|
GOLF NEWS -
SEPTEMBER 2007
GOLF NEWS
ARCHIVE>>>SEPTEMBER
NEWS INDEX
The
Premium Putter Battleground
____________________________________________________________
Titleist's Scotty Cameron defined the high-end milled
putter category, but competition has never been fiercer
for sales of the pricey money clubs. In 1995, Titleist
and putter designer Scotty Cameron teamed up to
introduce a line of high-end milled putters and scaled a
then-unreached price plateau: the rarefied air above
$200.00. Even Titleist officials concede they wondered
if anyone would buy such an expensive club, which to
their chagrin produced low margins to boot. But buy they
did, and the putter world changed.
Cameron spurred a host of imitators eager to harvest
sales in the category's new frontier. However, he staked
the territory as his own, forcing rivals to peck away at
the periphery - still seeking super-premium prices but
charging less than Cameron in an effort to undercut the
Titleist craftsman. The covetous group currently
includes Bobby Grace Faceoff by MacGregor, Heavy Putter,
Never Compromise's Gray Matter 2 Exchange and
TaylorMade's Rossa Inza.
But
now Cameron's dominance is being challenged like never
before. Putting powers Ping and Odyssey are reaping
sales this year with milled putters priced at a
Cameronesque $250. And Nike Golf jumped into the
category with high-end offerings of its own.
This
market dynamic comes at a time when putter sales have
slowed with the sole exception of the category's
high-end. Research firm Golf Datatech provides evidence
consumers are paying higher prices for putters. In the
past two years the $200-plus tier has accounted for 12
percent of unit sales and nearly 24 percent of
dollar sales at on- and off-course retailers. But
retailers say the addition of these entries is outpacing
demand.
Milled
putters' surge in popularity parallels their increased
usage on Tour. Fifteen years ago, only a handful of Tour
players used milled putters. Now 60 to 70 percent of a
156 man field at a Tour event is using a milled putter.
We all know the public likes to play what the pros play.
No one has capitalized on Tour preferences better than
Cameron. It hasn't hurt business that Tiger Woods has
used a Cameron putter throughout his professional
career. The Cameron Newport 2, which Woods has used
since 1999, has been the one irreplaceable club in his
bag. Mark Bazely, director of golf at Tiburon Golf Club
in naples, Fl., compares the impact of that affinity
with the Michael Jordan effect on sneakers. "Everyone
wanted to be like Mike with Nike shoes. Well, everyone
wants to be like Tiger with a milled putter."
Even
Ping, which earned its reputation casting putters, has
joined the fray - again. The company first entered the
high-end milled putter category in August 2003 with its
JAS line. Priced at nearly $400, it failed to gain
traction in the marketplace. But the company's second go
around may prove to be more rewarding: With Mark
Calcavecchia paying full retail for a Redwood Anser at
Edwin Watts during the PODS Championship and then
winning the event, and Angel Cabrera capturing the U.S.
Open with the same milled model, Ping has scored Tour
validation. The Redwood is Ping's most played series of
putters on Tour. Priced more competitively in the $250
range, it's off to a promising start at retail.
It's
still too early to tell if any of the new competitors
will gain and keep significant market share. The lack of
a name designer fronting their products might undermine
some of their efforts, retailers say. Such branding has
become an almost essential point of distinction for
milled putter success. Otherwise, it's akin to selling
$50 per dozen golf balls against Titleist. However,
retailers say consumers are giving the new entries a
try.
Back to Main News
|