It's been a revolutionary time in the world as of late. No matter who you are and who you voted for in the American Presidential election the winds of change are a blowing. Golf is no different. With the changing of the seasons from the emerald green that is summer to the wintry white of winter we see new developments and trends within the golf industry.
Remember way back to when
TaylorMade and
Adams Golf first came out with their first ever adjustable drivers? To this day I preferred the
430Q over the
R7. Yes, I didn't know much about golf at the time as I was an infant back then as far as golf knowledge and play went. Then the golf world was amazed with the use of carbon fiber in the crowns of drivers,,, if my concussion-plagued memory serves me well I believe it was the
Callaway Golf ERC Fusion that launched that trend. Of course, how can we forget (even though we should) the age of the square driver? The "green bell pepper on a stick" and with that comes to mind companies like
Nickent and
Nike (yes Callaway was in there too).
Wilson Staff had their time back then as well with the
Spine. Then TaylorMade astonished the world with a white-headed atrocity that I legitimately hated when it came out. I came around eventually and just as I got over the white heads out came
Cobra Golf and their colourful range of products to suit the like of young stars like
Rickie Fowler and
Lexi Thompson. In fact, one of the reasons why I love going down to the
PGA Show is to see the new trends that the industry is leaning towards or experimenting with. Trends... it's some thing that the golf industry needs and quite honestly it needs to experiment with. With the much talked about decline in the industry which I'm not particularly convinced of the companies need to think a little outside of the box.
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| Photo Credit: Wilson/Amer Sports |
As I am writing this entry it's nearly 8 pm EST and
Golf Channel is about 2 hours away from the finale of
Driver vs Driver. As most of us around golf are aware of it's a reality show where Wilson Staff has given the opportunity to people from a variety of walks of life to design their newest driver. Hundreds of applicants applied and in a way I regret not giving it a shot because I have had ideas flowing through my head about what would make a great driver. Oh well. Of course as I write this I have no clue what the winning product will be between the finalists which are designs called
Triton and
Pivot respectively. Initially, I wort of liked the Triton but after browsing the
http://www.wilson.com/en-us/golf website I decided that there was a lot more that I liked about the Pivot. Nicer aesthetics, more traditional head and a deeper face. Whereas the Triton in my opinion is too darn busy. Either way, both of the finalists from sound bites that I've head sound much better than their previous offerings like the
FG Tour M3 (I mentioned my strong dislike of the acoustics of the M3 to
Rick Hulock)
and even last years
FG Tour F5 which sort of left me feeling
"ho hum" last year. I've long been a fan of the brand (miss my Pi5 irons to this day) and I have always hated the fact that their staff players have not played their drivers... although I think
Padraig Harrington played the Pd5. But I love the fact that Wilson went outside of the box to create a product and consequently a show in this manner. It's been exciting... like the moment before
Brian Urlacher would punish an opposing quarterback into the ground. Huge kudos Wilson!!
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| Photo Credit: Golf Channel |
Wilson however is not the only golf manufacturer to travel down this less traveled road. Even though I have never made a swing with a
Bombtech Golf they
were one company that was very active on social media when it came to the development of their
Grenade driver and range of woods and wedges. Owner
Tyler Sullivan had ideas and asked people if they liked a certain option or asked specifically what people wanted. I was very active in this phase of their products development. Another company,
OnCore Golf recently was very active in this facet of product development. They sent out a survey to their database looking for input on the design of their next product. A tour ball. They wanted input of preferences regarding feel to cost. Of course, I filled out the survey being the responsible golf writer that I am. I really applaud OnCore Golf as they are trying to make a tour ball
"for the people... by the people".
Crowdsourcing. Could this be the new trend to give golfers what they want? Could this be the "fix" for the industry in a time of an apparent downturn in sales? Time will tell.
Until The Next Tee!
