Tour News

What the OEMs have to say about Nike’s golf equipment exit

Published

10 years ago

Aug 4, 2016

In case you missed it, Nike Golf announced on Wednesday that it will be transitioning out of golf equipment, but will continue to offer apparel and shoes. What does this mean for its staff of Tour players, and for the rest of the equipment industry going forward?

Who better to ask than Nike Golf’s one-time competitors; the equipment companies who are left to sell golf clubs, balls and bags to golfers across the world. So we did just that. We reached out to each of the major OEMs for their comments on the saddening news of Nike’s departure from hard goods.

Here’s are their responses.

Callaway

Callaway declined to comment, but here’s what Callaway’s CEO Chip Brewer told CNBC:

“Interesting that Adidas, Nike and [Under Armour], which are all great overall brands that we have a lot of respect for, appear to have moved to the same strategy. For those of us with commitment, momentum and specialist focus in the equipment space, we see it as an opportunity. We remain humble and hungry though!”

Cleveland/Srixon

“At this time, we are not going to comment, but will certainly communicate any statement relevant to this matter when appropriate.”

Cobra-Puma Golf

“While the recent news from one of our competitors is indeed surprising, at Cobra-Puma Golf we believe we have the right strategies to continue playing offense while others are clearly playing defense. We strongly believe in having a 360 product portfolio — from innovative equipment, to game-changing footwear, apparel and accessories — which allows us to provide the best service to our retail partners and ultimately to our consumers around the world. At Cobra-Puma Golf, we are poised to pounce on the many opportunities that exist in the golf category during this time of change.”

– Bob Philion, President & CEO of Cobra-Puma Golf.

Mizuno

While Mizuno did not immediately respond to our inquiries, they did send this Tweet in wake of the news, which says more than any comment could.

@TigerWoods @McIlroyRory @BKoepka @Kevin_Chappell @JhonattanVegas @russhenleygolf @themichellewie –Team Mizuno now holding open tryouts

— Mizuno Golf (@Golf_Mizuno) August 4, 2016

Ping

“It’s not our policy to comment on other manufacturer’s situations, so we’re going to politely pass on answering your question.”

PXG

Company founder Bob Parsons spoke extensively on the matter with GolfWRX. See what he said here.

TaylorMade

“We’re excited by the golf equipment category and the future opportunities it presents for performance-driven brands like ours. We’re fully committed to continuing to create industry-leading innovations across all segments; from our tour professionals to competitive amateur golfers alike who want the best performance equipment.

“We’ve just recorded a 24 percent increase in sales year-on-year for TaylorMade in Q2 and have the No. 1 selling driver in M2, the No. 1 selling fairway wood in M2 and the No. 1 selling iron in M2 (Golf Datatech June 2016). Our M technologies in M1 and M2 have enjoyed multiple wins on tour, Jason Day became the No. 1 player in the world, Dustin Johnson won his first major to become the No. 2 player in the world and we’ve just signed five of the top amateur golfers in the world, alongside our 10-year support of the AJGA announced earlier this year. So, I’m feeling very excited about the future of the equipment category and TaylorMade leading that charge.”

— David Abeles, TaylorMade CEO

Titleist

Declined comment.

Wilson

“For Wilson Golf, working with PGA Tour players has always been central to our strategy and that means we continually evaluate and talk with professional golfers. Wilson Staff Tour players are our partners both on the course and in our innovation process, and, therefore, we strive to work with players who see the intrinsic value of that type of relationship. Should Nike release players from their agreements we would look at individual players to see if there is a potential and mutual fit.”

— Tim Clarke, President of Wilson Golf

See what GolfWRX Members are saying about Nike’s decision in our forum.

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37 Comments

Mad-Mex

Aug 6, 2016 at 7:27 pm

IMHO if PXG doesn’t lower their prices or has a lower priced line, they are next, I say 2 years max.
Like it has been stated before, not too many 20-30 year olds want to drop 2K for clubs when for half they can have a full set of PING’s or Titleist or Callaway,,

Reply Report comment
- Moonlander
  
  Aug 7, 2016 at 5:57 am
  
  Exactly. Hitting your 7 iron the same proximity to the pin but paying x5 times as much!? Thats an expensive shot price..
  
