Gold Industry in 2015

"The Takeaway" is a rundown of current events in the golf industry. Each month, several key aspects of the industry will be examined by highlighting current events in areas including golf marketing, product, players, and the state of the game. This month, we will look at Nike Golf's newest push for younger players, the battle between golf club manufacturers to provide clubs with more distance, who to watch out for at The Masters, and what California's unprecedented drought means for the sport.

Marketing: Nike Golf’s Newest Push to Attract Younger Players

If you have read this blog before, there are a couple of themes you may have noticed. One is that golf is a sport trying to get younger, and another is that Nike Golf is probably at the forefront of this movement from a marketing standpoint. From the players on its roster to recent efforts like last year’s "Don’t Sleep on Summer" campaign, Nike Golf has made a noticeable effort to position its brand as being on the sport’s cutting edge. If Titleist is about consistency and performance, Nike Golf is about individualism and youth.

In March, Nike Golf made its next bold statement by teasing and promptly releasing a new apparel category, simply calling it The Nike Golf Club. The collection is a vast departure from typical golf clothing, featuring a laundry list of items that would typically not make the list of club approved attire; from hoodies to backwards five panel hats. The latter item may conjure memories of Rickie Fowler’s infamous 2011 “Hatgate”, when the popular young pro was berated on multiple occasions by club officials at tournaments like The Masters for his preferred headwear stylings not conforming to club rules.

The Nike Golf Club has been rolled out in full force during the second half of March, taking over the company’s website and social media identity, and in the process providing a very unambiguous message countering ‘tradition’ as commonly associated with the sport. While it is...