David Toms to leave Cleveland Golf

[Carlton]

It turns out Cleveland Golf will be chopping approx 30-40% of it's sponsored players next year. When top guys like David Toms and Sean Micheel are on the chopping block, that doesn't sound very good for Cleveland Golf. Could it be bad management after the Quicksilver take over?

Posted on Golfweek:

On the market: David Toms has been playing Cleveland golf clubs since the late 1990s, blossoming into one of the stars on the PGA Tour. Odds are, he'll be using a new set of clubs next year. Toms and others in the Cleveland stable say the company will not be renewing any contract that expires this year, with the biggest name in that group being Toms. "I'm not sure what's going to happen,'' Toms said. Asked if he was shopping around, he replied, "Yes, which is kind of a bummer.'' "It's strictly a business decision with them,'' Toms said. "It's not to say I won't be with them in some capacity next year. I'm trying to work through those kinds of things right now. I think they are cutting back, and I happen to be one of the guys up for renewal.'' One option is to sign a corporate deal for his hat, the most visible billboard a player can offer. Toms said that might free him up to play whatever equipment suits him best. I know what I won't do is play something I'm not comfortable with,'' he said. "Sometimes you take less money as long as you're confident you can play well with that equipment. I won't do anything off the wall, I can promise you that.''

[racmbs]

That's what he gets for switiching from his Comp to a TM 425. :D

Appears that Cleveland is adopting the same policy as Ping does with it's Tour Players....either you are %100 brand loyal, or they don't want you at all.

Now Vijay has been with Cleveland for years and I find it funny that his name isn't being brought up.....last year, he flipped back and forth between TM and Cleveland with his drivers, but has since switched back permanently which might be an indication that they also gave him an ultimatum.

[beeker]

Now Vijay has been with Cleveland for years and I find it funny that his name isn't being brought up.....last year, he flipped back and forth between TM and Cleveland with his drivers, but has since switched back permanently which might be an indication that they also gave him an ultimatum. I think he plays at least one Callaway FW wood, so will he be forced to change that?

[el tigre]

I think he plays at least one Callaway FW wood, so will he be forced to change that? VJ has a 13 club contract. Cleveland doesn't make a 9-wood.

[dekker]

If I'm paying a player big bucks to Ho' my line I don't want him to display just the headcovers.

[TourIQ]

Appears that Cleveland is adopting the same policy as Ping does with it's Tour Players....either you are %100 brand loyal, or they don't want you at all.
Hi Scott

I personally think tour players suboptimize their resulting performance and World Golf Ranking when they allow themselves to chase the endorsement contract and get tied into 100% Brand Loyalty ... after all can any 1 manufacturer make the best heads considering the 6 groups of heads [driver, fairway woods, hybrid, irons, wedges, and putter]. They put money 1st over extra wins on tour [higher stroke average].

[racmbs]

VJ has a 13 club contract. Cleveland doesn't make a 9-wood.

Vijay still carrys a Callaway 9 wood, bent to a 7 wood. He does not have a 13 club contract with Cleveland, no player does...yet. In fact, not only is he using his Callaway still, at the US Open and British Open he was using an R7 5-wood for all 4 rounds of play.

As of late this year, he was also using a TM 425...so that in itself would nullify a 13 club contract even if he had one. As I stated above, Cleveland is going the way of Ping with it's Tour players by basically forcing them to carry the entire brand. If they choose not to, then they are kindly shown the door and are free to play any club they choose. Vijay having been there #1 guy on Tour since late '99 if I remember, will be a tough pill to swallow if they start adopting this policy and he tells them sianara baby. Although I find that hard to believe he would do that, as he was clearly playing all Cleveland at the Tour Championships from what I remember....so maybe that's an indication where his loyalty lies. :D

Harry put it best below.....there is not 1 manufacturer out there that does it right with all of their clubs. If they did, then we'd be just like the tour players themselves and would carry 13 clubs of the same brand.

[The Troll]

I personally think tour players suboptimize their resulting performance

I think Steve Stricker is one of the best examples.

He had just started to be a force, then switched from Callaway to TM (for big $$$) and just didn't have it anymore. At one point, they had to allow him to go back to a Callaway driver.

Given Toms' recent record, I wouldn't have resigned him either.

I should point out that David Howell is tied to Cleveland but only uses 13 Cleveland branded clubs. He continues to use a Yes putter.

[el tigre]

Vijay still carrys a Callaway 9 wood, bent to a 7 wood. He does not have a 13 club contract with Cleveland, no player does...yet. In fact, not only is he using his Callaway still, at the US Open and British Open he was using an R7 5-wood for all 4 rounds of play.
Hmmm, that's what I heard and it sure sounds like it was for 13 clubs if you go by the info on the Cleveland site - but they don't actually come out and specify a number:

http://www.clevelandgolf.com/index.php?&moid=122&function=display&oid=T007:87&alias=press_releases&insidefile=release.html

According to Cleveland, he's still using the Comp (guess he didn't like the Hi-Bore that much) and they list 13 Cleveland clubs in his bag:

http://www.clevelandgolf.com/index.php?&alias=player_directory&moid=118&function=display&oid=PLAYER:8&insidefile=player.html

Maybe if he drops the bent 9-wood one week he can sub in a different driver??? Or maybe he can play whatever he wants. Who knows???

