A few weeks ago we took a look at the clubs that occupy the driver and fairway wood slots in your bag. Today we’ll continue that with a closer look at what you guys carry for hybrids and wedges. We’ll look at how old those clubs are, as well as whether or not you have any designs on replacing them this season.
While I certainly found your feedback on drivers and fairway woods interesting, it’s likely today’s numbers that reveal the biggest difference between our readers and the average golf consumer.
Here’s What You Told Us
It’s at least moderately interesting that Adams still occupies 23.67% of the available hybrid space in your collective bag. I would expect that number to slowly decline in the coming years. TaylorMade is a strong second (20.85%),while Titleist, PING, and Callaway all have respectable numbers (+/- 15%).
As we’ve seen in the past, Titleist and PING are steady across most categories, while Callaway has shown strong growth over the last couple of seasons.
Based on the range we gave you to choose from, the average hybrid in your bag is 3.12 years old. That said, for 44% of you, the oldest hybrid in your bag is less than 2 years old.
Within the larger population, I suspect the average age is above 4 years, and it continues to amaze me that in 2015, 11.51% of you still don’t carry a single hybrid.
Given that a sizable number of you already have relatively new hybrids, the fact that 67.87% of you said that you have no plans to purchase a new hybrid this season is anything but surprising.
We’re constantly inundated with stories of driver technology, iron technology, and fairly recently, fairway wood technology. Hybrid stories often fall through the cracks, although it’s worth mentioning that Callaway’s Ridonkulong campaign last year brought enough attention to the company’s X2 Hot hybrid that it outsold everything else in the category.
This is one of the more surprising results within any survey we’ve ever conducted. As a general rule, our readers tend to be more brand aware (and less brandwashed) than the average golfer/golf consumer, but nevertheless, the Mizuno result borders on shocking.
In any given season Mizuno’s share of the total iron market is actually closer to half of the number (20.90%) reported by MyGolfSpy readers.
The bulk of that difference appears to come from TaylorMade (13.98%) and Callaway (12.29%) who together generally account for more than 40% of iron sales within the scope of the broader market.
On the other end, your reported usage of smaller brands like Miura (1.56%) and Wishon (1.08%) very likely exceed the percentage of the market as a whole, although it’s worth mentioning that the method OEMs use to track market share (Golf Datatech), doesn’t account for non-mainstream sales (independent club fitters), which likely account for a substantial percentage of sales for both brands.
The average replacement cycle for irons is roughly 4.5 years. For you guys, the average is actually 2.64 years, which means you replace your irons nearly twice as often as the average consumer. Only 16.81% of you have irons older than 4.5 years.
Granted, there have been some notable advances in iron technology over the last several years, but I’d be curious to know what drives you to replace your irons at such an accelerated rate.
Once again, considering that 26.92% of you have irons that are less than one year old, while another 27.62% have irons less than 2 years old, it’s not the least bit surprising that 75.35% of you told us you have no plans to replace your irons this season.
For the 16.94% of you that are on the fence, what’s the deciding factor? What irons are you considering.
More To Come
Check back soon when we take a closer look at the wedges and putters in your bags.
Bill
9 years ago
There is no “end all” when it comes to irons. Mizuno is recognized as a quality iron (although their wedges and woods don’t have the the same reputation). Wilson has the same pedigree. Great irons, wedges and woods have a less fervent following. Is that perspective accurate?
In my experience, I’d say there’s at least some truth to it.
TM, Callaway, Ping, Titleist, Nike, Cobra, Cleveland/Srixon all make decent product that have Tour representation also. After playing Wilsons for the last 5 years (which took me into a single digit handicap for the first time after 40 years of playing) I switched to a fitted set of Wishon irons this year. No regrets, they play every bit as well as the others (I’ve hit just about everything along the way). My short game has deteriorated the last couple years so my handicap is up a few strokes. Practice and instruction tend to be far more important to my success than the club manufacturer. As I spend more time playing and working on my game, there’s a less than shocking relation to my scores dropping again. Equipment is fun to discuss as is argueing the merits of said clubs on forums such as this. But deep down we all know that for all but the top tour guys who play for a living that the time spent working on the game is the biggest factor for weekend warriors.