CLUB DEALS FOR TOUR PRO'S, WHAT'S UP?

[962B]

Ever notice how often some guys switch club deals? Doesn't it seem that guys like Scott McCarron or even Freddy C are turnin' it over like Mamas pancakes? His swing may not be the prettiest, but you gotta respect Westwood for hanging in there with PING. This guy was all out to break 90 for awhile and he couldn't find a fairway at Parkview, but he stuck with his club deal. He's been a PING guy through the best and worst of times and it's nice to see him playing better these days. Look at Hammerin' Hank. He had one good year on the big Tour with Taylor Made and now he's wearing a Top-Flite logo. What was he thinking? His scoring average is brutal this year. The best players in the world have switched club deals very few times in their prime. Vijay has basically been a Wilson, Cleveland guy. Tiger was a Titleist (o.k. Mizuno blades for awhile) guy that switched to Nike, and the Milk Bag was a Yonex/Titleist/Callaway guy. Ernie had Major success with Lynx and then moved on to Taylor Made and Titleist. Why don't guys like McCarron or Janzen try the long haul with their club deals?

[openflows]

I'm not sure where you're coming from, or why exactly you think pros should be loyal to a particular manufacturer. I'd also reckon that regardless of their brand/corporate loyalty, they still may change clubs frequently. Often I read about how pros are trying out new things, specifically within the same maker's line of clubs, just doing tweaks here and there. So I'm not entirely sure what you're point is. For many pros, an endorsement deal is needed money, and if another company offers you more money to endorse their gear, why should a pro not take advantage of that? Certainly when I read Rich Beem's book about life on tour, he talked quite a bit about how valuable it was for him to get various little equipment endorsment deals to help pay the bills before he was able to win on tour...