Nike launches new golf clubs without Tiger Woods

From Wall Street Journal:

Nike Inc. will launch new golf clubs this month without the promotional muscle of golfing great Tiger Woods.

That will be a challenge for the sporting-goods giant, which was largely a nonentity in golf before it built a sizable business around the superstar's image.

Nike says that its Victory Red STR8-FIT Tour fairway woods, which will go on sale Jan. 28 for $299, were designed with input from all 13 U.S. golf stars who promote Nike's golf products. But the promotional materials make no mention of Mr. Woods, whose tradition of wearing red shirts on the final day of golf tournaments inspired the Victory Red name.

Instead, the materials trumpet that the clubs were tested in tournament play by a respected but lesser-known golf pro, Lucas Glover, who claimed his first major victory last year when he won the U.S. Open Championship.

Nike's inability to bank on Mr. Woods -- who remains a Nike-sponsored athlete but is postponing his career as he deals with the fallout from his alleged extramarital affairs -- comes at a problematic time. The Beaverton, Ore., company has faced deteriorating golf sales because of the recession. Annual revenue at the Nike Golf division fell 11% last year to $648 million after peaking at $725 million the year before.

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