Why do amateur golfers wear brand name logo hats like compensated endorsed pro's?

[rebby]

I don't see the problem w/any type of logo gear, especially for an amateur. For example; Titleist makes a quality hat (very likely somebody makes it for them but that's beside the point) and has what I believe is an aesthetically appealing logo. Furthermore, Titleist makes other quality products that also support and would like to see around for long time to come. I don't see any reason not to wear a Titleist hat or have the script across the side of my bag even though I'm not being compensated for it. The bottom line is that I value the products that they bring to market and, by extension, the company. I have no problem promoting brands that I believe in. The profits for that hat go right back into the company and further support the development of the products that I believe in and want to see continued development on. I am not a tour player, my wearing a Titleist logo is not an advertisement for the brand in the same way that Rory wearing a Titleist logo is. I don't believe that my wearing a Titleist hat persuades anybody to game a Pro V1 or a Scotty Cameron Putter. Rory doing so however, does persuade quite a few. That is why Rory is compensated for wearing the logo and I am not. For "smaller" brands however, it's a means of brand recognition just like the stamps on your clubs. I can't even count how many times I've been asked about Miura and Scratch just based on the stamps that adorn my clubs. Brand recognition is a good thing, especially for these smaller companies, and in the same way as their larger counterparts this recognition helps them build a better product when all is said and done. The donning of a given company's brand is simply a sign of support. Sure it shows others that you support a given brand but so does "becoming a Facebook fan of blah, blah" and people do that all day long every day without giving it a second thought. Difference is, purchasing the hat/towel/whatever also supports the company in a financial manner which leads to additional funds for R&D;, which leads to potential innovation, which leads to better products. Hmm, what was the downside again?

[Gioguy21]

Originally Posted by B of H

yeah, I think that is a common thing but that begs the question: how did we get to this point?  I keep thinking somewhere at titleist their marketing department is laughing their arses off at how they've successfully dominated the hat market and made it nearly impossible to find good hats that don't promote their brand or their competitors.

how did we get to what point? there's been a logo on most hats since the dawn of the baseball cap.  it seems as though you wouldn't be posting this if for some reason it caused a thorn in your side. what's stopping you from going to a Lids or some other store that makes custom hats and buy blanks if you want of as you so put, "good hats". yes, marketing departments from companies put their names on hats, shirts, shoes, bags, stickers, sunglasses, and EVERYTHING else...what about GOLF hats has made you ruffle your feathers to start this thread? do you wear any labels on any shirts, pants, shoes, your car, etc? should i start a thread in an automotive forum saying that ford has their logo on too many things (based on the hypothetical thorn in my side, and my opinion) including the wheels, front/back of the car, steering wheel, etc. because i feel as tho when i watch nascar all i see are logos/brandings and i want a blank looking car so as that i don't look like i'm endorsing their company? welcome to capitalism my friend. got space to sell? slap a logo and make money. is it wrong for a person shopping for golf attire to pick out a hat with logo's all over it simply b/c someone on tour has it? could be but that's again, personal preference .

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by Gioguy21

yes, marketing departments from companies put their names on hats, shirts, shoes, bags, stickers, sunglasses, and EVERYTHING else...what about GOLF hats has made you ruffle your feathers to start this thread?

Exactly!  Just about every company has their name on something other than the product itself!  It's good marketing, and golf is just one little tiny player in the mix.

I am also guilty of removing a dealers tag from a vehicle too, but I do it for a cleaner look.  But I buy my hats because I like what is on them/how they look.

[ochmude]

Originally Posted by B of H

yeah, I think that is a common thing but that begs the question: how did we get to this point?  I keep thinking somewhere at titleist their marketing department is laughing their arses off at how they've successfully dominated the hat market and made it nearly impossible to find good hats that don't promote their brand or their competitors.

Just to make sure I'm understanding you correctly, are you saying that it's nearly impossible to find good golf hats, or just good hats in general?

[shades9323]

So you think that calling someone who has a logo hat a joke and assuming that he wants to look like a pro but can't back it up and calling someone who wears comfortable cycling gear an idiot is a rational thought?

Originally Posted by B of H

the fact that you react this way to a rational view of the situation condemns your own stance on the issue.   Obviously nobody would pay for a hat with a company logo if there wasn't a reason for them wanting to wear it.  That reason seems to be motivated at least partially by the idea of 'looking like a pro' or 'the best quality hats seem to be company logo hats' or at best 'it was what was available'.

if golfers didn't want to wear certain hats then pro shops wouldn't stock them, pure and simple.

