The sport of golf – popular with men, women and children – can be extremely lucrative to the promotional products industry. Played not only for pleasure, it is also associated with the corporate world as companies entertain clients and conduct business on the green. To that end, an array of unique, upscale equipment, accessories and apparel are available in this market in addition to standard golf balls and tees.
Promotional products experts have done their research and are prepared to school distributors on the ins and outs of the golf market to keep distributors on the right course! Margit Fawbush of BIC Graphic cites a recent article on Forbes.com, which states the golf industry’s economic impact being nearly $70 billion per year. Its charitable impact is close to $4 billion per year through 143,000 events and 12 million participants.
“Golf continues to gain positive momentum, particularly among youth with now 3 million participants aged 6-17,” Fawbush continues. “Millennials aged 18-34 are active with an estimated 6.3 million golfers, though there is some debate as to the potential growth of the market. Those bullish on the market believe the more athletic and exciting players on tour combined with the growing use of tech and targeted marketing programs will continue to spur growth among young adults.”
BIC Graphic also picked up on several trends from January’s PGA show, which played a vital role in the company’s product development. The company indicates continued growth in practice and training products – both physical (swing trainers, putting alignment aids) and digital (simulators and sensor technology) trainers. A second trend is colored golf balls, some with fluorescent colors and some with built-in LED lights. Thirdly, vintage style golf accessories are becoming popular. “There are a lot of leather products such as golf bags, luggage, head covers, bag tags and retro golf apparel,” she says.
Chrissy Knaak of River’s End Trading expands on Fawbush’s sentiments with apparel news. “According to Golf Data Tech, golf apparel is trending with sales up almost 7 percent,” she states. “Last year’s growth was led by tops – women’s up 17 percent and men’s up 11 percent. More rounds were played in 2015, largely due to warmer and slightly wetter weather – increasing demand for apparel.”
Demand for more fashion-forward styles has been up, Knaak continues, and the company is seeing a growing trend for fancy fabrics like heathered. “We’ve also seen an increased demand for performance polos in our premium brands like Brooks Brothers. While designed for golf these styles really work well off the course, or transition well from work to the course. Moisture management, sun protection and easy care—these same great attributes work well in almost any other application – keeping you comfortable while protecting you from the elements like sun, heat and wind.”
One of the biggest trends that Nino Phimphachanh of Expert Brand sees in the golf market is the request for engineer sublimation design on polo shirts. “Tailored-fit, bright-colored shirts are also high in demand, due to the fact that pro golfers prefer edgier-looking, bright polos on the golf course,” he elaborates. “Most of the demands we see in the promotional golf apparel world tend to reflect what pro golfers prefer to wear. And lastly, golf apparel that features comfortable fabric and performance features – such as moisture wicking – are requested quite often, as they prefer to feel cool, dry and comfortable as they play.”
Maximum durability along with upper end features and high perceived value are trends at Stromberg Brand, according to Rob Curtis. At the same time, the items must be affordably priced, he maintains. “Advertisers want to get the most bang for the buck, but they don’t want to associate themselves with a cheap product – especially to a market like golfers – who tend to be relatively affluent,” he says. While he acknowledges that golf took a bit of a hit during the economic downturn, Curtis contends that the sport continues to gradually rebound and advertisers have maintained their aggressiveness in reaching out to golfers, because they represent such an important target demographic.
Sustainability and eco-friendly products are extremely popular at Par One this year. Michelle Sabato explains this has let the company to put more focus on kits and creating special packaging that is reusable. “Our cup packs, for example, are a great alternative,” she states. The cup packs can be used on the course and then kept and used after the outing. Sabato adds that demand has been high because this industry is event-driven. “At the end of the day our customers want to be able to supply their clients with something interesting and useable, but without too much fuss.”
Craig Dulworth of Eco Golf reports the company has been realizing exceptional growth in its custom tee packs being used in company stores and as fundraising items. “We work with several major charities with our greatest participation being with Folds of Honor,” he elaborates. “Folds provides scholarship money to family members of military that have been killed or wounded in the line of duty. We raise several thousands of dollars every year for Folds with custom tee packs, challenge coins and ball markers.” In many cases, Folds also receives matching funds from Eco Golf’s golf course customers, he adds. This program is starting its fourth year with a target of raising $100k for FOH in a single year.
