Did Honma just take over PXG's market

[bscinstnct]

Americans won’t buy Honma because it’s not an American brand.

 

Yeah, we never by Japanese stuff ; )

 

I think this was a great move for both JRose and Honma. JRose gets a ton of cash, and Honma gets an endorsement from a guy with a similar understated cachet that their brand has.

[Hawkeye77]

Maybe if people are dense enough to believe it was the clubs that won the event and not Justin Rose`s skill set.

 

This is actually a great example of how golf clubs don`t make the man. These guys are good with whatever clubs they play.

 

How are clubs marketed again?

 

I know, I know..

 

LOL, I heard there were people dense enough on here to scrounge up some Legacy Blacks just because Henrik won The Open!

 

Don't ask me who. ;-)

[Hawkeye77]

Americans won’t buy Honma because it’s not an American brand.

 

Yeah, we never by Japanese stuff ; )

 

I think this was a great move for both JRose and Honma. JRose gets a ton of cash, and Honma gets an endorsement from a guy with a similar understated cachet that their brand has.

 

Yep, no Japanese clubs in our Subaru, lol.

[ChronicSlicer]

Maybe if people are dense enough to believe it was the clubs that won the event and not Justin Rose`s skill set.

 

This is actually a great example of how golf clubs don`t make the man. These guys are good with whatever clubs they play.

 

How are clubs marketed again?

 

I know, I know..

 

LOL, I heard there were people dense enough on here to scrounge up some Legacy Blacks just because Henrik won The Open!

 

Don't ask me who. ;-)

 

Did they work out for you?

[c7015]

I'd agree on the surface that they are marketing to a different individual however I would also say that the TAM for custom clubs at that price tag is only so large so any change in the balance of that market impacts the other players to some degree.

[Hawkeye77]

Maybe if people are dense enough to believe it was the clubs that won the event and not Justin Rose`s skill set.

 

This is actually a great example of how golf clubs don`t make the man. These guys are good with whatever clubs they play.

 

How are clubs marketed again?

 

I know, I know..

 

LOL, I heard there were people dense enough on here to scrounge up some Legacy Blacks just because Henrik won The Open!

 

Don't ask me who. ;-)

 

Did they work out for you?

 

Yep! And so far Phil has been afraid to come play me, at least he hasn't called. ;-)

[JaNelson38]

Americans won’t buy Honma because it’s not an American brand.

 

This is incorrect,considering Mizuno is a very popular sports equipment brand in the USA.

 

It will be tough for Honma to make inroads in America until they are more widely available. Much like Miura, it will be more of a select item, but probably very popular with those who can get their hands on it.

[theboypinoy]

I hit a friend's Honmas years ago and thought they were fantastic... something like $4k 20 years ago ... way out of price range. If Rose's irons are $2k, I might try them. PXG is interesting, but from what I've read their irons are similar to 790s.

 

Well the 737s and so far the 747s are well below $2K.

 

Wouldn't be surprised for the Rose ones to be below $2K

[Krt22]

Americans won’t buy Honma because it’s not an American brand.

 

I don't think that is it, plenty play lots of Japanese companies (Mizuno, Srixon, Bridgestone, Miura, etc)

 

But I'm sure some PXG buyers help justify the cost to themselves by feeling happy about buying from an American company

[elwhippy]

I doubt it. The Honma players clubs are more traditional and will appeal to ball strikers who appreciate a classy club. PXG is aimed at the man who wears a Hublot.

[Rustynuts]

The day somebody comes into my store and asks for the clubs Rose uses is the day my hair grows back

[bscinstnct]

The day somebody comes into my store and asks for the clubs Rose uses is the day my hair grows back

 

He wins the Masters and you be like,

 

[cvvorst]

I'm sure some people will have preconceptions about me based on the fact that I have PXG irons, but I'll add my $0.02

 

When I was looking for irons to beat my 716 AP2, I went through over 25 different sets. I eventually tried the 0311t, and I think they were slightly better for me. It's wasn't a huge difference, and I could have been happy with either set. But, the PXG were the new toys...

 

I was slightly worried I might get comments from random people, but so far I get less comments on them than I did when I had Miura Tournament Blades. The only comments I get are people curious to see a set in real life, and almost all of them are "equipment ho's" like most of us on golfwrx. I've never had a negative reaction, and I don't think I've been judged for owning them. I'm sure there are some that buy them for the so called "status" but I'd guess most people buy them because they are like 99% of wrx members who buy new putters/drivers/irons, and they feel like they are making incremental improvements to their game, or the numbers are slightly better.

 

Like others have said, I don't think they are worried about fighting over the same market (at least anymore than all golf companies worry about fighting over market share)

[llewol007]

Not a knock against PXG but more the benefit of having a Tour Player such as Rose who constantly is in discussion during tournaments. It was actually pretty cool to see the 3rd round with him and Billy Horschel side by side. Each one for sure has its own cult following but as another comment stated earlier, it does matter to a lot which players are using what and how often they are in the contention. It adds that bit more on the potential of making a regular golfer slightly better.

[CasualLie]

No. Completely different products and marketing. Honma has the advantage of the world's #1 using their clubs while PXG has a stable of second tier players who give them a lot of visibilty on TV.

 

Second tier players....haha... That's funny!

[CasualLie]

I doubt it. The Honma players clubs are more traditional and will appeal to ball strikers who appreciate a classy club. PXG is aimed at the man who wears a Hublot.

 

Come on now... Are you saying they have to go Hublot because Audemars is too pricey?! Sorry, I'm ok with where you are trying to go except Honma is not exactly "class". They dish the bling pretty hard.

