The Golfalot.com Price Index enjoyed a quiet month in May as falls in the Golf Club Sector resulted in a drop of 0.2% as the new golf equipment released this year became the focus for competition across a number of Club categories.
The Golf Club Sector fell by 0.6% as gains of the last 2 months were reversed due to retailers beginning to compete in these key markets as golfers look to upgrade their clubs ahead of the summer. Despite five of the six Golf Club categories falling this month, the continuing strength of the Golf Club Sector is not in doubt with growth of 1.5% over the last 12 months and all six categories showing positive movement.
As the majority of the Golf Club categories consolidated in May it was left to the Putters category to buck the trend with impressive growth of 1% as the much heralded Daddy Long Legs from TaylorMade entered the Index. This is an interesting time in the Putter market following on from the joint R&A and USGA announcement regarding the proposed ban on anchoring (and the contrary position taken by the PGA Tour and the PGA of America). The golf equipment manufacturers have already shown their ingenuity, for example with Odyssey’s Metal-X Arm Lock and the super stable Tank, and this is a trend we expect to continue.
The remaining Golf Club categories all lost small amounts of ground this month. Drivers (-1.8%), Fairway Woods (-1.3%), Utility Clubs (-1.2%) Irons (-0.2%) and Wedges (-0.3%) as the new equipment that has attracted attention from golfers over the first half of 2013 all witnessed price competition amongst retailers keen to be in prime market position for the anticipated demand.
The Golf Accessories Sector bucked the downward trend in May with a strong performance as all categories impressed as new equipment hit the shelves. Golf Balls grew by 1.7% as the traditional Golf Irons powerhouse, Mizuno, released a new premium ball the MP-S and the company also entered the Index in the Golf Shoes category with the innovative Genem Elite shoe. This was backed up with new shoes from Puma (Faas Lite) and Oakley (Carbon Pro) to fuel growth of 1.8%. Golf Bags (+0.2%) and Golf Trolleys (+0,2%) also contributed to Golf Accessories sector’s best monthly performance since May 2012.
Despite an overall fall the performance of the Golf Accessories Sector and the healthy competition within the strong Golf Clubs categories augur well for the long term health of the Index in the coming months. With a summer devoid of a major sporting events to compete for attention in the summer evenings ahead we all have our fingers crossed for some fine weather.