On-Off Course April ’22 vs. ’21 Dollars: -4.9%
On-Off Course April ’22 YTD vs. ’21 Dollars: -2.9%
In the retail numbers published today for golf equipment sales, we see that golf ball sales for April 2022 fell sharply and might initially be a cause for concern. However it’s important to note that due to supply constraints, most golf ball brands did not offer their traditional spring promotions designed to get the golf season off to a robust start and pre-sell balls for the upcoming season. Due to that shift in sales programming, April and May unit sales will be significantly lower than prior years.
Over to another category and Club sales were off in April 2022 vs. 2021, but the drop wasn’t as severe as in March. Most brands still report a large back logs of orders and, until component availability improves, sell thru will remained constrained. On a YTD basis, 2022 total club sales (woods, irons, putters and wedges) are 4.4% below 2021 but 48% ahead of 2019.
Said Golf Datatech co-founder, John Krzynowek, “After a particularly sharp drop in March, total equipment sales in April were still down from 2021’s all-time highs, but the sales declines moderated and were primarily felt in a steep contraction in online purchases. For those who still like to see where we stand vs. pre-pandemic levels, sales for the month of April 2022 were 36% ahead of 2019. So, while retail sales may be plateauing, they are doing so at a very elevated level".