[racmbs]

Hmmm, that's what I heard and it sure sounds like it was for 13 clubs if you go by the info on the Cleveland site - but they don't actually come out and specify a number:

http://www.clevelandgolf.com/index.php?&moid=122&function=display&oid=T007:87&alias=press_releases&insidefile=release.html

According to Cleveland, he's still using the Comp (guess he didn't like the Hi-Bore that much) and they list 13 Cleveland clubs in his bag:

http://www.clevelandgolf.com/index.php?&alias=player_directory&moid=118&function=display&oid=PLAYER:8&insidefile=player.html

Maybe if he drops the bent 9-wood one week he can sub in a different driver??? Or maybe he can play whatever he wants. Who knows???

Of course they'll list on their site he's using a Comp, he's been seen using it in the past and did have it in play at the TC, but he's also a CG staffer :D. BUT, as with most tour players, they opt to keep their contracts open to allow them to use other equipment from different OEM's as they all are better in one part of the industry or other. I'm sure that although he's using a NC putter right now, there's nothing stopping him from switching over to Scotty Cameron if he decided to give his current putter a time-out.

As for his 13 clubs, if you look at his wedge setup he's only got 2 in the bag so the 14th club not listed on CG's site could very well be the Cally 9 wood.

[leftintherough]

So what does this mean? Is Cleveland cutting back to watch the bottom line? Is this another sign the US economy is slowing down? Or are they going to replace David Toms with a more marketable player?

[FlipWedge]

This is one of the reasons its better to have a sponsor who isn't in the golf biz. If sponsored by Kellogg's, ala the LPGA tour players, your clubs are your business and no one else's.

Maybe Jose Maria Olazabal could get Gilette to sponsor him .... then again I suppose he'd have to start shaving three times a day! LMFAO!

[Daniel]

Just curious... what kind of $$$ are we talking with these "loyalty contracts"?

[Bellyhungry]

Watch put for Weir and Duval...They might be on the market very soon....

Well, maybe not Weir given the Canadian market for TaylorMade...

[golferboy]

A lot of players have a great year and then capitalize by signing a deal with another OEM. Then they suck the next year with the new equipment. I think Steve Stricker is one of the best examples.

He had just started to be a force, then switched from Callaway to TM (for big $$$) and just didn't have it anymore. At one point, they had to allow him to go back to a Callaway driver.

Given Toms' recent record, I wouldn't have resigned him either.

I should point out that David Howell is tied to Cleveland but only uses 13 Cleveland branded clubs. He continues to use a Yes putter.

[racmbs]

Watch put for Weir and Duval...They might be on the market very soon....

Well, maybe not Weir given the Canadian market for TaylorMade...

With 1.8 million in earnings for 2006, Weir isn't anywhere near the chopping block.

[fresh]

With 1.8 million in earnings for 2006, Weir isn't anywhere near the chopping block.

didnt weir resign last year on a 3 year deal (including wearing the tour 360 shoes)???

[racmbs]

didnt weir resign last year on a 3 year deal (including wearing the tour 360 shoes)???

Not sure Mike......but even if he didn't, there are plenty of TM staffers well below his yearly earnings for 2006 that would be on the chopping block before him, such as:

Todd Hamilton and Shane Bertsch come to mind. Not sure how much they've made, but I'm sure it's not over even close to the other PGA staffers.

[Bellyhungry]

Truthfully, Callaway needs to purge their players as much as Cleveland Golf...

Let's see:

Hank Kuehne, Len Mattice, Mark Brooks - have been

Ty Tryon, Ricky Barnes, Casey Wittenberg - Could've, should've

May Wood - Wrong 'Wood'

Morgan Pressel - OK, may be not Pressel. But I am sure her contract is disproportional to her performance this year.

[beeker]

Saw this on pgatour.com:

TAYLORMADE TOMS: When Cleveland Golf decided not to renew endorsement contracts this year, it left former PGA (http://www.golfweb.com/tournaments/pgachampionship) champion David Toms (http://www.pgatour.com/players/intro/132128) as a free agent. But not for long.
Just more than a month after the PGA TOUR season ended, Toms has signed a deal with TaylorMade. He still had his Cleveland irons in the bag at the Target World Challenge, but he will have his new clubs at the Mercedes-Benz Championship (http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r016).
"What I was trying to do was a corporate deal and play what I wanted to," Toms said. "If I was patient, I think that would have worked out. But I had a nice offer on the table from TaylorMade, and I felt very comfortable with them."

http://www.pgatour.com/story/9880912

[golfinseb]

TM has picked up a decent player with the signing of Toms. I wonder if Cleveland is looking to find some younger talent or if this is purely a cost cutting move?