a few other golfers who were there while I was taking a break. One of them asked what I was hitting, so I showed him the bag.

He made a comment that I found very strange. He asked me a question about my choice of clubs, since I have a bunch of different manufacturer's clubs in my bag. I told him when I go to buy a new club, I go in and hit as many as I can, regardless of brand name, and whichever one I hit the best is what I buy, regardless of brand name.

He made a comment that he would only buy clubs from Callaway, and that's what he preferred, and everything in his bag was Callaway except for his putter, which was a Scotty Cameron.

My thoughts are that since I'm not getting paid to play a certain brand of club, I want what I hit the best in the bag, who cares is every club is from a different manufacturer. Just wondering if this is common practice, or do most of you stick to a single brand name throughout the bag?

DuffMan · February 7, 2010

Being biased towards a single brand is the single worst thing a golfer can do, I know this because I was guilty of it. When I upgraded my set a couple years back I was so set on buying a certain brand that I disregarded how well I hit with other clubs and went with my loyalty. Now, I hate my clubs and finally realize that matching your driver, irons, wedges, balls, and bag is a terrible idea. The best thing anybody can do when trying out new clubs is to disrgard brand names and get what works best, unfortunately most people don't do this.

**Mrd19abhs** · February 7, 2010

Currently in my bag it would seem as if i am brand biased cause i have a Callaway hyper x driver and Callaway x18 irons but in all actuallity im not. I do just what you do and hit as many clubs as possible to find out what i hit best. I normally would get a demo club and play a round with it or just hit the simulator at my local golf shop. It took me 3 months to figure out what clubs I was gonna buy for myself. I previously was using my step dads old ben hogans and then when I and started playing 2+ times a month I decieded I was gonna get my own. I think you are correct that most ppl are brand biased tho.

**nike_golf** · February 7, 2010

Ummmmm, possibly.

Shocking as this may sound, there aren't many Nike golf fans out there. Since I tend to be different and not afraid to make a bit of a statement, I choose to game Nike equipment.

Plus, I honestly think their equipment is great. I wouldn't "be different" just for the sake of being different, I mean, the stuff has to be good too.

**Zeph** · February 7, 2010

Kinda I guess, but mostly I rule out brands. Some brands I just don't like, so chances are scarce that I'll buy any of their equipment. Still got a lot of good brands that I can pick from. Currently got four different brands on the clubs. I don't care about keeping the same brand on everything, I want good clubs that I feel comfortable with.

**uttexas** · February 7, 2010

I'm frugal, so I usually end up with clubs that aren't the most popular. The companies that spend mucho dinero on advertising have to mark up the price of their products.
However, if there is a hot club or ball that lives up to the hype and proves itself to outperform others in the marketplace, I'll end up buying it second hand or wait until it goes on sale in a year or two.

For example, when the '07 Burner came out, I couldn't rationalize spending $300+ on a single club. However, some of my friends bought it and I witnessed firsthand the dramatic increase in their driving distance. I ended up purchasing an '07 Burner last year for $100.

**DonW** · February 7, 2010

I am definitely biased, it all started in 1968 when I would dream of buying a full set of Wilson Staff Dynapower irons, (when I was a kid Wilson clubs were the ultimate but I never had the money) took me over 30 years but I have a set to hang on my wall now. When I go looking for clubs I start with Wilsons but will and have played other brands, they are dissapearing from the market around here so I may need to switch brands in future club purchases. I do play Titeilist driver and woods currently and don't foresee making any changes with my bag in the near future. I have stocked up on 8802 putters as I have never found another putter brand or style that I like better. There are so many great clubmakers now we don't know how good we have it, I am sure I could find a model from nearly any brand that I would enjoy playing with.

**WUTiger** · February 8, 2010

...My thoughts are that since I'm not getting paid to play a certain brand of club, I want what I hit the best in the bag, who cares is every club is from a different manufacturer. Just wondering if this is common practice, or do most of you stick to a single brand name throughout the bag?

I played Pro Tour irons (very hearty Ping Eye2 clones) for 14 years, along with assorted metal woods. When I begain switching out in Fall 1998, I knew it was time to dump Stiff for Regular, and tried lots of brands of clubs. I ended up with a lot of Callaway stuff, but Callaway won in an open audition against lots of other clubs.

