Over 50% Off Rifle Tapered Shafts!

Next time you are shopping for golf equipment (or for clubmaking shops fitting and selling new products) it is important to understand pricing and performance of today’s graphite-shafted clubs.  For instance you may wonder how XYZ-brand can sell their newly released driver for $299 with a shaft that retails for the exact same price.  Does that mean they are throwing in the head, grip and assembly for free?  Not a snowball’s chance in H E double hockey sticks. Remember, they had mark up the club for the retailer and still make money to cover their costs and overhead. So what is behind the pricing strategy?

It’s all about the head isn’t it?
Club manufacturers are all about touting their club head designs.  For instance, they want to demonstrate that their latest driver will launch the ball higher (and usually with less spin), longer and straighter than their competitors or even their previous year’s driver models.  Hireko is no different, after all that is what we design, test, tweak and then manufacturer.

But if you have noticed over the past few years the shafts the major club manufacturers are using were once considered upgrade shafts as their stock offerings?  So is it the shaft, the head or the combination of the two that is creating the benefit? Consider this the last thing a major club manufacturer wants to tout is the shaft.  After all, that is the responsibility of the graphite shaft manufacturer isn’t it?

Defining manufacturer’s stock shafts
Let’s start out with the shafts that you can see in a number of clubmaking catalogs or websites including Hireko’s. The vast majority of the shafts we sell are referred to as aftermarket shafts. You will see graphite shafts ranging from $15 for entry level shafts to $200 (or more) for performance based shafts.  They are available from well-known shaft manufacturers such as Aldila, Fujikura, Graphite Design, Grafalloy, Project X and UST Mamiya.  Plus there may be some that are from lesser known but still quality manufacturers like Apollo, New Image and SK Fiber.

The shaft manufacturers design these in-house using their own R&D resources, potentially using the world’s best golfers to help validate their designs. They promote these to golf suppliers everywhere from major name brand club manufacturers, custom fitting and repair shops down to the end consumer. Some of the exact same shafts you see on Tour and in Hireko’s catalog end up in major manufacturers clubs.

Many graphite shafts can be considered commodities. What I mean by that is they can be found at numerous locations while others shaft manufacturers’ products can be found only from select vendors or from the manufacturer themselves.  The latter tend to be more expensive as there is less competition to keep the pricing down.

A shaft made specifically for use by a club manufacturer is called a proprietary shaft.  These shafts are not available to component clubmakers and clubs to be re-shafted with the exact same shaft must be sent back to the manufacturer or to an authorized repair center for replacement. They may also have on them the name of the shaft manufacturer like Aldila or Fujikura. Examples of proprietary shafts are the TaylorMade REAX 65, Ping TFC 149D and Callaway Diablo Octane among others.

It used to be commonplace for manufacturers to offer a proprietary shaft in all their stock woods as a way to differentiate their products from their competitors as there was an aura or mystic about the shaft.  But now the trend is for most manufacturers to offer those in their stock fairways and hybrids only.

The third type of shaft is referred to as “Made For” or retail shafts. These are variations off of aftermarket shafts.  Some experts may lump these as proprietary shafts, which by definition they would be true.  However, the consumer doesn’t know or is confused between the difference of a “Made For” shaft and an aftermarket shaft the way they understand the difference between the manufacturer’s house brand proprietary shafts.

Why “Made For” shafts?
There are quite a few serious golfers who like to re-shaft their driver with the latest high-performance shaft out on the market – sometimes without even hitting the original shaft that came with the club! So that golfer heads for to their local clubmaking shop or perhaps re-shaft themselves with the popular shaft at the moment which they might have seen their favorite golfer hit on TV or read on-line how it added 15 yards to an anonymous poster on a golf equipment forum. The fact was they assumed right, wrong or indifferently the stock proprietary shaft was inferior to aftermarket shaft they coveted.

Now the golfer paid full retail for the driver, plus the cost of a new shaft and yet had to pay someone to install it (if they didn’t do it themselves).  That $299 for a brand name driver just got a lot more expensive. The manufacturers caught onto this and soon began offering aftermarket shafts or variations off of the aftermarket shafts instead of just offering them as custom options at a premium price.  The golf club manufacturers could now ride the coattails of a hot new shaft or brand. Not convinced then look at the average price for a new driver as it is now $399. But also take notice and see what shafts are in them.

