TaylorMade made in China

[FHopper]

09 Burner 6 iron reg graphite

My others were as you said, made in China assembled in USA, I am worried more jobs have been lost.

[Golfaway]

I've seen an R9 with one of our club members, it had a sticker on the shaft saying "Head made in China, shaft made in China, assemlbed in China". I was really surpirsed.
My HiBore XLS had a sticker saying head and shaft made in China but assembled in the US.

[wolverine_man]

Quality-wise, I see no reason for concern with regards to a club being Chinese manufactured and assembled in China vs the same Chinese manufactured club being assembled in the U.S. It's still a Chinese club. Plus, I assume I could teach even a monkey how to grip and glue a club together.

As far as U.S. jobs go, yes, there is a HUGE difference and I am all for keeping more jobs in the U.S.

[GaijinGolfer]

TM is a corporation who has an obligation to it's investors to make money. If they can move their production to China and save some money on labor costs, you can bet they will do it.
Besides, Taylormade in a German company; so why do they have any obligation to make anything in the U.S.?

[GaijinGolfer]

Isn't Mizuno a Japanese company so it is okay that they are made in Japan

Yup, Mizuno is a Japanese company but the only thing they make in Japan are the heads on the forged irons.

The heads of the cast irons, hybrids and woods are all made in China and the clubs are assembled in the U.S.

[Bo the Golfer]

i always thought titleist was a US company but i might be wrong

They are-based right here in Mass as a matter of fact but that says nothing about where their product is made. I used to work for the Greg Norman Collection which was owned by Reebok then Adidas and then MacGregor before I left. All of these companies make their goods overseas which is certainly a shame but does keep the already inflated prices lower than they would be.

[wolverine_man]

TM is a corporation who has an obligation to it's investors to make money. If they can move their production to China and save some money on labor costs, you can bet they will do it.

I never said there was some kind of "obligation" to make anything in the U.S.? Well, at least not one that is purely economical in nature. I understand the whole "greed is good," Gordon Gecko/Adam Smith economics argument. Trust me, I took a lot of econ courses in college and law school.

However, unless Taylor Made is posting some kind of record losses - and maybe they are - I am sure they can make plenty enough money employing U.S. workers to assemble the clubs. After all, that is what they had been doing in years past, and they have somehow managed to be profitable. I furthermore think that the general consumer, when available as an option, will often pay a bit more for a quality made product if they know they are helping keep their fellow American workers on the job. This is precisely why I purchase suits at Brooks Brothers and not at Bachrach. Ditto for Allen Edmonds shoes, Foot Joy Classics, New Balance 991s, Levis Premium Jeans, Mag Lites, etc. (Caveat: I do not believe, however, that this argument holds as true for the automotive industry. Perhaps, one day, it will). That is to also say, if Cleveland offers two identical wedges, Wedge A, which is made in China, and Wedge B, which is made in the USA, and where the price of A is $90 and the price of B is $120, I will buy wedge B every single time. You better believe it. Call this a "moral obligation", if you will.

[microcrayfish]

I never said there was some kind of "obligation" to make anything in the U.S.? Well, at least not one that is purely economical in nature. I understand the whole "greed is good," Gordon Gecko/Adam Smith economics argument. Trust me, I took a lot of econ courses in college and law school.

Did you miss the part about Taylormade being a German company now? There's no "moral obligation" to save American jobs when the parent company isn't even American.

[wolverine_man]

Did you miss the part about Taylormade being a German company now? There's no "moral obligation" to save American jobs when the parent company isn't even American.

Okay, so substitute MacGregor for Taylor Made.

[iacas]

Okay, so substitute MacGregor for Taylor Made.

MacGregor? They don't even really exist anymore.

http://thesandtrap.com/bag_drop/macg...d_by_golfsmith

[wolverine_man]

That is to also say, if Cleveland offers two identical wedges, Wedge A, which is made in China, and Wedge B, which is made in the USA, and where the price of A is $90 and the price of B is $120, I will buy wedge B every single time. You better believe it. Call this a "moral obligation", if you will.

MacGregor does exist. It is an American company as well, which was recently sold to Golf Smith. Apparently, you did not see my example of Cleveland Golf ^^, which is a California-based corporation.

[kafka01]

Did you miss the part about Taylormade being a German company now? There's no "moral obligation" to save American jobs when the parent company isn't even American.

That might be a bit shortsighted - Taylormade is still very much a US company, with its headquarters in CA - they dont even have an offical office in Germany. And if you order stuff from them, they ship it, from the US. So most of the Admin and R&D-jobs; are in the US and will stay there, since thats their core market.

As far as production & assembly goes - well - grab the next thing off your desk and look where its made - i bet you its produced in some low-cost country. Thats just how it works nowadays.

[wolverine_man]

That might be a bit shortsighted - Taylormade is still very much a US company, with its headquarters in CA - they dont even have an offical office in Germany. And if you order stuff from them, they ship it, from the US. So most of the Admin and R&D-jobs; are in the US and will stay there, since thats their core market.

This coming from someone who LIVES in Germany, so there. Great info! True, the only things at my desk right now made in the U.S. are my table lamp, a pair of Fiskars scissors, my Swingline stapler, and the Herman Miller Aeron chair I am sitting on which I am happy to say was made 20 minutes from where I live in Zeeland, Michigan. All great products, by the way.

[Clambake]

That might be a bit shortsighted - Taylormade is still very much a US company, with its headquarters in CA - they dont even have an offical office in Germany. And if you order stuff from them, they ship it, from the US. So most of the Admin and R&D-jobs; are in the US and will stay there, since thats their core market.

Uh, except for the fact that Taylormade is a subsidiary of Adidas AG, which is very much a German company. Taylormade's US offices are in Carlsbad CA, but the company is very German owned and controlled. Distribution in the US is indeed handled from the US, but if you order TaylorMade gear in Europe or Asia it does not come through the US, it comes through the regional distribution channels.

[kafka01]

Uh, except for the fact that Taylormade is a subsidiary of Adidas AG, which is very much a German company. Taylormade's

I think this goes in the wrong direction tbh. We could discuss endless about that topic without ever reaching a conclusion, what is german about Taylormade and what not. But i think that misses the point.

So lets take this into another direction. Think of Miura - they are producing and assembling all their clubheads/clubs in Japan - and whats the cost of doing this? You´ll get a set of irons for a bit over 1100 USD. If you look at Golfsmith - a set of Taylormade TP irons with steel shafts produced in China will cost you around 900 USD. That makes me wonder - it doesnt seem, that production costs are making that much of a difference - so is there really a need to outsource every kind of production step to low cost countries instead of "making it at home" to still reasonable prices? Would you as customer pay 20 % more if you knew it was manufactured in the US and kept jobs instead of outsourcing them to some "workbench" country. By doing so - you cost of living would increase obv., and you would have to scale back on other things you could have afforded otherwise. That imo is much more debatable...

[GaijinGolfer]

However, unless Taylor Made is posting some kind of record losses - and maybe they are - I am sure they can make plenty enough money employing U.S. workers to assemble the clubs. After all, that is what they had been doing in years past, and they have somehow managed to be profitable.

Actually, if they made the clubs 100% in the USA they would be posting record losses because of the labor costs.

Its much the same as why Acushnet stopped making the Footjoy Classics and shut down their only remaining US shoe plant and why they recently announced plans to build a golfball plant in Asia.

I furthermore think that the general consumer, when available as an option, will often pay a bit more for a quality made product if they know they are helping keep their fellow American workers on the job. This is precisely why I purchase suits at Brooks Brothers and not at Bachrach. Ditto for Allen Edmonds shoes, Foot Joy Classics, New Balance 991s, Levis Premium Jeans, Mag Lites, etc. (Caveat: I do not believe, however, that this argument holds as true for the automotive industry. Perhaps, one day, it will). That is to also say, if Cleveland offers two identical wedges, Wedge A, which is made in China, and Wedge B, which is made in the USA, and where the price of A is $90 and the price of B is $120, I will buy wedge B every single time. You better believe it. Call this a "moral obligation", if you will.

A lot of people dont think that way though. They couldnt care less where it was made, as long as it works. Also, if the Chinese made one is $90 and the US made on is $120; the Chinese one would outsell the American one simply because its cheaper.

Also, what makes you think someone is of better quality just because its American-made? Take cars for example. American cars until very recently had major quality issues. Just because something is American, that doesnt make it better. Im all for buying American but your statements imply a certain level of ignorance.

[Harry SasQuatch]

A lot of people dont think that way though. They couldnt care less where it was made, as long as it works. Also, if the Chinese made one is $90 and the US made on is $120; the Chinese one would outsell the American one simply because its cheaper.

This is why every Walmart in the US is packed. The American public want everything cheap but unionize and demand that the guy in the factory squirting glue all day receive 52 bucks an hour to do so. The management has to find a way to save money in order to still get their share. This could be cutting corners and reducing quality or outsourcing labor to China. Bottom line is everyone wants too much money and doesn't want to do any work. We've moved away from manufacturing for years now, the golf club industry is no different. It's great to want to give back to the US but it isn't always the best product and it doesn't mean that the majority of the population thinks that way - hence Walmart.

[wolverine_man]

Actually, if they made the clubs 100% in the USA they would be posting record losses because of the labor costs.

Apparently, you missed the part where I said that the idea does not hold true for everything, and used the example of cars. Anyway . . . buy what you like. I do like the Miura Taylor Made example. Also, how about the Chinese made Air Jordans versus the U.S. made New Balance running shoes? Different types of shoe, BUT both around the same price. Actually, the Jordans are probably $20 to $30 more expensive and have about 1/20th of the labor cost. That there is pure profit greed, completely unnecessary by a company based out of Oregon.