It’s Friday night and my feet are killing me! Not because I just played 36 holes of golf but I just spent the last 3 days walking miles and miles of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL; home to the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show. This is my fourth year covering the PGA Show and every year I wait in anticipation of what goodies I’ll discover! Sit back and relax, as I take you inside the show.
Show Gossip
Who doesn’t love gossip? The most noise at the show was from people pondering if the show’s days in Orlando are numbered. The PGA recently announced they are moving their headquarters from Florida to Texas and a number of folks were wondering if the PGA Merchandise Show would be moving to Texas. I heard from people on both sides of this one, and you could make a case either way but if I had to guess I would say the show stays in Orlando.
The other topic that seemed to be on everyone’s mind was the absence of TaylorMade. Everyone seemed to have a theory of why TaylorMade didn’t attend and what the reasons were behind their absence. Popular rumors amongst attendees was that others would follow their lead and stop attending, while several others thought TaylorMade would come crawling back to the show in the next year or two. The bottomline, nobody really knows. We do know TaylorMade spent $2 million plus last year attending the show; I can think of a lot of things they could spend that on and apparently so can their CEO!
The Show!
For the sake of the article and your reading enjoyment, I’ve decided to focus on what I thought was the 4 main themes of the show and end with some of the cool stuff I saw that didn’t fit into any of those categories.
Pain Relief
On the other side of pain relief, is a massive tidal wave of CBD manufactures. On December 20th, President Trump signed a bill legalizing CBD oil. Just a little over a month later the PGA Show was flooded with different companies selling CBD oils, drops, cream, balms, and sprays. It’s a new market and a lot of people aren’t too familiar with it but CBD had a major presence at the show. CBD products promise to improve your game by providing superior pain relief and better focus. Several companies were also praising the products mellowing effects to bring calm to the storm of even the most intense golfers. The jury is out but time will tell if CBD has a place in the golf industry.
Golf Balls
Maybe it’s because I came home with so many free golf balls, but boy, the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show had a lot of balls! The number 1 ball on the PGA Tour had a new model and for the first time, a new color. The 2019-2020 Titleist Pro V1 and V1x soon to be available in not only the standard white but also yellow. If I had to guess, Bubba Watson will be the first tour player using the yellow Titleist.
It wasn’t just Titleist rolling out new versions of their popular golf balls but Bridgestone was right there with them. New for 2019, the Bridgestone e12 is a 3 piece midrange golf ball twice as good as the e6 (hence the name) that is available in a matte finish. For those of you out there like me that love the matte finish, the e12 provides you with a quality golf ball that performs as good as it looks for us weekend warriors.
Mizuno makes golf balls? Yeah they do now. Mizuno has been producing a golf ball overseas for a few years now and have now thrown their hat into the US Market. These balls might be familiar to you as their made by the same factory that was producing Nike’s line of golf balls before they exited the market. 15 major championships were won with those Nike balls so expect quality, but at $42 a dozen, I think they’ll have a hard time finding any market share.
Last but not least, another new company making golf balls caught my eye. Saint Nine, an offshoot of Korean based NEXEN Corp which is widely known in the rubber industry for producing NEXEN Tires offers golf balls with a mental mate. Their setup at the show was impressive, and their artwork is captivating. I can’t wait to test the samples and see if they perform as good as they look.
Training Aids
What’s a PGA Merchandise Show without a few hundred new training aids? It never ceases to amaze me how many people think they’ve cracked the secret code to unlocking golf’s best swing. Each year inventors come to the show with high hopes and more often than not fall flat.
This year it seemed like Robo Golf Pro was stealing most of the attention as the newest version allows golfers to emulate the swing of today’s best golfers. There were plenty of pop-up hitting nets, putting aids, swing aids and etc.
However, the one that caught my eye the most might actually be the simplest. Colour Path Golf which was started a few months ago by a couple of club pros in the U.K. This product is designed to allow golfers to map out their swing path. An instructor might put down the cross hairs with a golf ball in the middle and then ask the golfer show them how you would swing to hit it straight. From there, the golfer places the
Golf Transportation
I first labelled this section golf carts then decided to change it to “golf transportation”. For some reason, everyone seems to want to replace the modern day golf cart with some sort of scooter, skateboard, or motorcycle. I don’t know about you, but some of the best time I spend on the course is in the cart relaxing and talking to one of my buddies. Regardless, a lot of folks must have miserable friends because every year it seems more and more companies bring something to the market trying to replace the golf cart with a one golfer option.
Besides all the hype and attention lavished on the alternate golf transportation options listed above, I did think one entrant into the market actually has a place. Club Car introduced Tempo Walk during the show and I could see the product having a real impact at courses where most golfers walk the course. At about 1/3rd the size of a normal golf cart, Tempo Walk carries your clubs, cooler,
The Cool Stuff
My favorite category and hopefully yours! As I walk down the aisles of exhibitors, I’m always looking out for something cool and innovative, something I’ve never seen before. Every now and then I tend to find a little gem. This year was no exception! While it seemed harder than ever this year to find something I really loved I did come across a few things I wouldn’t mind having on the course.
Designer Golf Gloves by Black Level
These gloves are really eye catching and I haven’t really seen anything else like them. Made of superior cabretta leather, these gloves come in a variety of designer prints. My favorites included their Black Hawk, I Love New York, and American Skull designs. With plenty of designs to choose from I’m sure you’ll find one that fits your style.
SWAG
I admit it! I’m a sucker for a hot putter!! I was so happy to see the Kings of Swag front and center at the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show. If you don’t know about SWAG you just don’t know. These boys in Chicago are turning the golf industry upside down with their innovative putter design and accessories. When they release items on their website you better be quick because they always sell out in seconds not minutes! P.S. If the Kings of SWAG happen to fall upon this article please hook a brother up, that new Abe Lincoln head cover is to die for!
Marvel x Volvik
I Have to admit, I’m a huge Marvel nut! I mean I can’t wait until the next Avengers movie comes out. Avengers: End Game, comes out April 26th which is about the same time Volvik’s Marvel line up will be available to the United States. Volvik has been producing Marvel branded items for the past several years but never had a license to sell them in the United States, that is until now! I’m a huge Incredible Hulk fan, he’s my favorite Marvel character by far, while I think Volvik has struggled to capture a good representation of Hulk, I do think they’ve knocked it out of the park with several other characters like Spider Man, Captain America, and Iron Man. I have no doubt, Volvik will have huge success with their Marvel line up in 2019, coming to a golf store near you in April!
Strike Spray
Who hasn’t been to the range and seen someone using athlete’s foot spray? No not on their feet but their driver! For years the secret to know where you’re making contact on the club was to use athlete’s foot spray. It worked, but it was messy, nasty, and hard to clean off your driver. Problem solved, Strike Spray replaces athlete’s foot spray providing a coating that last longer (6-8 swings) and cleans up easily. Oh, by the way, you won’t have to carry a can of athlete’s foot spray around anymore. At $10 a can, this was probably one of the better bargains at the show.
Ahead
I don’t tend to spend too much time in the soft goods section at the PGA Show but I did find one thing I just loved. Ahead is offering a new logo technique called Sonic Weld, better than embroidery this new technique provides a liquid metal finish to any golf hat or shirt. This Terminator 2 effect is eye popping and sure to disrupt the traditional embroidery market, coming to a pro shop near you!
Rob Spellman, is an avid golfer and publisher of Golf Aficionado Magazine, he is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America and the Golf Travel Writers of America.