Woods: Tried several drivers here and there in Fall, the tested six on luanch monitor during Thanksgiving time. Hyper-X Tour tied the Cleveland HiBore XLS Red on the printout, but the Callaway felt better and was easier to set up. Irons: Tried full range of Ping, Titleist and Callaway. I10 had the early lead, but felt klunky compared to others. AP2 felt great, but would have cost $1,200 for shaft combo I needed; plus my swing was under rebuild. Finally got X20 - felt good and got super deal on slightly used set. It's confusing because there are probably a half dozen iron models I could play well if they had the proper shaft. I do like Cleveland wedges, and have one. Basically, I track Ping, Titleist and Callaway clubs. These three make good clubs, and I compare among them. But, I don't have time to hit every club in the kingdom. (Have played Tour Edge woods in past, might consider them too)

aceofharts336 · February 8, 2010

I am willing to hit any brand that is recommended to me. During my last iron fitting, my pro recommended several irons and in the end my choices came down to Mizuno and Adams. While I was willing to hit many different brands during my fitting, I ended up choosing Mizuno because I "felt more confident" with the name Mizuno in my bag instead of Adams.

8urVTEC · February 8, 2010

I will say that i go in looking for clubs with a bias and other companies really need to "win me over." and thats just from past experience. I know that I hit mizuno better than other clubs, so when i go looking for new stuff, usually the first place i look is mizuno. now if i hit something better ill go with it, like my driver, i hit my taylormade much better than my old t-zoid driver. but i go in with a different mindset about mizuno, its hard to explain, but i know how theyve performed for me in the past, so they kind of have a leg up i guess

**Fastrack** · February 8, 2010

Bias can be developed over time based on good or bad experience (or impression) with brands. However, I am trying my best to test as much as I can before making purchase decision.

**WUTiger** · February 8, 2010

Correction on my earlier post:

I played Pro Tour irons (very hearty Ping Eye2 clones) for 14 years, along with assorted metal woods. When I begain switching out in Fall 1998, I knew it was time to dump Stiff for Regular, and tried lots of brands of clubs. I ended up with a lot of Callaway stuff, but Callaway won in an open audition against lots of other clubs.

I began switching out clubs in 2008, NOT 1998.

**peter draggin** · February 8, 2010

I have always played what ever has worked best for me, sometimes it may have seemed biased but it was really based upon performance at that particular point and time.

**etlreams** · February 8, 2010

I'll be the first to admitt that I am absolutely brand bias.

I prefer to think of it as brand LOYAL.

I do this with most things I love. For my instruments, I only play Fender, Martin and Gibson. For photography, I only shoot with Nikon. For vehicles, I tend to only buy Chevy. For fishing, I like Quantum reals. For golf, I seem to only play Callaway for woods/metals and Titleist for irons and wedges.

I am brand loyal because once I find a company that does right by me, I stick with them. I may miss out on opportunities that may better fit my game, but at the end of the day, I will feel more COMFORTABLE and therefore CONFIDENT in a brand that I trust. And that confidence boost, for me, will outweigh any technological advancement that may "better" fit my game.

**GaijinGolfer** · February 8, 2010

I am brand biased (mostly towards Titliest and Mizuno), but thats because Ive experimented with various different brands and go with what I like best. Just as you could say that you arent obligated to play all the same brand, you cant exactly hate on someone for liking a certain brand and sticking with that brand.
Just because they like one brand, doesnt mean that they havent tried out different brands and found that brand x just suits them best.

**Dub** · February 8, 2010

Kinda I guess, but mostly I rule out brands. Some brands I just don't like, so chances are scarce that I'll buy any of their equipment. Still got a lot of good brands that I can pick from. Currently got four different brands on the clubs. I don't care about keeping the same brand on everything, I want good clubs that I feel comfortable with.

I agree.

It would be like only dating blondes. Too many other great chok

**Shanks A Million** · February 8, 2010

For my instruments, I only play Fender, Martin and Gibson.

Ha, nice. I have a couple of Fenders, although I don't know about

endorsements with them, as much as I like the ones I have. You probably wouldn't like them, they're very, very old... I think the only company I could sign with would be Yamaha (piano and bass, both of which I already 'endorse' in the sense I use them publicly, and on recordings). I've worked with guys who had endorsement contracts for different companies, and there are some perks, but most of those are relegated to things like strings, drum heads, and other perishables. As for golf equipment, any club is good as long as it fits you. Get them fitted with the right head, shaft, grips, and lie angles, and you really can't go wrong. I play the clubs I do because they are fitted to me, brand is totally irrelevant.

**Wazzu8** · February 8, 2010

Based on my bag, no not at all.

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