You can also buy golf equipment through our updated online golf store if you can't get to one of our locations. We have warehouse type golf stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Bad business decisions? Too niche or traditional? Sad though.Golf Clearance Outlet is a leading retail golf shop selling the best golf equipment brands, such as Taylomade, Callaway and etc. Not really quite sure why those brands declined. Spalding is another brand which has declined, played by, and after he ended his playing career, endorsed by, Bobby Jones. Sad what happened to that company once branded as "The Greatest Name in Golf".
I am a great fan of MacGregor, as used by Hogan, Nicklaus etc. I think originally Mr Dunlop invented or at least patented pneumatic bicycle tyres in the late 19th century. They made some iconic sports gear, notably Australian Blade irons, 65 Balls and of course the Dunlop Fort Tennis Racquet used by John McEnroe and many other greats of the game. Thanks Foxholer for the interesting Dunlop history.
Top pros then often had deals with different companies in different regions. It was really a story about how difficult Hogan could be, even when approached by one of the world's best players.įor a lot of his career Player was actually signed up with John Letters, at least in the UK. When Player answered Dunlop, Hogan reputedly answered "Well then ask Mr Dunlop" and put the phone down. Hogan was known to be rather curmudgeonly at the time and asked Player "Whose clubs do you play?". Hogan had just started his own golf company. I think the original story was along the lines that Player was having trouble with his game so decided to phone Ben Hogan. Australian made ones were rather desirable too, the thinner neck gave more touch and feel, though that clashed with my style! Aussie Dunlop shoes (equivalent to the Blue Flash, but with Green and Yellow instead of Blue) wee far more comfortable than the virtually un-cushioned tennis shoes available in NZ at the time (mid to late 60s)!ĭunlop did eventually make a(nother) great racquet! John McEnroe used it rather successfully in his pomp, as did Steffi Graf in hers! It was such a good bat at the time that (reputedly) Navratilova negotiated use of one with her sponsors, Yonex (it had their logo) to combat any thoughts that Graf was using 'superior' equipment!ĭunlop, Slazenger and Maxfli were all brands within the Dunlop company! Slazenger wasn't originally, but was sold to Dunlop in late 50s. The quality of wood - and the finish - was much better than the NZ ones. In NZ, I always hungered for an 'English Slazenger' tennis racquet. Sports Direct provide Slazenger balls to Wimbledon (over 50000/year)! So some sort of 'prestige' presence continues. Dunlop Tyres have a different, but similar, shared setup!Īs further item of interest for Aussie/Kiwi 'followers' of Dunlop/Slazenger, the company that originally bought that area's brands (Pacific Sports) delisted last month from the Aussie Stock Exchange, because they were absorbed into the US Haneswear (as in clothing, notably Hanes underwear) company! TMag (Adidas) still own the tech/patents and the Noodle brand.įor sporting goods, Sumitomo (as in the SRI of Srixon) owns the Dunlop brand in much of Asia, shares ownership with Sports Direct International in US, but Sports Direct own the name elsewhere. Maxfli was, at one time, owned by TaylorMade (RBS having taken over the Dunlop-Slazenger after a 'failed' MBO), but they sold the Maxfli name (only) to a US Sports company (Dicks, the guys that sacked 500 Pros a year or 2 ago). That's why the Dunlop name is now scattered all across the world! They continued to sell bits, with the Dunlop name, to various other groups - both by activity and by country. Virtually their first action reaped an overall profit (though tht didn't include the debt they took on). It was bought by an investment group, who split the company up. Likewise Tennis, through tennis balls.ĭunlop made a couple of disastrous decisions and the dodgy period of UK industrial decline certainly didn't help its cause. Click to expand.Dunlop, Slazenger and Maxfli were all brands within the Dunlop company! Slazenger wasn't originally, but was sold to Dunlop in late 50s.ĭunlop got into Golf as an extension of their rubber product business.
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