TaylorMade’s Qi4D, the top-selling driver in the men’s driver market. Photo courtesy of TaylorMade
More than two-thirds of the golf equipment industry’s annual sales occur in the first half of the year. That is because golfers mainly buy new products in March through May, when the full season begins. First-half performance effectively serves as the report card for the entire year.
Sedaily Golf Monthly conducted a survey of golf equipment sales for the first half of this year (January through May) together with Golfzon Market, Korea’s largest golf equipment distributor. Golfzon Market accounts for about 30% of Korea’s golf equipment market, estimated at approximately 1 trillion won annually, serving as a barometer for equipment sales.
The survey examined each brand’s market share based on sales volume across categories including drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters, and balls. It also identified the specific best-selling models from each brand. To compare how equipment preferences differ between amateur golfers and tour professionals, data from the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA) Tour and the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour were also compared.
Four in 10 Choose TaylorMade Drivers
Looking first at the men’s driver market, TaylorMade recorded an overwhelming first place with a 40.6% share. About four in 10 golfers chose TaylorMade products. This was up 3.8 percentage points from TaylorMade’s men’s driver market share last year (36.8%).
TaylorMade’s new Qi4D driver played a key role. The Qi4D driver recorded a 28.5% market share in the first half of this year. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States and No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, both under equipment contracts with TaylorMade, had frustrated the company last year by not switching to the Qi35 released that year and instead using the previous Qi10 model.
A view of Golfzon Market. Photo courtesy of Golfzon Market
But this year was different. As soon as the Qi4D driver was released, Scheffler and McIlroy put it in their golf bags. McIlroy achieved back-to-back Masters titles with the new driver. Nelly Korda of the United States, the women’s world No. 1 who went without a title last year, also achieved two consecutive major victories this season with the Qi4D driver, opening a second heyday.
TaylorMade’s Qi35 model, released last year, also remained popular. With an 11.6% share, it ranked second in sales. In conclusion, the top two best-selling models were both TaylorMade products.
Following TaylorMade were Ping (16.4%) and Callaway (12.5%). This was the same ranking as last year. Among Ping products, the G440 K was popular, while among Callaway drivers, the Quantum model drew strong interest. Notably, Titleist and Srixon, which ranked fourth and fifth respectively last year, dropped out, with PXG (4.9%) and PRGR (4.8%) taking their places.
Industry Attention on TaylorMade’s Shift to Two-Year Release Cycle
Bridgestone’s V300 series, the best-selling iron on the market. Photo courtesy of Bridgestone
Riding the momentum from drivers, TaylorMade also emerged as a strong player in the fairway wood and hybrid markets.
In the fairway wood category in the first half of this year, TaylorMade’s share was 37.3%, ranking first. The Qi4D model (27.8%) sold the most, and the Qi35 wood also ranked third in sales. After TaylorMade came Ping in second (16.6%), Callaway in third (11.8%), XXIO in fourth (7.7%), and PRGR in fifth (6.1%). The combined shares of second through fourth place were needed to approach TaylorMade’s figure.
In the hybrid category, TaylorMade also ranked first (37.0%), followed by Ping in second (20.0%), Callaway in third (9.7%), Srixon in fourth (8.1%), and XXIO in fifth (7.7%).
XXIO’s driver, a strong performer in the women’s club market. Photo courtesy of XXIO
With TaylorMade products so popular, a change in TaylorMade’s product release cycle became a topic in the driver and wood markets in the first half of this year. TaylorMade has released new products once a year, but is reportedly planning to switch its wood release cycle to every two years going forward. This follows the path of Ping and Titleist. Extending the product release cycle to two years reduces development, promotion, and marketing costs, which can improve profitability. However, there is a burden of having to extend the product’s life cycle accordingly.
“From a distribution perspective, we expect some decline in pent-up demand waiting for new product releases and in replacement demand,” a Golfzon Market official said. “In the long term, major brands may also adjust their product release cycles to a two-year basis.”
Undiminished Popularity of the ‘National Iron’
In the iron category, the V300 series from Bridgestone, called the “national iron,” remained popular. Bridgestone maintained first place in the iron market with a 22.7% share. Bridgestone also ranked first in iron sales during the same period last year.
Mizuno, the “iron powerhouse,” ranked second (16.5%), with TaylorMade in third (16.1%) by a narrow margin, Titleist in fourth (10.1%), and PRGR in fourth (4.7%).
By individual model, it was notable that the Titleist T series iron ranked second in sales, behind the ninth-generation Bridgestone V300 model. The Mizuno JPX 925 iron ranked third, while TaylorMade’s P8CB and P790 irons ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
While American brands led the driver and wood markets in the first half of this year, Japanese brands such as Bridgestone and Mizuno showed strength in the iron category. Korean consumers tend to value finesse over power, such as feel and accuracy, when buying irons. For that reason, they have a particularly high loyalty to “forged irons,” industry sources explained.
Titleist’s SM11 wedge, the top-selling wedge. Photo courtesy of TaylorMade
Women’s Market ‘Unified’ Under XXIO
In the women’s golf equipment market, XXIO took the lead in all categories. It maintained its status as an “absolute powerhouse” in the domestic market in the first half of this year as well.
XXIO ranked first in market share for drivers (35.2%), fairway woods (41.1%), hybrids (44.5%), and irons (37.2%). This is analyzed as being due to the characteristic of women golfers, who have a high rate of purchasing full sets of clubs.
Even more encouraging for XXIO is that its share rose compared with last year. XXIO recorded market shares of 34.2% for drivers, 28.6% for woods, 30.9% for hybrids, and 22.6% for irons last year. In the first half of this year, compared with last year, drivers rose 1.0 percentage point, fairway woods rose 12.5 percentage points, hybrids rose 13.6 percentage points, and irons rose 14.6 percentage points.
New Model Stumbles, Shrinking Women’s Market a Concern
Even wealthy households have their worries. That worry is that the XXIO 13, released two years ago, rather than the XXIO 14 launched this year, is leading in popularity. This is also evidence that a large volume of inventory is spread across the market. In fact, looking at the market shares of the new XXIO 14 model in each category, it managed only 7.6% for drivers (fourth), 7.6% for woods (fourth), 8.1% for hybrids (fourth), and 5.4% for irons (fourth). As the golf market contracted after COVID-19, sales of existing inventory appear to have slowed. Indeed, the phenomenon of existing models holding back their successor models appeared in other brands besides XXIO. This is analyzed as showing how difficult market conditions have been over the past two to three years.
Another concern is the overall shrinking market pie. Since the end of COVID-19, Korea’s golf equipment market has been unable to escape a continuous downtrend. This is because young people have left the fields and quickly moved to other sports such as running. In particular, field officials say the decline in the women’s market is far larger than that of men. One XXIO official said, “Since the women’s golf population increased sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, the departure feels significant,” adding, “golf costs appear to be the biggest reason.” He stressed, “The entire golf industry, including lowering green fees and caddie fees, must consider ways to expand the market.”
TaylorMade, which has been focusing on winning over women’s hearts for several years, has been producing gradual results and securing a “solid second place.”