Being in the pro shop industry, I'm always interested when new products come out. I was introducted to Lord Field by a friend of mine who had gotten on their staff and said he could apparently get me on board too if I wanted to give it a go. The brand name itself made me extremely hesitant, and after looking over staffing requirements, it was way more work and cost than it was worth. Even for the lowest level staffer, the ball prices seemed outrageous, and the requirements for demo days and such didn't come close to making a 20 dollar discount per ball on equipment look enticing. For a new brand trying to get off the ground, I realize the money has to come from somewhere, but finding a bunch of people that desperate to be able to say they're on staff with someone isn't the way to go.
I realize the company has been around for a long time, and that the name is what the name is, but realistically it's not marketable at all. Plus, the ball names themselves and the logo designs are very B quality, not to mention the shelf appeal is worse than Ebonite. There are staffers in this forum asking other staffers what balls in the line are good for certain oil conditions . . shouldn't you know everything about what the company you're on staff with has to offer? If you're on staff but you have to ask, "which ball is good for heavy oil?" that's proof that the company just had to take whoever they actually got to fill out an application, and it looks really bad for a company to see a staffer posting "I shot 650 with my new Lord Field, best set I've had in a long time!" I know a guy who is sponsored by Jet, and his family is really quick to brag about how he's on staff with a ball company, but he's not that good, and none of his family even owns a Jet ball.
And particle covers? If enough advances had been made in particle coverstocks to make the pros outweigh the cons, all the major ball manufacturers would be back on the particle bandwagon, but they're not. I didn't come on to write this to have a laugh and slam a new company with an odd name . . but as someone who could potentially try to get this equipment on the wall at the shop I work at, and who could have been throwing and trying to market this equipment, this brand has zero appeal to me, and if it has zero appeal to me, it will have less to customers. This concerns me for the future success of the brand. I can just envision have to talk every single customer through the brand name . . and further the ball name and bland looks, when there's a Brutal Nightmare sitting on the shelf next to it for a competitive or even cheaper price.
Again, intrigued, but after looking at the numbers and doing the research, there's a lot of factors that will be hard to overcome. Someone is very welcome to try to change my mind.