As George Bernard Shaw might have said, last month the UK and USA were two golf markets separated by a common language, as retail golf prices in the UK fell by nearly 2%, whilst those in the USA rose by 4%.
UK prices in March fell by 1.95% overall, according to the latest figures from the Golfalot Price Index (GPI). The biggest fallers were putters (down 6.4%), fairway woods (down 5.7%), drivers (down 3%) and irons (down 2.3%). However on the positive side, there was some good news for bags (up 3%), shoes (up 1.5%) balls (up 1.4%) and utility clubs (up 1%).
In the USA the Golfalot Price Index bucked the trend and finished above its starting level of 12 months ago. Not surprisingly every category was up, with the biggest gainers being fairway woods (up 7.9%), trolleys (up 7%) and shoes (up 5.7%).
As the USA tends to get stock of new products before the UK, the Golfalot Price Index shows how new stock increases the Index as the older items drop out in favour of their replacements. The categories that are up in the UK are those where products have already arrived, whereas the hardware categories are still waiting for their deliveries. UK retailers can be encouraged by what has happened in the USA as we wait for The Masters to signal the start of the golf season.
The Golfalot Price Index allows the golf industry to compare price trends both within the UK and USA and between both countries. The Indices operate in the same way by tracking the prices of the latest models from each manufacturer are chosen as they reach the market. Therefore the models tracked always reflect pricing on what the serious golfer wants – the latest technology.
For more detailed information view the Golfalot Price Index graphs for the UK & USA online at www.golfalot.com/priceindex