Equipment

TaylorMade plans to open its own outlet stores

Published

11 years ago

Mar 4, 2015

TaylorMade has announced plans to open multiple retail outlet stores that sell off-season, discounted products from the TaylorMade Golf Company’s portfolio of brands: TaylorMade, Adams Golf, Adidas Golf and Ashworth.

The first store is scheduled to open in April in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with a second location scheduled to open afterwards in Livermore, Calif. The company plans to open additional locations by the end of the calendar year.

Ben Sharpe, CEO of TaylorMade Golf, says the stores are designed to help the company’s retail partners and golf consumers, since there has been an influx of products “that has moved at a slower pace than expected.”

[quote_box_center]“The outlets allow us to sell off-season product at a discounted price, while giving our retail partners the ability to set prices on in-season product at sustainable levels,” Sharpe said.[/quote_box_center]

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36 Comments

Robert Boyd

Jun 8, 2015 at 1:46 pm

I heard they would have a store near Atlanta. Anyone know if this is true and, if so, the details?

Reply Report comment
Ken

Mar 7, 2015 at 8:42 am

How any golf shop can carry Taylor Made products is beyond me. There is ZERO loyalty or respect….

Reply Report comment
Fsubaseball21

Mar 6, 2015 at 8:08 pm

Golf galaxy will be extinct very soon and with the overpriced way too long drug out leases that Golfsmiths subscribe to they won’t be far behind. Internet chop shops are the way things are headed. The golf industry will get worse before it gets better.

Reply Report comment
Jack

Mar 6, 2015 at 12:16 pm

Because Myrtle Beach did not have enough golf stores……

Reply Report comment
cw

Mar 6, 2015 at 10:12 am

people complain here, but most golfers will like the idea and check it out and it will also allow new players to enter the game at a more reasonable price point. the new players are the ones ultimately buying more and more expensive stuff once they get in to it. from my experience, the old, experienced golfers are the stingiest because they know new equipment does not make them better players.

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tlmck

Mar 6, 2015 at 6:23 am

Their problem is trying to keep all the marketing people and engineers employed. They are constantly bringing out a new advertizing gimmicks with the hope that something sells. Sort of like blindly throwing darts and hoping something hits the board. The problem is that they tout “new and improved” when it’s really just a new paint job type of thing. Of course Callaway and Nike are guilty of the same. Not that the products are bad, just overhyped.

Reply Report comment
tlmck

Mar 6, 2015 at 5:57 am

They sort of already had this covered with their web site and outlets like Hurricane Golf. I do not think adding brick and mortar stores will help. Laying off marketing staff and maybe a few engineers may work better. Trying to keep all those people employed is how they got in this fix.

Reply Report comment
ac930

Mar 6, 2015 at 12:20 am

This is done to HELP the Retailers? …… to compete with them? I don’t care if it’s liquidating closeouts, this is BS to constantly try to sell directly to consumers rather than allow your retailers to do so. Taylor Made will sink fast as both retailers and consumers are tired of their business practices.

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Dave

Mar 5, 2015 at 6:52 pm

Pop-up stores to get rid of the inventory they’ve accumulated over last 5 yrs

Reply Report comment
HackerDad31

Mar 5, 2015 at 6:26 pm

First everyone hates Taylormade for the stuff left over in the market. Taylormade come up with a plan to try to fix that model and liquidate it themselves. Everyone hates Taylormade for that. There’s no winning. You know why golf isn’t growing? Its not because of Taylormade or Callaways. Its because golfers are a-holes. I’m convinced of it.

Reply Report comment
- Tim
  
  Mar 7, 2015 at 4:07 am
  
  True story…too much negativity. People forget how much fun the game is supposed to be and that nobody makes you buy new product.
  
