What happened to Mizuno irons?

[reif99]

A lot of pros used to use Mizuno irons. Tiger Woods used them when he first came on tour. The only one now using them as far as I can tell is Luke Donald.

So, what's happened to the Mizuno brand?

[Shindig]

A lot of pros used to use Mizuno irons. Tiger Woods used them when he first came on tour. The only one now using them as far as I can tell is Luke Donald.

Well, it isn't just Luke Donald. Jonathan Byrd, Lee Janzen, and Brian Gay also use them, as do a few others.

Here's the deal: in the Tiger Woods era, it isn't just big names like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson who get equipment contracts. Just about anyone with a Tour card can get one, and most do. That most pros used them when they weren't paid to do so says a great deal about Mizuno. But Titleist pays more than Mizuno does to the pros who use their equipment.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

A lot of pros used to use Mizuno irons. Tiger Woods used them when he first came on tour. The only one now using them as far as I can tell is Luke Donald...

Tiger used

Titleist irons, not Mizuno, when he first came on tour. Even after he signed a contract with Mizuno he had Titleist irons in a Mizuno bag until Mizuno was able to provide irons that satisfied him.

[TinCupTampa]

Tiger used

I think you have that backwards. He always played Mizunos. At Stanford and his first years on tour he played a mixed set of Mizunos:

2I - 4I MP-29 5I - PW MP-14 Even today, the rumor from our local rep is that the Nikes he is playing are Mizunos with a Nike stamp on them just like the "Titleist" irons he was using when he was under contract with them.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

I think you have that backwards. He always played Mizunos. At Stanford and his first years on tour he played a mixed set of Mizunos:

Thanks. My pathetic brain get turned around . . . my bad.

[RichF]

I think you have that backwards. He always played Mizunos. At Stanford and his first years on tour he played a mixed set of Mizunos:

Yep - the story of

'Titleist-copied-Mizuno-to-sign-Tiger-so-surely-Nike-did-the-same' always rears it's head on many golf forums and it always ends up like a dog chasing it's own tail.

[Lefty731PM]

.

They are continuing to make some of the most highly regarded irons you can buy. Check the reviews and the number of good players on this site who choose them and PAY for them.

[tonyy]

They are continuing to make some of the most highly regarded irons you can buy. Check the reviews and the number of good players on this site who choose them and PAY for them.

Yup. It means A LOT when a pro pays for their clubs instead.

[Lemay427]

I like them although I might try the AP2s

[BSweet]

Everyone knows Callaway is taking over the world.

[TinCupTampa]

Everyone knows Callaway is taking over the world.

They wont with their 2009 line... thats for sure.

[erwintrace08]

Well, it isn't just Luke Donald. Jonathan Byrd, Lee Janzen, and Brian Gay also use them, as do a few others.

I agree with you. When you are traveling playing tournaments all the time, it gets very expensive. Most of the players use the endorsement funds to pay for their airfare, food, agents, everything basically.

I did hear from multiple sources close to the Asian market that the Japanese do not pay very well for endorsements and that is why they are not that dominant here in the US in terms of equipment. This is probably seen with the change you guys are mentioning with Mizuno. Great clubs, but not paying out that much. If you have heard of Honma or Fourteen, these companies are huge in Asia. They are starting to market here, but the pros don't use them because a lot has to do with the $$$ . If you want to see what Japan offers in terms of clubs, check this site out. Drivers are even $795! Maybe that's why they don't make it over here. Even different Taylor Made & Titleist line. The bags and accessories are sweet too! I ordered a TM Old School POM headcover from them which was only release there: www.tourspecgolf.com Thanks, e

[TinCupTampa]

Tour Edge doesnt very well at all because they simply dont have a budget for it. But, their exotics xcg line is by far the best I have ever played in terms of woods.

They have numerous people on the tours playing their clubs for free.

[goblue107501]

As most have said...it comes down to the dollars. A few years ago at the local Nationwide Tour event I got friendly with a Titleist staffer and asked him the same thing. This was a guy who is a great iron player and was usually in the top-10 in GIR regardless of the tour. He was using the Titleist 690 CB (I think) and I asked him which clubs he actually preferred. He said that he preferred one of the Mizuno lines at the time, but Titleist gave him better support and sponsorship so he pretty much had to go with them. I don't even think he was getting paid all that much, but there was a support trailer at every event and he was able to go to the fitting place in California whenever he needed to.

