"Our numbers for pre-registration are over 10% up compared to a year ago, so we are pleased with the way attendance is running," Ed Several, senior group vice president of PGA Golf Shows (pictured), tells SGB Golf. "We are also pleased with the exhibitor numbers. Not only will the equipment be strong, as every major brand will be exhibiting, but in apparel we have adidas, Nike, Greg Norman Collection, Bobby Jones, Ashworth - they are all there so apparel will be strong as well."
If Several's forecast becomes reality this will be a major success for the PGA Show, particularly considering that on this side of the Atlantic, in October at Golf Europe in Munich, a total attendance of 4,636 was down 15% from 2007, even though visitors came from a broad spectrum of 52 countries. Munich also had 285 exhibitors, down a slim 4% from 297 in 2007.
Several could not have claimed "every major brand will be exhibiting" this time last year, when Titleist stayed away for the fifth consecutive year in 2008, but the golf ball giant is returning to Orange County in 2009.
"We have worked very hard with the PGA of America to transform the show from a traditional trade show to what is now the largest gathering in the world of golf industry professionals," says Several. "The show is now a forum where vital issues of the day are discussed, there are round-table discussions, meetings and presentations. Don't get me wrong, a lot of transactions will still take place in the tradition of a trade show, but it is so much more today. Particularly in these tough economic times, industry leaders can come together to shape what they will be doing over the coming months and years. That is what Titleist saw."
For the record, Several also confirmed that the UK is the PGA Show's third largest ‘attendance base' after the United Sates and Canada.
"There is something at the show for people from every part of the world," adds Several. "The idea is that industry leaders can return home energised with new ideas that they would not have thought of before. That's a great platform to start the year."
50 years of PING
PING, the Solheim family-owned business, will begin its 50th anniversary celebrations at the 56th PGA Show.
"When my father, Karsten, designed the original PING putter in 1959 and showed it to PGA professionals, they were hesitant at first," says John Solheim, PING chairman and CEO. "Once they tried it, they liked it and they soon became his best customers and promoters. This helped turn his garage-based operation into one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of custom-fit, custom-built golf equipment, known for innovation and technology. It is extremely fitting that we begin our golden anniversary celebration at the PGA Merchandise Show with PGA professionals."
The Phoenix-based company is sponsoring the PGA Best Practices Clubfitting area and pros will also be able to test PING equipment at the Indoor Demo Days.
