Originally published in Potentials
magazine, April 2007 No longer a leisure sport played exclusively by male corporate executives and Bob Hope, the game of golf is now an activity for everyone. New players have brought new life and fans to the fairway. As a result, the golf merchandise industry has expanded a million miles beyond bulky leather bags, $50 golf balls and white shoes. What does exploding popular interest and state-of-the-art equipment mean for your incentive program? Two words: trophy value. Potentials looks at trends and products that will put your rewards on the right course.
Not Just for Executives Anymore While still a graceful sport, golf has pumped up its physique. It all started on the Mike Douglas Show in 1978 when a 2-year-old Tiger Woods astounded both Mike Douglas and his television audience with an early preview of what would in time become the perfect swing. Since then, the golf prodigy has impressed fans and professionals alike with his workout regime as much as his skill.
Says Mike Horn, director of merchandising at Hinda, in Chicago. "Tiger Woods brought it to a new level. Here is a young man who not only had skill, but he worked out. And the way he bombed the ball, wasn't just because his swing was better, it was stronger." Horn, like most, credits Tiger Woods with starting a new movement in golf in the U.S., as a real sport of energy, muscle and skill.
Though it has become a more exciting sport in the eyes of the general public, golf is still a major pastime for business groups. The only difference is in the players. "It's not just for the executives anymore," says Allyson Krichman, senior director of business alliances at Rymax Marketing Services. "Golf is a sport where you go out there in the spring and summer months, and good relationships are forged. It's a great game to play."
As to how this impacts the incentive business, Horn says, "When you've got people who are this interested in golf, [an associated gift] becomes a trophy-value product. And because of the price of clubs—the better clubs have gone up in terms of price—they've truly become a valuable prize."
Golf Apparel Gets a Performance Review This change in the perception of golf from a game of leisure to an athletic sport has opened the market for companies like Nike and Adidas. While Nike, endorsed by Tiger Woods, carries everything from clubs to apparel, Adidas covers apparel and footwear only. Both have tremendous brand power. Says Bryan McWilliams, corporate sales manager at products distributor parsonsKellogg in Rummford, R.I., "Brands like Nike and Adidas bring a lot of credibility from their other sport arenas: running, tennis, basketball, etc. The nice thing is that you can give an Adidas golf shirt out to somebody even it they're not a big golfer. They still know what Adidas is; they're still really happy to get an Adidas shirt. If you give a non-golfer a Ping shirt, they're not really going to know what it is; it doesn't carry the crossover effect of Adidas or Nike."
And, as one would expect, a golf shirt made from Adidas or Nike, is going to do more for your game than make you look like Bing Crosby. Just as in tennis, exercise and outdoor wear, moisture-wicking performance fabrics are a big trend in golf apparel, a rapidly growing niche in golf accessories.
"Historically, we've stayed away from apparel," says Krichman. "We are working now on certain apparel items from Adidas and their ClimaCool line. Also, certain sunglasses are geared toward golf, so we dabble a little bit there too."
Apparel distributor SanMar, has been offering golf apparel from renowned club maker Ping since 2000 and has since expanded its golf lines to include Nike apparel, a partnership that was formed in January 2006. "Ping and Nike Golf are two of the most technically engineered labels in golf wear," says Lee Strom, senior marketing manager at SanMar, in Seattle.
"Technical fabrics drive Nike Golf apparel. Their Dri-FIT body mapping sport shirts are outstanding examples of this innovation. Ventilation zones are knit right into the fabric to match up with places on the body that generate the most heat."
Several shirt lines from Ping feature Dry Fiber Dynamics, a moisture-wicking fabric, and SensorCool technology, which absorbs excess body heat into temperature-sensitive pores that release the heat back when the wearer's skin temperature cools down.
Into the Woods, Drivers, Balls and Putters Golfers love their clubs. They love the technology, and they are excited by the brands that are in the hands of favorite players such as Sergio Garcia, Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam. Says Horn, "Of course you always look for the top brands. The brands with the best reputation are the ones promoted by the pros. If Phil Mickelson is using Callaway, Callaway becomes important. If Sergio Garcia is using TaylorMade, TaylorMade becomes important. It all depends on who's winning the tournaments."