  Reply Report comment
- Justin
  
  Aug 8, 2016 at 3:36 pm
  
  PXG will be fine simply because they do not “over produce” clubs. They make a few hundred sets each year and are happy with that. They have a business model that includes a very patient owner who just wants to be part of the limelight. PXG clubs may become slightly cheaper in the future, but will still be quite a bit more expensive than the normal offering you’d find on the shelf. PXG does things a bit differently, as they’ll tell you. But, I do not think they will fail as a club maker because they have the correct vision for who they want to be. Watch them pick up about 5 more pros per year over the next 5 years. If they ever gain significant traction with the pros, don’t be surprised if their sales go up significantly, regardless of cost.
  
  Reply Report comment
Lloyd

Aug 6, 2016 at 5:52 pm

Taylormade is one of the golfing companies are to blame produceing 4-5 drivers a year & tons of irons flooding the market there statement on Nike quitting golf is a joke let’s not forget adidas is off loading them as well they can boast about there cheep M2 products. Just make one good set of clubs that’s all not a load of crap. They all should follow Titleist the way they do it as Titleist state quality not quantity

Reply Report comment
M2G

Aug 5, 2016 at 11:00 pm

I still thing Nike was close to breaking through with vapor line then they made the new fly line blue. The masses don’t want a bright blue head.

Reply Report comment
- Justin
  
  Aug 8, 2016 at 3:41 pm
  
  completely agree with this… they tried to appeal to the younger generation with a “bright” design and it fell flat on its face. If they would have continued with the green colorway or something similar, I think they’d still be around. The whole decision overall seems very rash to me. Seems like Phil was thinking about doing this for years and always found a way to tell him self, “well, let’s see how the next run of clubs does.” They were already well into preparation for production of the next line of clubs (which we may see drawings/protos of at some point, but maybe not) when the plug was pulled. If it really was a conscious decision, they would have stopped all R&D and slowly transitioned out. I know that it’s tough these days because people seem to find out about everything that is meant to be a secret, but in the end this seemed like the only way to do the job amidst an uncertain future.
  
  Reply Report comment
desmond

Aug 5, 2016 at 3:36 pm

I thought Callaway did the best job in responding.

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Dead Fish

Aug 5, 2016 at 12:47 pm

TM’s comments are the worst. Forget about there losses year after year that is driving the selling of the brand. Let’s just focus on the M line and how only 1% of their products are actually profitable…

Reply Report comment
- Lloyd
  
  Aug 6, 2016 at 5:45 pm
  
  I agree funny how taylormade has made this comment about them selfs & not Nike
  
  Reply Report comment
The Truth

Aug 4, 2016 at 11:50 pm

Tiger will be gaming an all Wilson Staff bag! You heard it here first.

Reply Report comment
- Hold it, that lag
  
  Aug 5, 2016 at 1:13 am
  
  Seriously?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Joey5Picks
    
    Aug 5, 2016 at 3:30 pm
    
    Seriously.
    
    Reply Report comment
- A Boy & His Golf
  
  Aug 5, 2016 at 3:13 am
  
  I think you’re joking but it could happen. Wilson Staff make some super beautiful
  
  Reply Report comment
- Kent
  
  Aug 5, 2016 at 8:06 am
  
  What would rally be neat following your lead would be If Tiger found and won a tournament with a Wilson Golf Ball, it would be the Tiger Duo…
  
  Reply Report comment
- Mike Honcho
  
  Aug 5, 2016 at 11:11 am
  
  I heard he was going full bore with Nickent.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Marcel
  
  Aug 5, 2016 at 2:15 pm
  
  Well Roger Federer sports Nike and plays with a wilson racquet…
  
  Reply Report comment
Mat

Aug 4, 2016 at 6:07 pm

Ping and Titleist declining to comment. It might seem silly, but I admire them for it.

Reply Report comment
- Matto.
  
  Aug 4, 2016 at 7:44 pm
  
  Same. Ping’s reply was particularly dignified.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Mat
  
  Aug 4, 2016 at 10:59 pm
  
  And Cleveland. Don’t want to leave them out.
  
  Reply Report comment
- birdy
  
  Aug 5, 2016 at 10:40 am
  
  its actually pretty interesting to see how ceo’s reply. ping and titielist have reputation of letting the products speak for themselves. taylormade has reputation of being over the top braggidoshish we are the best ever attitude….and it comes across in their reply. some companies say no comment….while pxg decides to do a sit down question and answer. haha complete opposites. i like mizuno’s response the best.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Justin
  
  Aug 8, 2016 at 3:46 pm
  
  Classic Titleist move….they decline to post prices for nearly all of their equipment in the Golf Smith and Worldwide Golf Shops catalogs I receive in the mail. It’s funny to me because their drivers are consistently the shortest when compared to most other brands. It certainly helps to have Vokey and Scotty on board and I wonder where they’d be without them.
  
