[Mr. Blonde]

It isn't just discounts to the military. Discounts in general are forbidden, the shops in the article just happen to be offering discounts to military men. Think how many people on here would be going out and buying Ping clubs if the shops were offering discounts to gay people and Ping told them to stop.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

The military gets special treatment. That's just the way it is.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

From the article Ping didn't tell them to stop, they arbitrarily quit doing business with them with no warning. Most businesses would contact the vendors with a notice of what they believe are violation of agreements, and let them decide to discontinue the practice or "suffer the consequences." It appears this didn't happen. That's where the leftist smell to Ping's decision comes from.

[rollo tomasi]

Think how many people on here would be going out and buying Ping clubs if the shops were offering discounts to gay people and Ping told them to stop.

If there was any definition of a straw man, this would be it. First, how would a sales person know who was a homosexual? Second, an active duty military golfer would have a military I.D.

If Ping wants this so be it, to me in a time of war it would be appropriate for people to help the military people out. Ping has every right but I guess Ping does not understand the goodwill of this store owner.

[DilJective]

Think how many people on here would be going out and buying Ping clubs if the shops were offering discounts to gay people and Ping told them to stop.

You may be correct about getting people to buy products from companies with similar ideologies, but there is a huge difference between people who choose to defend this country and gay people. Service members choose to live a life far from glory with low salaries and far fewer rights than gays enjoy. They sign the line to accept life under the UCMJ- something (civilian) gays would never stand for.

I think the point here is that it seems to be directed against the military, not the pricing. Mr. Gates states there is an "unwritten" agreement- any businessman would know this is not the way business is conducted.

I don't golf, so it really won't effect my buying habits.

[ozzymandus]

It may be technically legal, but the negative PR will slap them hard. I hope some other club maker offers service people a discount and advertises against ping.