As golfers look forward to the summer months the Golfalot.com Price Index in the UK enjoyed a month of consolidation with small fluctuations across the categories cancelling each other out to leave the Index exactly as it was in April and to offer further evidence that golf is well place to rise to the challenges of a testing 2009.
The largest move in the clubs sector came from Fairway Woods which rose by 6.2% as the Adams Speedline range entered for the first time and some of the Callaway models that had been the subject of early spring reductions recovered there price. With the much anticipated TaylorMade R9 woods still to debut in the Index, May’s strong performance might suggest that Fairway Woods will be a sector to watch for the rest of 2009.
Putters also performed strongly with a leap of 4.2% reflecting the introduction of mid range brands like the Seve Icon from MD Golf and older models dropping out. With the Putters sector also awaiting the new TaylorMade Rossa Monza Spider Balero it seems that flat sticks will be shouldering a lot of expectations amongst retailers in the coming months.
With a rise of just over 1.1% the Driver Sector was the only other club category to record positive growth. Irons were the biggest losers, slipping by over 2.5%. Utility clubs fell by just over 2% with wedges falling by under half a percent. Overall, however, the Clubs sector remained static for the month.
It was a similar story in the Accessories sector where Shoes displayed the most impressive performance with a leap of over 4.2%. With a number of older, cheaper shoes dropping out of the Index, the sector has been powered by top of the range models from Adidas, FootJoy and Nike holding their price in their first few months of release.
The Golf Balls sector rose by 2.3% as retailers reaped the benefits of the ongoing battle between Srixon and Titleist for control of the lucrative premium ball market. Elsewhere the Bags sector recorded growth of around 0.2% while the Trolleys sector dropped by 1.2%. Like the Clubs sector Accessories remained static overall.
As golfers look forward to spring turning into a pleasant summer retailers will take comfort from the continued strong performance of the Golfalot.com Price Index in 2009. With April and May both providing consolidation, the long term forecasts of good weather would seem to promise a wonderful summer of golf. Retailers will be hopeful that a steady May will give way to a heady June.
For more detailed information view the Golfalot Price Index graphs for the UK & USA online at http://www.golfalot.com/News/PriceIndex.aspx