Golfsmith Is Considering Filing for Bankruptcy [Bloomberg]

[nevets88]

More turbulence in the golf industry. This is an 11, not a 7, not a bankruptcy. So so far it's Nike trimming down, Adidas selling TaylorMade and Adams, Golfsmith restructuring. Probably more to come?

Quote

Golfsmith hired the investment bank Jefferies LLC to solicit buyers for the roughly 150-store chain, without success so far, said the people, who didn’t want to be identified because the process isn’t public. The company also hired Alvarez & Marsal to help it restructure, according to the people, who said that a sale could come as part of a Chapter 11 filing.

The Austin, Texas-based chain is the latest casualty of a struggling golf industry, which hasn’t recovered from a downturn in U.S. participation over the past decade. 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-04/golfsmith-said-to-consider-bankruptcy-as-it-seeks-new-owner

[Kalnoky]

Dang. Per the article, a 1.6 million player decrease over the last 5 years, or -6.23%. Imagine if that was your house or 401(k).

Maybe thinning the herd will be better for the game long-term. I sure hope so. My home course came close to closing last year before new management came in and righted the ship. It used to feel like someone died over there now it is bustling again.

 

 

 

[JetFan1983]

Jeez, what a terrible week for the industry (although Callaway is up 6% today). 

Makes McIlroy's comments at the Open even more obnoxious right now. I'm happy he was honest, but hopefully he sees how dumb what he said was given what's going on right now. 

[Piz]

I used to buy stuff from Golfsmith when they were a component supplier.  They went retail and I stopped going there.  Oh well...

[shanksalot]

 I was watching FS1 this morning on the program the Herd the guy was adamant about the decline in golf over the last few years is all tied into Woods no longer being a dominant figure in golf. What does everyone here think about that statement?

[JetFan1983]

9 minutes ago, shanksalot said:

 I was watching FS1 this morning on the program the Herd the guy was adamant about the decline in golf over the last few years is all tied into Woods no longer being a dominant figure in golf. What does everyone here think about that statement?

Yea probably true, but not entirely. I think the regulars on this forum, or guys who are life long golfers since way before Tiger's time, will still be here long after, but there's no denying that a ton of people took up the game during Tiger's heyday. I know I did. 

Of course, now that Tiger's on the shelf with his best years behind him, I don't plan on leaving the game, but I would imagine a good percentage have lost interest.

I'm sure there are several factors beyond Tiger as to why the game is declining, but his absence is probably one of them.

1 hour ago, JetFan1983 said:

Jeez, what a terrible week for the industry (although Callaway is up 6% today). 

Makes McIlroy's comments at the Open even more obnoxious right now. I'm happy he was honest, but hopefully he sees how dumb what he said was given what's going on right now. 

Just want to add that McIlroy is still my favorite player to watch right now. Love watching him bomb drivers. I may have disagreed with him here (he owes everything he has to golf), but that doesn't mean I don't still love watching him play. 

[stealthhwk]

3 minutes ago, shanksalot said:

 I was watching FS1 this morning on the program the Herd the guy was adamant about the decline in golf over the last few years is all tied into Woods no longer being a dominant figure in golf. What does everyone here think about that statement?

I think Tiger and his fans probably fuel that far more than actual facts. Golf is in decline because; 1) the game is too difficult and has conflicting instruction. 2) People play golf far too slowly and no one has time or patience for a five hour round of golf on a tuesday afternoon. 3) Golf is too exepensive. 4) golf companies  released so much so fast that eventually the consumer said Ive had enough and stopped purchasing new gear.

[Papa Steve 55]

5 minutes ago, shanksalot said:

 I was watching FS1 this morning on the program the Herd the guy was adamant about the decline in golf over the last few years is all tied into Woods no longer being a dominant figure in golf. What does everyone here think about that statement?

I think he brought in the casual fan, no one has really captured their imagination since. Most people on this forum are well beyond casual so his decline is met with an "Oh well" shrug and we move on the hot player du jour.

[nevets88]

14 minutes ago, shanksalot said:

 I was watching FS1 this morning on the program the Herd the guy was adamant about the decline in golf over the last few years is all tied into Woods no longer being a dominant figure in golf. What does everyone here think about that statement?

Woods is a big piece of it, but you also have the economy, social media and technology has made attention spans even shorter (some kids these days really have no attention span SQUIRREL and I get distracted easily) and many more activities to compete for free time, professional gaming is huge for example. I also think really good instruction has not trickled down to those with lesser means.

[Piz]

This is no different than the tennis craze, the hoola-hoop craze, the running/jogging craze, the pole-sitting craze, the NASCAR craze, the disco craze, or any other activity that became, temporarily, more popular than it actually was.  The people that are into whatever it is are not affected by the vagaries of fashion.  It's amusing...it's hopeful...but in the end...it figures.

[bkuehn1952]

There are a lot of tennis courts in Ann Arbor, MI.  There used to be a lot of indoor tennis facilities ("bubbles").There are a lot of unused tennis courts in Ann Arbor, MI.  Few indoor facilities anymore.  We in Ann Arbor are often followers of trends.  A couple decades ago tennis was going big time.  Then everyone realized tennis was hard to play.

