Summer is in full swing so the equipment front is a bit quiet, but I’ve found a few interesting tidbits to hold you over this upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend.
This week’s Bag Drop takes a look at the departure of a putter maker, a free Scotty Cameron putter (sort of), the merging of two companies, and what the future of pro shops could look like.
Grace is Gone
In a surprising move, Bobby Grace has resigned from MacGregor Golf, effective immediately (those two words to describe someone leaving a company is never good). MacGregor Golf will “retain ownership of all trademarks and other rights associated with Bobby Grace Putters and the name Bobby Grace.”
This will be an interesting development not only for the future of the Bobby Grace line for MacGregor Golf but also what happens to Bobby Grace himself (how do you sell a putter if you can’t use your name?). Stay tuned to see how this all shakes out.
Scotty’s Gamer
For those of you who don’t want to plunk down several hundred (or thousand) for a Scotty Cameron putter, you can drop your name in the hat to win his gamer as well as some other assorted Scotty swag.
Talk about getting the Cameron fans all riled up for summer. Perhaps Scotty goes through the same revolving putters scenario the rest of us golfers do and rather than putting this one in the penalty box, he simply giving it up to his fans.
I give the winner a week before it’s up on eBay for some unbelievably ridiculous price.
Cleveland/Srixon Merge
In an interesting twist, Srixon and Cleveland merge into the Cleveland HQ in Huntington Beach, California with the folks at Cleveland overseeing not only their brand of equipment and the Never Compromise line of putters, but the Srixon line as well. Why interesting? Well, Srixon (their parent, SRI Sports Limited) bought Cleveland Golf not too long ago.
Cleveland is still a big name in the United States so it would seem to make sense to roll them together as opposed to having two different entities with separate sales forces. Perhaps you’ll see some more Srixon offerings at your favorite golf shop.
Pro Shop Outsourcing
Speaking of golf shops, this partnership is one that is well, a bit odd. Turns out the business wasn’t very good for the pro shop at Gold Creek so they partnered up with one of the largest golf retailers around, Edwin Watts. Edwin Watts supplies the merchandise for the pro shop while the employees at Gold Creek are responsible for day-to-day operations.
It’s very rare that two competitors would form a partnership like this and I wonder what the future holds not only for the big box golf retailers but for pro shops across the country. Will we see more pro shops going to this arrangement rather than staying independent? Will we see the end to outrageous prices for golf balls at pro shops (that would be nice)?
Final Thoughts
Fourth of July weekend is fast approaching and I don’t know about your neck of the woods but this seems to be a great week (and weekend) to get out as there are quite a few deals to be found on greens fees at several courses I frequent (18 plus a cart for $22.95!). Hopefully there are good deals to be found at courses in your area as well.
Have a safe and Happy Fourth of July holiday. And keep it in the short grass.
Alan,
As always, I enjoyed your article. You must be talking about the deal at Princeton GC. Are there others, with the same deal?
Thanks for the info on Mr. Grace. How about Bobby’s new putter being called “Amazing Grace?”