Have you heard the rumor about the golf industry dying? The one that’s been all over the news, on social media and, yes, even on your premium cable channels?
Yes, it’s been a rough week for the golf business. But do the headlines tell the whole story?
The bad-news cycle started last week with the announcement by Dick’s Sporting Goods that it was essentially firing its 478 PGA professionals. While no detailed explanation was provided, the company’s first-quarter earnings report set the tone. DKS chairman and CEO Ed Stack said in May that the company’s overall golf business missed its first quarter 2014 sales plan by approximately $34 million. “We really don’t know where the bottom is in golf. … The industry has a real issue,” he said then.
So when the leading off-course retailer of golf equipment, a publicly traded company, essentially projects a lack of faith in …