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