PGA Merchandise Show May Be Down a Bit
But it’s Still an Integral Part of the Golf Industry

By Tony Leodora

ORLANDO – The annual PGA Merchandise Show has gone through an interesting evolution over the years. From its early days more than 40 years ago, when manufacturers’ representatives displayed their wares out of the trunk of their cars, the show has seen amazing growth.

By the turn of the century, big companies such as Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist and Ping were erecting massive displays on the showroom floor, complete with sound and light shows and an array of celebrities. At night, lavish parties would take place in Orlando sites such as City Walk at Universal, Sea World or Planet Hollywood. Rock concerts would usher in the announcement of new products.

Then, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 struck America and the entire world changed. Certainly, the golf world changed along with it. Add a number of other economic, weather-related and corporate setbacks and one thing becomes painfully clear – the golf industry has gone through a very difficult decade.

Gone are the million dollar booths on the show floor. Gone are the lavish parties. For a few years, some of golf’s biggest names were also gone from the PGA Merchandise Show.

Thankfully, they have all returned to this year’s show, although some will appear in a limited role. The overall number of vendor participants is also down – no longer breaking the 1,000 barrier and down almost 20 percent from the all-time high of more than 1,200 vendors about five years ago. But there are those who argue that the overall quality of those vendors filling the aisles is better.

Gone are many of the outlandish products that crowded the show floor during the “gold rush mentality” days leading up to 9/11. Just as golf course operators learned that the “build it and they will come” mentality was a false theory, inventors no longer harbor a “build it and they will buy it” philosophy when it comes to golf products.

“If you don’t have a good, solid product in today’s market, you are just throwing money down the drain,” warned Frank Carroll, the golf accessory manufacturer based in Northeast Philadelphia, when he rolled out his new Four More Yards golf tee at last year’s PGA Show. The product withstood the initial test of buyers last year and has evolved into a solid sales producer in retail outlets.

Golf course architect Ron Garl has been attending the PGA Merchandise Show for more than 20 years. Although the event is a short drive from his office in Lakeland, Florida, he stresses that he would attend the show no matter where it was held.

“We realize that being a part of the PGA Show is a very important part of our business,” said Garl, speaking in an interview on the GolfTalk Live radio show last Saturday. “We’ve changed our approach a bit over the years but we stay as active as ever.

“For 12 years, we had our own booth,” he explained. “Then, a couple of years ago we combined with a few other people to form a group, the Golf Course Business Consultants. That increased activity at our booth. “

Andy Mears is president of Player’s Pass, a relatively new company that has been growing nationally in the field of providing discounted golf to its members. He is very direct in his assessment of the importance of being at the PGA Merchandise Show.

“You need to have some kind of presence at the show, whether that means having a booth or working the floor and visiting as many other booths as possible,” said Mears. “If your company doesn’t have a presence at the PGA Merchandise Show, then people think you went out of business.”

So, that is the choice of directives for the more than 40,000 people who will attend this year’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando – either man a booth, pound the miles of aisles … or get ready to wave good bye to the golf businesses who don’t budget the time and effort to make good use of the world’s biggest golf gathering.