This year it celebrated its 65th edition and it did so in a customarily big way. A vast display involved more than 1,000 companies and brands, tens of thousands of professionals in the golf industry, and an immense showcase that extended along 16 kilometres of halls with stands featuring golf products of all kinds, from the latest drivers to the most avant-garde irons and stylish putters. Plus… apparel, footwear, balls and even buggies tuned as ambulances with drippers supplying beer... This is the PGA Merchandise Show, the largest exhibition of golf products in the world. Orlando again hosted the event, organised by the PGA of America and highlighting new trends and latest technologies in the sector.
Holiday Golf was the only company from Spain present with its own stand at the 2018 PGA Merchandise Show. It is the leading wholesale company in Spain and Portugal distributing golf equipment for shops and golf clubs. Also distributing in Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria and Morocco, it was set up 27 years ago. Its headquarters in Marbella extends over 1,500 metres of modern facilities that include a spectacular showroom where top brands in clothing, footwear, accessories, balls, clubs, bags, etc., which the company sells, are exhibited.
Representing Holiday Golf at the show were president Stefan Tjellander, CEO Miguel Ángel Sillero, project manager Andreea Giura, retail support manager Enric Meier and Carlos Mena, head of the products department. Also present were several golf club managers from Spain, staying abreast of latest trends in the sector, including Javier Reviriego (Royal Valderrama Club), Agustín Mazarrasa (Royal Sotogrande Golf Club), Julián Romaguera (Los Naranjos Golf Club) and Eduardo Ruiz (La Manga).
"Golf in the United States," says Mena "is not quite a religion, but it almost is. It's a way of life and of course a major industry that moves a lot of money." In fact, the country has around 30 million golfers.
At this massive fair, with hundreds of companies and thousands of professionals from all corners of the world, Holiday Golf was the only Spanish company represented…
This year we were the only Spanish company to attend with our own stand. Last year there were five, but four have left and we are the only ones to have stayed. We were present with the Ofelia T brand, which once again was very well accepted, because "Made in Spain", "Made by Hand" and the "Spain" brand sell extremely well in the American market.
What products does Ofelia T offer?
Ofelia T is a Holiday Golf brand of handmade leather products, such as toiletry bags, handbags, travel bags, wallets, etc., for both men and women. Not only for the golf world, but also for corporate gifts, corporate events... and the American market has turned out to be very interesting because what they are looking for above all is individuality, and we have the capacity to adapt all products to the needs of each client and offer customisation.
What image of Spain do American golfers have, at least those you had the opportunity to speak to in Orlando?
There was actually a very good knowledge of Spain among golf industry professionals I spoke to. They know quite well where Spain is, and some of them mentioned places that would surprise you because you do not expect them to have been there. Americans are very curious, and they want to know more about the many places they visit in other countries.
It would not have been amiss if there had been a Spanish representation to promote the country as a golf tourist destination...
Well, yes, because it made me a bit envious to see how tourism representatives from Ireland and Scotland and even Paris, as the venue for the next Ryder Cup, were there, and also very well represented, with top-level professionals and specialists. Not as is the style in Spain, with professionals accompanied by the politician on duty and their corresponding retinue.
These types of fairs usually present latest news about brands. Were many presented this year in Orlando?
They were but, as far as equipment is concerned, last year there was more. For example, the announcement of Tiger’s return and the presentation of his new clubs and the new Bridgestone ball, which we distribute... TaylorMade and Callaway also presented very good material. This year the queen of the fair was technology. For example, I was at a stand where technology has reached such a point that they have created a long-awaited ball with a device that facilitates its location. The Genius Ball is a trackable ball which, thanks to a chip installed in the nucleus, not only provides its location around the course but also – using information transferred from the chip to the corresponding application – allows you to obtain relevant data that will help you to know what are the strong parts of your swing when hitting the ball, and those aspects you have to improve.
In your opinion, are so many technological advances applied to golf good or bad for the sport?
I personally like golf to be more intuitive. With so much technology there tends to be more “mechanisation” and much of the imagination and creativity that the game of golf involves is lost, in addition to reducing your enjoyment out on the course.
Brands obviously renew their material periodically. Do they do this because of technological advances or is it just a commercial motive to sell more?
Evidently brands need to sell and that is why they renew their products so much. In many cases they are only cosmetic aspects, which do not add anything new in the technical field. In the world of golf what sells above all else is promising extra distance. Whether you achieve this or not is another issue, but it is what each and every golfer wants. The latest club that comes onto the market always promises more distance; it never notes if the ball will go to the right or to the left, but it does promise greater distance.
And what about balls? How far will they evolve?
The great revolution in golf – especially that related to what has made the industry think more about the designs of both existing and new courses – is a result of the ball’s significant evolution. I would say this represents 70 or 80 per cent of the material that has evolved the most when it comes to playing golf. It is the one aspect that has led to courses being lengthened by considerable distances. Then there are the clubs that have arrived on the market, with new materials for the shafts, mainly graphite, but the ball is the real protagonist. This year they presented a ball with new material, lighter, more resistant casing and greater durability, and course the aim is to obtain greater distance.
There is a wide range of clubs and prices for all tastes, with sets ranging from a couple of hundred euros to others that exceed €20,000 or more. Are they really worth that much, some even with gold inlays?
They are expensive whims for people who can afford them. For me it is more a question of aesthetics. I remember a golf fair in Cologne a few years ago, where there were shoes with diamond inserts. The first two days they were on show and on the third day they were gone. We were told they had been bought by a Russian golfer – they cost just over €20,000.
What other technological innovations caught your attention?
This year, for example, I was surprised by an increase in the presence of companies dedicated to golf simulators. Golfzon especially stood out due to the impressive features it offers, such as perfecting recreating the fog that usually emerges on the ninth hole at Pebble Beach.
A special application that attracted my attention was Golf Logix, which enables you to be informed about all the breaks you face on a green, with more than six million items of data collected to let you know the ideal path the ball should follow up to the hole. It already has more than 5,000 courses activated.
Also noteworthy was Golf Pride, although it was last year when they particularly impressed us with Align technology in some of their more commercial models. Previously, the grip had been seen as a mere piece of black rubber, like a handle, but they made it a key element of the golf club to enhance consistency. This year they applied this new technology to the flagship of the brand, the Tour Velvet.
Another novelty was the Garmin X10 model, an easy-to-use device, very intuitive, lightweight and comfortable that provides information to golfers during their round. A great success…
And certainly worth highlighting was ECCO, with its presentation of latest advances in biomechanical research of the feet and injection moulding that produces a shoe without seams. This incorporates the innovative ECCO Tri-Fi-Grip sole, which improves performance in three different areas: one for stability, another for durability and a third for quick and easy rotation.
Buggy tuning seems to be becoming more and more fashionable. What did you come across at the show in this regard?
I saw an ambulance buggy whose dripper was a barrel of beer. Also a fire-truck buggy carrying water, but in the form of ice cubes and mixes for long drinks. Two years ago the stand where those custom buggies were on show was small, but every year the options grow in this section.
I think there’s a bit of craziness in golf as well. I saw a guy wearing the “The Golf Swing Shirt" trying to hit a swing in one of the halls, and it was obvious what the source of inspiration was (a straitjacket). This garment is designed to help promote a sense of body "connection" while executing the swing. The structure of the shirt and its exclusive compression fabric immediately generate "connection" and “muscle memory”; so, as their representatives assured me, “The Golf Swing Shirt” is “very effective". Even Padraig Harrington and Bryson DeChambeau use it.
