Golf Booms As Supply Shortage Looms

More than 3 million people played on a golf course for the first time last year, and active, on-course U.S. golfers increased by 500,000.

But the pandemic has caused a supply chain shortage in a number of industries — and golf isn’t exempt.

• Driving range and club fitting center Granville Golfland has pushed its estimated delivery time for custom-fit golf clubs from 7-10 days to as many as 12 weeks.
• American Golf locations in the United Kingdom have told clients that custom-fit clubs won’t arrive until December.
• Acushnet, Titleist’s parent company, now turns customer orders around in an average of seven weeks, compared to the two business days it took before.

Callaway and Acushnet reported second-quarter earnings earlier this month, with both expecting an “interruption in the supply chain” going forward.

Despite the setbacks, Callaway reported $914 million in second-quarter revenue, and Acushnet’s net sales increased 108.3% year-over-year to $624.9 million.

The U.S. golf industry is worth $84 billion.