Written by Rick Young, SCOREGolf
I won’t belabour the obvious other than to say it was good to be back at last week’s 70th PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., after missing the past two years because of the pandemic.
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Being back inside the Orange County Convention Center last week reminded me how much I love the energy and environment of the world’s largest business-to-business golf trade event and, despite how good video conferencing platforms have become, why those platforms will never replace the face-to-face interaction of attending the show in person.
Boots on the ground, as we like to say in journalism.
For me, this year’s edition will always be referred to as ‘The Comeback.’ A gathering of 30,000 attendees and 800 golf companies once again defined the resiliency of the industry, especially in the face of radical disruption or economic calamity.
“The energy on the PGA Show floor was fantastic,” said Seth Waugh, PGA of America CEO. “I grew up on a trading floor (the New York Stock Exchange) and this reminds me of the energy and enthusiasm of a busy trading day. It is reflective of the (golf) industry, basically booming. We played defence for a couple of years during the pandemic but we’re on the verge of being all the way back now. If the PGA is a barometer, 2023 is going to be a great year for golf.”
Here is my PGA Show post game scorecard from last week in Orlando.
Top 5 PGA Show themes
Golf industry reunited and it feels so good
Welcome to the @PGAShow! pic.twitter.com/oFkbvhRgyu
— PGA of America (@PGA) January 25, 2023
Returning to an in-person event confirmed something many of us have known all along: the PGA Show is golf’s ultimate networking event. It’s the perfect time and place to celebrate an $84-billion-a-year industry.
“An expansive mix of companies combined with strong participation across the international golf business community at this year’s PGA Show created an industry reunion unlike any other in recent years,” said Marc Simon, PGA Golf Exhibitions vice-president. “The in-person connections and vibrant business on the show floor resulted in an optimistic outlook that has momentum to drive the golf industry to new heights in 2023.”
Foot traffic was down at Demo Day but it was bustling on the show floor. As for the overall mood, it felt upbeat, promising and hopeful among exhibitors, attendees, allied golf associations and organizations alike.
An entire industry reuniting never felt so good.
Year of the driver
An argument can be made that every year is a driver year but this upcoming golf season is more than that.
The confluence of technology, innovation, materials advancements, speed enhancements and sexiness in the playing position from all manufacturers this season is crazy. This was my 24th PGA Show and I’ve never seen anything like it.
Callaway Paradym, PING G430, Titleist TSRs, Mizuno ST-X and ST-Z 230, Cobra Aerojet and Srixon ZX MK II join non-PGA Show attendees TaylorMade Stealth 2.0, Wilson Dynapower and PXG 0311 Gen5 and 0211 to make this year one for the ages in the Big Dog category.
For consumers in the market for a new driver the stars have all aligned.
Simulators and launch monitors moving in
For years the majority of floor space at the PGA Show was taken up by original equipment manufacturers like PING, Callaway, Cobra and Titleist. Those companies still dominate but an increasing number of simulator and launch monitor companies are occupying more of those square feet than ever before.
No less than two dozen major brands were on hand showcasing new technology applications amid a spectrum of varying price points.
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Everything from personal launch monitors like the new Rapsodo MLM2 Pro all the way up to products from Foresight, TrackMan, FlightScope, Full Swing and Golfzon have turned these products into their own category at the show.
There’s also a growing segment of this technology being devoted strictly to putting.
Power cart competition
The power cart big three of E-Z-Go, Club Car and Yamaha are starting to face an influx of competition much like Ford, Chrysler and General Motors did in the 1980s and early 1990s.
A large area of the PGA Show floor could easily have passed for a Detroit or Paris Auto Show. Several fledgling power cart manufacturers all looking to grab a slice of the power cart pie created quite a buzz among attendees.
Canada’s DSG Global, Evolution Electric Vehicles, INNODESIGN, Star EV, Kandi, 14 STX Scooters and PilotCar, an autonomous self-driving golf cart, brought an array of souped-up vehicles loaded with technology and innovation to Orlando. What’s intriguing in the wake of Covid and the continuing issue of pace-of-play was a growing segment of new single rider power carts including DSG Global’s new SR-1 and INNODESIGN’s INNO-F1.
Dominance continues for power cart’s big three but after what I saw last week, they might want to keep one eye in the rear-view mirror.
Prints, patterns and pops of colour
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Back in 2018 golf’s apparel manufacturers started pushing prints and patterns with pops of colour to freshen up what had been a stale sea of solids and stripes.
Not much has changed six years later.
Prints and patterns with bold new colourways and accents once again dominated the PGA Show’s fashion area. What has changed is how prints and patterns have transitioned to bottoms, golf hoodies, layering pieces and outerwear.
Levelwear, PUMA and FootJoy were just three of several apparel brands that stood out on the show floor with prints, patterns and pops of colour.