Golf retail hurting

[jesmu84]

Nike out earlier. Adidas out now as well

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/19351857/adidas-sells-golf-businesses-taylormade-adams-golf-ashworth-425-million

You'd think, at some point, a new driver would be less than $400. Yet, here we are.

[GGGG]

I wonder what's going to happen to golf after the Boomers are done. I'm a GenXer, and I have very few friends who golf. I used to but none of my kids do.

[tower912]

Golf will likely be the first professional sport to have money diminish.  I say this as one likely to play more than 70 rounds this year.   The audience is shrinking, Tiger is done.  The crap of it is that the game could be a natural for those looking to relax and spend time in nature.   But it is looked on as a Buick or minivan.  And it isn't easy to get good at or stay good at.   Finally, like other sporting goods stores and   other retail,  it is a rough slog right now.

[Lennys Tap]

Golf is hurting. Retail is hurting. Makes sense that golf retail is hurting.

[warriorchick]

Golf will likely be the first professional sport to have money diminish.  I say this as one likely to play more than 70 rounds this year.   The audience is shrinking, Tiger is done.  The crap of it is that the game could be a natural for those looking to relax and spend time in nature.   But it is looked on as a Buick or minivan.  And it isn't easy to get good at or stay good at.   Finally, like other sporting goods stores and   other retail,  it is a rough slog right now.

And it is expensive, time-consuming, and not a particularly good form of exercise.

Mark Twain was right.

[tower912]

And it is expensive, time-consuming, and not a particularly good form of exercise.

Mark Twain was right.

Walk 18 holes carrying your bag like I do and it is excellent exercise.   5 mile walk with a 15 lb weight on your back.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

the biggest things hurting golf are pace of play and cost.  that, and every jackass on a saturday afternoon thinks he's on tour and jams up the course.

[warriorchick]

Walk 18 holes carrying your bag like I do and it is excellent exercise.   5 mile walk with a 15 lb weight on your back.

5 miles over 4 hours? That isn't going to keep your heart rate up for any decent length of time.  I also take efficiency into consideration when I evaluate exercise. Who has time to stay in shape by golfing?

[tower912]

5 miles over 4 hours? That isn't going to keep your heart rate up for any decent length of time.  I also take efficiency into consideration when I evaluate exercise. Who has time to stay in shape by golfing?

5 hilly miles in under 3 hours. 

[Jay Bee]

the biggest things hurting golf are pace of play and cost.  that, and every jackass on a saturday afternoon thinks he's on tour and jams up the course.

^^^^ dis yung boy carry my sack

[ZiggysFryBoy]

5 miles over 4 hours? That isn't going to keep your heart rate up for any decent length of time.  I also take efficiency into consideration when I evaluate exercise. Who has time to stay in shape by golfing?

Tony D'Annunzio: [carrying Czervik's golf bag] What do you got in here, rocks?
Al Czervik: Are you kiddin'? When I was your age, I would lug fifty pounds of ice up five, six flights of stairs!
Tony D'Annunzio: [puts down Czervik's bag, exasperated] So what?
Al Czervik: So what?
[opens compartment in golf bag, revealing radio]
Al Czervik: So let's dance!
[turns on Journey's "Any Way You Want It," high volume]

[tower912]

I'm more like Ty Webb.  I don't like to play golf with people for money

[MU82]

I'm more like Ty Webb.  I don't like to play golf with people for money

I used to have a regular game in Chicago. Two of my best buddies and a rotating fourth. Those guys were always coming up with crazy games to play for some low-stake money.

My standard line: "At the end, just tell me what I owe everybody."

[warriorchick]

I used to have a regular game in Chicago. Two of my best buddies and a rotating fourth. Those guys were always coming up with crazy games to play for some low-stake money.

My standard line: "At the end, just tell me what I owe everybody."

When I get invited to golf, I just offer to be the one to hold everyone else's beer while they are teeing off or putting or whatever.

[real chili 83]

Anyone remember Johnny Carson's interview of Arnie Palmer?

[rocket surgeon]

Anyone remember Johnny Carson's interview of Arnie Palmer?

OH BOY!!  wasn't mrs arnie on with him and putters pointing skyward?  this was before vee A gray eeen'er?

btw, some will use golf as a form of exercise as tower has mentioned.  i usually get in some good ab work and maybe a little elliptical before i play in the morning.  it relaxes my swing, keeps my core where it belongs instead of swinging out of my buck nakeds.  both my sons(under 30) play regularly.  great family time.  see places we wouldn't ordinarily go to otherwise

[4everwarriors]

Eye average 22 putts/round, hey?