[dhanson]

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Originally Posted by B of H

It's not a PC police thing it's a question asking why this trend has happened and what leads someone to prefer to promote a brand rather than a golf course or a sports franchise .

i don't think there's as big as difference between corporate logo hats and team-affiliated hats as your making it out to be. you really only have one claim (you're supporting a team, there's rivalries involved) with a rambling of warrants that sound very similar. in the end, you want a team-affiliated product because you LIKE a certain team, something as arbitrary as LIKING a certain brand. in the end (with professional athletics at least) you're rooting for something as arbitrary as a jersey, not a player or person. my eric berry jersey might get thrown away when he gets traded to san diego. NFL/MLB apparel is even advertised as "being what the pro's wear." when you buy anything related to a professional sports teams, the money goes to the super-elite, just like when you buy any golf apparel. it's even worse when you're buying college apparel, because the players don't see any of that money (unless of course they're getting paid for autographs and receiving free tattoos).

buying a hat with a course logo is just as bad in terms of your logic. you make no delineation between small companies and large ones. a company called Great Life Golf owns several courses throughout my area. buying a hat from one of those courses helps that corporation, too. it's free advertising for those courses.

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Why would you want to wear a hat of a company that you have to pay to use their products in the first place?  Why are pro shop hat racks filled with titleist and nike hats rather than hats with their golf course logo on them?  is this a temporary fad or something that is here to stay?

golf apparel with logos is fashionable. i think it is as simple as that. sam snead popularized the straw hat, so other people started wearing one, too. plus fours used to be in style, and now they're considered retro. courses stock logo hats because that's what 90% of golfers want. who cares about the other 10%.

edit: i just did a little study on GolfSmith.com.

they have 118 different hats in their entire selection. 11 are what i would call "novelty hats" with the ian poulter hair sticking up (excluded because you wouldn't buy them to play golf in). 13 are made by "Life is Good" (which i would consider a corporate affiliated hat since it says "Life is Good" on it). 18 are made by non-OEM companies (9 of which are the most expensive out of all 118 hats, and 4 more are more expensive than all hats except those which have MLB/NFL/NCAA licencing).

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btw, when I was a kid it was against USGA rules to wear a corporate logo of any kind in amateur events, not anymore.  I remember some kids having to put tape over the logos on their hats.  food for thought.

i think this brings to light how little of an issue this actually is.

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in the grand scheme of this question, i don't understand the implication, or even if there is one. the answer to the title of the thread seems pretty self explanatory: people like what they like for whatever reason, whether that be the design of the hat, the fact that they play the same clubs/ball, or they simply forgot their hat at home. i don't think anywhere does "oh, i want to advertise titleist, so i'll buy a titlesit hat" factor into anyones decision.

if that is the implication to this (feeding the corporate beast), it's unavoidable. shoot, there's a John Deere ad underneath me while i'm writing this. am i going to buy a new lawn mower? no. and if this is your stance, go ahead and buy your organic certified hat. titleist/nike/taylormade/local golf courses/ect do not care about the 10%.

[glock35ipsc]

Why do ranchers wear cowboy hats, are they trying to look like a PRCA team roper?  Why do rednecks wear Caterpillar hats, are they trying to pose as an excavator? Why do baseball fans wear their teams baseball caps, do they want people to think they play 2nd base? Why does Brian Johnson wear a newsboy hat, does anyone really think he is peddling the Sarasota news paper?  Surely everyone knows my hockey freak Dad doesn't coach OR play for our local ECHL hockey team.   Why do I occasionally wear a hat with the logo of my favorite custom gun maker, surely people who shoot competitively don't think I am Robbie Leatham??  Why does my wife wear an UnderArmour hat only while running, we don't own stock in the company anymore? Why do golfers wear.... GASP.... a HAT WITH A LOGO ON IT?!?!?!?!?!?  OMG, what is the world coming too!  Shouldn't that golfer know better!

Originally Posted by B of H

It's not a PC police thing it's a question asking why this trend is happened and what leads someone to prefer to promote a brand rather than a golf course or a sports franchise.

What's the difference??  They are all basically company names, they are all "brands".

Originally Posted by dhanson

"novelty hats" with the ian poulter hair sticking up (excluded because you wouldn't buy them to play golf in)

Wanna bet?  Hehehe, that's definitely something I would do!  LOL

Wow, I can't believe this thread has made it to almost 100 posts! LOL, my 11 year old would have already went "pfft, seriously Dad??!"