  Reply Report comment
obobgolf

Mar 5, 2015 at 6:01 pm

Isn’t this really about how to manage YoY stock price performance in a publicly traded golf equipment company. Stockholders in Addidas/TMAG, Callaway et. al. demand QoQ/YoY return on stockholder equity, otherwise they unload the stock. Ping and Wishon (just as an example, not a fanboy) are privately held, family managed companies not beholden to the public (only the golfer marketplace), therefore, they can basically do whatever they want (as long, of course as they make some profit to satisfy the owners/partners, etc. and remain somewhat competitive). Both Callaway and TMAG (as well as any other public stock corporation) believe they’ve had to accelerate their product release/marketing strategies to support stockholder demand for performance. Many, if not most of the folks on this site have some type of 401-K and likely aren’t too happy if they see lousy performance on their personal quarterly reports. My opinion is that the root cause here is more about economic cause and effect of publicly traded golf/sporting goods manufacturers. (BTW, I have no dog in the fight, nor do I work for or own any golf company stock) Just my $.02

Reply Report comment
- Beacher50
  
  Mar 10, 2015 at 3:48 am
  
  I don’t have a dog in this fight, as I use equipment by another maker.
  
  But isn’t this really about managing production, and not over producing when a new model is coming out in a few months. Every set sold at discount, is a lost customer for the new, higher priced, and thus more profitable product.
  
  Reply Report comment
Corey

Mar 5, 2015 at 4:13 pm

I work for a big box retailer and Callaway has significant less amounts of stock clubs sent out this year. We get 200 taylormade drivers at once and they just sit and collect dust. And to answer questions about Tmade buying back old product that is correct. They have taken back all the slider product from us. My store has sold 2 r15 in fittings and done dozens of Ping, Titleist and over 100 of the new cally drivers in fittings.

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B-man777

Mar 5, 2015 at 1:54 pm

Hey all: golf equipment companies can’t win with the public in that they are either releasing new equipment to often or not often enough go figure. I also think what’s hurting the equipment market is that golfers don’t feel the need to upgrade their clubs as often now as they did years ago since equipment advances aren’t as big now as they were years ago as well as there is just to much equipment available in what is a relatively small market. Thanks

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shanker056

Mar 5, 2015 at 4:32 am

It’s almost like TaylorMade are trying to help out those retailers who keep whinging about having too much old product which they couldn’t sell. Can’t see the issue in allowing the retailer to just focus on selling new product with higher margin …

How much money were retailers making churning out RBZ II for $60?

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slimeone

Mar 5, 2015 at 2:22 am

TM has had outlet stores in Japan for years. My wife used to work at one. To be honest it was pretty weak. The selection of clubs was very disappointing, with mostly 2-season old stuff aimed at the GI market. No TP or X flexes to be found. I got a nice polo and a glove, though!

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Scooter McGavin

Mar 4, 2015 at 8:30 pm

What’s the way that this helps retailers? At the store I worked at, cheap folks buying last year’s TM equipment was a significant number of people. Is TM going to buy the old product back from retailers in order to stock the outlets, or are retailers going to be competing with factory-direct stores now?

Reply Report comment
- CHRIS
  
  Mar 5, 2015 at 10:22 am
  
  Cheap folks? Just because some of us would rather spend $500 on a set of irons than $1000 doesn’t make us cheap. It’s hard to justify spending that kind of cash when you’re not making a living off of it.
  
  Reply Report comment
Sammy Moon

Mar 4, 2015 at 5:11 pm

First of all its obvious who those commenters are who are Taylormade fan girls. If you are trying to state that Taylormade has smarter researchers than everyone else we can all laugh at that comment as they are starting to use technologies now that Ping and Callaway developed nearly 10 years ago (yeah that’s some real hard research).

Next, Ping and Titlest have very good supply management programs, keeping them from flooding the market and more companies are trying to go that direction now. Callaway’s CEO reported on this about a month ago, stating that they had been guilty of flooding the market in the past as well. They are now releasing the same amount of products in far more scarce quantities like ping and Titleist to better match market demand.

