Interesting comment from Jack

[Henry]

Although Nicklaus will always be my idle, I found it interesting (maybe disappointing) of what he recently said at his news conference during the Honda Classic. A reporter asked him about his golf manufacturing company that had a building located on I-95 in the West Palm Beach are of Florida. Jack indicated he closed the building and his US operation and apparently moved his entire club manufacturing and assembly to China to save money. He now says his his company is making a profit. Interesting comment from a man who demands perfection, builds the best golf courses in the world but apparently does not have the same feeling when it comes to his club manufacturing company. Am I missing something?

[supo]

Although Nicklaus will always be my idle, I found it interesting (maybe disappointing) of what he recently said at his news conference during the Honda Classic. A reporter asked him about his golf manufacturing company that had a building located on I-95 in the West Palm Beach are of Florida. Jack indicated he closed the building and his US operation and apparently moved his entire club manufacturing and assembly to China to save money. He now says his his company is making a profit. Interesting comment from a man who demands perfection, builds the best golf courses in the world but apparently does not have the same feeling when it comes to his club manufacturing company. Am I missing something?

well it doesnt surprise me.

everything about american clubs is price point not quality point.

design wise they are fabulous but for material point, bahhumbug.

made in china. with jacks name.

people who buy those clubs wouldnt care.

designs prob good but materials and assembly.

save some coin to print some coin.

i dont care if they are MIA or MIC

if they aint MIJ

then no good for this little black duck.

interestingly enough if he took a jack "uber dsign "

and asked epon or a J forger to make it

id BET they would sell ooodles of them

jack design made in japan.

gottta be some thing there surely.

maybe he shud be going less is more??????

[FrankThong]

Although Nicklaus will always be my idle, I found it interesting (maybe disappointing) of what he recently said at his news conference during the Honda Classic. A reporter asked him about his golf manufacturing company that had a building located on I-95 in the West Palm Beach are of Florida. Jack indicated he closed the building and his US operation and apparently moved his entire club manufacturing and assembly to China to save money. He now says his his company is making a profit. Interesting comment from a man who demands perfection, builds the best golf courses in the world but apparently does not have the same feeling when it comes to his club manufacturing company. Am I missing something?

Why is 'Made in China' a problem? Many high end, high quality goods, from electronics to fashion and just about everything in between, are made in China for a while now. And if you equate 'best' with 'made in USA', then yes Henry, you are missing something.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Why is 'Made in China' a problem? Many high end, high quality goods, from electronics to fashion and just about everything in between, are made in China for a while now. And if you equate 'best' with 'made in USA', then yes Henry, you are missing something.

Hey Frank, Not to much wrong with made in china for the average golfer but for those who are addicted to having the best clubs money can buy it's an easy choice to go with Japan. Like electronics "made in Japan" electronics are a cut above the rest. It's all about the detail and quality in Japan.

[FrankThong]

Hey Frank, Not to much wrong with made in china for the average golfer but for those who are addicted to having the best clubs money can buy it's an easy choice to go with Japan. Like electronics "made in Japan" electronics are a cut above the rest. It's all about the detail and quality in Japan.

Hi there, isn't it a bit over-generalizing to say that 'made in Japan' is a 'cut above the rest'? Would you say that Nikon is better than Leica? Seiko over Patek Philippe? Toyota or Ferrari? What gives Leica, Patek Philippe, Ferrari, along with many excellent Japanese companies, its 'superior' edge is the artisans behind the brand who puts craftsmanship ahead of production efficiency, quality over profit margins, customers before shareholders, and not the country of manufacture. Not so long ago, Japanese automakers struggled to convince the world that their cars were as good as their American and European counterparts, next came the Koreans pitching their white and brown goods uphill at international markets; now, it's the Chinese and Indians turn at the wheel.

I'm sorry, even though my gear is almost completely JDM, I cannot categorically agree with you.

