Ask most golfers to name prominent golf companies and they’ll rattle off names like Titleist, Callaway and TaylorMade -- the highly-visible equipment brands that make clubs and balls while garnering household name status through sponsorship deals and partnerships with the game’s best players.
But the scope of the overall golf economy – a $70 billion business -- runs far deeper.
It’s why the National Golf Foundation has released its inaugural list celebrating the top 100 businesses in golf, a platform that in some ways is the golf biz equivalent of the popular top 100 course rankings. The NGF GOLF 100 was created by the NGF to recognize the most successful, innovative and influential companies and organizations in the game, across a wide variety of categories.
“The diverse list of companies and organizations contains not only the well-known brands that golfers see on TV, but celebrates a host of other innovators and influencers throughout various business segments that contribute to golf’s almost $70 billion impact on the economy," says NGF President and CEO Joe Beditz.
There are the companies that make the clothes, shoes and hats that golfers wear on the course and those that make golf bags, gloves and tees. There are the retail chains like PGA Tour Superstore and DICK’S Sporting Goods (Golf Galaxy) that sell all that equipment and gear, and the businesses that make club components, from shafts to the only part of the driver that golfers actually touch on each and every shot, the grip. Equipment is, perhaps not surprisingly, the best-represented category, with 22 companies in the Top 100, highlighted of course by brands like Callaway, TaylorMade, Acushnet (Titleist), Bridgestone, Cleveland – Srixon, Cobra Puma, PING, PXG and Wilson Golf.
There are a host of prominent media companies, from Golf Channel to GOLF Magazine, and technology brands whose specialties range from shot tracking systems (Arccos) and simulators (Full Swing Golf) to rangefinders (Bushnell) and golf course management software (Jonas). And perhaps no company in and around golf is growing as fast as Topgolf, which has helped redefine the game’s traditional participation measures.
Third-party management companies are big business in the game, with names like KemperSports, Troon, ClubCorp and Billy Casper operating hundreds of courses across the country while helping to provide them with better marketing, more resources, new technologies and better buying power. The golf arm of President Donald Trump’s business empire is also recognized for an investment in the game that includes major projects at properties such as Doral Miami, Turnberry in Scotland and Ferry Point in New York.
Club-fitters, instructional companies and construction businesses that specialize in golf courses are found on the list, which also features umbrella corporations for names like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Greg Norman that oversee all their varied business interests.
And golfers wouldn’t even be able to tee it up without the companies that keep courses running on a day-to-day basis, from supplying maintenance equipment and golf carts to the essentials like flags, cups, tee markers, yardage plates and ball markers. It’s why names like Toro, John Deere, Club Car, E-Z-GO (Textron), Par Aide and Standard Golf are on the NGF GOLF 100 as well.
Far less known to the general public are the companies that produce and provide the chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides that help keep golf courses healthy and green. Those within the turf care sector include big names such as Syngenta, Bayer Environmental and BASF, while Rain Bird and Hunter join Toro among the major irrigation companies in the game.
Of course, some of the associations in golf might be the most noteworthy businesses of them all, so it’s not surprising to find organizations like the PGA TOUR, USGA and LPGA on the NGF GOLF 100 for their notable sponsorships, influence in the industry and efforts to grow the game.
You can find the full list here, a diverse group that recognizes the depth and vitality of the golf industry.
Golf may have its detractors, but it’s hard to imagine that many other sports can boast such a broad array of meaningful businesses.