Lastly, Taylormade is going to hurt themselves and retail stores with this new business. The more old product they offer on the market, the weaker the demand will be for high priced versions of their new models. It will be a recurring cycle trying to clearance product. Keeping the market flooded will affect their bottom line as new products see diminishing sales. Consumers within distance of these Outlets will be sure to visit for inexpensive goods, stealing potential sales from Clubhouses and retailers, further hurting the industry as a whole. It is ok to release new products as often as they do, but they need to reduce the production runs to quantities that can actually be sold over the course of the year.

Reply Report comment
- West
  
  Mar 4, 2015 at 6:23 pm
  
  nah…
  
  People with tight wallets will buy at the outlets, and those who like to flaunt the latest and greatest will buy at the big-box retail stores. Taylormade will be be selling from both ends. It’s a win-win…
  
  Reply Report comment
- NWG
  
  Mar 5, 2015 at 2:35 am
  
  Callaway have launched more drivers in the past year than Ping and Titleist combined..
  
  Reply Report comment
Johnny

Mar 4, 2015 at 2:21 pm

TM selling discontinued products?? With their short release cycles, I doubt there be any inventory shortages….

Reply Report comment
Keith

Mar 4, 2015 at 2:09 pm

Hmm…I guess this is helpful to the retailers. Not sure how it works, does TaylorMade sell retailers the product and merch and then buy it back at significantly cut prices and then mark it up and sell it direct to consumers?

I guess that is mutually beneficial.

Reply Report comment
A

Mar 4, 2015 at 2:07 pm

Something new and innovative from TMaG…. here come the haters crawling out of the woodwork

Reply Report comment
west

Mar 4, 2015 at 12:34 pm

Taylormade can thank me later for that one. Right Barney Adams?! 😉

Reply Report comment
- Keith
  
  Mar 4, 2015 at 8:13 pm
  
  Hahaha where are all of the “how many companies have you run” comments?
  
  Well played
  
  Reply Report comment
glennithy

Mar 4, 2015 at 11:53 am

You wouldn’t have to help out the retailers if you’d stop flooding the market with products. Use the Titleist and Ping models; every 2 years not every 2 months.

Reply Report comment
- tim
  
  Mar 4, 2015 at 12:02 pm
  
  True, but how many times do we have to hear this comment? It’s repeated over and over and over.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - luck box
    
    Mar 4, 2015 at 12:30 pm
    
    I guess as many times as it takes for them to implement an “obvious” solution and stop trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to product cycles.
    
    Reply Report comment
- slider
  
  Mar 4, 2015 at 1:50 pm
  
  they just have smarter researchers working for them that develop ground breaking technology in 2 months vs 2years that the other companies take
  
  Reply Report comment
  - What?
    
    Mar 6, 2015 at 11:10 am
    
    This is a completely ridiculous statement. Smarter researchers? No, they change the paint job jack the loft down and sell it as a ground breaking product. The tour preferred MC and CB are the exactly the same as their rsi counterparts with a different paint job.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Tim
      
      Mar 7, 2015 at 4:14 am
      
      And faceslots!!!!!!
      
      Reply Report comment
- CHRIS
  
  Mar 5, 2015 at 10:28 am
  
  Well their model must be working because their profits are currently double that of their competitors.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - slider
    
    Mar 5, 2015 at 3:41 pm
    
    not profits revenue is greater they have the smartest people working for them so they lose profit in paying the top researchers. Look at the R15 it is like 500 drivers in one where ping only has 3 drivers in one looks like they did a better job with a huge development staff at Tmade
    
    Reply Report comment
Roosterredneck

Mar 4, 2015 at 11:46 am

smells like Callaway !?

Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Why Rickie Fowler is switching to a shorter driver at the PGA Championship

Published

22 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In a golf world where players are looking to eke out every yard possible, usually by lengthening their drivers to add clubhead speed, there’s one player at the PGA Championship who’s going in the opposite direction. In fact, for Rickie Fowler, his goal off the tee is not about gaining extra distance or yards north to south, but rather about shrinking the misses from east to west.