[Spoon]

its all about the bottom line! imho jack chose where he wanted to be,

he could have remained higher end with a smaller market share vs mass

market (china option) obviously he chose the made in china for obvious

reasons.

as Tsger said probably no biggie for the price conscious average golfer

but a big nono for the jdm / golf fanatic. we are obviously not his mrket

[ant]

i reckon its about setting right manufacturing tolerances on components and quality control. i bet that if anyone digs deep enough alot of JDM gear is not 100% made of Japan as far an entire finished product, the consumer is getting, is concerned. assembled in Japan would be more like it. tight manufacturing tolerances on components, careful assembly and quality control at various stages is what you pay premium price for in the end of the day.

[ant]

another good example of this is Ben Hogan company. when the man was in change the product was solid. then the reality of US market changed and the only was to continue to make solid product was to seriously downsize and turn into premium gear niche market operation. when a group of Japanese investors bought the company they didnt do that of course, instead they started to cut corners and squeeze for profits and it wasnt long before the product lost its most loyal followers and finally ended up in Callaways hands. in all fairness i think Callaway did a good job contrary to what most fans say because they hate Callaway for canning the product in the end even tho it made business sense. i think in Japan its kinda unique in a sense that the market is very different where consumer expects premium gear and ready to pay for it so manufacturers can design their product with money is no object attitude and still sell plenty of clubs to justify the whole operation even just domestically plus export some to international niche premium gear market. solid product can be made anywhere in the world and still be solid product.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Hi there, isn't it a bit over-generalizing to say that 'made in Japan' is a 'cut above the rest'? Would you say that Nikon is better than Leica? Seiko over Patek Philippe? Toyota or Ferrari? What gives Leica, Patek Philippe, Ferrari, along with many excellent Japanese companies, its 'superior' edge is the artisans behind the brand who puts craftsmanship ahead of production efficiency, quality over profit margins, customers before shareholders, and not the country of manufacture. Not so long ago, Japanese automakers struggled to convince the world that their cars were as good as their American and European counterparts, next came the Koreans pitching their white and brown goods uphill at international markets; now, it's the Chinese and Indians turn at the wheel.

I'm sorry, even though my gear is almost completely JDM, I cannot categorically agree with you.

Thank's frank, I thought this was about China? Ferrari and Patek are not Chinese brands nor do they contain chinese parts. I'm not attached to you agreeing with me but let's just go into this categorically.

First let me say that Patek doesn't make the most accurate watch, it's amazing art, craftsmanship, detail no doubt. Does Japan have the equivalent watch or auto company like Ferrari or Patek, In my opinion NO but they do have products that are definitely more advanced technologically and superior in accuracy of function. Invisible solar cell and atomic timekeeping is something I don't see in China or Europe. Yes I would take a Patek over any Casio.

Food Materials: Meat, Eggs, Fruit, Fish (hands down Japan's attention to detail, quality of feed, and care of livestock or produce make it best in the world)

Autos: 1990 skyline 4 banger turbo can toe up with the latest Ferrari's and Lambo's. Porsche uses Japanese transmissions, Lotus uses Japanese parts. Today's sub 100k GTR eats exotics in the Ring stock and the everyday driver can reproduce straight line results with launch control. Ferrari, Lambo, etc.. are dangerous on wet roads.

Electronics: Don't even have to get into this do we.

Materials: Japan has the highest standard Steel, Carbon, Knives, Motor Oil, reference J.I.S standards versus every other countries.

How does a country with almost ZERO natural recourses create such amazing things? It's the work ethic, attention to detail, focus on one thing and one thing only for life, the dedication. That's not found in Europe or the U.S at the same level, for sure its not seen in China.

The Japanese still struggle to convince the world that their cars are as good as other countries auto's but it's not about convincing the world, it's about building the best possible product. look at Toyota Crown's they are 75k Camarys, nothing like a Camary but that wouldn't go over well anywhere else.

China is mass production. They are able to manufacture affordable products which is great! most of the stuff in my life is made in China.

