By Ed Travis
What a difference a year makes. Registration of golf professionals and industry members for the 70th PGA Show Jan. 24-27, 2023, has begun and a preliminary listing of exhibitors has been released. Indications are that the Show’s woes of the past two years may well be behind them.
This time last year the prospect of a shrunken version of the industry’s leading show was being forecast due to the recovery from the worldwide pandemic. The virtual Show in 2021 had met with little success and prospects for the 2022 Show were thought to be limited.
The attendance last year was 40% less than that of pre-pandemic 2020 show, plus exhibitors fell from over 1,000 to less than 600 with most major equipment and apparel companies absent.
That all seems to be changing for the 2023 Show which once again is being held in the Orlando Orange County Convention Center.
In a release from the PGA of America President Jim Richerson was quoted,
“The PGA Show is our largest annual gathering of PGA Professionals and the most significant business event for the global golf community each and every year. It is a valued opportunity to experience and source the latest innovations, connect with peers and industry leadership, and grow your career and business. We are better from coming together at the PGA Show, and the sport and business of golf is in good hands from the cross-community collaboration.”
The number of exhibitors for the 2023 PGA Merchandise Show is expected to exceed 800 with a significant number of the golf industry’s largest companies contracting for booth space. In addition to the two largest equipment makers, Callaway and Titleist, Bridgestone, Cleveland, Cobra, Mizuno, Ping, Srixon and XXIO have reserved space. Committed tech companies include, aboutGolf, Bushnell, Garmin, Foresight, FlightScope, Trackman and TopTracer. Apparel companies, Ahead, Antigua, Ashworth, FootJoy, Lacoste, Peter Millar and Puma Golf have reserved booth space.
The PGA Show formerly was a primary marketing tool to introduce new products, affirm relationships with old customers and solicit new one. Computer-based ordering combined with inventory and production issues have made the Show less a vehicle for order taking and more an image and visibility opportunity that new companies can use to their advantage.
Still to be heard from are several well-known equipment makers such as Tour Edge Golf, Wilson Golf and TaylorMade Golf, though TaylorMade has not exhibited for several years.
The industry is booming and according to the National Golf Foundation counting on-course and off-course participants total over 40 million. Golf rounds are up, and equipment sales have continued to set records. It is a good assumption that more companies will sign up to display their latest and greatest, but the number could still fall short of the pre-pandemic count.
Companies, industry insiders and professionals may also have found that alternative ways they were forced to use during the past two years to stay current are sufficient and an expensive company trip to the Sunshine State is not required.
