Acushnet Launches "Union Green" Company

[Wally Fairway]

I'm waiting for mygolfspy.com to tell me if these are closest to ProV1's, Velocity, AVX, Pinnacle, TrueFeel, etc.

Because I'm pretty certain they didn't come up with 2 completely new golf balls for people who just like to kinda play golf

[cristphoto]

On 2/9/2020 at 7:11 AM, boogielicious said:

At this price point, I think they are going after on line companies like Snell and Vice versus the hipster crowd. $28 a dozen is not pricey. It is a part of the market where they are vulnerable because the don’t do internet sales with the ProV1 direct to consumers. My company decided to do the same thing when we lost shares to internet sales.

I don’t think Titleist would do direct to consumer with the ProV1 lines.

When you add in shipping costs it loses its appeal.  Remember these are surlyn balls.  Too many good deals on urethane balls for me to take a serious look at this.  My guess is the market they're going after is looking for lowest cost (Target, Walmart).  

Edited February 11, 2020 by cristphoto

[cutchemist42]

Just saw their release now. Wow it was so lame and cringey......

[tinker]

They would have done better marketing to the “made in USA “ crowd. Maybe sign a marketing deal with Pabst brewing and call the balls Blue Ribbon.

[WillieT]

I first saw this on MGS' site earlier in the week.  My first thought was American Eagle has sold their logo to Acushnet (especially the TeeBird line).  My mind had flashbacks to my sons growing up in the first part of this century buried in AE and all the other "hipster" clothing brands.  I honestly believe Acushnet does see the DTC market rising as a tidal wave in the distance that will adversely affect their long term bottom line.  With the UG brand they are looking to build the surf board that will ride the wave to an even better long-term bottom line.  Having been in the purchasing side for a corporation prior to retirement I saw the "big" boys take on the upstarts with "me too" campaigns over and over.  Most of the time they won as end-users would choose remain "loyal" to the big boys in the long run.  The website, copy, video are all designed to emote a sense of connectivity to a generation whose brand loyalty is perceived to be about as deep as their most recent cup of Starbucks.  In the long-run Acushnet is looking to be hip-old guys who also basically own the entire market.  Its marketing 101 at its best.     

[lastings]

On 2/9/2020 at 8:25 AM, snapfade said:

"Golf has the power to unite us all. Union Green is for the people who head to the first tee just as they are and love to play the game on their own terms. All are welcome."

This is how they get you. Its how socialism starts, it slowly creeps into the things you enjoy. They make you, the life long golfer, who respects the traditions of the game, the rules, the etiquette and so forth to feel guilty and that you are wrong for doing so. It's ok if people want to play the game on their own terms. You have to be sensitive to their feelings and their understanding of what is right and wrong. You can not judge someone because they bring their dog on the course or don't follow the rule book. How dare you!! In fact, I think that we should pay their green fees because they have to spend 40 bucks on a t-shirt and 12 dollars for a campfire mug. Im off to buy one of everything they have, and I encourage you to do the same, if you do not, then you are racist.

what?

[lastings]

Interesting amounts of backlash here.    Similar to the fella above, I don't really get it.  

did you think Acushnet wasn't going to enter the DTC market at some point?  Are you really that turned off by their marketing campaign?  It's pretty simple, they are trying to capture a corner of the market that they don't already own with Titleist.  There's frisbee golfers that wanna get down on real golf too.   That's who they are trying to sell to.   not people to go to golf forums.   They already sell us plenty of ProV1s.  

[Double Mocha Man]

On 2/9/2020 at 6:25 AM, snapfade said:

This is how they get you. Its how socialism starts, it slowly creeps into the things you enjoy. 

I don't think George Carlin agrees with you about socialism and golf.  😀

 

[snapfade]

8 hours ago, lastings said:

Interesting amounts of backlash here.    Similar to the fella above, I don't really get it.  

did you think Acushnet wasn't going to enter the DTC market at some point?  Are you really that turned off by their marketing campaign?  It's pretty simple, they are trying to capture a corner of the market that they don't already own with Titleist.  There's frisbee golfers that wanna get down on real golf too.   That's who they are trying to sell to.   not people to go to golf forums.   They already sell us plenty of ProV1s.  

That was just me goofing around.

[Bonvivant]

As someone who falls into the age category that this is marketed towards, this looks more like a "bro" iteration of Vice. I think that Vice would appeal to hipsters more, especially since its name is edgier and not affiliated with a large golf conglomerate. I suppose some people's definition of hipster may vary, but with high white socks, shorts and Hawaiian shirts it looks like "Chad and Blake" more than some version of hipster, which I always looked at as psuedo-dirtbags. 

I don't think this will go well for them, but then again there are probably a good deal of people that fit the mold they are looking to hit. The question is, will they play golf? The website reminds me of the youtube channel "gm golf" and his cronies, where as Vice makes me think of EAL, who I think is more hipster (I also enjoy his content more than gm) and obviously Vice's largest asset. 

For reference, I'm a reformed hipster of the early 2010s (2010 to 2012 or so), so my vision of what a hipster is is kind of stuck in that time frame. Hopefully this gives some insight to the older crowd from a younger perspective that this is targeted towards. 

P.S. no offence meant to those named Chad or Blake, or anyone in the older crowd.

[MGN]

I saw two models of Union Green balls at the pro shop yesterday.  Both did not have any information on the type of ball I was looking at.  Did it have a urethane cover, ionomer cover, compression, what kind of swing speed....nothing!!  One of the two had some snake/dragon type design and the other one I can't remember except that it had a blue ink cover packaging; the packaging managed to get my attention but I stopped short of buying a sleeve for not knowing what kind of ball I was looking at.

I am not sure what market they are targeting.  Any golfer worth his/her salt would want to know what kind of ball one is buying; at least mention a swing speed range or type of cover on the ball.  I'm stumped with this marketing strategy.

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, MGN said:

Any golfer worth his/her salt would want to know what kind of ball one is buying; at least mention a swing speed range or type of cover on the ball.  I'm stumped with this marketing strategy.

I think you discovered the secret. They are not targeting the informed golfer. They are going after a different segment.

[dsc123]

They're targeting golfers who like to have fun.  You know, the ones who like snakes and dragons. 

[bwdial]

13 hours ago, dsc123 said:

They're targeting golfers who like to have fun.  You know, the ones who like snakes and dragons. 

I play with a friend like this.  He played Slazenger Money balls, Strata Boom and Voodoo balls, and pretty much any other obnoxious name.

Those have all been discontinued, probably because his demographic is really, really narrow.

[Groucho Valentine]

Whats a hipster golf ball? Does it wait until its lost in the woods to ask you for more money so nobody second guesses that it lives in a $2500 a month apt in Brooklyn on a baristas salary? 

[paperclip]

Well, I am a Titleist guy, but in this case, I don't really care what they do as it doesn't really affect me.