GOLF ASIA 43But there are signs that the market
is changing. Last quarter, Acushnet’s
revenues fell by 7.6% and sales of Titleist
golf balls fell 6.6% over the same period.
The company also reduced its full-year
sales outlook in response to slower-
than-expected retail performance and
unfavourable weather. This should not
be overplayed, however. Acushnet and
Titleist remain market leaders by some
margin and the company expects to
generate between US$1.55 billion and
US$1.57 billion in revenue in 2017.
Whether Titleist’s sales decline is a
temporary blip or a sign of something
‘Rather than talking up the Pro V1, here was a famous golfer
dissing the product just at the moment when he had the
attention of the world’s sporting media’
more significant remains to be seen.
But it’s fair to say that the Pro V1 is
under greater competitive pressure
today than at any time since Billy
Andrade’s victory in Las Vegas.THE COSTCO STORY
In late 2016, equipment blogs started
running stories about the Kirkland
Signature ball, sold by giant US
wholesaler Costco. Word had it that club
golfers were reporting they were getting
Pro V1-type high performance for less
than half the price. How on earth could
this be? The Costco ball story has quicklybecome a business school case study,
revealing much about how things really
work below the hype and marketing that
defines the golf market.
The Kirkland Signature ball was actually
made by a little known manufacturer
called Nassau Golf. At the end of a
production run, the company had unsold
batches sitting around the warehouse
which they then sold to Costco for the
knockdown price of 24 for US$30. Costco
passed the savings on to their customers.
Lured in by the price, the demand for
the new ball escalated by word of mouth,
which seized on the story because it feltRory McIlroy’s negative comments
about the Pro V1’s performance
at the Masters and his glowing
praise for TaylorMade’s TP5x
were a blow for Titleist.