PGA Show Stories: How the Economy Impacts the Industry

This was my first PGA Show in the seven years I have been doing broadcasting, writing, and blogging in some form or fashion.  I had been meaning to go for some time, but finally got to it this year.  I wanted to go to put some names with faces of people I have met in the industry on a virtual basis, promote this blog a bit, and also hear from all kinds of people in the industry about its status.

As soon as I reached the show floor, the vastness of the show - 40,000 square feet of space - told me that I would hear a lot of different stories.  Almost every exhibitor would be impacted in some way by our down economy.  But, the kind of impact that it had actually varied greatly across the type of product and other factors.

For Ahead apparel, the downturn in the economy actually proved to be a blessing in disguise.  Ahead is a value brand, as Marketing Director Jim Keenan told me, and so they were benefitting from the move away from apparel at higher price points.  In the same way the Walmart is thriving by providing quality merchandise at lower prices, Ahead is doing the same amidst its competition.  It's offering what I considered to be a very appealing line of products for clubs, tournaments, and others to customize and retail at a lower price.  While show attendance is down, Ahead finds it to be a winner for them.

The same could be said for a couple of sunglasses makers, Sundog and Tifosi.  I spoke with their representatives about their lines and how they stack up against the Oakleys of the world.  What they emphasized to me was their value appraoch to the industry.  They recognize that good sunglasses don't have to cost more than $90 and offer a variety of solid options and styles to consumers at between $45 and $90.

Gary Makar from Sundog was telling me about the amount of success they are having in bringing innovative lenses - such as lenses containing synthetic melanin - to consumers as these prices.  They're also using green materials to manufacture the frames.  And they're partnering with Tour players like Hunter Mahan, Mike Weir, and Paula Creamer to develop their own lines.  They're developing sunglasses with styles that are fairly streamlined and would appeal to a mass of people.

Tifosi is trying to appeal to that same mass audience, but in slightly different fashion.  They offer a wide variety of frame types, and also varying lens styles with different hues for different weather conditions.  Shannon Haslam of Tifosi told me they offer a frame and lens three pack that provides the frame style with a set of red, green, and purple-ish lenses.  Again, they're competing in the segment that says a good pair of sunglasses should cost $90 or less.

Then, I spoke with a man who is making his first trip to the show.  William Garland started playing golf about a decade and a half ago when he got into the finance industry.  He became obsessed with the game like many of us do, and tried many gadgets to try to improve what ailed his game.  He was at the Wachovia Championship just a couple of years ago and noticed the short game towels that many pros use as a target for 25, 50, and 75 yard shots.  Garland realized he wanted to develop something that amateurs could use to do the same. 

So he invented Target Mat, a practice mat with a 2 foot radius that you could practice with the same kind of visuals that the pros use.  He was thrilled to have his product featured at the show and is hoping that the show gets him the distribution he needs to make his product successful.

While the big boy club companies are there and trying to make their presence felt, the PGA Show doesn't quite mean as much to their brands as the show does to these kinds of companies.  Still, the impact of the show is mixed for players of all sizes and their stories are the most interesting at the PGA Show.