Dear Christian,
Your guess is as good as mine about how often a golfer buys a new or different putter. My estimate is that the golf putter market is about $150 million a year, which is about one-third of all "individual club" sales, which is in turn about one-seventh of all golf equipment sales. So, very roughly, one out of every $20 is spent on putters.
Golf equipment sales are about $3B in the US (2003 figures), with sales of individual clubs accounting for about 15% of that ($436M). This includes drivers, wedges, hybrid clubs, and putters. My estimate is that putters are probably about 1/3rd of that in value: $144M. Just guessing that the average unit price is about $150, that's approximately 1 million unit sales per year.
Some economic data for golf equipment sales:
Odyssey Putters late 1990s: 35% market share and sales of $31M annually [implying putter market then of about $100M].
PGA Industry News
Taylormade 4Q2004: $211M
Ping 2004 sales: $200M
Acushnet 2004 sales $1.2B (Titleist, Footjoy, Cobra)
Cleveland 2004 sales $126.8M
Fortune Brand golf sales 2000: $965.2M
Fortune Brand golf sales 2001: $946.5M
Fortune Brand golf sales 2002: $1.007B
Fortune Brands golf sales 2003: $1.127B
Aldila 2004 net sales: $52.8M
Golfsmith 3Q2004 net revenues: $73.9M
National Sporting Goods Ass'n report:
SALES OF GOLF EQUIPMENT DOWN 7% IN 2003; NSGA PROJECTS 2% INCREASE IN 2004
Sales of golf equipment reached $3.0 billion in 2003, a decline of 7% versus the $3.3 billion in 2002, according to new data contained in NSGA’s annual Sporting Goods Market in 2004 report. The Association projects sales in 2004 to reach $3.1 billion, an increase of 2%.
Specifically, sales of clubs in sets declined 7% in 2003 at $1.5 billion, down from the all-time high of $2.0 billion in 2001. Sales of individual clubs slipped 8% in 2003 to $436.0 million. The previous best came in 2001, $568.3 million.
Sales of balls reached $830.8 million (-7%), and sales of bags in 2003 were $292.8 million (-10%).
Sales of golf shoes in 2003 fell 8% to $222.2 million, down from $242.7 million in 2002.
Combining athletic equipment, clothing and footwear, the “Sporting Goods Market in 2004” placed sporting goods sales at $45.8 billion for 2003 and projects sales of $46.9 billion for 2004.
The data in “The Sporting Goods Market in 2004” projects 2003 purchases of sporting goods products based on a survey of 100,000 U.S. households. National Family Opinion, Inc. maintains the consumer panel used in the survey. It is balanced to parallel actual American household distribution as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Census, so that the data can be projected nationally.
“The Sporting Goods Market in 2004” is available for $235 for retailer/dealer members of the Association and free to manufacturer and sustaining members. For non-members, the cost is $325. For additional information, contact Thomas B. Doyle, NSGA, 1601 Feehanville Drive, Suite 300, Mount Prospect, IL 60056-6035. Phone: (847) 296-6742, E-mail: info@nsga.org, or fax: (847) 391-9827.
National Golf Foundation 1-888-NGF-2500
Consumer spending in 2001-2002: $23B / year.
Sporting Goods Manufacturers Ass'n
According to
2001 NSGA data, utility and individual club sales were approximately $1B, with individual club sales accounting for about 50% of that, or $500M. the putter sales would be in this category, so putter sales are less than $500M in 2001.
"Specialty shops and pro shops each accounted for a quarter of the current utility/individual club market, combining for more than $280 million in sales. From 1989-99, specialty shop sales of utility clubs grew from $42.3 million (26.9%) to $140.8 million (28.0%), while pro shop sales increased from $50.4 million in 1989 (32.1%) to $140.3 million in 1999 (27.9%). Sales of individual clubs rose at full-line sporting goods stores from $30.2 million in 1989 (19.2%) to $89.5 million in 1999 (17.8%)."
German golf equipment market in 2002: $1.5B
Japan golf equipment market in 2003: yen350B
University of Florida Business Library - Golfing for Gold
2004 report: Manufacturers’ sales of golf clubs rose 3.7%, mainly due to strong demand for putters and fairway woods.
Jesse Ortiz' TriMetal fairway clubs: 2003 peak of 2 million units sales annually and $100M sales annually.
Callaway 1999 net sales: $714.5M
Callaway 4Q1999 net sales:
Net sales of $115.7 million for the fourth quarter were comprised of revenues of $35.7 million from sales of Great Big Bertha(R) Hawk Eye(R) Titanium Drivers and Fairway Woods; $14.5 million from sales of Big Bertha(R) Steelhead(TM) Stainless Steel Metal Woods; $24.7 million from sales of Big Bertha(R) X-12(R) Stainless Steel Irons; $20.6 million from sales of Great Big Bertha(R) Hawk Eye(R) Tungsten Injected(TM) Titanium Irons; $7.9 million from sales of Odyssey(R) and Callaway Golf putters; and $12.3 million from other sales. [putter sales 14.6% of total, about 1 in every 7 dollars]
Callaway 2000 revenues: $889M
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
http://puttingzone.com
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