Now, if y'all will excuse me, I need to go scrub the Hanes silk screened logo off the waist band of my underwear.......

[Dave H]

To the OP: I have a Titleist hat and a Taylormade hat, both of which I wear regularly. I never thought about trying to look like a pro, or anything of that nature. My only thought process (and I'm trying to hard to remember since I actually thought so little about it) was something like this:

1. I like to wear a hat when playing golf.

2. I'll get a "golf hat" for playing golf.

3. I like Titleist, I like Taylormade.

4. These hats fit me well and are reasonably priced.

5. What kind of statement am I making by wearing one of these hats?

Nevermind, that last thought didn't happen.

[goblue107501]

Originally Posted by B of H

yeah, I think that is a common thing but that begs the question: how did we get to this point?  I keep thinking somewhere at titleist their marketing department is laughing their arses off at how they've successfully dominated the hat market and made it nearly impossible to find good hats that don't promote their brand or their competitors.

They saw an opportunity to make money and jumped on it.  Isn't that what being a business, a sales business no less, is about?  Golfers like to wear hats when they play.  It keeps the sun off the face and eyes and keeps sweat from dripping.  I'll bet if we make hats and sell them to pro shops and golf stores people will buy them.  All they are doing is selling a quality product that people want.  That is no different than any other industry that sells a product.  If Titleist didn't dominate the hat market, then someone else would.  I can guarantee you it would be a blank hat or a course logo hat.

If you don't want to wear a logoed hat, then don't, good luck finding them though.  If it is hard to find a non-logo hat and you come on here to bitch and moan as to why golfers wear logoed hats then that is a you problem.  It isn't a golf industry problem, it isn't a me problem, it is a you problem.  Quite frankly, if I found a blank hat that was as comfortable to wear and as functional as the hats I have that say Titleist or Nike, then I would get them.  I'd have no problem wearing an empty hat.  The problem is, they simply don't exist.  Get over it and move on.  That is just the way it is.

[greatishten]

Stop wearing baseball hats then. They were practically created to project a 'brand' image anyway. I don't have a problem with logos on apparel or gear, who cares?

[PackFan 1]

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Maybe it's just me but i'm not a free walking billboard/ advertisement system for so and so club/ball manufacturer.

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point being: i'm not paying $22 to $30 for a hat that is just an advertisement for clubs/balls. If the hat was free then maybe but paying for it just seems ridiculous and backwards. they should give out hats for free with clubs/balls you purchase if anything.

Are you Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson?  If not nobody is going to pay you to wear their clothing.  Nobody cares what kind of shirt Joe Schmo is wearing.

[tristanhilton85]

I really don't think of it as "advertising" for the company or "trying to look like a pro."  I have Titleist clubs and like them so when I was looking for a new golf hat that's what I got... When I had Hogan irons I also had Hogan hats.  I just like to support the companies that make the gear that I use.  If you don't like logo hats, that's cool, you don't gotta wear them, but to make blanket statements that we "just want to look like pros" or other nonsense is kinda dumb.

[MSDOGS1976]

Good topic. Got me thinking that I should wear stuff with logos of the stocks I own. I do have a financial interest in those companies so I should try to help by advertising their products/brands. Now if I could just find hats or shirts with Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, Chevron, etc.........I would be good to go.

[q7w]

troll thread of the year

[akabilk]

"Why do amateur golfers wear brand name logo hats like compensated endorsed pro's"?

For the same reason they buy those (same) expensive clubs and bags etc.? It's a good/stupid look and drives the women crazy (in their dreams)?

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by q7w

troll thread of the year

I suspect there are a helluva lot of people who agree with the OP, but are just not posting in this forum. Not saying I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, or with that of the OP, but it's a fairly common opinion among long time players in a certain demographic. I've heard it.

[Dave H]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

I suspect there are a helluva lot of people who agree with the OP, but are just not posting in this forum. Not saying I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, or with that of the OP, but it's a fairly common opinion among long time players in a certain demographic. I've heard it.

Interesting. When you say "long time players" I certainly think of a certain demographic. This demographic often seems to be the most heavily dressed in said "golf gear". Maybe it's just the urban area that I happen to live in though.

[allin]

This reminds me of the old joke. If I don't want to here from you, what makes you think I wan't to here from your T-shirt. Just sub in T-shirt.