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Vokey.com Launches…But Are They Too Late?

BY Adam Beach
May 14th 2008
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For a few months we had been hearing that Bob Vokey of Titleist Golf and maker of the popular Vokey wedge was going to be launching a site (Vokey.com) geared around customizing Vokey wedges similar to what the pros play on Tour. Great idea right…it worked for Scotty Cameron didn’t it? Well in theory it is a great idea, golfers nowadays have an increased interest in playing tour spec equipment. And ScottyCameron.com was a major success for the company.

Problem is a couple things have changed since then.

1. The industry moves much faster now – Titleist is known for moving a little slow when it comes to product development. They generally prefer not to be the trend setters. There is just too much risk involved, so they prefer to wait back and make sure it is going to stick before they release their version of the next biggest thing in golf. They have done it over and over in the past and have been very successful with this business model. But times have changed and this time it might be different for Titleist. Like I noted in previous articles, the majority of golf companies have a new business model and it has nothing to do with waiting around to see what is going to stick…that’s for sure. I am not saying I agree with this model but unfortunately if you don’t get on this bus you might miss the ride all together. And I am not certain Titleist has any intentions on catching this ride.

2. Scotty Cameron Happened Pre-Internet – Before the internet was available to the masses the only way you heard about new golf equipment was either by a commercial pumping up the next driver that hit the ball 15 yards farther or by your golfing buddy letting you hit his club on the 14th hole. Well times have changed…and changed in a big way. Now, within 10 minutes you can shop at 20 different internet golf shops and get the scoop on the next hottest thing with expert reviews from much more then just one golfing buddy. This has changed the landscape of the golf equipment industry tremendously!

Scotty Cameron was and still is a big hit, but one reason he became a big hit was because he was the first to enter the custom made high-quality golf equipment market. But now the internet allows the smaller brand a much more even playing field. They all have the opportunity to make a name for themselves by offering super high-end custom built equipment to the masses. And when I say custom built I don’t just mean changing the loft and lie, I mean golf heads made from scratch….literally.

3. If You Say Custom Then You Better Mean Custom – Titleist has never been the quickest when it comes to customizing equipment. Anytime I needed to order custom Titleist clubs for a friend (even change of grips) they took at least 6-10 weeks. And they always had an issue with new equipment availability. If you could sell 50 new Titleist drivers they would only give you 25. They love controlling the whole supply-demand issue. It makes people feel like they are getting something special if they have to wait and Titleist is well aware of this.

But when you come out and say you are going to provide something “Custom”….like Bob Vokey does at Vokey.com then golfers today demand that you really mean “Custom”. And the rumblings I am hearing are not good so far for the custom Vokey wedge site. Most feel that the other companies already offering custom wedges (Callaway C-Grind, Mizuno C-Grind, Scratch Golf and Ping Custom Wedges) have many more options to choose from. And a large amount of the emails l am getting refer to terms like “ripped off” or “taken advantage of” because of $89 golf shirts and $32 towels. They feel like Titleist and Bob Vokey are just trying to take a page out of the Scotty Cameron book and nowadays you have to be original or today’s well informed shoppers will surely smell a rat.

I personally feel like the site is just in its infancy and even though they might have made a few mistakes in golfers minds (only offering one loft and not having wedges available at launch) they will get it together, and in a few months time people will forget about the rocky launch and enjoy having yet another option for custom made high-end golf equipment.