equipment sponsors

[Jaywun]

Do most touring pro's choose equipment sponsors for the clubs or for the highest negotiated contract? I tend to think most all are up for highest bidder. Anybody have info on this?

[CrazyXGolfer]

Give me a few days and I could find out.
But I would say they go for highest bidder :P

[goblue107501]

Let me put it this way, if it was all about the equipment, why would anyone need a sponsorship?

Most of these guys have plenty of money, they could buy whatever they wanted. Spending a few thousand a year on equipment wouldn't be much after making millions from using them.

That's not to say that they probably like some more than others. If you ever watch them in person, you find out very quickly that these guys could play with anything you give them. They could mix up a set from the local pro shop, have a quick practice session and break par pretty easily. If I had to put a number on it, I would say for most guys it is 90% money, 10% equipment.

[Shanks A Million]

It's generally money. Pros don't really care what name they wear, but some do. All companies can pretty much make them a club to fit, or will let them use a club that fits them. Go to a PGA Tour event, and you'll see all sorts of clubs in the bags. Tom Lehman, for example, has a driver that was around 4 years old.

[Bigtank]

It is all about the money. Many of these guys are carrying "prototype" equipment, that is not available to the public anyway so it is all about the name on the side of the bag and the front of the hat. Ask Tiger, the front of his hat is the most expensive piece of real estate in the world. Some carry custom Irons, stamped with their sponsers brand, while others carry other brand equipment. Each brand has a designated minimum # of clubs to be "staff pro" and they must carry that number in order to get the endorsement deal. There are others that prefer a particular brand of equipment and seek out deals with that particular brand.

[Shindig]

I'm sure the money is a factor, although it has to be equipment they're happy with. Johnny Miller said he regretted leaving Macgregor at one point; his agent talked him into leaving because he'd never be that company's big star as long as they had Nicklaus. He didn't quite get the same feeling he wanted from the other set of clubs and didn't play as well.

More recently, I think Jason Gore left a sponsor (Nike?) over not liking their equipment.

[enis750]

cmon you guys...
its not about money, Ryan Moore plays what he wants because its about the game, not makin dough..

er......wait a minute now........

oh thats right, Ryan sold out too!!!! or should i say, got his sh*t together and realized what an idiot he was for NOT signing an equipment deal

these guys sign euipment deals to pay the bills, sometimes earning more off endorsements that tour earnings
i would say 100% of the time its about money

here are some rumored moves in the off season (tell me its not about money...looks whos trying to buy the world)


Holmes from Cobra to Callaway

Immelman from Nike to Callaway

DL3 from Titleist to Bridgestone

Dustin Johnson from TM to Nike

AK from Nike to TM

Furyk from Srixon to TM

Clark from Srixon to TM

Gore from Cobra to TM

(Seems to be a lot of "...to TM" going on here....)

Duval to Scratch and playing Titleist woods

R.Moore to Adams

[Shanks A Million]

DL3 from Titleist to Bridgestone

Confirmed by a Bridgestone staffer today.

Apparently the reason was that Titleist wouldn't continue paying him the same amount.

[Shindig]

Confirmed by a Bridgestone staffer today.

Titleist wanted to decrease the pay of one of their star players; one of the most fan-recognized names of the current players? Whoa. Well done, Titleist.

[iacas]

Titleist wanted to decrease the pay of one of their star players; one of the most fan-recognized names of the current players? Whoa. Well done, Titleist.

Yeah, cuz he's done so much lately...???

[Shindig]

Yeah, cuz he's done so much lately...???

... wow, it's been two years since the Disney win.

I had to look it up to see how he did this year -- he very quietly managed top-10s at the Players' and at the U.S. Open. So... yeah, I guess Titleist does have other known names in their stable still. OK, it makes sense to me now.

[wrx_junki]

Guessing that a lot of those rumors will stay just that.

[enis750]

Guessing that a lot of those rumors will stay just that.

more than likely, but alwasy fun to speculate!

[Shanks A Million]

Yeah, cuz he's done so much lately...???

He made a hole in one while I was watching him play at Disney. With a 4 iron none the less. That was pretty cool.

[Keep It Simple]

It is a combination of both. You have to play well to keep your equipment sponsor and this involves being happy with your equipment. This is why Tiger Woods kept his Titlest driver while he was with Nike and they were smart enough to let him keep it. Luckily they were eventually able to make a driver he liked.

[Bigtank]

Confirmed by a Bridgestone staffer today.

That's odd since one of Davis's best friends is Wally Ulhein (CEO of Acushnet - which owns two of the three title sponsers Titleist and FootJoy)

[Shanks A Million]

That's odd since one of Davis's best friends is Wally Ulhein (CEO of Acushnet - which owns two of the three title sponsers Titleist and FootJoy)

Cash is also thicker than water.

BTW, the amount in question I heard was 2 mil per year. Again, this is all just secondhand info, but the source is trustworthy.