The MacGregor Way

2008-07-02

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By Steve Pike

When you walk into an off-course retail golf store – or even a big box store – these days it seems that nearly every golf club equipment company, large and small, is represented on the shelves and racks. It’s sort of a ‘grab and go” mentality that’s pervaded the industry the past several years as product life cycles have gotten shorter and the demand for new product has increased.
 
MacGregor Golf, however, is taking a bit of a different approach. The 101-year-old company, now under the ownership of Greg Norman, is bringing its latest lines directly to the public.
 
“We’ve moved from very traditional manufacturing methodology to all custom, made-to-order products,” said MacGregor Golf President Reid Gorman. “As the orders come in, whether it’s a standard spec or a custom spec, we turn it around and get it out the door usually within 48 hours.
 
“With product life cycles being so short and being assembled in China, there’s a lot of product sitting on shelves and subject to forecast rather than the actual demand of what’s selling through.”
 
A former executive at Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY), Gorman said this method gives MacGregor more flexibility to what the customer wants as opposed to what it has to move in order to clear inventory for new product.
 
And what MacGregor has is plenty of quality products, particularly with its irons. That’s no surprise given the company’s heritage is based on the classic shaped, forged irons made at MacGregor’s venerable facility on Slappy Blvd. in Albany, Ga. MacGregor, under former owner Barry Schneider, moved out of that facility a few years ago, but the quality craftsmanship remains.
 
“When Greg took over the company, he asked me, ‘what would you do?’” Gorman said. “I told him we people (most notably legendary clubmaker Don White) who came make some of the most beautifully crafted product by hand. On that level, we can compete with anyone.”
 
Indeed. The MT Pro-M iron, for example, really is ‘classic’ MacGregor – forged muscle back iron with a compact profile and flat sole better players want in order to shape their shots. The MT PRO-C irons were developed from the same base forging and milling process as the MT Pro-M irons, but have a CNC milled cavity back that Gorman said offers better amateurs added forgiveness in their irons without sacrificing ball control.

And the MT irons, Gorman said, target low to mid handicap players who want the classic head shape combined with game improvement technology.

It features a forged Cup Face for tremendous feel with incredible forgiveness and distance control on off-center hits. The raised muscle directly behind the face optimizes power and provides consistent feel, while the undercut channel produces a low and deep center of gravity (CG) to create ideal launch conditions. Its slightly larger, classically shaped profile inspires confidence at address.

“There is a distinct player target for each of the lines,” Gorman said. “And it’s all still very traditional, but made in a modern way.”
 
The MacGregor way.