Ahead of the PGA Championship and the week prior at the Truist Championship. Fowler mentioned to Cobra Tour Rep Ben Schomin that the driver didn’t quite swing feel the same as everything in the bag. As a result, and with Schomin’s suggestion to try and sync everything up with the big stick, Fowler decided to test out a shorter length shaft.

“He’s been at 45 (inches), and he’d been at 45 for a few weeks, 44 1/8 (inches) is really is where he is been living really for the most part, for the last couple of years, and is where he is been comfortable,” Schomin told GolfWRX. “It just felt like it was a little long and loose on him.”

Interestingly, Fowler ranks 40th in Driving Accuracy this year on the PGA Tour. It’s his most accurate season with the driver since the start of the decade. But sometimes for players, feel is more important than statistics.

“It was really more of a trying to get the swing to feel the fluidness from club to club to club to try to get it to feel the same,” Schomin added. “And so we took it down to 43 and a quarter, and it was a touch of a ball speed loss, just based on that overall club head speed. But honestly, he squared it up probably a little better. The right miss wasn’t nearly as far. So really, overall down-range dispersion tightened up a fair amount, and he felt confident in swinging it.”

The change in length had Fowler’s caddie, Ricky Romano, beaming at how well he had driven during Tuesday’s practice round at Aronimink. So much so, he was asking Schomin not to suggest changes anymore.

Fowler’s shaft-shortening is one of a few driver adjustments he’s made this season, and to Schomin’s credit, it’s thanks to the fact that he and the rest of the Cobra team had Fowler fit very well into three of the four heads in the Cobra OPTM lineup.

“He had three distinct drivers and the biggest decision was trying to decide which worked best at that time,” Schomin told GolfWRX previously. “He’s played the majority of the season with OPTM X, but has also played a couple of tournaments with OPTM LS. His overall driving stats have been good.”

At the RBC Heritage earlier this spring, Fowler switched drivers, changing from his Cobra OPTM X and into the Tour, low-loft Max K model that Gary Woodland used to win just a few weeks prior.

Now for the PGA Championship, Fowler’s back in the X head, but still using the UST Mamiya LIN-Q PowerCore White 6TX shaft, just a little bit shorter.

“Will he stay there? I’m not sure,” Schomin added. “Could we end up say at like 43 and 7.5 (of an inch). If it’s giving him the same feel of consistency through the bag, then I think we might end up just a touch longer. But if he likes where he is at, he’s confident where he is at, that’s really all that matters.”

If there’s more testing, though, just don’t tell his caddie.

Equipment

GolfWRX Launch Report: 2026 Titleist GTS drivers

Published

23 hours ago

May 13, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

What you need to know: As is customary for the Fairhaven-based company, Titleist officially announced today that its GTS drivers are headed to retail, following a successful tour release. The GTS2, GTS3, and GTS4 drivers will be available in golf shops June 11.

Since debuting at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, the new GTS lineup has quickly gained traction on the PGA Tour, with more than 50 players already making the switch to a GTS2, GTS3, or GTS4 driver. Among them are Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.

Justin Thomas’ Titleist GTS2 driver (Greg Moore, GolfWRX)

According to Titleist, the GTS series builds upon the performance foundation established by the GT Series, while introducing several major technological advancements, including a new Split Mass Frame construction, refined aerodynamics, and an updated Speed Sync face design.

2026 Titleist GTS drivers: What’s new, key technology

Split Mass Frame and thermoform body

At the center of the new GTS lineup is a redesigned internal structure: the Split Mass Frame. This technology works with a full-thermoform body made from Titleist’s Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP), a lightweight composite that enables engineers to reposition mass more efficiently throughout the head. Compared to the previous GT generation, GTS drivers feature nearly double the PMP material, increasing from 13 grams to 26 grams, while maintaining the sound and feel preferred by better players.