To tell the difference if a manufacturer is using an aftermarket shaft or a “Made For” shaft is to look closely at the graphics.  There should be no difference in color or anything on the silkscreen like numbers that are different (55 vs. 60 indicating weight) or the name.  Aldila makes a series of shafts called R.I.P. and come in different versions (Alpha, Beta and Gamma), but the Sigma version is a “Made For” shaft.  So too would be a Cobra R.I.P. 55, but in this case you know who it is manufactured for.

Do the Math
Another way to tell the difference is to add up the retail cost of the aftermarket shaft to the proverbial $299 driver. If it is more than $399 or the retail cost of the new driver, then expect a difference in the “Made For” versus the real aftermarket shaft. The club manufacturers want you to think you are getting the better end of the deal.

You may get arguments that club manufacturers have an economic advantage.  They do, but only to a point.  Businesses rely on margins as a percentage.  For example, if a shaft costs $60 more, they are not simply adding $60 to the cost of the club; rather they are adding $60 plus a reasonable margin such as 40% making it a $100 add-on. But wait, the retailer has to make a reasonable profit (30%) too.  That $100 add-on over and beyond a $299 driver means the shaft can be no more than $45 over their normal stock option if the club manufacturer doesn’t want to lose margin.

Manufacturers buy in bulk and can expect a lower price  
That is true even among professional clubmakers who will get a discount rather than paying full retail.  This is no different than a contractor who can purchase lumber, nails and roofing materials cheaper than Joe Public buying the exact same items at Home Depot.  You have to image the discount is more on a $200 shaft than it is a $50 or $20 shaft.

Co-Branding
By offering a “Made For” shaft, often times it benefits the shaft manufacturer as well as the club manufacturer kind of like “if you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours”.  Shaft manufacturers may discount the cost of the shaft as they can write off some of that as marketing expenses to gain market exposure in what could be a widely popular club. Both are getting a better deal, but at the end of the day, both parties still have to make money.  Shaft manufacturers want to make money just as well as club manufacturers, but I can tell you the shaft manufacturer usually gets the short end of the stick – no pun intended.

What is the difference between “Made For” and aftermarket shafts?
This can vary from a little to a lot.  Once you slap some paint and polyurethane onto a graphite shaft and silkscreen on a name, the consumer has no idea of what is underneath.  There is no kicking the tires unless you were able to hit two identical heads shafted with one being the real aftermarket shaft and the other the “Made For” version.

The only way to offer a similar type shaft at a lower target price dictated by the club manufacturer is to change from the same premium materials and not makes the tolerances as tight as the true aftermarket shaft.  These two things will change the performance and the feel of the club.

No nonsense approach of Hireko
At Hireko, we give you the option to purchase whatever shaft fits your budget.  If you end up paying for a premium shaft, you know it will be the real deal and not a watered down version.  This is why it is important for customers to understand the differences between the costs and performance of shafts so they can truly compare apples-to-apples to get the best bang for their buck.  Lastly, if it is only the upgrade shafts that are making all these major manufacturer’s drivers hitting the ball straighter and further off the tee than ever before, then maybe all you (or your customers) need is one of the many premium shafts we stock in one of Hireko drivers.

The new 2012 Hireko catalog is at printer and will be mailing January 20 so you will have it in your hands to thumb through all the new products we have added at the end of January. We say this ever year, but we truly mean it, this year’s catalog is our biggest and best ever! You will see that are serious about being your one-stop-shop for all your golf equipment needs.

For instance, if you are looking for that hard to find taper tip shaft (graphite too) or ribbed grip no one else cares to stock, we probably have it.  We now offer the complete product lines most of our vendors and of course we have them at the lowest possible prices.

We have expanded our clubmaking supplies so you have a greater selection of items like specialty ferrules to retro-fit the most popular name brand clubs and do it right the first time.

We have more accessories like our new the Sahara golf bag line and items we haven’t normally sold like rangefinders, training aids and you will see we now sell brand name assembled clubs from Adams Golf and Tour Edge.

