When and Why Did Nike Stop Making Golf Clubs? [2016]

• The company had been making golf clubs since 1984 but failed to make a profit in that time. In 2015, Nike’s golf sales were down 20 percent from the previous year.
• In order to focus on other areas of the sports industry, Nike ceased manufacturing golf clubs on August 3, 2016.
• The decision to discontinue the production of golf clubs will allow the company to concentrate on its other products and maintain its reputation.
• Golfers may be disappointed by Nike’s decision, but the company plans to transition to other areas of the sports industry.
• The current decision will temporarily be good for the company, and it will retain its status as a top golf shoe brand around the world.

My parents have always been avid golfers. And as such, they were some of Nike Golf’s biggest fans. They loved the fact that the company was American-owned and operated, and they were always impressed by the quality of its equipment.

So when Nike announced in 2016 that it was discontinuing the production of golf clubs, my parents were heartbroken. They had been using Nike clubs for as long as they could remember, and they couldn’t imagine playing without them.

Fortunately, Nike said it would transition to other areas of the sports industry. And my parents decided to stick with the company, trusting that it would produce quality products in the future.

And they were right to do so. In 2017, Nike released its new line of golf shoes and apparel. My parents immediately fell in love with them, and they have been using them ever since.

Nike may have stopped making golf clubs in 2016, but it is still a global leader in the sport. My parents are happy to be part of that legacy, and they continue to support the company wholeheartedly.

So, When Did Nike Stop Making Golf Clubs?

Nike was founded in January 1964 by Phil Knight as a company selling golf equipment, sports shoes, and attires. Other co-founders of Nike are Travis Knight, holding companies, and trusts.

Phil Knight owns over 97% of the class A shares of the company, which gives him control over the company. Phil was the CEO of the renowned sports attire company from 1964 to 2016, when he retired.

After a long time of Nike operating as a golf equipment and sports attire company, it stopped supplying gulf equipment but continued selling shoes, t-shirts, and other attires. There are various reasons cited by various sources as the reason Nike stopped selling golf equipment.

Nike announced the end of its golf club-making business in 2016. Its products included bags, irons, clubs, balls, and other golfing equipment. People greatly miss their products since they consider them the best equipment that provides them good and long services.

Everyone wishes Nike could continue with the golf equipment business and make more clubs.

Why Did Nike Stop Making Golf Clubs?

Some people say that Nike wanted to drop the club-making business so that it could concentrate on selling golf shoes and shirts, which have lower operating costs and easy return on investment.

However, if Nike had analyzed the two businesses and seen that the business of selling shirts and shoes was doing better, it could be the reason it opted to close the club-making business.

According to reports, the club-making business was making $700M annually, which indicates that the company was not badly off. However, the operation costs could be too high than the returns.

But people think that Nike was doing good in selling golf equipment; hence losses could not be the reason to stop running the business.

Some golfers think that Nike closed down because of poor marketing. Even though they were golfers, they never found it convincing to purchase golf equipment from Nike.

Poor marketing can be a big challenge to the business and lead to its closure. Maybe Nike felt that with their fame, there was no need to market their products which could have failed them greatly.

Other people think that Nike’s products are of low quality. Hence they kept on breaking easily, and that is what led to fewer people buying the products. The frustrations then made the golf club’s business close down.

People are also complaining of poor customer service provided by Nike’s team, which pissed them off. Everyone wants a product they feel is worth paying for, and the moment clients feel it is not worth their money, you should expect the sales to drop.

According to more reviews, older people could not be willing to try Nike’s products, and also Nike’s products had bright colors, which could not be what many clients wanted. If this is the case, this could also affect sales, making Nike not interested in the business anymore.

The golf equipment business was very competitive with other giant companies in the market, which is another reason that could have threatened the existence of Nike as a golf club business.

Some of the giants in the markets are Mizuno, Titleist, and TaylorMade, which were more recognized than Nike.

It’s believed that amongst the recognized golfers, it’s only tiger who used to buy equipment from Nike. It’s even alleged that he bought other brands and rebranded them as Nike. With all these challenges, it was hard to remain in the market selling golf equipment.

Business is not simple, and since the goal of every business is to make a profit, there was no reason for Nike to continue selling golf equipment that didn’t bring profit or didn’t meet their expectations, so closing down was a good idea.

However, Nike is still doing well in sports clothes and shoes, with its main competitors being Adidas, and New Balance, amongst others.

Sources

• https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/comments/4yzalw/heres_why_nikes_golf_business_failed/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/sports/comments/8kztoj/eli5_why_did_nike_get_out_of_the_golf_business/
• https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Nike-stop-making-golf-clubs