Tom Eisinger of Eisinger-Smith believes that while there haven’t been any “seismic” shifts in buyers’ selections or habits over the past few years, he points to apparel and balls as safe mainstays, and notes the company’s line of metals and tournament accessories have continued to be strong sellers.
A wide variety of products and accessories are being rolled out by promotional product suppliers this year. Pro Golf is offering Titleist NXT Tour, NXT Tour S and Velocity golf balls. “Titleist will also be coming out with a sunglass case that contains three logoed golf balls in it,” Katie Wyskochil notes. “We are very excited about this item and think it will do very well as a tournament gift idea.” She adds that Nike is offering a backpack that is very unique and very popular with the younger crowd. “It has a great heather look to it and we feel it will do very well,” she notes.
Colored golf balls are popular at BIC Graphic particularly the company’s Nike® Mojo multi-color 24 ball pack (launched in 2015). The company has also launched the Golf Chipping Net for chipping practice at home. Finally, vintage golf accessories like the argyle patterned Pattern golf tee pouch is available in a number of kit configurations as well as the Callaway vintage driver cover.
An auto-opening, 58-inch arc, Ultra-Value golf umbrella has been an “instant hit” at Stromberg Brand, according to Curtis. This item joins the company’s best gosellers like the 62AFG Hole-In-One, TT-30-V Vented Typhoon Tamer and the 83TOR-V Vented Tornado, which Curtis adds are fun names for the company’s golf umbrellas. “We are also seeing a significant uptick in interest in our 108UVB-V Vented UV golf and beach umbrella, which has an SPF50 rating,” he adds.
Eisinger-Smith has introduced a series of accessories – notably a bottle opener repair tool with magnetic ball marker in multiple colors – which Eisinger says have really caught on as it is an opportunity for the corporate buyer to better coordinate their logo colors as well as spice up their particular promotion.
At Par One, while the company’s Standard cup has been a focus in years past, Sabato says that this year the company is putting more emphasis on its Tumbler cup. “There is more room to fit more product, it’s double walled and dishwasher friendly, and it’s clear so that people can easily see exactly what they are getting,” he explains.
In wearables, River’s Edge is combining performance fabrics with more fashion influence along with bright and bold colors. “We have new layering pieces and have introduced the short-sleeve wind shirt, which is performing well,” Knaak states.
At Expert Brand, soft shell jackets for golfers who need to shield themselves from the elements have been added the company’s offerings. Of note are the Men’s Run Away jacket and Women’s Run Away jacket, as well as true performance, tri-blend base layers that may be needed for added protection, such as the Men’s MVP Base Layer or Women’s TriTec™ deep V-neck T. Some of Expert Brand’s “must-have” best sellers amongst golfers (when they need an additional layer on or off the golf course) include the men’s ¼ Zip Training and Women’s ¼ Zip Training, Phimphachanh, adds.
Packaging various golf items into kits is a selling recommendation from several suppliers. “With kitting, you are getting all that you need to play golf in one product,” Par One’s Sabato emphasizes. “It’s a one-stop shop. With that, it takes the pressure off of you to kit something for your client, we are doing that for you. At an event where things can get chaotic at times, it’s good to have all that you need in one place; you can grab it and go.” She adds that the company has template for the components in its kits, but customers can also control what they are getting.
Eisinger at Eisinger-Smith explains the company’s products can be sold as stand-alones or be a part of tournament bag inclusions. “They are often combined with products outside our line such as balls, sunscreen or a cooling towel,” he comments. “The ability to combine or ‘package’ items can help facilitate meeting budgets as well offering variety to that perfect tournament or promotional gift.”
Wyskochil at Pro Golf urges distributors to push golf balls as gifts for golf tournaments, noting that custom packages are an option. Curtis at Stromberg Brand adds that personalizing items like the company’s Hole-In-One wooden handle can replace a traditional name tag, which directs each golfer to the cart they should be using.
Phimphachanh urges distributors to try the products firsthand before they espouse their virtues. “Wear them, work out in the product, play golf in the product, and validate the performance features for yourself!”