Sergio Garcia is using TaylorMade, specifically its new driver, the Superquad R7, one of the latest attractions at Rymax. "In golf, as in anything from electronics to housewares, it's always the latest and greatest," says Krichman. "This year we're really excited about TaylorMade's new drivers." Featuring a SuperFast RE*AX 65 graphite shaft and moveable weight technology—a patented weight system that allows players to adjust the weight configuration on the club head in order to hit the ball straighter—the Superquad R7 is built to launch balls farther. Another TaylorMade offering, the Burner driver, is built for speed and distance: The Burner features a 440cc head and exceptionally lightweight SuperFast RE*AX 50g shaft.
While drivers may be considered one of the most exciting clubs for incentives, the prize for Most Popular goes to the one club in the bag that's used at every hole—the putter. The No.1 putter on the market today is the Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Blade Putter, made popular by Annika Sorenstam.
While many aspire to have the same clubs as the professionals, a much smaller number of golfers possess the level of skill it takes to actually feel the benefits of these pro-level clubs. At Wilson, where 75 percent of the target market are players with a 10 handicap or higher, the goal, according to Christopher A. Cavallari, national sales manager for special markets, is to develop good, technologically sound products at a good value. "We've got good technology and we could charge more, but we want people to improve their overall game," he says. The DI7 iron is one of Wilson's latest offerings. Visually attractive, the DI7 features a wider tip, which helps to move the ball straighter, and a thick shaft. Says Cavallari, "[With the DI7] you can hit the ball farther than pretty much any iron that's out there. Ours goes 7 to 10 yards farther than theirs."
Where you have clubs, you've got to have balls, and plenty of them. More than ever, companies are introducing new models of golf balls to the market at price friendly concepts. Says Williamson, "In the past, you had professional-quality golf balls at $45 a dozen, junk at the bottom and not much in the middle. Companies want quality without paying $50 a dozen. TaylorMade-Adidas Maxfli, Nike Powerball and Juice series have been able to do that. They've put out attractive, quality golf balls that can be decorated at a much lower cost. They've given a lot more options in the corporate market."
Horn agrees: "The Titelist Pro-V 1 is the crème de la crème. The problem is that most golfers are incapable of using it correctly; they don't have a high enough swing speed to compress the ball. In my listing now, I have the ProV 1, but I also have other balls that are better matched to the average golfer."
For recreational golfers who aren't looking for a professional ball with a maximum spin speed, Wilson has developed the Staff 50. Staff 50 balls are engineered to span the distance while being a little softer to the tap. Explains Cavallari, "If you were to putt this ball, you would notice the difference immediately. It doesn't have the click that some of the other balls do."
Grip It, Rip it, Customize It When speaking of customization, the first items that come to most incentive planners' minds are apparel and golf balls. "Balls are a great redemption item," says Krichman, "Golf balls are a great gift. Golfers lose a million of them. They're easy, they're unisex, plus they come at a great price point." At Wilson, one of the only companies that manufactures its balls in the United States, 30 percent of its factory is reserved for manufacturing custom balls for golf courses and events.
For those looking for something new and different, TaylorMade-Adidas has introduced a customizable putter, called the Monza Corzit. It features a customizable medallion that is placed discretely on the bottom of the putter. Says Cavallari, "By positioning the logo at the bottom of it, they're able to maintain the integrity of the club. It's not getting in the golfer's way when he's playing. When it's back in the bag, you can see that nice logo again."
Cavallari says that another new logo option for clubs is see-through grips, for which a clear grip is placed over a high-resolution, full-color print sticker on the club shaft.
In the Bag For a quick sense of just how expansive the popularity of golf is, just look at the variety of colors and sizes to be found in golf bags. Not only are women playing more than ever before, but as the pros have gotten younger, so has the game's following. Teens are carving out a strong niche for themselves as well.
In response to the demand created by new generations of teen golfers and Tiger-struck parents eager to get their toddlers out onto the fairway, big brands in golf are producing junior golf bags with complete club sets for children as young as three years old. Kids sets from Dunlop's PGA Tour and Wilson are finding tremendous success. According to brand reps, there were many new products geared toward women golfers introduced at the PGA Show earlier this year. When it comes to buying clubs, industry experts note that, unlike men, women prefer to buy complete club sets. In addition to a very fashionable set of women's clubs, Wilson also carries a Hope line of golf products designed around the pink ribbon symbol of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. A percentage of each sale of those products is donated to the BCRF. Says Cavallari, "In promotions, companies like Maritz and O.C. Tanner have seen the line and wanted to run a program specifically around the month of October (Breast Cancer Awareness month). We have a set of irons and a complete set. Last year we could not keep the Hope line in stock."
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