Clear Golf Balls?

[NM Golf]

Has anyone ever heard of these? They are the most expensive golf balls on the market according to Links. At $68 a dozen I would cry if I lost one.

https://www.clear-sports.com/product/clear-red/

I guess at one time they were member only, if you were "lucky" enough to be chosen to play them you ponied up $950 for a years supply of 12 dozen!

LINKS LINKSdigital 2019 March Page 3

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Edited March 26, 2019 by NM Golf

[dennyjones]

I've not heard of them.

[Patch]

They look white to me....lol

Disclaimer....just kidding. 

[David in FL]

Good grief.  

 That’s what I want.  To pay a huge premium to play a ball that nobody has ever heard of before, and doesn’t have any performance data available to support any price...

P.T. Barnum got it right...

[billchao]

Clearly they're going for the higher price point = higher perceived quality market approach.

[pganapathy]

  On 3/26/2019 at 8:48 PM, billchao said:

Clearly they're going for the higher price point = higher perceived quality market approach.

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True, but in a world where the Pro V is considered golfing royalty, I struggle to figure out how they expect to have better perceived quality, unless they get some superstar brand ambassador like a Tiger/Rory/Speith type player

[billchao]

  On 3/27/2019 at 2:02 AM, pganapathy said:

True, but in a world where the Pro V is considered golfing royalty, I struggle to figure out how they expect to have better perceived quality, unless they get some superstar brand ambassador like a Tiger/Rory/Speith type player

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The same could have been said about PXG when they first started.

[pganapathy]

  On 3/27/2019 at 2:08 AM, billchao said:

The same could have been said about PXG when they first started.

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True, but then PXG were in an area that was easier to break into.  Golf clubs always had many manufacturers who were considered fairly equal at the top.  In golf balls, the Pro V has been the default choice of golf balls for so many pro's that the average golfer doesn't look beyond a Pro V when considering the best ball available.  In clubs, the same golfer will have a debate about Ping/Titleist/Callaway/Taylor Made etc.

[billchao]

  On 3/27/2019 at 2:12 AM, pganapathy said:

True, but then PXG were in an area that was easier to break into.  Golf clubs always had many manufacturers who were considered fairly equal at the top.  In golf balls, the Pro V has been the default choice of golf balls for so many pro's that the average golfer doesn't look beyond a Pro V when considering the best ball available.  In clubs, the same golfer will have a debate about Ping/Titleist/Callaway/Taylor Made etc.

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I would have argued the opposite. I think it's harder to be a startup in club manufacturing because the industry is dominated by giants, especially when what you're offering is priced significantly higher than those of your peers. Even well established companies like Srixon or Cobra who don't get the same kind of exposure as Callaway or Taylormade aren't given the same consideration on the buying rack.

The golf ball industry is much more diverse. Yea, Titleist still has a bigger share, but seeing new brands of ball manufacturers isn't uncommon, and a good amount of top pros are playing Taylormade, Bridgestone, etc.

I don't think $70/dozen golf balls will sell well, but then again I thought the same of $350/club irons.

[NM Golf]

  On 3/27/2019 at 2:52 AM, billchao said:

I don't think $70/dozen golf balls will sell well, but then again I thought the same of $350/club irons.

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PXG is owned by a billionaire who I really don't think cares if they make money. He just wants to make the best clubs possible.

Clear golf seems almost like a gimmick. Someone thought "Hey lets sell golf balls at a ridiculously high price and maybe people will pay for them just to say they did." A sucker is born every minute.

[billchao]

  On 3/28/2019 at 7:02 PM, NM Golf said:

PXG is owned by a billionaire who I really don't think cares if they make money. He just wants to make the best clubs possible.

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Yea, but they're doing well afaik, so clearly I do not have my finger on the pulse of the golf equipment market.

[NM Golf]

  On 3/28/2019 at 7:16 PM, billchao said:

Yea, but they're doing well afaik, so clearly I do not have my finger on the pulse of the golf equipment market.

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I think they are doing really well, I see PXG all over the place. Clear golf, not so much. 

[Missouri Swede]

So the marketing plan has been to make them difficult to buy?

(create scarcity and perceived desirability as a status symbol, allowing for a higher price?)

Edited March 28, 2019 by Missouri Swede

[billchao]

  On 3/28/2019 at 7:22 PM, NM Golf said:

I think they are doing really well, I see PXG all over the place. Clear golf, not so much. 

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Well I haven't heard of them until now, but I'm also not their target market.

  On 3/28/2019 at 8:48 PM, Missouri Swede said:

So the marketing plan has been to make them difficult to buy?

(create scarcity and perceived desirability as a status symbol, allowing for a higher price?)

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That's actually a legitimate marketing strategy if that's what they're going for.

[Missouri Swede]

  On 3/29/2019 at 12:29 AM, billchao said:

That's actually a legitimate marketing strategy if that's what they're going for.

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Yeah, I know. At first I was writing it to be snarky, but thought about it for a minute and wrote the parenthesis. I’m not their target customer. But I think that’s exactly the point they’re trying to make.

[cristphoto]

If I recall you had to buy in bulk (a $900+ purchase) vs a single dozen.  Since basically nobody has played these yet that's a real leap of faith.  

[David in FL]

It reminds me of the little boy selling pencils on the street corner for $1000 apiece.

A man walks up and says “Son, just how many pencils do you think you’re going to sell at $1000 apiece?!”

The little boy responds, “I only have to sell one!”   

 

[Buckeyebowman]

  On 3/26/2019 at 5:49 PM, David in FL said:

Good grief.  

 That’s what I want.  To pay a huge premium to play a ball that nobody has ever heard of before, and doesn’t have any performance data available to support any price...

P.T. Barnum got it right...

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Reminds me of back when I was in the fine wine business. We stopped in at a "new" Napa Valley winery for a tasting of their products. Everything they made was excellent, and at the end of the tasting we thanked them and said we would call them about our decision to distribute them. 

Back at the mini-van my associate said to me, "Hey, Gary. Let's go into hock up to our eyeballs and open a winery in the Napa Valley! We'll hang a name on it that no one can pronounce (for my life, I cannot recall the name of this place!), and we'll grow varieties of grapes that no one has ever heard of!" That wrapped it up in a nice, neat bundle! It would have been a disaster trying to distribute that stuff!