The Golfalot.com Price Index continued the recent trend of steady growth in April with a small rise of + 0.4% as the Drivers category surged an impressive +2.9% to a record high of £155.59 with big name new entrants entering the Index for the first time.
The Golf Clubs Sector finished the month at its highest level since June 2011 with growth of +0.2% increasing the average cost of Golf Clubs to £907.08. The Golf Drivers category was the star turn of the index this month with growth of +2.9% despite some discounting of older models which was offset by the debut in the index of the RAZR X Black and RAZR Fit models from Callaway and the i20 from Ping. As Drivers provided the momentum however closer analysis of the Sector reveals that four of the six categories recorded negative growth this month. Fairway Woods (-0.3%), Irons (-0.2%), Wedges (-0.9%) and Putters (-0.3%) all witnessed retailers competing across key manufacturers and brands as golfers are gearing up for the season to kick off in earnest. All four of these categories have exciting new products hitting the shops in the next month so we expect the Golf Clubs Sector as a whole to perform well throughout the summer months.
The Golf Accessories sector also consolidated its position in April, falling by just -0.1% with strong performances from Golf Balls and Golf Shoes offsetting small losses in the Golf Bags and Golf Trolley categories where retailers competed over the prices of some of the newer releases. The Golf Balls category was up +0.8% as the much heralded new performance ball from Callaway, the Hex Black Tour, entered the index as did the highly anticipated new concept ball from Titleist, the Velocity. Golf Shoes (+0.2%) also contributed to the solid performance of the sector that was not impacted greatly by small drops in Golf Bags (-0.2%) and Golf Trolleys (-0.2%) which witnessed competition across a series of manufacturers and brands with notable price positioning evident.
With The Masters now behind us and the golfing season in full swing thanks to the warm spring, the solid performance of the Golfalot.com Price Index in April reflects an encouraging platform for the industry to capitalise on the exciting calendar of tournaments and industry events planned over the coming months.