  On a similar note…. it’s funny to me how Scotty’s putters never rank high in testing done by another website (rhymes with fly golf high). I’ve always thought his putters rolled the ball very well and wonder if their is a subconscious anti-bias
  
  Reply Report comment
ooffa

Aug 4, 2016 at 4:40 pm

Nike = Vapor

Reply Report comment
Max

Aug 4, 2016 at 4:12 pm

Would love to see one of those players switch to Mizuno irons!

Reply Report comment
- Tim
  
  Aug 4, 2016 at 4:44 pm
  
  Bingo, Mizuno makes amazing irons and even with them updating about every two years the older irons hold up in play-ability very well (like Ping Eye-2’s) if you have never hit Mizunos out on the course you would be in for a treat…
  
  Reply Report comment
Judge mental

Aug 4, 2016 at 4:10 pm

Victims of their own success by production of new models ,upgrades every few months .

Joe public will spend hard earned money on the latest products ,thinking they got something special…..

Then a new model arrives soon after …very frustrating!!!!

Reply Report comment
- Dave
  
  Aug 4, 2016 at 8:02 pm
  
  Anyone that spends their “hard earned” money on new clubs as soon as they come out needs to have their head examined. Wait six months save 60%
  
  Reply Report comment
  - john
    
    Aug 5, 2016 at 1:56 am
    
    this attitude (albeit realistic and brought on by the manufacturers themselves) is killing the golf equipment sector.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - birdy
      
      Aug 5, 2016 at 10:41 am
      
      its called the free market….and i love it
      
      Reply Report comment
  - Jack
    
    Aug 5, 2016 at 4:16 am
    
    Yup. Whose fault is it that you’re (2 levels up) constantly fooled? Fool me once…
    
    Reply Report comment
- Dead Fish
  
  Aug 5, 2016 at 12:30 pm
  
  If that was the case TM would be packing their bags and not Nike. Its more accurate to say “victim of riding Tiger’s glory”. Really Nike was never relevant until Tiger, never popular or in the conversation until Tiger. Since Tiger has been gone, the sales have shown, Nike sank, and really fast. However; it isn’t all bad. Nike is still probably the undisputed leader in sports apparel and shoes. I’d say Nike is easily the #1 shoe in the world much like FJ is the #1 shoe in golf…
  
  Reply Report comment
cwt

Aug 4, 2016 at 4:08 pm

Interesting to see how aggressive Puma’s response is, given that their demographic most closely resembles that of Nike.

Reply Report comment
- Marty Moose
  
  Aug 4, 2016 at 5:03 pm
  
  Was thinking the same thing. Once Rickie leaves, Cobra/Puma will be in the same boat.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - COGolfer
    
    Aug 4, 2016 at 11:37 pm
    
    It’s been quite a long time since Cobra has made a club worth gaming.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Jack
      
      Aug 5, 2016 at 4:22 am
      
      Yeah they are kinda like Nike. Can’t seem to quite get the look right. But their latest drivers are pretty good. I don’t think any of the cobra irons look great. You can say good or decent, but that doesn’t sell. Nike clubs are very avant garde on their players irons. Their MB played by Tiger is just flat out ugly (placement of the logo etc). I hope they didn’t let him design it (which is what I think happened). I like their forward looking designs, but never really bothered trying them, as there doesn’t really seem to be an improvement over other designs.
      
      Reply Report comment
    - birdy
      
      Aug 5, 2016 at 10:42 am
      
      you couldn’t be more wrong….cobra has caught and beginning to surpass other brands in technology and performance…something nike failed to do.
      
      Reply Report comment
    - M-Herd4
      
      Aug 8, 2016 at 2:35 pm
      
      I gotta chime in on Cobra Golf equipment. I played Ping for years (woods & irons) and noticed over the last few that I wasn’t hitting the ball as far as I thought I should even on center strikes. So I tested other brands and decided on Cobra FLY-Z’s (again, woods & irons). After taking a few rounds early in the season to get used to them I couldn’t be happier. I’m hitting the ball much further. They feel, sound & look great. I was able to order them with my custom specs right off of the Cobra site and was also able to upgrade to premium shafts at no extra charge. I’m hitting the ball better at 46 than I have over the last 10 to 15 years and enjoying the game much more too.
      
      Reply Report comment
Dj

Aug 4, 2016 at 3:57 pm

Callaway- gross.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.