[WellsstreetWanderer]

I always take more shots than I pay for

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

We have had a rotating group of about 11 with 2 foursomes every Saturday afternoon. Youngest in 40s and oldest about 70. We haven't had more than 6 show up yet this season due to various ailments and other reasons. We also have not had any new blood join the group in years. I think golf course operators are going to need to be creative to survive. Start doing 12 hole rounds. Get it on the X games somehow. Introduce speed golf leagues. Whatever. Otherwise I foresee hard times. Have had 2 friends drop their golf privileges at their country clubs in recent years also.

The closing of golf galaxy and golfsmith also not a good sign. Got fitted for my last clubs at golf galaxy. Was very pleased with the experience. When it's time for replacements not sure where I'll go. For whatever reason there are a few smaller storefront stores that seem to be surviving. I'll probably go to one of those.

[mu03eng]

Golf is suffering from a number of issues that in combination probably mean it's doomed long term and I say that as an avid duffer

-Expensive equipment to acquire and relatively expensive to play well and consistently
-Typically need golf buddies to go out with. You can golf by yourself but if it's busy at all you get paired up with strangers which can be good or disastrous.
-Time commitment to play a round
-The rules are more complex then an Enigma Machine which keeps the pro's from generating fans who then will go out and play
-It's being viewed as a sport of the elites and something millennials don't want to be a part of.

[Benny B]

Golf has three strikes against it:

1.  Any fool - regardless of his/her level of talent - can quickly learn to throw a baseball, kick a soccer ball or tackle an opponent.  In other words, most every person on this planet can learn to do one thing at a time.  It's when people are asked to do two things at a time (in coordination with one another) that the learning curve begins to flatten.  Golf, hockey, tennis, swimming... all of these are sports that you can't just join a beer league and hope to be holding your own by the end of the season.

2. Golf is unfairly but often associated with white, affluent, elitist people with gather in places with big iron gates to keep out the riff-raff.

3. Let's face it... most people today are lazy.  Walking several miles over 2-3 hours with a bag on your back isn't exactly appealing to someone who spends most of their free time sitting on the couch eating peanut butter cups and wondering why they're short of breath every time they go upstairs.  And most of those who do exercise have this failed notion that you can cram a day's worth of activity into 8- and 10-minute workouts.

So here you have a sport that's difficult to learn/play, has a perception that's falling out of favor in today's society (i.e, doesn't make for great Instagrams or Snappies), and requires a time commitment.  Most millennials will balk at something that meets just one of these criteria, so golf is pretty much doomed.


[Ah hell.... Eng beat me to most of this.  Oh well.]

[RJax55]

What's happening in golf retail is just a sped up version of what's happening in other retail sectors. There's no room anymore for the middle-end, the big box retailer.

If price is your main priority, buy online. If you're looking for service, it will cost you, but there are fitters that can provide a level of interaction and detail that blows away what a Golfsmith, Golf Galaxy, etc. can offer. Places like Club Champion and other high-end fitters are doing very well right now.

OEMs need to adjust their business to fit into the new purchasing model.

[MUBurrow]

1.  Any fool - regardless of his/her level of talent - can quickly learn to throw a baseball, kick a soccer ball or tackle an opponent. 

2. Golf is unfairly but often associated with white, affluent, elitist people with gather in places with big iron gates to keep out the riff-raff.

3. Let's face it... most people today are lazy. 

Most millennials will balk at something that meets just one of these criteria, so golf is pretty much doomed.

As a golfer myself, golf's biggest obstacle to overcome to reach a new audience is current golfers.

[keefe]

When I get invited to golf, I just offer to be the one to hold everyone else's beer while they are teeing off or putting or whatever.

Whatever must mean you also wash their balls?

[mu03eng]

Golf has three strikes against it:

1.  Any fool - regardless of his/her level of talent - can quickly learn to throw a baseball, kick a soccer ball or tackle an opponent.  In other words, most every person on this planet can learn to do one thing at a time.  It's when people are asked to do two things at a time (in coordination with one another) that the learning curve begins to flatten.  Golf, hockey, tennis, swimming... all of these are sports that you can't just join a beer league and hope to be holding your own by the end of the season.

2. Golf is unfairly but often associated with white, affluent, elitist people with gather in places with big iron gates to keep out the riff-raff.

3. Let's face it... most people today are lazy.  Walking several miles over 2-3 hours with a bag on your back isn't exactly appealing to someone who spends most of their free time sitting on the couch eating peanut butter cups and wondering why they're short of breath every time they go upstairs.  And most of those who do exercise have this failed notion that you can cram a day's worth of activity into 8- and 10-minute workouts.

So here you have a sport that's difficult to learn/play, has a perception that's falling out of favor in today's society (i.e, doesn't make for great Instagrams or Snappies), and requires a time commitment.  Most millennials will balk at something that meets just one of these criteria, so golf is pretty much doomed.


[Ah hell.... Eng beat me to most of this.  Oh well.]