Thoughts on what makes Golf a unique economic sporting model and the success that this can bring to different components of the model.
Longevity of Golf
The economics of Golf could be debated for hours along with the breadth and dependency that sponsorship and marketing provide to a sport that boasts a truly global footprint, a wealth of history and iconic physical landscapes.
The very code and etiquette the sport prides itself upon sets it apart from others in the subconscious creation of a brand unique to the sporting industry and helps the industry position itself for future economic success;
Unique sponsorship and strategic partnerships from some of the world’s largest corporations. These organisations identify golf as a ‘safe’ and prestigious brand to partner with where often fear exists to go into other industries of sport
Sentiment and history coupled with the presence of Mother nature - taking advantage of some of the most breathtaking locations across the globe, Golf has successfully extended it’s reach to build a portfolio of amazing locations that help it capture some historic moments that can be socialised globally
So what are the foundations that this success has been crafted from? It can be suggested that longevity has a big part to contribute and we can understand this further by looking at a few common themes;
Annual cycle
The golfing season captured by the PGA and European Tour currently occupy nearly 50 weeks of the year providing both the players, partners and fans with a magnitude of sporting events to choose from.
When other sports wrap up from the season, golf keeps on going and has created a fanbase which are used to seeing the famous courses on their screens on a weekly basis. Furthermore, each event occupies 4 days of the week for actual tournament play with further pre-tournament activity now being aired on a regular basis.
By successfully utilising the global appeal and reach, the tours are played across different continents to take advantage of seasonal conditions to cleverly capitalise on different markets. This in turn offers sponsorship opportunities that scale the globes markets throughout the year cycle. All of this whilst the players benefit from extended seasonal opportunities, self-promotion opportunities and the ability to cross tours.
The length of the season contributes directly to vast sponsorship income, boosts to local economies and helping to create global strategic partnership opportunities.
An ageless affair
A clearly unique theme Golf imposes is the ability of its players to continue careers for much longer than any other sports.
Whilst some players come and go, we also see the elite careers’ span decades which is something that cannot be said for many other sports and ensures ample opportunity for great sporting stories. Tiger Woods is a great example of this having won his most recent Major (2019 Masters at Augusta) aged 46, 27 years after winning his first Major. And if you think Tiger is an exception this is wrong, countless others can be named such as Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Bernhard Langer, Jack Nicklaus
Whilst all this is great for the sports professionals themselves to help create their own careers and mass a substantial fortune, it is more contributory to the creation of remarkable golfing stories which see the youngest, newest players competing against some of the worlds experienced and best. This all adds to the audience appeal, allowing fans to grow up watching their favourites over many years and often watching them beat the younger and very popular players.
A sustainable fan base, a more mature player portfolio combined with the global appeal all make a great mix. A further example of this can be described by the PGA Champions Tour standings after just one event in the season;
Summary
Golf has a mass of appeal across the world and takes advantage of great opportunities to build strategic partnerships that excel the ability to create lucrative business models through events, sponsorship, marketing, equipment, apparel and merchandise.
A unique brand with a diverse fan base, style and backdrop make a very profitable mix.
Commenti