I recently bought a new set and decided on Titleist mostly because of the local support I got from one of the club pros in the area. I didn't have many options on Mizuno demo clubs (even though I almost got them anyway). Most of it comes down to marketing and local use when you get to the regular golfers. There may be one place in my area that you could hit a Taylor Made club, so I didn't even consider them in my decision. The biggest around here are Ping and Titleist with a little Callaway mixed in. Some areas might be big on other brands so you see a lot of them on the course. I think a lot of it has to do with your local market.

[N.V.M.]

i don't know about you guys, but i am in no way influenced by what my favourite players use for clubs. either that or i'm secretly a huge fan of Mark Calcavecchia(Ping i5's and a Callaway product).

whew, that took some research...

[Zeph]

I don't care too much what the pros use. It's not like I'm anywhere near their skill level. The truth is that Mizuno is one of the highest regarder brands on the market, that's why my next iron set most likely will be Mizuno. What clubs they use on the tour is all about money and sponsors. Every brand got enough models and people to design clubs for any tour player, it's just a matter of which sponsor the player says yes to.

[G10_Jamie]

So what can an average tour pro earn from a club contract?
I am just curious, is it $50K? More, less?
What about someone (other than Tiger) in say the top 25 golfers?

Do the guys on the Nationwide Tour get cash to play their clubs?


Thanks

jamie

[Lefty731PM]

So what can an average tour pro earn from a club contract?

I read that Titleist asked Davis Love a year or so ago when they were renewing his contract what his goals were and he said "To win tournaments".

They said that that was good enough for them. I think it wa $44 million over ten years. So you can assume that guys like Mickelson would be close to double that. I am guessing that players like Kim, Scott and Garcia would get well in excess of $10 million per year when you loook at their annual incomes. Tournament winnings are a tiny percentage. They like to have the "Big 3" contracts as well" Car, Credit Card, Watch. These are 2006 figures. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...n24217221/pg_4 2006 ON OFF NAME RANK COURSE COURSE 1. Tiger Woods 1 $22,902,705 $99,800,000 2. Phil Mickelson 2 $9,372,585 $40,200,000 3. Vijay Singh 4 $6,506,678 $25,250,000 4. Ernie Els 7 $5,153,430 $24,500,000 5. Arnold Palmer 3 $50,000 $29,500,000 6. Greg Norman 5 $6,028 $24,000,000 7. Jack Nicklaus 9 $160,000 $20,750,000 8. Sergio Garcia 11 $4,501,622 $14,500,000 9. Jim Furyk 8 $4,754,045 $11,000,000 10. Padraig Harrington 14 $4,939,354 $9,250,000 11. Retief Goosen 10 $2,330,763 $10,550,000 12. Michelle Wie 6 $9,899 $12,500,000 13. Adam Scott 12 $4,239,743 $8,100,000 14. Colin Montgomerie 15 $3,246,782 $7,550,000 15. Annika Sorenstam 13 $584,789 $9,500,000 16. John Daly 17 $448,132 $9,250,000 17. K. J. Choi 24 $5,832,042 $3,700,000 18. Davis Love III 16 $1,221,489 $8,000,000 19. Rory Sabbatini 41 $6,318,556 $2,850,000 20. Steve Stricker NB $7,663,077 $1,500,000 21. Justin Rose NR $5,757,414 $3,225,000 22. Zach Johnson 34 $4,822,338 $3,200,000 23. Angel Cabrera NR $3,910,313 $4,000,000 24. Lee Westwood NR $2,477,287 $4,750,000 25. Charles Howel1 III 33 $3,157,491 $3,725,000 25. Henrik Stenson 45 $3,557,590 $3,180,000 27. Tom Watson NR $1,429,715 $5,350,000 26. Mike Weir 19 $2,178,785 $4,600,000 29. Aaron Baddeley NR $4,294,940 $2,475,000 30. David Toms 20 $2,315,837 $4,050,000 31. Luke Donald 21 $3,018,154 $3,275,000 32. Lorena Ochoa 49 $4,364,994 $1,900,000 33. Trevor Immelman 18 $2,222,543 $4,000,000 34. Geoff Ogilvy 73 $4,122,715 $1,875,000 35. Scott Verplank 27 $3,384,289 $2,450,000 35. Justin Leonard 30 $2,079,248 $3,575,000 37. Paula Creamer 15 $1,384,298 $4,275,000 36. Nick Faldo NR $28,873 $5,550,000 39. Ian Poulter NR $2,887,681 $2,575,000 40. Fred Couples 21 $537,085 $4,750,000 41. Mark Calcavecchia NR $3,593,332 $1,600,000 42. Gary Player 37 $22,386 $5,070,000