A Six Month Check In: The Golf Industry
Over 100 million people are engaged in golf globally.
Every Monday, I write a newsletter breaking down the business in golf. Welcome to the 44 new Perfect Putt members who have joined us since last Monday. Join 7,193 intelligent and curious golfers by subscribing below.
Today At A Glance:
Several industry reports have been released in the last few weeks. The golf industry had a very good first half of the year. Acushnet is clicking on all cylinders, Topgolf has grown same venue sales for seven consecutive quarters, golf apparel has grown for 17 straight months, and golf rounds are up 5.5% annually in the United States.
Read Time: 5 minutes.
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Hey Golfers —
The timing of this newsletter couldn’t be better. Over the last few weeks — we’ve seen several industry reports released.
How did the first half of the year shake out for the golf industry?
Good, very good.
Today — we are going to breakdown:
The R&A participation report
Golf Datatech key indicators
Callaway financial results
Acushnet financial results
The R&A released its Global Golf Participation Report a couple of weeks ago. While titled ‘global’, it doesn’t include the United States and Mexico.
And the report was incredibly solid.
Over 61 million adults are engaged in golf outside the United States and Mexico. That includes golfers that play golf both on the course and off the course.
Pair the R&A number with the National Golf Foundation number of 41 million on-course and off-course golfers in the United States, and we have over 100 million golfers globally.
The number of 9 and 18-hole golfers outside the United States and Mexico is nearly 40 million. And it has increased by 14.7% since 2020. Even better — the number has increased by 34% since 2016. Golf is seeing steady growth in the number of golfers on-course worldwide.
The largest regions of growth are Europe and Oceania. Increasing by 3.4 million and 1.5 million golfers, respectively. The Oceania region is a little deceiving — the region saw a dip in 2020. Nonetheless, the region is up over 1 million golfers versus 2016.
Japan is the second largest golf market in the world in terms of how many golfers play 9 and 18 holes. In 2022 — Japan had 8.14 million golfers. But Asia as a whole has remained flat versus 2020. However, the region increased by 2.25 million golfers since 2016.
Canada has remained flat — and even has decreased slightly since 2012. With 5.59 million golfers — Canada is the third-largest golf market in the world. Canada has a population of 38.25 million people. Over 14% of the population in Canada plays golf — one of the best country participation rates in the world.
Outside of the United States — two of the top five countries in the world are in Asia, and two are in Europe. The remaining is Canada.
Korea leads the way with women’s golf participation at 45%, and Germany is in second at 36%. Canada comes in at 22%. As a baseline — 23% of adult registered golfers are women globally.
Golf Datatech has published three reports that we will take a look at.
Golf rounds report
Golf apparel report
Golf equipment report
Golf rounds in the United States have been impressive for the year. Rounds have increased by 5.5% year to date. Good weather and low precipitation have aided in more rounds played in 2023.
Golf Apparel sales remain strong in the United States. On and Off Course apparel sales are up 8.7% versus 2022.
Golf Apparel has grown for 17 straight months in the US. The last time golf apparel saw a decrease versus the prior year was January 2021.
Golf equipment is a different story — the numbers aren’t quite as strong.
Year-to-date golf equipment is down 2.6%. Golf shoes and irons have struggled in 2023. Down 9.4% and 8.3%, respectively. Golf ball sales are helping the golf equipment category — as golf balls are up versus 2022.
And this makes sense — as golf rounds go up, golf ball sales go up.
Callaway and Acushnet reported quarterly results in the last ten days. Callaway confirmed its annual guidance — meaning they feel confident in the remainder of the year. While Acushnet raised its annual guidance, they expect better results than initially planned.
Let’s touch on the numbers.
Callaway’s sales are up 8.9% on the year. Sales are led by Topgolf — growing at 20.8% for the year. Active Lifestyle is not far behind, with an increase of 15.9% on the year. Golf equipment has remained relatively flat — down 0.3% on the year.
Topgolf recognized $874 million through the year's first six months—representing 40% of Callaway’s revenue.
Golf equipment — $895 million
Topgolf — $874 million
Active Lifestyle — $578 million
Acushnet sales are up 8.8% for the year. Acushnet is crushing it in all categories except for Footjoy Golf Wear. Golf Balls are up 20.2%.
Titleist golf gear — up 24.1%
Golf balls — up 20.2%
Titleist golf clubs — up 16.3%
Footjoy golf wear — down 0.4%
Acushnet grew its sales in the United States by 19% in the first six months. While Europe was down by 2.2% for the first six months.
Callaway and Acushnet combined for $1.7 billion in golf equipment sales for the first six months of the year. The two companies are our benchmark for the industry as they are the only two publicly traded golf equipment companies in the United States.
Golf rounds are up in the United States, and more people are playing golf globally. The first six months of the year have been encouraging for the industry.
Top that off with Acushnet raising its guidance, and we should be looking for a solid finish to the year.
Have yourself a great Monday. Talk to you next week!
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