[mosesgolf]

Yes. The uber high end market was ruled by Honma in Asia. Then PXG made the uber high end market in the States and Europe. Honma was a non factor here. JR and Mark King put them on the map. The guy who buys Honma in the states would've likely purchased PXG and vice versa.

Americans won’t buy Honma because it’s not an American brand.

 

Hmmm. Tell that to Honda, Toyota, Sony, Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Fujikura, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda.......................

[KMo23]

Not interested in Chinese forgings

[straightshot7]

PXG has a market?

[PedronNiall]

How many "older rich guys trying to break 90" who use PXG, post on this site? Don't get the impression that is the typical PXG player here on Golf WRX. If tour exposure is what both Honma & PXG are ultimately after, Honma easily got a big boost with Rose's victory. Perception is reality, and the optics showing Rose bombing that Honma driver & 3 wood past the likes of Rahm countless times was impressive. He often was carrying the driver over 300 yards, while challenging long par 5's with the 3 wood more than we have seen him do in the past w/TM gear. It's optics, supported by CBS analysts and graphics for all to see. Having the # 1 player in the world, dominate his first tour event w/your product, is the best form of advertising any company could wish for.

 

Very much this. Rose is super efficient with his swing, not flashy, not a monster. I checked out the WITB pics after seeing the announcement and thought it was a surprising switch. Seeing him be third to play from the tee consistently while looking effortless every single time, then putting it out 295+ on demand into those par 5s made me sit up and take notice. I had no plans to replace my driver or 3-wood anytime soon, but seeing that much distance and consistency how do you not at least want to consider giving them a look? A guy counted on them to deliver under pressure and shot after shot the clubs did what he asked; his only errant shots were his doing as viewers could tell from his mannerisms.

 

Rahm is a beast out there and Rose out drove him all weekend long. His irons tracked into flags all weekend long with nothing screwy going on. How do you give a consumer more confidence than that? What Rose did made everything in his bag look like something worth looking into. PXG's commercials are weird to me, and their players don't do anything with the clubs that wows me to the point that I'm swayed to go out of my way to try them out on top of the look of the clubs not suiting my eye either.

 

Equating Rose's play over the weekend with Honma gained a lot more credence with me than PXG's I don't know what to think marketing that they put in play during commercials and inconsistent play from their stable. I'm sure it was the same for casual viewers with free time, maybe some money to burn, and no interest in digging around forums to get every bit of detail they can before pulling the trigger. If nothing else, it was a stronger statement by Honma than whatever PXG was doing, anyway.

 

I mean?

[media=]

[/media]

 

I'd say Rose's play did a lot more to showcase Honma than that weird butt commercial did for PXG, and before, during, and after every shot by Rose, there was Honma's logo searing it in that it's Honmas he's doing it with.

 

Edit: just did a quick look at Google Trends: "Honma Driver", "what driver is justin rose using", "what driver does justin rose use", and "Justin Rose new clubs" are all breakouts with a 5000% or greater growth in searches over the past week, with "Justin Rose clubs" and "honma golf clubs" also doing well. PXG Gen 2 driver/irons searches stayed about where they had been. One source and such a short period of time is too anecdotal to be definitive, but it certainly is interesting to see.

[new2g0lf]

Due to advertising and lack of it, a lot more people in the States have heard of PXG compared to Honma so I don't think Honma is going to steal much if any market share from PXG. The same people that know of Honma, know of Miura, Epon and other JDM. Rose isn't an American golfer so that isn't going to have the same influence as if Phil, Tiger or DJ was playing them.

 

What Rose's win will do is get more people talking about the brand, sort of how Bubba got people talking about Volvik golf balls for a bit. It certainly won't hurt their brand but they have a way to go before they grab any significant market or mind share in the US.

[Rustynuts]

Theoretically you should actually buy the clubs AS used but maybe just not the Putter, he appeared to hit far better than anybody

[imakaveli]

Paige Spiranac was making fun of people getting interested right now in Onma while just some months ago she was promoting PXG :D

[Scotty1140]

Americans won’t buy Honma because it’s not an American brand.

Lol what?

[rgk5]

Paige Spiranac was making fun of people getting interested right now in Onma while just some months ago she was promoting PXG :D

 

Has she even made a cut on the Symetra Tour? I went down to last place ($324) on the Symetra and did not see her name.

 

All talk and no game compared to her LPGA/Symetra peers.

[llewol007]

Is it made in America or assembled in America. Lets not get those two mixed up.

[beshaw81]

PXG has been trying to get Honma's market in Asia for a couple of years now. Very limited success.

 

Agree. PXG and Honma are both in the luxury / high-end segment. Honma very much a status symbol in Asia.

[llewol007]

I would not be surprised if Honma added another name to Justin Rose and start a little stable of players of their own on this side of the world. Maybe a PXG defector.

[imakaveli]

Paige Spiranac was making fun of people getting interested right now in Onma while just some months ago she was promoting PXG :D

 

Has she even made a cut on the Symetra Tour? I went down to last place ($324) on the Symetra and did not see her name.

 

All talk and no game compared to her LPGA/Symetra peers.

 

I don’t think she plays pro golf anymore, she was thinking to go back to amateur

[grm24]

Paige Spiranac was making fun of people getting interested right now in Onma while just some months ago she was promoting PXG :D

 

Has she even made a cut on the Symetra Tour? I went down to last place ($324) on the Symetra and did not see her name.

 

All talk and no game compared to her LPGA/Symetra peers.

 

I don't think she plays pro golf anymore, she was thinking to go back to amateur

She is currently a writer for the golf.com website.