The weight savings from the thermoform construction allowed Titleist engineers to strategically separate mass placement inside the head. Specifically, more weight is pushed rearward to improve stability and forgiveness, while additional mass is positioned low and forward to optimize speed, launch, and spin.

In short, golfers are able to maintain ball speed and consistency across both centered and off-center strikes.

Faster aerodynamics

Titleist also refined the aerodynamic shaping of the GTS heads to help players generate more clubhead speed.

The tails of the new GTS2 and GTS3 heads have been raised compared to previous models, helping airflow stay attached to the crown and sole longer during the swing. According to Titleist, the improved airflow reduces drag and increases speed without affecting launch conditions or center of gravity placement.

Typically, aerodynamic gains can compromise forgiveness or launch characteristics, but the weight savings from the Split Mass Frame allowed engineers to preserve preferred CG locations.

New Speed Sync face

The new Speed Sync Face design is engineered to improve ball speed retention across a larger portion of the face. A reinforced perimeter structure helps maximize face deflection and COR on centered strikes, while the upper portion of the support ring is opened up to increase speed on high-face impacts, a common strike location for many golfers. The face also features a variable thickness design to preserve speed and performance across a wider impact area.

Expanded adjustability

Each GTS model includes a dual-weighting system to fine-tune launch, spin, and shot shape more precisely than previous generations. GTS2 uses interchangeable forward and aft weights, while GTS3 and GTS4 combine a rear weight with an adjustable forward track weight system.

Tour-inspired face graphics

The new lineup features redesigned high-contrast face graphics to improve alignment and framing at address, according to Titleist. Sharp visual lines are designed to make it easier to center the golf ball and to perceive loft more easily at setup.

Additional model details

GTS2

The GTS2 is the most forgiving model, designed for golfers seeking maximum stability and consistent speed across the face.
It produces high launch with mid spin and features a larger, confidence-inspiring profile behind the ball.
Standard weighting includes an 11-gram forward weight and a 5-gram rear weight, with additional fitting configurations available.

GTS3

The GTS3 is aimed at players who want more control over launch, spin, and shot shaping.
Compared to GTS2, the GTS3 offers lower launch and spin while featuring a more compact profile and deeper face design preferred by many stronger players.
The head features an adjustable forward-track weight system to further fine-tune center of gravity placement.

GTS4

The lowest-spinning option in the lineup, GTS4 is built for golfers looking to reduce excessive spin and maximize total distance.
Unlike previous “4” models from Titleist, the new GTS4 features a full 460cc profile that improves forgiveness and stability while retaining its low-spin DNA.
Like GTS3, it includes a forward track weighting system for precise fitting adjustments.

What Titleist says

“When we talk about driver design, it’s never about the one feature or benefit — it’s about all of them,” said Stephanie Luttrell, Titleist’s Senior Director of Metalwood R&D. “Ball speed, forgiveness, spin stability, adjustability, exceptional sound and feel… these are all attributes that golfers care about. It’s our job to design a lineup that elevates performance across the board without sacrificing in key areas, and we feel we’ve done that with GTS.”

“We know that forward CGs drive speed with great launch and spin characteristics, but you need to be able to do that with an inertial stability that still preserves ball speed, launch and spin consistency on off-center hits,” Luttrell said. “We’ve never before been able to hit these CG positions and inertia properties at the same time, and we’re achieving that because of GTS’ construction.”

Club Junkie’s take

I feel like every time there is a new Titleist wood release, I figure they can’t outdo their previous driver. And every year, I am wrong and impressed with the performance. The GTS fits right into that narrative again, as I didn’t know where Titleist could go from GT, but they pushed the limits again, and my fitting proved the smart people there found ways to improve.

My past four Titleist drivers have been a 2 series as my swing typically requires a little height, spin, and forgiveness so I figured I would just get a new GTS2 and be on my way. During the fitting, I was impressed by the new GTS construction, its added PMP material, and the advanced adjustability on each model. My fitter, Joey, got to work putting together a GTS2 and we started there. The launch and spin were great, and the consistency on misses was very tight. My average ball speed with the GTS went up a little bit as the new Speed Sync face creates more speed away from the center.