Of course, what would a new catalog be without all the new clubhead models that you come to expect from Hireko.  We have revamped some of your favorite lines like the Acer XDS and Power Play Caiman series, added junior components, and two stunning new wedge series and seriously upgraded the putter line up.  You could say we worked extremely hard designing products this past year that will make golf a little more enjoyable next time out.

Performance-driven or budget minded our full line catalog covers it all from beginning to professional golfers. For left handed golfers, you will find no better selection anywhere. While you are waiting on your copy to reach your mailbox, we can provide you with a link to download it now.

Download New 2012 Hireko Golf Equipment Catalog
Full Version is 18 meg PDF file. Download time dependent on internet connection
For slower connections, you can download the catalog in two parts:

Download Part 1 – pages 1-88 (7 meg file size)
Download Part 2 – pages 89-176 (7 meg file size)

Download New 2012 Hireko Golf Club Price List

One way to navigate our website and find things fast is to use the keyword search feature on our shopping site.

For example, if you want to find 0.350” tip shafts, just type 0.350 and then go and you will find the shafts quickly without having to navigate through 22 pages of shafts.  How about belly putters?  No problem, type in belly putter and then go.  You will find all the components to make them or assembled ones as well.

If you already know a product you want like a Golf Pride New Decade Multi-Compound Red grip and you have the code from the catalog or recent invoice, just type that in.  However, don’t try to type RE-34, just type in RE34 (without the hyphen) and it will pop right up.

One of the phrases you may have heard from a TV announcer or veteran golfer who has played for a long time is “It looks like he hit the ball on the screws”.  If you are scratching your head trying to figure out its’ meaning, that is simply a way of expressing the fact the player hit the ball extremely well.

The origins go back to the days when woods were made out of, well…wood.  To protect the wood against repeated impacts with the ball, wooden woods were equipped with face inserts made from many different materials.  To keep the insert in place, some were were fastened with “screws” which were located in a small area in the center of the face (as pictured). In some cases, a 5^th screw could be found right in the center of them all.

The screw holes were counter-bored and once the screws were fully tightened the screw heads were sanded so they would fit flush with the face prior to any urethane finish in order not to unduly influence the ball flight. As you can tell, there was a lot of work that went into the creation of a wooden wood.

Golfers who are new to the game in the past 10 or so years have probably never had the experience of hitting a wooden driver or fairway club, just like they haven’t used a steel shaft in a wood or felt the tackiness of a leather-wrapped grip.

It used to be if you miss-hit a wooden driver ½” toward the heel or toe you would lose 7% of your potential distance.  Miss-hit 1” toward the heel or toe and you lose a whopping 14% of your potential distance.  For example, if you normally hit your driver 230 yards on average, a 14% loss would amount to over 30 yards!

Modern titanium drivers have superior weight distribution and a much higher moment of inertia.  To illustrate that, the same 1” off-center shot may end up only penalizing the golfer 5% (11 yards) off of the potential distance. As a result, golf has become less penalizing as you don’t always have to hit the ball “on the screws” or directly behind the sweet spot to get the best results like back in the wooden club days.

Hitting the ball on the screws (or between the screws) is partially based on putting in the quality practice time. The other part comes down to custom fitting your equipment and making sure you have the proper length, grip size, shaft weight and flex to make the most repeatable impact.

To a certain degree, 2011 seemed like it was déjà vu all over again compared to 2010.  Many of the same stories and trends repeated themselves.

Disaster

The biggest image of 2011 had to be the devastating earthquakes and the tsunami in Japan. While those in the gulf are recovering from the oil spill from last year, this tragedy will last much longer. There may have been a temporary shortage of products like high end graphite golf shafts coming out of Japan at the beginning of the year, but it all seemed so inconsequential compared to the toll on life in that region.

Weather

If you were a meteorologist, once again you had job security. On the other hand, groundskeepers had to work double time at least when they could. There was more violent weather in general as some places were so sweltering hot and dry and in other places the ground was super-saturated.  All those lost golf days are sadly never made up.  I am beginning to think Mother Nature isn’t a golfer.

Uncertainty

The Arab Spring prompted protesters across the world to stand up against dictators and create change. That latter spread to depose of ideologues and then to Occupy (Fill in the Blank). There was economic turmoil creating high gas pricing and just about everything else you can think of.  To top it off, our Do-nothing Congress is in perpetual gridlock.

