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Sales of all categories of golf equipment moving into record-setting territory


StrokerAce

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This shocked me... 

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/golf-equipment-sales-surge-july-2020


Golf equipment sales surge to historic levels as rounds played continues to grow

Remember how the golf equipment business was cratering under the uncertainty and inactivity brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic? Stores were closed, clubhouses locked, and in-person fittings were not remotely practical in many instances given CDC social distancing guidelines.

Yeah, well, things have changed quickly over the past couple of months.
According to figures from industry research firm Golf Datatech, the numbers from July for the sales of all categories of golf equipment were moving into record-setting territory. In some categories (notably the biggest ticket categories of woods and irons), sales were more than 50 percent higher than what they were last July. Each of the club and ball categories were up more than 25 percent in both units and dollars compared to a year ago. Specifically:
 
  • Putters: Up 32 percent in units, 36 percent in dollars
  • Balls: Up 27 percent in units, 28 percent in dollars
  • Wedges: Up 64 percent in units, 74 percent in dollars
  • Woods: Up 74 percent in units, 68 percent in dollars
  • Irons: Up 83 percent in units, 93 percent in dollars
 

As calculated by Golf Datatech, iron sales set an all-time high for any month the research firm has tracked in its more than two decades of looking at industry numbers.

What record did it beat? The one set just last month.

But not only were the numbers overwhelming in the big categories, wedges, too, set a new all-time high, the research firm said. Sales for shoes, gloves and bags also were up, the latter 60 percent higher this July than last. For the year, though, equipment sales are still lagging behind last year’s numbers, largely because sales of balls, woods and irons were off by 30-75 percent through much of March, April and May.

The big equipment turnaround seems to tie directly to positive rounds played numbers, which also have been reported to be up in May, June and trending that way in July.

“One element we’re seeing is that the more folks play, the more they think about equipment,” said David Maher, president and CEO of Titleist and FootJoy parent Acushnet, on the company’s recent quarterly earnings call. “So I think that’s been an accelerant to the strong equipment sales we’ve seen over the last couple of months, but fair to say that this participation we’re seeing is coming from all angles. And it only affirms, again, that correlation between rounds of play and the commercial element of the game and the spending component of the game.”
 

TaylorMade CEO David Abeles was bullish even before the industry started its comeback, telling Golf Digest in June, "This is a great opportunity for our industry and this sport to take two steps forward." He likes what he's seeing barely two months later.

 

"It has been very encouraging to see our industry’s resilience to bounce back so well since golf’s national landscape began reopening in May," he said in an email to Golf Digest. "With an increase in participation at all skill levels combined with new players entering our game, rounds played growth across the country has been very strong, and subsequently retail numbers continue to advance. At TaylorMade Golf we are doing everything we can to further enhance the energy in our sport and satisfy the strong demand for our products.”

 

One big part of this equipment purchasing resurgence has been e-commerce. Callaway President and CEO Chip Brewer noted that the company’s e-commerce business is up more than 50 percent year-over-year. Though Acushnet and Callaway reported sales declines through the first half of the year (Acushnet was off 20 percent vs. 2019, while Callaway was down 23 percent), both companies touted big directional shifts forward in the latter part of the second quarter. Brewer also pointed out that while the traditional early part of the buying season equated to nothing in some places, the company’s golf equipment business has “significantly exceeded expectations over the last few months.”

“The surge we have right now, some portion of that is pent-up demand,” he said on the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call. “And some portion of that is the increased interest in the game and the increased participation. The participation and the interest in the game, I can't help but believe are positive indicators for the long run.”
At the street level, the assessment seems just as positive. The stock price of golf’s largest retailer, Dick’s Sporting Goods, has more than doubled since its low when it closed its physical stores on March 18 at the start of the shutdown. And though the rush of sales has left some custom orders with delays of several weeks or more, it hasn’t slowed buyers’ enthusiasm, says Buddy Christensen, president at Golfdom, the long-time golf superstore based in the Washington, D.C., metro area, and one of the country’s leading independent retailers.
 

“We had our best July in 10 years last year, and we’re up 40-50 percent over that in some categories this July,” he said. “That has been phenomenal.”

