E. Michael Johnson at Golf Digest recently put together a list of what he calls the “16 most epic golf equipment fails of all time.” This is the type of content I’m a HUGE sucker for and it’s perfect for my morning train ride. As soon as I saw it, I dove right in and loved every minute of reading through these golf equipment flops. Johnson takes you back through history so I imagine someone from all of our demographics on this site will have a fun laugh at their nostalgic connection to some of this gear. I’ll share some of my highlights.
I can’t speak for the rest of you, but one of my favorite golf memories (or collection of) is watching the same golf informercials on the local cable sports channel EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. in the summers. I’d wake up, I’d eat breakfast, and I’d turn on the golf infomercials. The same exact thing everyday. All my friends did too. It was an addiction and we needed them as much as we needed air to breathe. My two favorites were the Adams Tight Lies and the Orlimar TriMetal.
(I can’t find it on Youtube yet, but remember ole buddy hitting it off the cart path?! I also convinced my parents to buy me one as a result of this infomercial and I BOMBED it.)
Here’s the classic Orlimar Trimetal infomercial:
Now I share this infomercial backstory to pave the way for one of the more interesting golf equipment flops they mention in the story. Apparently Orlimar, maker of the legendary TriMetal, tried to get into the golf ball game, but ran into some legal issues with TaylorMade.
At the PGA International Golf Show in Las Vegas that summer, the company proudly introduced a line of golf balls packaged in a pop-top can, much like tennis balls. Allegedly, this was more than a marketing gimmick; the can was supposed to help the balls avoid moisture. The following day, TaylorMade served Orlimar a cease-and-desist letter, claiming the packaging violated TaylorMade’s patent on its InerGel Moisture Block packaging.
That put an end to that real quick. Think of the infomercial we could have had for those after the TriMetal infomercial?! Sadly we missed out on this opportunity. Interestingly enough, the TaylorMade ball that blocked Orlimar’s path to golf ball infomercial glory made the list too…
In January 1999, TaylorMade president George Montgomery was so fired up by the introduction of InerGel golf balls he proclaimed the company’s ball business would reach $100 million in sales. Despite the company’s assertion that its plastic Moisture Block packaging prevented moisture from robbing the balls of significant distance, TaylorMade’s first foray into the ball business never got off the ground at retail, way before the company’s more successful TP5/TP5x.
I actually had a sleeve tube of those InerGel balls too! (Actually, I still might somewhere – I’ll keep you posted.) Oh, and the TalyorMade TP5/TP5x balls are awesome. Worth the sacrifice of the InerGel.
Oh man, remember square drivers?! These didn’t last long, but I remember they had a decent cult following amongst my golfing circles. I personally was never a fan of any of these..at all, but there was some merit to the idea. There just wasn’t a great execution of it and they looked WAY too different. Thus, they never took off in the market. The article goes a little more in depth.
One thing that’s listed as a fail that I actually really liked was the Nike Engage wedge. Johnson explained why these were such a struggle from a marketing/branding/”display at the store” perspective and it makes pretty good sense. But I gotta tell ya, I once reviewed these “in the ole days” and was really impressed with them on the course. I thought they were a good testament to Nike really figuring out the equipment side of things just in time to close up shop.
Anyway, take a look at the post here. If you’re a gear nerd like us, especially over the age of 30, I think you’ll really appreciate it. Great for the train ride.
