This week I will be attending the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL. I have attended this show for the last 11 years. I used to look forward to the Show for months in advance. Now I see it as sort of a chore. Why? Because all of the troubles that have confronted the golf industry, and in particular the golf equipment industry, have taken all the fun out of it. Where are the corporate-sponsored parties? Where are the ten-person expense-account fueled dinners? Where is the Roman bacchanalia? What good is a business trade show if it is going to be all about business?
Yep, I’m the guy you see pawing at the ground and pining about the good old days. The days when MacGregor Golf would throw a monster bash in order to get people to look at their new club introduction. The days when Ashworth would fill the lower level ballroom of the Peabody Hotel with music, cocktails, and young women currying favor with the buyers of the retail distribution channels. People would spend a years worth of apparel budget just to be an Ashworth customer and get invited to the party. It was that good.
Alas, those days are gone. A corporate austerity has emerged as the new reality. The exhibitors still spend a fair amount of gelt on their booth setups. In fact, two of the early deserters of the show, Ping and Acushnet, have returned after having claimed that the cost of the Show was inordinately high. I suspect that simply ceding the customer high ground to Callaway for half a week every year was simply more than they could bear.
So how will I amuse myself at the Show this year? Here’s the tentative schedule from which unimaginably brilliant insights are expected to emerge:
Trying out clubs at the Demo Day
Day One, Wednesday 1/27 — Demo Day at Orange County National Golf Club.
This is arguably the best thing the Show has to offer a confirmed equipment addict such as myself. The demo day is a giant one-ring circus of clubs from almost every major equipment manufacturer in the business. The notable exception to the demo day this year is TaylorMade which has chosen to do specified media events around the country to introduce their new club lines. I will use this event to hit balls and try as many new items as I can. Since I am a low handicap tournament player I fancy myself enough of an expert that I can tell you what is likely to sell well in the coming year, and what will not. The demo day takes up the majority of the day.
Orange County Convention Center
Day Two, Thursday 1/28 – The Exhibition Hall at Orange County Convention Center
This is the opportunity for meetings with key equipment company executives as well as attending industry presentations. This year I will be starting out with a breakfast meeting with the Sports Illustrated group. That will be followed by a Titleist presentation, and then some spirited floor-walking to get a sense of the tone and temper of the Show. I will walk the floor for about 3 hours. That sounds like a long time, but there are a million square feet to cover.
Day Three, Friday 1/29 — The Exhibition Hall at Orange County Convention Center
Friday continues with more meeting with key industry executives. This is the day that you really try to judge the pace of the traffic at the Show. Those who come for the demo day are still here, and those who are coming in for the weekend are just arriving. Thus, Friday is likely to be the peak traffic day. I will also use Friday to stroll over to the indoor range and hit anything I missed at the demo day, or re-hit something I am still not sure about. After all, we want to give every equipment company a fair hearing.
By Friday afternoon, I am just about cooked on the Show. I will make a pilgrimage down to the apparel side just to see if anything excites me down there. This also lets me go through the accessories section, where I get to see all sorts of unusual chotchkies like ball marker earnings, etc.
This year I will close the Show Friday night at a dinner with my new partners from The A Position. There are going to be twelve of us. I suspect there will be conversation, laughter, and a cocktail or two. Who knows, if I’m lucky perhaps someone there will have an expense account. Just like the good old days!
