2016 PGA Merchandise Show begins in Orlando
Hailed as “The Major of the Golf Business,” the 63rd PGA Merchandise Show is in Orlando this week as the international golf industry gathers to celebrate the sport and promote the future of the game.
The show began on Tuesday with Demo Day at Orange County National Golf Center and continues through to 29th January at Orange County Convention Center. Over 1,000 golf companies and brands will take part in the event that takes up over 1 million gross square feet of interactive, display and meeting space in the convention building. Some 42,000 attendees will visit the 2016 event hailing from 75+ countries.
Demo Day saw more than 100 companies promoting their products and services at the world’s largest professional outdoor demo event at the range, practice greens and vendor village approaching 42 acres at Orange County National. Golf superstars Bubba Watson and Lexi Thompson (pictured above) also put in appearances for their sponsors and proved extremely popular with the crowds.
Speaking to golf industry leaders reveals that most expect a year of further progress as the sport recovers from a couple of leaner years. It’s all relative though as the industry has a total economic impact in America of around $176.8 Billion including direct, indirect and induced impacts. In terms of total size of the golf economy nationally then golf records some $68.8 Billion in revenue.
In the past, Presidential hopeful Donald Trump (pictured above with microphone) has appeared on stage talking about his golf business which contributes towards the 15,350 golf facilities that are open in the United States today. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in 75 jobs is in the golf industry. Charity also benefits with some $3.9 Billion in charitable impact from the game of golfs 143,000 events and 12 million participants.
More photos from the show at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
