August 11, 2013
Retail numbers for metalwoods continued to decline in July, the sixth straight
month sales were down compared with last year, according to Golf Datatech.
Why? Although poor weather and the challenge of being compared
with the record sales of 2012 are certainly big factors, it’s possible
that consumers are overwhelmed by the sheer number of new drivers,
fairway woods and hybrids available. The golf industry—like just
about every other technology-driven business during the past two
decades—hasn’t been all that interested in tapping the brakes on
innovation. Today, Golf Datatech tracks 105 individual models of
metalwoods in its monthly survey. That’s a 33 percent increase from
10 years ago. Among them, Callaway (17), Ping (15) and TaylorMade
(13) have 45 different clubs listed on the current survey. That group
had only 23 in 2003.
—Mike Stachura