CEO of TaylorMade-adidas Predicts(or to manufactuer?) Rules Bifurcation

"Here's a prediction: the USGA within 10 years will be a non-entity"


The seriously worrying comment from CEO of Taylormade-adidas (Mark King) and I assume he also see's a similar fate for the other governing body the R & A. He made his thoughts known in an interview with score golf;

http://scoregolf.com/blog/rick-young/2013/january/taking-a-stand

Some key comments from Mark King;

The anchor ban has apparently taken USGA incursion into limiting technology too far.

In response to where the anchor ban leaves golf he suggests we should leave the USGA out of it

He wants the USGA to support a new type of golf. (from his comments this seems to be one that is more profitable for taylormade as they have more products to sell for different types of golf)

The PGA should make a new set of rules and if the USGA's current 11 tournaments die through lack of participation by the guys signed to PGA rule golf then so be it.

Rules bifurcation makes sense.

"We are not going to stop making long putters and I'm not going to stop playing one"

He seems to think that Tim Finchem may ignore the anchoring ban and that that will be the start of the bifurcation of the rules and eventual demise of the USGA.


There are a few other points worth noting so I suggest people read the article.


There seems a lot to discuss arising from the remarks made by Mark King but to begin with it seems we have conformation the the manufacturers are willing to take an aggressive stand over any attempts to further regulate technology. This leaves any future hope of governing bodies reigning in the technology in tatters. It is extremely sad to see a manufacturers make threats about the existence of the people who run golf. It really is very unclear what the USGA could do if the PGA, Finchem and the manufactures decided to make an alliance aimed at blocking rule changes.

It would of course be naive to assume this has not always been the case but there is something more chilling about someone coming out and saying it rather than it just being implied.

The two points I take away from this are 1) bifurcation of the rules is bad for the game and the manufacturers dont seem to care as long as they can sell more clubs and 2) The manufacturers seem to have become emboldened in terms of dealing with the governing bodies.

Potential conclusion - Whatever chance we had of a ball rollback seems lost unless the USGA and the R & A come out fighting.

Taylormade really are despicable. i watched an interesting video recently where the guy cranked up the loft and added 1/2 inch to the shaft of an equivalent mizuno iron to match an off the shelf tm iron. the mizuno came out on top naturally. how tm get away feeding the ducks as they do is anyone's guess.

Mac you love a bit of sensationalist hyperbole don't you? You sound like a "Seriously worrying" You don't even play competitions so not sure why you care.

There is no reason why the ball or technology should be wound back. Most golfers are rubbish and will always be rubbish and technology won't make them better, and as you frequently point out, par is irrelevant. You'll still have a trouser climax whether someone plays a great shot on a relic like TOC or at a properly difficult US Open course.

It's boring Mac, really boring.

For the record, there is nothing in the rules to prevent the use of the long putter, merely the method of how you use them.

It's up to the USGA to police how they are used. This isn't TM's problem or any other manufacturers.

King's not the slightest bit intereseted in growing the game altruistically. Making money's his business and his tantrum amounts to nothing more than that.

gaelgowfer wrote:King's not the slightest bit intereseted in growing the game altruistically. Making money's his business and his tantrum amounts to nothing more than that.

He's the CEO of a multi-national sports company, why should he be altruistic? To keep his position he is required by the company to oversee wealth making.

As I said, he's doing nothing wrong in continuing to make long putters, they are not, and will not be illegal. It is anchoring, which you can do with any putter, which is to be illegal.

It's a valid perspective from a manufacturer who is only interested in shifting product. That said - how much product do they shift for anchors to use? Or is it purely a play to try to prevent roll backs on the ball front and other tech advances too?

I don't like much TM stuff either - but they'll continue to do OK as long as people buy into the further, faster rubbish without paying attention to how they're actually doing it with longer shafted lower loft pig iron. Can't stand the american teenage punk naming convention they seem to be following either. Rocketbladez? Lethal balls? Pah!

Seeing as I appear to have become 183 years old... I'll get me (tweed) coat (me gutta percha and me mashie niblick)!

I can well understand him looking after his companies commercial interest and that's fine, that is/should be expected of any worth his salt Senior Executive.

There is however a line in the sand that shouldn't be crossed and threatening the very existence of one of the games governing bodies (if that is what his comments amount to ) for the sake of commercial expediency would (to me)be crossing that line.

