The golf industry is in the rough.
Once the go-to activity for corporate bonding, the sport is suffering from an exodus of players, a lack of interest among millennials and the mass closure of courses. The tangled personal life of Tiger Woods, who for years was golf’s biggest ambassador, also hasn’t helped. All that has taken a toll on the companies that make and sell golf equipment, including Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and Callaway Golf Co.
About 400,000 players left the sport last year, according to the National Golf Foundation. While almost 260,000 women took up golf, some 650,000 men quit. A severe winter on the East Coast worsened the situation this year by delaying the start of golfing season for many. Slow sales of clubs and other gear dragged down results for Dick’s this week, sending its stock on the worst tumble since the retail chain went public in 2002.
“Golf is in a bit of a drought,” said Allen Adamson, managing director at brand consulting firm Landor Associates in New York. “It’s a pretty high-price sport, and leisure time is getting crunched.”
Slow golf sales over the past 15 months created a glut of golf inventory at wholesale and retail outlets, forcing them to slash prices. Dick’s is selling some drivers for $99 that were priced at $299 just 20 months ago, Chief Executive Officer Ed Stack said this week on a conference call. Golf sales missed Dick’s target about $34 million in first quarter.
“We don’t feel we’ve found the bottom yet in the golf sales number,” Stack said.
Deep Discounts?
The bleak outlook rippled through the golf industry. Shares of Callaway, a Carlsbad, California-based maker of golf clubs, tumbled 9 percent to $7.60 on May 20. Callaway, which sells the Big Bertha driver, had delivered its own dim forecast last month. The company warned that full-year profit could come in at the low end of its previous guidance, especially if discounting is heavier than expected.
“We anticipate a heavy promotional environment while the industry works through excess inventory,” CEO Chip Brewer said on a conference call in April. The company hasn’t reported an annual profit since 2008.
TaylorMade, the Adidas AG-owned brand that makes clubs and golf accessories, also is suffering. The business saw a 34 percent sales drop in the first quarter, Adidas said earlier this month. Still, not all golf equipment is in decline. Overall, manufacturers’ sales rose 1.2 percent last year, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. While sales of golf balls fell 4.9 percent, clubs grew 4.2 percent.