Advertising in Golf

Golf manufacturers are now coming up with more and more adverts to help the buyer fully believe in their product and this commonly used necessity in the world of business has a place in the world of golf, and without it many businesses wouldn’t be able to stand. The purpose of advertisement would be to gain notoriety. A famous quote from Oscar Wilde even says that, ‘There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.’ Common examples which represents advertisement within golf would be a tournament name, for example the Traveler’s Insurance Championship, BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the AT&T National in America. Another representation of advertisement would be through the Master’s competition in which CBS purchased the broadcast rights for $15-$20 million, which although it’s not direct advertisement it gains publicity for CBS. Advertisements can also manifest itself in human form e.g. Rory McIlroy. McIlroy is a walking advertisement for Nike and that is why they are paying him $150-$200 million over a 10 year span just for using their equipment. But they expect him to generate additional revenue for Nike in that time. that sum of money doesn’t include bonuses for winning a major championship which can bring bonuses in excess of millions of dollars. The influence of having a major winner using a specific type of club persuades the average golfer to get that club because people want to impersonate successful players. Also golf magazines like Golf Digest and Golf Magazine earned $320 million through advertisement each year. Nevertheless this doesn’t fully explain how some advertisements will be included in magazines like ESPN and Sports Illustrated, so we could propose since golf is a major sport we can assume at least that between 5%-10% of the advertisements were golf related so we can assume that another $80 million was spent there. As for giving a spectrum on the entire world of golf it is estimated that $320 million dollars was given to golfers to endorse their products, and you must bare in mind this only accounts for a select amount of golfers and does not include Tiger in his prime. The effect of advertisement through golf is enormous even though there is no quantitative value it is evident: what brand of golf club does Tiger Woods use? 

Golf clubs and why the degree of a driver isn't the optimum angle

Purchasing clubs, clothes and even golf carts seem to be a fundamental block which helps the world of golf keep spinning, and a fine example will be my own father. My dad believes the most prudent way to react when you haven’t putted well for a while is to buy a new putter; perhaps not the same approach as Rory Mcilroy nevertheless my dad is helping the golf economy. Clothes as well have a huge role because fashion is a trend and will never finish, very much like a cycle that never ends, meaning for golf companies who produce clothing, as long as they’re relevant, they will be successful. The quality of products ranges hugely: a RLX waterproof may cost over £100 while you can purchase one from your local Sports Direct for much less. Fashion will be perpetually evolving and many people want the next big thing, or at least what’s big at that moment, so many shoppers will be going to other shops to buy their clothes meaning monetary expansion for other areas. A handful of clothes brands, including Greg Norman’s own range of clothing, earned $1.6 billion over 75% of the $2.1 billion clothing market in 2011. 

          Perhaps one of the biggest money makers in this area is golf clubs. In 2011 $3.1 billion alone was spent on clubs, and Titleist, which is the leader in golf ball manufacturing, has a company valuation of $1.2 billion; Nike also has a 7% stake in the golf manufacturing market and Taylormade have still got a huge chunk in the market despite having a 20% dip in sales. As for a bit of physics on the golf club. What has been the main source of why people have gained distance is due to the dramatic improvement in material and design. Going from wood to metal meant less energy is absorbed by the club-head, and instead more is provided back to the ball, Newton’s Third Law of Motion. Also the dimples, which contributes to the aerodynamics of the golf ball, are becoming more advanced that allowing the golf ball to gain more lift and distance. Weirdly enough drivers have a normal loft of 12 and below, however the perfect height to gain the most horizontal distance is 16 degrees, this is because normal calculations don’t account for quadratic drag produced by the ball which dramatically influences the carry of the golf ball.   

          Taylormade’s dip is most likely due to how they produce too many new series of clubs too frequently, for example the SLDR Drivers and the new RSI Irons. Consequently, people will wait for the next generation to be released knowing then they can purchase the current series much cheaper. The market is always going to demand for more forgiving clubs which go further, or add more distance, meaning technological advances must be rapid to keep up with the wants of the users. Finally golf carts. These are a sign of extreme wealth, for example the Oakley hovercraft will cost $58,000 and one humble club in America decided to buy five of them. Even though this sector may be exempt for an exclusive group, this part of the golf economy alone produces $625.2 million.