The market share fluctuates from year to year and it depends what products are out there at the time. It is hard to compare figures as the companies launch products at different times. Last year the Ping G10 was clearly number one in the UK and probably in most of Europe for example, but then this year G10 is in the second year of its life cycle.
Is the S9-1 driver the main focus for 2009?
Yes. The S9-1 is our core line driver, but we also have the premium price point L5V. We can't dictate what it sells for, but with its all-titanium head the S9-1 fits into that £199 retail price point, and that is where the lion's share of driver sales come from. Our core market is the ‘core avid golfer', and that is who will be buying the S9-1, along with our S9 irons and the SZ irons. We also have our Pro models, which people love, but obviously we sell less of them.
Have you had to compromise on trade prices this year?
A lot of trade pricing is led by foreign exchange, particularly in Europe, but our trade pricing has remained pretty stable. We have seen the odd increase but not on a massive level. Who knows what the future holds - the costs of materials are still very tough. We would like to maintain stable trade prices wherever possible, and we are very transparent with our retailers in terms of pricing. We keep a very level playing field and we don't offer larger retailers better discounts than we do to the green grass pros, unlike other manufacturers.
How does it work having the Cobra and Titleist brands under the Acushnet umbrella?
Titleist is targeted very much towards the better player; they have a lot of Tour accreditation and they use a lot of exotic shafts, although they do now have products that dip into the ‘avid golfer' market. Cobra is the other way round, where our core market is the avid golfer, but we also have our Pro line that dips into the market for better players. The two brands do cross over but we sit very well alongside each other.
With Ian Poulter, Geoff Ogilvy, Camilo Villegas and JB Holmes playing Cobra on Tour, how does your Tour marketing work?
All four of those players play among the very best in the world on a weekly basis. What a great four-ball! David Feherty is also part of our Tour profile and the five of them all sit well together for the brand: it's about excitement, and hitting the ball hard and hitting it long. None of our players are shy about putting their personalities out there, and that is great for us and for them.
What's next for Cobra?
Custom fitting is very big for us and the market for the avid golfer is definitely moving towards custom fitting. People are seeing that it can only help their game, particularly with irons.
While you can be custom fit at Nevada Bobs in a net, it is nowhere near as good as seeing a proper ball flight, with analysis by a launch monitor on a driving range with a professional who really knows what he is talking about. We really respect that and we have about 170 custom fitters up and down the country, with nearly 300 across Europe, and most of them are at green grass level.
Are there any new products on the horizon?
There will be a couple new products being launched in autumn, but I can't talk about them yet as the timings are yet to be finalised.
Will they be at Golf Europe in Munich?
We had a five-year deal with Golf Europe that expired last year, and I am pretty sure the Acushnet brands will not be exhibiting this year. It is very difficult to justify the expense of exhibiting these days, and it seems that less orders are actually taken at trade shows.