There are a lot of golf courses within 15 miles of Ann Arbor.  Many were built from 1995 to 2005.  There are a lot of courses struggling to fill their tee sheet. Several have gone out of business.  Several retailers have closed.  Boom and then bust.  Golf is hard to play.

[Hardspoon]

Yup - we are on the back-end of the "Tiger boom." Participation numbers are back down to (approximately) where they were in the mid-90s. When the numbers started to go way up, people built too many courses, apparel companies invested too much in golf equipment, and stores (like Golfsmith) expanded too fast.

Now, courses will close, apparel companies will go back to their core business, and stores will close (also due to the Amazon effect). 

I can't get too upset about that, or even call it a "state of decline". It's just a correction. 

[JetFan1983]

34 minutes ago, Hardspoon said:

It's just a correction. 

Of course I agree with you, and what @stealthhwk, @nevets88, @bkuehn1952, @Piz, and @Papa Steve 55 said as well, but it's a pretty rough correction. Makes me think of this lol:

[natureboy]

3 hours ago, nevets88 said:

Woods is a big piece of it, but you also have the economy, social media and technology has made attention spans even shorter (some kids these days really have no attention span SQUIRREL and I get distracted easily) and many more activities to compete for free time, professional gaming is huge for example. I also think really good instruction has not trickled down to those with lesser means.

 

3 hours ago, Piz said:

This is no different than the tennis craze, the hoola-hoop craze, the running/jogging craze, the pole-sitting craze, the NASCAR craze, the disco craze, or any other activity that became, temporarily, more popular than it actually was.  The people that are into whatever it is are not affected by the vagaries of fashion.  It's amusing...it's hopeful...but in the end...it figures.

 

2 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

Yup - we are on the back-end of the "Tiger boom." Participation numbers are back down to (approximately) where they were in the mid-90s. When the numbers started to go way up, people built too many courses, apparel companies invested too much in golf equipment, and stores (like Golfsmith) expanded too fast.

Now, courses will close, apparel companies will go back to their core business, and stores will close (also due to the Amazon effect). 

I can't get too upset about that, or even call it a "state of decline". It's just a correction. 

 

I think it depends on your definition of 'golfer'. IMO, Tiger's impact was primarily on casual interest. He increased TV viewership significantly. There was a bump in participation that was likely due at least in part to Tiger, but it was largest for 'golfers' who play one round a year. He got folks to pay attention to and give the game a 'try', not get into it seriously.  Numbers for 'casual' and 'avid' players (25+ rounds / yr) held pretty steady from ~ 2001 to 2007 when they both dropped significantly.

GHIN's bumped slightly and dropped slightly post 2007 financial crisis then they dropped to pre-Tiger levels, but now they are back up again nearly to the same 'Tiger Bump' level.

[Hardspoon]

2 minutes ago, natureboy said:

GHIN's bumped slightly and dropped slightly post 2007 financial crisis then they dropped to pre-Tiger levels, but now they are back up again nearly to the same 'Tiger Bump' level.

I hadn't seen this stat. That's the big problem with any of this "analysis" - there are fifteen ways of looking at the numbers, and you can reasonably conclude that golf is growing in popularity as easily as you can that it is in decline.

[WUTiger]

3 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

There are a lot of golf courses within 15 miles of Ann Arbor.  Many were built from 1995 to 2005.  There are a lot of courses struggling to fill their tee sheet. Several have gone out of business.  Several retailers have closed.  Boom and then bust.  Golf is hard to play.

A few years ago, Arnold Palmer attributed this course building boom to outsiders who didn't really care about the game of golf, other than as a way to $$.

I live in St. Clair Co., IL, just across from St. Louis. We have five semi-private housing development golf clubs in our zone. One got started about 1990, the others in the late 1990s. (One went bankrupt two years ago.) Four of the five survivors still have a number of housing lots to sell.

The developers thought that all of them would become Winged Foot - West, and that after they sold out the lots they would make it an exclusive private-equity club. Only one came close, and the survivors rely on a broad mix of players to stay afloat as semi-privates.

At my home course, a lot of second owners of the homes aren't even golfers.

[gregsandiego]

7 hours ago, nevets88 said:

More turbulence in the golf industry. This is an 11, not a 7, not a bankruptcy. So so far it's Nike trimming down, Adidas selling TaylorMade and Adams, Golfsmith restructuring. Probably more to come?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-04/golfsmith-said-to-consider-bankruptcy-as-it-seeks-new-owner

I hope Golfsmith survives. They have a large store near me with a fairly large free inside practice area. I go there several times a week and buy all my clubs and accessories there. I could buy much of this on Amazon cheaper but I like the practice area and the people that work there. 

 

[70sSanO]

Golf is not immune to what every other sport, has experienced... brick and mortar can't compete with the internet.  And it goes beyond sporting goods, take a look at brick and mortar retail electronics. It is either Best Buy or ???

As for the decline, I agree with the time that has to be committed to play, but the industry, and experienced players, have really made it tough on anyone getting into the game.

Think about it, in order to play well someone has to get fit.  What other sport puts that universal edict on its participants?  Why would someone new to the game put up with that.  And the truth is, 40 years ago the emphasis on fitting didn't exist and the average golfer today isn't really playing much better these days.

John