Christensen also said he thinks the forecast looks encouraging, too, with several factors that might extend the trendline.
“We have a ton of open special orders, so those are future sales for us,” he said. “Couple that with football uncertainties, virtual work and school, all the majors we will still be watching and months of potentially ‘the best weather of the year for golf,’ and we are feeling very strong that this will continue. Golf equipment could find itself on more people’s Christmas lists than ever before.”

 

DriverCobra  Aerojet LS
Woods-
Cobra  LTD 3w 15*, 5W 19*,  F9 24* 
Irons- XXIO X (6-A)

Wedges- Callaway Jaws Raw (54/58)

Putter- Bettinardi BB56
Ball- Maxfli Tour X/Wilson Triad
Buggy- Clicgear 4.0
Bag- Callaway Org 14/Fairway C

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I have friends out of no where contacting me .. hey you play golf I want to get a set since bc of the covid it will give me something to do ... Box sets are sold out .. its pretty wild .. my local driving range during normal times maybe 10 people .. I showed up during the summer all the bays were packed and people sitting around waiting and they just opened .. hopefully this grows the game more 

:cobra-small: Speedzone Driver Tensei AV Blue or  :ping-small: G400 SFT 10. KBS TD 50 Category 3 shaft 

:cobra-small: King Speedzone Black Yellow Fairway 3 wood Tensei AV Blue 65 

:cobra-small: F9 SpeedBack Black Grey Fairway 5 Wood   :Fuji: ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 7 shaft

:titelist-small: T300 4i-GW - Tensei AV Blue AM2 Regular Flex  or :mizuno-small: JPX 900 Hot Metal 5 - GW Project X Lz 4.5 Regular Flex Graphite 

:ping-small:   Glide 2.0 SS Wedges 54 & 58 

:taylormade-small: TP Red White Ardmore Putter - BGT Stability Tour Black shaft 

:918457628_PrecisionPro:Precision Pro NX7 range finder 

:cobra-small: Ultralight Cart Bag 

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Outdoor activities in general are doing well. Similar to golf, cycling is very strong, and most bike shops are down to empty shelves. The shop I use had their biggest ever month in history in May, broke that record in June, and the only reason they didn't break it in July was lack of inventory. It's a five store chain, and they normally average 800 bikes per store, plus 2500 in a warehouse, so 6500 normal total inventory. Last week when I stopped in the owner said they're under 800 total. 

Moose, my cat, is Siamese

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Not surprising. Every course I have been on since March has more golfers on it than any of the previous 10 years. 

:taylormade-small:     Stealth 2+ 9 (Diamana PD 60 S 45") 

image.png.dee92ef6cebb2ac4a3883744fc248f12.png     Stealth 2+ 15 (Diamana PD 70 S 43")

:ping-small:          G425 19 (Raijin 2.0 85x)

:ping-small:          G425 22 (Raijin 2.0 85x)

:srixon-small:            ZX7 5-9 (KBS C Taper S)

:titleist-small:            Vokey SM9 45 10 F (KBS 610)

 :titleist-small:           Vokey SM9 49 08 F (KBS 610)

 :titleist-small:           Vokey SM9 55 08 M (KBS 610)

 :titleist-small:           Vokey SM9 59 04 T (KBS 610)

:taylormade-small:     Spider GT Splitback 34"

 :titleist-small:           ProV1 #23

Twitter             @THEZIPR23

 

"One thing Golf has taught me, is that my muscles have no memory."

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Many of the OEMs delivery times are much longer than normal. However, Callaway has been super fast with 2 orders that included customizations (length). They quoted 2 to 3 weeks for my most recent order and then shipped it in like 3 business days.

Follow my golf journey to break into the 80s

Tester for the Titleist TSi Driver

Spring 2020 MGS Tester for the Fujikura Motore X Shaft

Updated 07/15/2022
Driver:callaway-small: Rogue St Max LS - Autoflex
Fairway Woods:callaway-small: Rogue Max St 3HL and 7 Wood
Irons:mizuno-small: JPX 921 Hot Metal 5 to AW - Aerotech Steelfiber i95 Stiff parallel tip
Wedges:ping-small: Glide 4.0 54 and 58
Putter:  :ping-small: PLD Custom Kushin 4

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