Thursday Thoughts

We've got a shocker to lead with....

Nike Exits Stage Left - Late yesterday this broke:

Nike is exiting the clubmaking business. 

And Tiger Woods's golf bag is going to have a different look whenever he returns.

In a shocking announcement Wednesday afternoon, the sports equipment and apparel giant said that it intends to refocus its efforts on golf shoes and clothing, and away from clubs, balls and bags. 

It remains unclear how this decision will affect Nike's star-studded roster of golfers, which includes Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Michelle Wie.

Wait, Michelle Wie still plays golf?  Who knew?

It is quite the surprise, give their aggressive winter of signing long-term endorsement contracts, most notable big-boppers Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau.  

Mike Stachura, Equipment Editor at Golf Digest, filled in the background:

Nike, which reported flat to down annual sales in its overall golf business the last two years at just north of $700 million in annual sales (which includes shoes and apparel), has been in the golf business since 1984, but only introduced its first clubs in 2002 with the Pro Combo set of irons. Its sales in 2013 and 2014 were nearly $800 million. 

Today's announcement comes just a few days after the company's 2016 line of clubs was extraordinarily reduced in price. That included $400 Vapor Fly drivers reduced to $150 and $250 Vapor Fly fairway woods to $100.

The company has struggled to become a leading player in the equipment business, with market shares in woods and irons that were routinely one-tenth those of leaders Callaway and TaylorMade.

I'm not sure where they stand contractually with Tiger, but they'll be cutting checks to Rory for quite a few years....

Steve Pike at The A-Position has some harsh words for the Knight-riders:

When Nike Golf got into the equipment business some two decades ago, it was seen as

the 800-pound heavyweight that could stand toe-to-toe with companies such as Acushnet (Titleist), Callaway, Ping and TaylorMade. Turns out the gorilla was a lightweight.

To be blunt, Nike Golf was a disaster in the equipment industry. Anyone who has been watching Nike Golf the past few years shouldn’t be surprised by the corporate decision. Despite being played by top players such as McIlroy and Woods, Nike Golf never created equipment (clubs or balls) that were better – or at least even – with its major competitors. Nike Golf could sell plenty of shirts and caps – in its own line and the Tiger Woods Collection – but simply couldn’t sell equipment. It never seemed to be able to get out of its own way, whether on the creative or marketing sides.

That seems to be kicking them when they're down, as their equipment was fine...  no better, but no worse.  I played their Platinum RZN ball  earlier in the season, and it was comparable to the Pro V1 or Tour Preferred.... It's just a flat market and a large public company has little use for that...

But this from the Stachura piece is the tell:

Said one current Nike staff player, "I really love their equipment, but I'll tell you this: In all the pro-ams I've played, I've never once seen one of my partners using a Nike club."

You don't see a lot of Nike headcovers, do you?

More from Pike:

Nike decision to cut bait on the equipment side comes at an interesting time in the golf industry. adidas Group has been trying for the better part of the past year to sell TaylorMade; and the Acushnet Company, parent of the Titleist and FootJoy brands, is in the midst of preparing for an Initial Public Offering. Nike’s exit from the equipment business likely won’t have any impact on either of those deals, but it likely will be seen as another black eye for a struggling industry.

That is interesting and can't hurt both of those other transactions, though I'll note that they're trying to draw to the same inside straight as Adidas, keeping the higher margin shoe and apparel business.  Both certainly have leverage with the big box retailers, but their ability to get placement in the specialty and pro shop channels is reduced.

As for the guy that put them in the business, well, divorces are hard:

But Woods, for one, will be moving on. Reached by phone, Woods's agent, Mark Steinberg, said he and Tiger were aware this announcement was coming, and that he will begin searching for a new clubmaker for his famous client. 

"Tiger and I have had multiple conversations about what we'd do, and we have an organized plan in place," Steinberg said. "The plan is continued rest and rehabilitation and we'll sort out the equipment thing in due course. I'll be in the process of doing that, effective immediately." 

Steinberg declined to reveal which clubmaker he'd first approach, but added: "He's been a longtime icon of Nike golf and that's not going to change one ounce. He'll remain a loyal and enthusiastic icon of Nike."