That got me wondering imagine if we had the Do-Nothing Congress design a golf club. Just think of what it would look like.  For one, no one would agree on anything so you wouldn’t have any new products for the coming year(s).  In the case they actually did, it would be full of promises, delivery on none and end up costing taxpayers for decades to come.

Yet in all that chaos, Hireko fared exceptionally well and we would like to thank you for that support. While we can’t do anything about the weather, Hireko can do something to settle uncertainty to golfers everywhere. We stayed committed to serve the 99% with affordable, trendy and high quality products that golfers really want.

Golf Trends - White, light and long

White continued to be the popular color (I know it is not technically a color). But I sense more vivid and non-traditional golf colors to help identify heads/brands like the graphite shaft market did for next year.

More and more lighter shafts, grips and clubs options sprang up all in the name of squeaking out a little more yardage out on the course. Expect more of the same for 2012.

Belly Putters
Drivers crept up in length as a result of the lighter shafts selected, but maybe more noticeable were all the longer putters on the professional tours sparking another craze of belly putters and a resurgence in long putters too.

While traditionalists think they should be banned, let’s face it, longer putters are now part of the game. History was made when a longer putter was used to win a major championship (PGA).  Several other tournaments were won with longer putters and up to two dozen players in the field per week sported one.

I for one am glad to seem more options to help struggling golfers.

Technology

There is an app for that!  Who’d a thunk it, but your iPhone is now able to track your swing. Ping developed their iPing putting application to help identify a player’s stroke among other information. They weren’t alone. Another company is developing an interface to work with your iPhone to measure speed and distance while at the range.  I guess that is why they call it a “smart” phone.

Move on over 2011

What does 2012 have in store for you?  Only time will tell, but expect many changes for the positive for your favorite supplier – Hireko Golf.  We will continue to provide you even more products for the coming year at the lowest price, plus keep you abreast of the latest trends in components, clubmaking and fitting.

Best wishes and Happy New Year to all, especially to our troops who proudly served overseas and are finally headed home.

With Christmas just around the corner, it got me thinking back to my childhood. Magically on Christmas Day my sister and I would awake at the crack of dawn and run to the living room to ogle at all the presents that Santa had left under the tree.  We knew it had to be Santa because the glass of milk and tray of cookies we left the night before was all but a few drops of warm milk and couple of crumbs left behind.

We would see each other point and say “what could be in that package, or this one or that one?”  Our minds wandered for what seemed like hours and hours until Mom and Dad finally got up and allowed us to open our presents.  Wait…now that I think about it, it was hours and hours.  Anyway, once were given permission am sure all one could see was a whirling dervish with shreds of colorful wrapping paper strewn across the room until all our presents were opened.  The best part was the surprise of the one gift we really, really wanted.

Every once in a while this blog gives me a perfect opportunity to rail against something.  That something today is whatever happened to surprise in the golf industry?  At Hireko, we are all in full catalog mode putting the finishing touches on it so it will be in your hands by the end of January.  That is traditionally when our customers usually get their first chance to see what we had been working on the year before or even longer than that. Image the enjoyment of sitting down in your comfy chair and thumbing through page by page thinking to oneself “I want that, no, I want that…ooh, I really want that!”

In my neck of the woods, golf season is done and I won’t get to play until March, except the occasional days I can go my local range to knock off the rust. Maybe my opinion would be different if I lived in an area where I could play 365 days out of the year. But in this digital age I see leaked photographs of clubs, shafts and grips long before they come available to the market.  Sometimes so long, by the time they reach the market it seems like they a dated product.  Who wants yesterday’s new?

The annual PGA Merchandise show at the end of January also happens to coincide when our catalog will be ready.  It used to be attendees and even fellow vendors were so excited to be surprised by what hot new product will be unveiled.  Those days are sadly over as magazines and websites are vying to be first to show such and such’s new product if the manufacturer doesn’t beat them to it.

For those who want to know what Hireko has coming out ahead of the catalog, PGA Show or our 2012 Clubhead Preview Webinar, I have one statement for you – let it be a surprise.  Revisit your childhood and get back the feeling of starring underneath the Christmas tree and wondering what might be there.