On the other hand the governing bodies can't be seen to be completely riding roughshod over the commercial interest of the manufacturers.

Time for them to get round the table methinks. Or, are they already frequently round the table and this is just a rogue off the script rant that doesn't reflect the collective view of all the manufacturers?

I think people are missing the point. He isn't riding roughshod over the rules because he can't define how a person uses the putter. They can choose to use them legally or illegally.

How people use his products is not his problem.

You can swing a normal putter like a croquet mallet, but that would be illegal. That isn't the manufacturers problem.

King wrote:

I think we need to tell golfers you can play with a 15" cup, with 20 clubs in your bag, by playing winter rules, taking a gimme and saying that's cool.

The 20 clubs in your bag bit reveals this guy's motivation.

Clearly Mark is more huxter than golfer. Do others here feel like me that part of the joy of the game is its difficulty or is the consensus that the easier the game becomes the "better" it is?
I don't want to be given every hole on a plate by having a metre wide hole and as many clubs as I can afford...and trying to maintain the integrity of the older courses is worth doing, if that's through reigning in ball technology and my drives don't fly as far so-be-it.
It's a great game as it is, personally I don't want it compromised so the 10 second attention spanners think it's cool.
I'll join R_C now and get me tweed out of the cupboard

Turnip

I agree that the difficulty is one of the great sources of pleasure in the game. There is a reason there is no greater satisfaction to be found than nailing a long iron. The interaction between man and nature should be kept in the balance of nature, otherwise what is there for the golfer to overcome?

The guy sounds like a t w a t to me, and one who's not a proper golfer at that.

15" holes? I find it boring enough playing to 7" holes on winter greens.

Sounds to me like Mark King is fed up waiting to get governing body clearance on every new club he brings out on a seemingly weekly basis ... hence the rant! He also seems to be blissfully ignorant as to the existence of the R&A together with the fact that the european tour has already accepted it would go with the anchoring ban.

In any event, the pga tour will not defy the governing bodies if for no other reason than they would rather someone else copped any rules flak!

Gael, there is nothing wrong with the putters, it's the anchoring. King is doing nothing wrong.

super_dunce ... where exactly have I claimed that long putters will be banned?

It's the insinuation Gael that King is somehow forcing governing bodies to permit his products.

Mac,
Don't know if you read the (unctious) Rosaforte's piece I linked on my thread yesterday, but it really seems as if there could be a break between the USGA and PGA Tour on the subject of anchoring.

After yesterday's four-hours-for-eleven-holes exhibition it's clear that golf has deeper problems than a bunch of anchorers.

kwinigolfer wrote:Mac,
Don't know if you read the (unctious) Rosaforte's piece I linked on my thread yesterday, but it really seems as if there could be a break between the USGA and PGA Tour on the subject of anchoring.

After yesterday's four-hours-for-eleven-holes exhibition it's clear that golf has deeper problems than a bunch of anchorers.

You're wasted on here Kwini.

turnip wrote:Clearly Mark is more huxter than golfer. Do others here feel like me that part of the joy of the game is its difficulty or is the consensus that the easier the game becomes the "better" it is?
I don't want to be given every hole on a plate by having a metre wide hole and as many clubs as I can afford...and trying to maintain the integrity of the older courses is worth doing, if that's through reigning in ball technology and my drives don't fly as far so-be-it.
It's a great game as it is, personally I don't want it compromised so the 10 second attention spanners think it's cool.
I'll join R_C now and get me tweed out of the cupboard

I'm with you 100%. King sounds like a monumental man sausage.

kwinigolfer wrote:Mac,
Don't know if you read the (unctious) Rosaforte's piece I linked on my thread yesterday, but it really seems as if there could be a break between the USGA and PGA Tour on the subject of anchoring.

You'd think there were more players on the Tour who'd object to anchoring being allowed than want it. About time the spineless spoke out.

kwinigolfer wrote:After yesterday's four-hours-for-eleven-holes exhibition it's clear that golf has deeper problems than a bunch of anchorers.

The USGA/R&A need to get their collective thumbs out of their arses on golf kit. They need to stomp on fairway wood/hybrid CoR asap and do likewise for irons. Oh dear, that would spike TM's guns a bit at the same time wouldn't it? Shame.

Would be interesting to see what would happen legally if there was ever any action to freeze out the existing governing bodies...