The excitement of the 132nd Open Championship over the weekend of 17-20 July, has triggered a nation of dormant Tigers into golfing action, according to sales figures released today by the Official PGA Club Exchange, Golfbidder.co.uk and Golfbreaks.com, one of the UKs leading golf tour operators.
The four days of action at Royal St Georges, Sandwich, watched live by millions, has apparently re-ignited the passion in many lapsed swingers nation-wide.
Golfbidder.co.uk, Europes largest on-line retailer of pre-owned premium brand golf equipment, saw a 45% increase in sales (Week post-Open v Week pre-Open) and a 49% hike in the number of golfers registering on its website. For the same week, Golfbreaks.com witnessed a 30% rise in sales.
Liam Robb, Managing Director of Golfbidder, comments, “In the same way that The Championships at Wimbledon annually provide the impetus for aspiring tennis players up and down the country to take to the court, The Open has a mirror-image effect on golfers.
Having been glued to the action on the small screen, golfers leave the sofa in droves to try and hit the same shots, with the same clubs. Offering the same equipment as that used by the worlds top professionals, but at affordable prices, makes us a logical first port of call.
This year, however, we have seen a bumper increase in golfing activity probably helped in no small part by the weather.
Guy Proddow, marketing director of Golfbreaks.com, is similarly buoyed by the Open-effect: “There is no doubt that the British Open encourages golfers out onto the golf course. In turn, this directly affects the number of golf breaks we sell. The timing of The Open is perfect for us as it comes at a time of year when we have a huge selection of last minute deals on offer.