Golf equipment sales continue to grow, according to Golf Datatech, which tracks sell-through figures at retail stores and on-course shops.
This past June, Golf Datatech’s numbers show sales increased 78 percent YTD compared to the same period in 2020. June 2021 sales, according to Datatech, totaled more than $423 million – the second highest month in Golf Datatech history, going back to January 1997.
Only April of 2021 had a bigger month: $427 million.
It should be noted, of course, that at this time one year ago, the golf industry was in the beginning stages of coming out of the COVID-19 lockdown. But even compared with the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, Datatech said equipment sales YTD increased 41 percent, an indicator that there is still plenty of life in the industry, although growth appears to be slowing.
A good barometer on the growth (or slowdown) in sales will come early next month when equipment giants Callaway Golf and the Acushnet Co. (Titleist and FootJoy) each release their second quarter earnings.
The second quarter, historically, is the strongest of the year for most equipment companies. That should be case again for Q2 of 2021, but the remainder of 2021 could get ugly.
Callaway Golf CEO Chip Brewer and Acushnet CEO David Maher each have warned how a slowdown in the third and fourth quarters of this year.