Joey then built up a GTS3 in 11 degrees, but I figured this wouldn’t have the stability I needed for tight dispersion on my miss hits. That thought was quickly erased after a few shots, and I really liked the more center start line and reduced draw on the misses I was seeing. We tried a few different settings and shafts to dial in the details in order to get the best fit. Having a forward and rear weight in the head allowed Joey to set up the GTS3 with a heavier rear weight to keep the launch and spin up, while the Sure Fit hosel set flat created a more center start line for me. My misses were not nearly as far left, and I was really impressed with the consistency on the spin and launch when I didn’t hit it in the center.

Titleist again created a wood line in GTS that delivers improvements over previous drivers while keeping the traditional look and feel you expect. More adjustability, better off-center speed, and 3 drivers that are playable over a wider range of players should make these extremely successful in fittings.

Pricing, specs, availability

GTS2 lofts: 8, 9, 10, 11 degrees (RH/LH)

GTS3 lofts: 8, 9, 10, 11 degrees (RH/LH)

GTS4 lofts: 8, 9, 10 (RH/LH)

Featured shafts

Project X Titan Black
Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White
Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue
Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Red

Premium shafts

Graphite Design Tour AD DI
Graphite Design Tour AD VF
Graphite Design Tour AD FI

Available for fittings and pre-sale now.

In golf shops worldwide beginning June 11.

Price: $699 (standard), $899 (premium)

Equipment

Titleist launches new GTS2 and GTS3 fairways

Published

23 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Titleist has today introduced its new GTS2 and GTS3 fairways.

Lower and deeper center of gravity (CG) positions, new adjustable heel-toe weights and advanced clubface innovations drive total performance in the two tour-proven models.

New GTS fairway technology:

Wraparound composite crowns: Unlock lower CG positions for higher launch and lower spin as well as more CG depth for added forgiveness.

Refined shapes and profiles: With two distinct setups, with GTS2 featuring a shallower face height and larger address profile compared to GTS3’s deeper face and more compact profile. Both models feature flatter sole designs for better performance off the turf.

Dual-weighting systems: The dual-weighting systems allows for personalized performance, with interchangeable heel-toe flat weights helping to fine-tune CG location across the face.

A forged L-Cup face design: The new face design is optimized for GTS and works to preserve ball speed, maintain launch conditions and enhance sound and feel on low-face impacts.

Tour-inspired polished clubfaces: To help players see more of the clubface at address.

GTS2 Fairway

The new GTS2 fairway is designed with a shallower face and a larger profile than GTS3, ideal for players with more sweeping deliveries with their fairway metals.

GTS2’s new face height, inspired by tour feedback, was designed shallower than the prior generation GT2 model and more in line with the GT1 fairway. Each loft in GTS2 leverages a shallower profile except for the 13.5-degree, which maintains a slightly taller face.

With its new dual-weighting system, the ‘2’ model now has heel-toe CG adjustability.

Lofts: 13.5, 15.0, 16.5, 18.0, 21.0

Dual-weight system: 11-gram weight in heel, 5-gram weight in toe (standard)

GTS3 Fairway

The new GTS3 fairway is designed with a deeper face and a more compact profile, ideal for players who hit down on the golf ball more with their fairway metals.

New to the GTS3 family is a 21-degree offering, giving players two distinct profiles in Titleist’s 7-wood loft.

Instead of the track weight system featured in prior generation ‘3’ models, GTS3 now benefits from adjustable heel-toe flat weights.

Lofts: 15.0, 16.5, 18.0, 21.0

Dual-weight system: 11-gram weight in heel, 5-gram weight in toe (standard)

Price & Availability

The new GTS fairways are available for fittings and pre-sale now and will be in golf shops worldwide beginning June 11 priced at $399 (standard) and $599 (premium).