I do drive American & European, I have a Breitling, and G-Shocks, but I am totally clear on what's insanely amazingly great vs just good and stylish.

Just one man's opinion here.

[FrankThong]

Thank's frank, I thought this was about China? Ferrari and Patek are not Chinese brands nor do they contain chinese parts. I'm not attached to you agreeing with me but let's just go into this categorically.

First let me say that Patek doesn't make the most accurate watch, it's amazing art, craftsmanship, detail no doubt. Does Japan have the equivalent watch or auto company like Ferrari or Patek, In my opinion NO but they do have products that are definitely more advanced technologically and superior in accuracy of function. Invisible solar cell and atomic timekeeping is something I don't see in China or Europe. Yes I would take a Patek over any Casio.

Food Materials: Meat, Eggs, Fruit, Fish (hands down Japan's attention to detail, quality of feed, and care of livestock or produce make it best in the world)

Autos: 1990 skyline 4 banger turbo can toe up with the latest Ferrari's and Lambo's. Porsche uses Japanese transmissions, Lotus uses Japanese parts. Today's sub 100k GTR eats exotics in the Ring stock and the everyday driver can reproduce straight line results with launch control. Ferrari, Lambo, etc.. are dangerous on wet roads.

Electronics: Don't even have to get into this do we.

Materials: Japan has the highest standard Steel, Carbon, Knives, Motor Oil, reference J.I.S standards versus every other countries.

How does a country with almost ZERO natural recourses create such amazing things? It's the work ethic, attention to detail, focus on one thing and one thing only for life, the dedication. That's not found in Europe or the U.S at the same level, for sure its not seen in China.

The Japanese still struggle to convince the world that their cars are as good as other countries auto's but it's not about convincing the world, it's about building the best possible product. look at Toyota Crown's they are 75k Camarys, nothing like a Camary but that wouldn't go over well anywhere else.

China is mass production. They are able to manufacture affordable products which is great! most of the stuff in my life is made in China.

I do drive American & European, I have a Breitling, and G-Shocks, but I am totally clear on what's insanely amazingly great vs just good and stylish.

Just one man's opinion here.

Hi, thanks for elaborating. I thought that 'a cut above the rest' connoted beyond China, no?

Nonetheless, I do see what you are getting at and I do not completely disagree with you. The quality of most things made in Japan is arguably superior. That is not to say that it is something unique to Japan or that JDMs are always, without exception, better. The fine work ethics, attention to detail and focus exists in other countries as well, including China. High end silk, tea and furniture, especially those made with zitan and huali, are extremely intricate and recognized as 'without peers'. Correspondingly, mass production, in all probability a Japanese invention, exists in Japan too. Uniqlo, all the automakers (with the exception of the rare marques) and all the consumer electronics are really nothing more than mass-produced commodities.

I recently read something somewhere about Venezuelan chocolates being sold at a fraction the price of Belgian chocolates simply because the latter represented the creme of the chocolate universe and nobody was willing to pay a premium for Venezuelan chocolates. Thing is, Venezuela produces some of the best chocolates in the world and some Belgian chocolates are, in fact, made with the same Venezuelan chocolates that are sold for much much less! What I am trying to say is that, sometimes, customers confuse 'quality' with 'perceive image' and that happens not just with Venezuela, but China too.

I won't take this further off-tangent from Henry's original point with the watches and cars sub-topic. Perhaps if we should cross path one day, we could have a friendly debate over a drink... Japanese single malt, no doubt. :)

[Duffer19]

Frank,

On the subject of Japanese single malt, you should get a bottle of Yoichi 1990 before it is sold out.

[FrankThong]

Frank,

On the subject of Japanese single malt, you should get a bottle of Yoichi 1990 before it is sold out.

I believe I have a bottle; the Nikkas are not so hard to get. There are a couple of Karuizawas I let slip that is upsetting. :(

[Spoon]

Frank,

On the subject of Japanese single malt, you should get a bottle of Yoichi 1990 before it is sold out.

got more info on those?:)