The economy is clearly taking its toll on the golf manufacturers.  Not too long ago layoffs were announced at TaylorMade-Adidas, and yesterday came word that Callaway’s first quarter earnings dropped 83%.  My suspicion is that other manufacturers aren’t doing much better.  What I’m hearing is that golfers are using what little discretionary income they have to actually play golf.  Equipment upgrades (which most of us will admit are largely unnecessary) are being put on the back burner until the economy improves.

If there’s a silver lining to the economic crisis it’s that golfers with a little bit of money to spend have a multitude of discounts to choose from.

Buy 1 get 1 Offers

I already told you about Callaway’s buy a driver get a fairway wood for $1 deal.  That deal of course followed on the heals of Callaway’s buy a set of irons, get a free wedge deal.  When you think about, it doesn’t really make much sense…spend $800 on a set of clubs and well toss in a $120 wedge vs. Spend $400 on a single club and will give you a $200 club for free.  Obviously, the driver deal is way better than the iron deal.  Can we get a better deal on irons?  Maybe throw in a hybrid…I don’t know, but clearly I digress.

In addition to their iron/wedge, driver/fairway deals, Callaway is offering a free 6 pack of their Tour i golf balls with the purchase of a dozen Tour i or Tour ix balls.  Basically Callaway will give you 18 premium balls for the price of 12.  Considering the Tour i and Tour ix run about $45 a dozen, it’s about as good of a deal as you’ll find on premium balls (short of ordering from www.lostgolfballs.com).

And speaking of LostGolfBalls.com (my favorite source for used golf balls) is running a BOGO offer on their Onion Sacks (50 golf balls) through 5/11/09.  Balls are available from AAA to AAAAA grades.  If you’re like me (not opposed to buying and playing used golf balls), this may be your best chance to stock up.

After Callaway’s driver deal was announced, Cleveland Golf got in on the discount action by offering a free matching fairway wood with the purchase of either a HiBore Monster XLS or Launcher Driver.  While Callaway deserves a lot of credit for getting the discount train rolling, kudos to Cleveland for also including both of their 2009 models, and for doing away with the “for $1″ stuff.  If you want to give me a fairway wood, just give it to me.  What’s that dollar thing all about anyway?

Cleveland is also offering  a free golf bag with the purchase of their 2009 Launcher irons.

Adams is offering a buy one get one deal as well.  They’re throwing in a Speedline Fairway with the purchase of a Speedline driver.  They’ll also give you an A4 or A4 OS fairway wood when you purchase a set of A4 or A4 OS irons.

TaylorMade, never one to be left out, also decided to pony up some free stuff.  TaylorMade will give you your choice of a 2008 Burner Rescue, or Burner Fairway with the purchase of a 2009 Burner or last year’s R7 Limited driver.  Order before 5/15 and you’ll also get a pair of Adidas Powerband Golf shoes too.

While the shoes are a nice throw in (assuming you don’t already have a pair of shoes you like better), overall I’m not a fan of the TaylorMade offer.  The 09 Burner may have appeal for some, most of us would be much more interested in the TaylorMade R9 driver.  It’s also a bit…well…lame that the best TaylorMade is willing to offer up for free are last year’s clubs.  Sure, the Burner fairway and rescue are just fine, but again, with fairway and hybrid clubs available in the R9 series, TaylorMade’s offer isn’t all that exciting.

Bridgestone, manufacturer of some of the most unappreciated balls in golf, is offering a free wind shirt with the purchase of any 2 dozen balls from their B330 series.  Purchase 2 dozen, e5+, e6+, or e7+, and Bridgestone will send you a golf shirt.  Both offers expire at the end of June.

Price Reductions

Price drops are a part of every summer.  Once the new product lines have found their way on to store shelves, it’s commonplace to see manufacturers and retailers to drop prices on the old to make room for the new.  What’s not so common is to see substantial price reductions on relatively new equipment.

Bushnell is offering a $50 rebate (through June 30th) on all of their rangefinders (although for the price, I still prefer the Leupold lineup).

Nickent has dropped prices on both the 4DX and 3DX series.

Cobra (which like Titleist is a member of the Acushnet family) has dropped the price of the L5V driver from $399.00 to $299.00.  The L5V is my favorite of the 2009 drivers that I’ve tried so far, so I’m glad Cobra decided to drop the pricing down to that of the S9-1.  Cobra has also dropped prices on most (if not all) of last year’s woods and irons.

Missing the Boat

So far Titleist hasn’t announced any deals or discounts.  Given the Titleist reputation of being serious equipment for serious golfers (there’s certainly an aura of exclusivity about the brand), I’d be a little shocked to see any Buy One Get One offers.  My guess is we may see some price reductions in the near future, with the $550 909DCOMP Driver being the most likely candidate.  I’m thinking we’ll see at least a $100 discount by mid-summer.

TaylorMade may have offers out there, but until they include their most expensive driver (you know…like your competitors over at Callaway did), they’ve missed the boat.  It’s going to take an offer I can’t refuse before I’ll pull the trigger on a new driver this year.  Callaway’s offer is damn close to being just that.  TaylorMade’s…mmm…not so much, and as I’ve said countless times, I am a TaylorMade driver guy.

Mizuno – Absolutely no deals thus far from Mizuno.  What’s the deal with no deals?

Ping – Karsten’s company is quiet…dead quiet.

Nike – Discounts on last year’s stuff.  So what.

My Suggestions

Hey Titleist, how about a but 2 get one deal on Vokey wedges?

Hey PING, don’t over think it, but you definitely need to get in on this buy a driver get a fairway craze.

Hey Mizuno, I know getting in on all this free fairway wood action might sound tempting with your new MX-700 series and whatnot, but offer a meaningful price drop on a set of MX-200s or MP-52s and you’ve got yourself a customer.

Hey Cobra, the L5V price drop is nice, but how about a free shaft upgrade?  The Diamana Red is a nice shaft, but it doesn’t work for everyone (guys like me for example).  Offer additional top-notch options at no charge, and I’m probably in.

Hey TaylorMade, R9.  Let me say that again; R9.

Hey Nike, do something…anything.  Can you seriously compete based on the Tiger brand alone?

My 2009 Truth

I made a deal with my wife just last weekend.  I promised her I wouldn’t spend a dime on new equipment (short of the 64° wedge I just bought), unless 1) I have to replace existing equipment that breaks in the line of duty, or 2) somebody (an equipment manufacturer) makes me a deal I can’t refuse.  So far I haven’t broken anything, and there isn’t a deal on the table yet I can’t walk away from (Callaway would have had me if I didn’t buy two fairway woods last season).

So what would it take?  Quite honestly, there realistically isn’t much that would fall in that too good to refuse category.  *If* TaylorMade packaged the R9 driver with an R9 hybrid I’d have to give it some serious thought.  *If* Cobra offered to throw in a significant shaft upgrade on the L5V, I’d be on the fence.  *If* Mizuno knocked an iron or two’s worth of cost of a set of MP-52s (or MX-200s for that matter), there’s not a doubt in my mind they’d find their way into my bag.  Short of exactly the deal I’m looking for, I’m not buying.  For those of you looking for something a little less specific, there simply has never been a better time to put new equipment into your bag.