He's cashed a lot of big checks.... But who really cares about Tiger, the burning issue is where Kent will go.

Perhaps Nike is exiting because they're no longer the industry's official badass.... that honor goes to PXG, whose founder had this:

Reached by phone Wednesday night, the founder of GoDaddy.com, who launched his own golf company, PXG, in late 2014, said that he has no plans for any quick moves, even as his own phone continues to ring. 

"For now I just don't know what we'll do about potentially signing any new players like Rory or Tiger that might be available, but I can say that within an hour of the announcement we had no less than 30 calls from people who have relationships with Nike Golf," he said in a phone call Wednesday evening. "I think this situation caught a lot of people by surprise, and I'm going to let the golf community digest the news and then see the lay of the land."

I hit the PXG irons late last week, as Kent's buddy Kyle Munoz popped for a set.  They looked and felt great, though there's exactly nothing wrong with my Mizunos....

Spit Out Your Drink Funny -  I've been ranting on this subject since day one of this blog, yet Matt Kuchar just made a point more effectively than my harshest critiques ever will.... Of course, in the process he revealed himself as pretty clueless, but that's a small price for me to pay:

Speaking to the media at TPC River Highlands, Kuch -- one of the four representing the

red, white and blue in the sport's return to the Summer Games -- was asked if he'll be pulling for his fellow American golfers in Brazil. It was the type of question that seemingly would trigger a generic athlete response. Kuchar's answer was anything but. 

"Now, I may be miss-informed or just don't know. You may have to help me. Is there no team format at all?" Kuchar asked the media. "When they first talked about it, if there were four Americans it was the two highest ranked and they were going to combine the scores for a team event." 

A nervous energy ran through the media tent. Was Kuchar being facetious, or was he seriously in the dark on the Olympic format?

The latter, as it turns out...

"There is no combined? No team event whatsoever?" Kuchar continued. "Just an individual. We did the same thing at World Cup: 72 hole stroke play. I played with Kevin Streelman. We never played together but we did represent the United States in a team format. 

"That was my initial impression of what was happening with the Olympics, but I'm incorrect on that." 

ESPN's Jason Sobel helped clarify the situation for Kuchar, remarking, "If Bubba wins you don't get a medal." 

And it's at that point we came to the collective realization: Kuchar legitimately didn't know the Olympic tournament's configuration.

Because he just assumed that the powers that be wouldn't do anything that profoundly stupid.... Thank you, Kooch, I think we're done here.

Young Tommy Morrissey - Move over Peter Jacobson, meet five-year old Tommy Morrissey and enjoy his impressions of famous golf swings...  Oh, and did I mention that it's also one-armed Tommy Morrissey?

OK, maybe this is unfair, what with the missing arm, but I found the Tiger impression wanting without a loud "Fore right".  Yanno, this signature move:

Third Time The Charm? - Here's a question that'll ruin your appetite:

What if the USGA does it again? And by "it," I mean find a way to mar its own 122-year-old championship.

Count on it, baby, as they're on a roll.... 

The subject is Erin Hills, a venue that none of us know what to expect from:

It's a gorgeous, colorful place, a golf course of natural beauty that defies labels.

It's practically treeless and the wind can blow in any direction on the golden fescue-lined fairways, but don't call it links golf: It's not on a coastline, and the best approach shots will soar high and land soft. 

"It's not heathland, it's not parkland, it's not linksland," Andy Ziegler said as he strolled from the 18th tee on a recent morning. "It's what it is. It's Erin Hills."

The course features "islands of fescue", which I'm guessing the players will love.

Shack has opined that Erin Hills will make us all forget Chambers Bay, which I'm guessing isn't meant as a compliment....

First World Problems - Remember our friend Mason Nome?  Of course you do, he's the precocious talent that had the misfortune to post a 66 that feature two A's, an ace and an albatross in the same round....

So, what does that do to one’s handicap index? In Nome’s case, it contributed to moving it nearly a full point in a two-week span. 

On July 15, Nome’s handicap index was +4.6. On Aug. 1, it was +5.4.

I know, boo hoo.  But at least he posted it....