New Study Assesses Changing Golf Equipment Purchase Patterns

As living costs continue to rise around the world, golfers are likely to become more and more picky about what clubs, balls, and digital devices they buy and how often they replace them.

Already, the appetite for golf equipment information is voracious, whether it’s data-led reviews, long-term testing, or minute detail on what equipment the pros use, something almost 35,000 golf fans now follow through Sporting Insights’ Tour Instagram page. And with many golfers loyal to particular social media influencers, instructors and reviewers, it’s more important than ever for golf equipment manufacturers and retailers to ensure that they understand with the changing roles different media and platforms are playing in golfers’ purchasing journey.
That understanding is exactly what our latest golf equipment study will offer.

Launching this Autumn in four markets initially, the study will assess when and why golfers decide to make an equipment purchase. It will then narrow down where and how they process information during that decision-making period as well as understanding the performance and marketing characteristics that elevate certain brands and products over others in that decision-making process.

Richard Payne, Director at Sporting Insights explained the motivation of the new research as follows. “There’s been much incredible innovation in the golf equipment industry in recent years, but with that innovation and thanks also to supply side challenges affecting the global economy recently has come rising costs for the golfer. Now, golfers are presented with products that may be a price point higher than they anticipated based on their previous purchase, especially in a category like irons where many people keep sets for a decade or more. Add in rising costs of living and it’s clear that people are going to be keen to make sure that they have the impartial, detailed information they need to make the right long-term decision. We’ve already seen the growth of a number of core equipment reviewers and commentators engaging with golfers in a quantity that was unheard of before the pandemic. We expect over the coming years to see those businesses who commit to providing golfers with good quality information prospering further, and this study will play a part in making sure they know how and where to provide that information to customers.”