Jan 27, 2016
Heavyweights and dreamers converge at golf’s business major
TSN's resident golf analyst Bob Weeks checks in from the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, where companies big and small sell everything you could ever think of that has some relation to the game of golf.
By Bob Weeks
ORLANDO — The PGA of America likes to call it a major, as in the Major of Golf Business.
It’s the PGA Merchandise Show, which started with guys selling golf clubs out of car trunks and has developed into about one million square feet of exhibit space with companies big and small, selling everything you could ever think of that has some relation to the game of golf.
Over the 10 miles of aisles inside the Orange County Convention Centre are the equipment heavyweights – Titleist, TaylorMade and Callaway – and clothing bigwigs like Under Armour and Dunning. There is also a large collection of dreamers, all hoping for the Next Big Thing.
Sometimes those dreams come true.
The first time I attended this show back in the 1980s, I met a man selling hickory-shafted wedges. He had a small booth, about 10 x 20 feet. We had a good conversation and at the end, he gave me his card. His name? Ely Callaway.
This week, the company that carries his name has a booth a lot larger than 10 x 20. In fact, the Callaway booth has an airplane in it (to celebrate the company’s new driver designed with help from Boeing). It’s a step up from last year, when all Callaway had in the booth was a tank.
Anyone who thinks golf is on a downturn should walk around here for an hour. Of course, that would only get you about a tenth of the way through, but you get the idea.
There are companies selling ball retrievers, simulators, training aids, GPS units, hole signs, scorecards, bunker rakes, trophies, hats, towels, tees, sunglasses, golf bags, software, apps, food.
You know the busiest booth I saw today?
One that was selling underwear. That’s right ... underwear. A Vancouver company, 2UNDR, has hot-selling golf-targeted underwear and it was tough to get close to the area where they were set up.
Some of the top touring pros were here too. Bubba Watson was on hand to help PING sell clubs. Lydia Ko was at the Callaway booth. They were both mobbed.
I turned a corner and almost ran into Chi Chi Rodriguez, who had a long line of people looking for photos.
Less conspicuous was two-time Canadian Open champion Steve Jones, who walked around without anyone giving him a second glance, and Robert Gamez, who was equally anonymous as he strolled through the fairways, ah, I mean aisleways.
The Show, as this is simply called, is not so much about selling any more as it is about marketing and glad-handing. You shake hands, see new products and keep a pulse on what’s going on. It used to be that this was the first place new clubs were ever seen. Now it’s really about who has the biggest megaphone to tell you about the new equipment you already know about but haven’t yet touched.
For a golf lover, this is about as close as you can get to a Magic Kingdom, even if the real one is just down the road. It can be sensory overload, but it’s a great reminder of just how massive a sport golf is.