Why It Matters that TaylorMade’s New Irons are
“Tour Preferred”

Written By: Tony Covey

So let’s recap the week so far. TaylorMade took a small group of media on a private jet ride to announce their new JetSpeed lineup.  Callaway announced X2 Hot while Cobra was busy announcing BiO Cell. And while those last two things were happening, TaylorMade went ahead and leaked some pics of their upcoming Forged (not in Mexico) MB irons on their Tour Diaries site.

If that wasn’t enough, pics of their also upcoming MC and CB irons (neither of which is forged in Mexico either) leaked as well, and while I can’t prove it, the images I’ve seen suggest that those too were leaked by TaylorMade, or at least someone at TaylorMade.

Why split hairs.

It’s the kind of thing that almost never happens at TaylorMade…unless TaylorMade wants it to.

At the heart of everything is this single image of the Tour MC iron, or more specifically, the TP badge on this MC iron.

Sources at TaylorMade have gone out of their way to point out that the image above isn’t the final product; it’s a prototype. And when they say prototype, they mean an actual, legit, prototype, not one of those “SLDR is just a prototype” BS prototypes.

Those same sources would like you to know that the final version won’t have that TP badge; it will actually say “Tour Preferred”.

It’s really important that you know that. In fact, my suspicion is that the need to get right with the TP badge (or lack thereof) is what necessitated the leaking of the subsequent images.

The bottom line is that TaylorMade wants you to know that the new irons aren’t TP, they’re Tour Preferred.

Does it matter?

None of this TP/Tour Preferred thing gives any indication of whether or not the new products would give me a shot at taking another 9 holes from TaylorMade’s former iron guy. And it sure doesn’t give me any indication of whether or not I’d stand a better shot against new iron guy, Tomo Bystedt (after 2 holes he had me by 3. Tomo is no Brian Bazzel). None of this gives any indication if the new irons actually offer “Tour Preferred” Performance.

TP/Tour Preferred…Tomato/Tahmahto.

None of it really tells us much about anything, so why does it matter?

I’ve got a theory.

The Cheddar Era

Several years ago TaylorMade’s was entering into what has proven to be a highly successful time in the company’s history. It’s a time I like to call the Cheddar Era, because, well, there was a lot of cheese being tossed around.

They put shiny trinkets on the soles of their drivers.  They painted drivers white, and stenciled elaborate designs on their crowns. They launched with names like RocketBallz and RocketBladez.

Aspects of what they were doing were absolutely silly.

Even if silly had a purpose, even if silly worked (both at retail and on the course); silly cannot be denied.

Good product, sure. It all sold well, but the names…nonsense.

Success and cheesiness are far from mutually exclusive.

Love cheese, hate cheese…doesn’t matter; TaylorMade was selling it by the wheel.

The Beginning of the End

If you asked me (and I don’t care for a second that you didn’t) TaylorMade’s Cheddar Era peaked with the LETHAL golf ball. It’s a damn good ball that nearly any company would be proud of, but the name was so bad that if you told me it was first written in spray cheese on a Triscuit, I’d believe you.

TaylorMade wasn’t even using real cheese anymore.

The time for change had arrived.

The Times They Are a Changing

We’d get a hell of a lot more done at MyGolfSpy if GolfSpy X and I didn’t spend so much time on the phone yammering about what we think might actually be going on with the various golf companies we cover. Nike, Cobra, Titleist, Callaway, and TaylorMade; all the time we’re trying to read between their lines.

For the better part of the last year, he and I have been in agreement that some sort of change was afoot at TaylorMade. We’d look at changes in social media, and the ways and the force with which new products were launched and marketed.  Some sort of change – even if we couldn’t say exactly what it was – was most certainly taking place.

We definitely weren’t always in agreement about what that change might be or whether or not it was for the better, but I’m more confident than ever that a fundamental shift in philosophy is taking place.

The Era of Cheddar is almost over.

Yes…I know… SpeedBlade, JetSpeed, they’re both a little cheesy, but you know how it is with cheese; sometimes it lingers.

What The Hell Does This Have to Do with the New Irons?

Relax. I’m almost there…

The Tour is an integral part of any big golf company’s success. Tour validation is requisite in nearly every model, and to achieve that perception during the Cheddar Era, TaylorMade made a habit of using “Tour” and “TP” (originally short for Tour Preferred) everywhere and anywhere they could.

Once upon a time the TP badge was reserved for those products that were actually used by Tour Pros (more or less), and actually targeted better players. TP was serious business.

Over time TaylorMade got a bit promiscuous with the TP label, with the ultimate result of evolution being that TP was used for little more than to designate that a particular golf club had a “real” aftermarket shaft in it.

While that transformation was taking place, TaylorMade was using the “Tour” moniker to denote subtle differences in heads from the same series. The “Tour” head might have slightly different weighting (neutral bias), and produce slightly different launch characteristics, but pound for pound the products were more similar than not.

While the consumer was trying to decipher how RocketBallz differed from RocketBallz Tour, and those two differed from differed from RocketBallz TP, and how those three differed from RocketBallz Tour TP; for those in the know, the real challenge was to figure out how any of those 4 products differed from the “Tour Issue” stuff that TaylorMade’s Tour guys were actually using.

Somewhere along the way TaylorMade created a giant indecipherable mess, and in doing so all but completely devalued the “TP” moniker and that cool little badge that goes with it.

And that is precisely what this whole TP/Tour Preferred thing matters.

Finally Getting Serious Again

While it’s taken some time to shake out, it would appear that the acquisition of Adams Golf has given TaylorMade proper the ability and flexibility to get serious again.

Since the time of the Adams purchase TaylorMade has talked about their position as a brand for better players. While up until this point that hasn’t really been reflected in the actual products, the new Tour Preferred iron lineup suggests that TaylorMade is once again serious about making product that are actually designed with better players in mind.

TaylorMade might finally be game for some real product differentiation.

To an extent the transition started with SLDR (smaller, more compact, hybrids and fairways, coupled with the general lack of distinctive “Tour Issue” drivers, and a rumored 430cc model on the way), but the new Tour Preferred lineup (which doesn’t appear to include a SpeedBladez Tour) goes a step further towards un-muddying the waters between TaylorMade’s products for better players, and TaylorMade’s products for the rest of us.

With TP…TaylorMade took a once-respected franchise and ran it into the ground. Whatever street cred TP had is long gone, by literally spelling it out for you (TOUR PREFERRED), I think TaylorMade believes they’ve still got a shot at recapturing the affections of the population of better golfers who have been put off by the company’s recent run of cheese.

Given the early response to the leaked photos, I think they’re probably right.

Have Your Say

Do you think something as subtle as the change from TP to Tour Preferred may actually signal a change in TaylorMade’s corporate philosophy? Do you think the Tour Preferred label will better resonate with the target audience (better golfers)?

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts.