I was really happy to read today on The Golf Wire that the iconic golf equipment brand MacGregor Golf is returning with a new, revamped lineup of premium golf equipment. For those who are not familiar with the history of this iconic golf equipment brand, here is a brief history of MacGregor Golf:
It is a 113 years old golf equipment brand. MacGregor Golf, which was based in Albany, Ga., claims that more majors (59) were won with MacGregor Golf clubs than with clubs made by any other company. Many of those majors were accounted for by Jack Nicklaus. Unfortunately Jack Nicklaus sold the company in the 1980s. More recently, MacGregor Golf was associated with Greg Norman, making The Greg Norman Collection apparel line. Greg Norman acquired partial ownership of MacGregor Golf several years ago, but when Greg Norman switched to playing TaylorMade golf clubs recently many saw the writing on the wall for MacGregor Golf.
To have a positive end of the story last year, Golfsmith acquired MacGregor Golf and turned it to a so called "house brand". Just to understand the popularity of MacGregor Golf in the 1980s and 90s that we could see it in the movie of Caddyshack:
Now here are my doubts about the future of MacGregor Golf. When we are thinking about the future, for how many of us will be relevant the history of this golf equipment brand? Do we really care what was in the past? How many of us will afford a premium golf equipment (especially in light of the declining number of rounds on golf course)? Is Golfsmith able to give a significant communication support for this golf equipment brand?