My Thoughts: 2025 Golf Trends

My golf thoughts on 2025 golf trends:

• Back to NATURAL FIBERS.  I’m seeing more and more cotton and wool.  It’ll take a couple of seasons, but I’m bullish on higher %s of cotton over the next couple of years.  I think this is good – especially before the humidity moves in.  Personal note: I wore almost all cotton until the end of June last year. It was a mild Spring, so the humidity lagged.  Very comfortable.
• CARTOON BELTS are on their way out. I’m seeing a lot more exotic belts (w.Kleinberg), Polo belts (La Matera, etc.), and Maasai belts (Manyatta). There are still logo-centric belts, but mostly the Peter Millar/JT Spencer embroidered versions.
• HYBRID clubs OUT.  5-WOOD/7-WOODS IN.  I’ve never been able to hit a hybrid.  I’ve carried a 5-wood for as long as I can remember, and while I got some sh!t about it a few years ago, I’m seeing more in bags.  They are so much easier to hit…I think we all fell for a ‘hybrid’ marketing scheme.
• More CREW, less ZIP. Maybe it’s because we all have so many quarter zips, but I see more of a draw to crew-neck sweaters. Think about the Nike boys on tour: Rory, Scheffler, etc. No zips. Obviously Keith Mitchell…in Cashmere.
• I’m bearish on MASTERS MERCH.  It’s going to take one or two more years before they change course and offer wearable options again.  For now, it’s like shopping in the sale section at Wal Mart.
• Neutral on the athletic vs. dressier GOLF SHOES.  Brands focus on the dressier options because they have a longer shelf life (and haven’t seen a drop in sales).  I’m big on the Footjoy Premier Packard golf shoes and the True Linkswear Ripstops.  If True would produce an all-leather version in that Ripstop style, they would probably sell a million pairs.
• GOLF BAG style will continue to elevate.  Brands like Vessel and Jones are making incredible strides in extremely handsome golf bag technology.
• Non-Traditional Club MEMBERSHIPS.  The wait lists at most traditional country clubs are measured in years at this point.  Initiations are going through the roof, but the demand is still there.  The rise in non-traditional club memberships is on the upswing.  Places that focus 100% on golf like Tree Farm, 21, Roses, Old Barnwell, etc. are looking to fill the void.  While they don’t scratch the full-family country club itch, the high demand for golf gives them a place in the ethos.  Additionally, indoor social golf clubs (Intown, etc.) are seeing a swell in demand as well, but for more than just golf.  Their focus on the holistic experience (food/bev, social scene, etc.) is a great entry to the club lineup.  Everyone loves exclusivity.
• I haven’t seen anyone playing YELLOW GOLF BALLS in years.  Buh-bye.
• I’m neutral on TOUR VISORS.  Last year I was bearish, but I see them starting to make a comeback on the course (and off).  I’m preaching to the choir to my Red Clay Soldiers, so let’s help perpetuate the trend.
• Smaller, more subtle, and tonal LOGOS.  The days of Nascar-esque logos are in hibernation.

Deep Dive:

• I’m bullish on a PRO GOLF DEAL.  I’m a huge fan of corporate chaos, and pro golf has become extremely tired over the last 10 years (riding the post-Tiger Woods wave).  LIV was a shot in the arm to the corporate pro golf establishment.  It immediately called out the laziness of the PGA leadership, as well as exposing the motivation of the top golfers ($$$).  What has materialized over the last few years is an extremely watered-down TV experience and a bunch of boring golfers.  My guess is that all sides are motivated to get a mutually beneficial deal done.  Everyone will make money – the tour, the players, the TV networks, and the brands.  I like the summits at the White House, as that’s the type of attention it deserves.  If I may, this is my deep dive into what I’d like to see:
  • Tour Events are categorized into different category levels: Majors, Top 20 (Travelers, Bay Hill, Torrey Pines, etc.), and then Other.  Majors and Top 20 have huge purses, impossible conditions, and elite fields of golfers.  These events aren’t the problem.  The ‘Other’ tournaments (RSM, John Deere, Sanderson Farm, etc.) are almost a mid-level bowl game.  A limited PGA field, but include 10-20 local/regional tour pros, top Korn Ferry guys, amateurs, golf influencers, and the Club Champion of the course where they are playing.  Make it fun and relatable.  Pull for the underdogs. A lot of feel-good stories.  I’d watch it, and so would you.
  • More special, match play events.  But instead of four golfers playing in one foursome, have twelve golfers playing in three foursomes to alleviate the gaps in shots (the main complaint of the product out there now).  Incorporate LPGA, NFL Retirees, musicians, celebrities, etc. into the field.  All the money goes to charity.  That would make Tuesday night TV a lot more fun.
  • Seriously: nobody cares about the ‘playoffs’.
  • Find announcers that are fun.  Apologies to Jim Nance, but he sounds like a Hallmark card and it’s extremely annoying.  The old euro guys are tired.  Yawn.  Great for naps.  I miss Gary McCord.  Smiley has a chance to be cool and push the envelope, but he’s teetering.  Think about it – golf is fun because it has more sh!t talking than any other sport (look at the Tiger vs. Justin T interactions).  Embrace that.  The audience gets it, and enjoys it.

What are your thoughts?