GW Monday: Equipment sales on the rise

From the May 2 edition of Golf World Monday:

For 24 months the numbers were grim. In 2009 sales of new golf equipment suffered double-digit losses almost across the board according to golf-retail tracking firm Golf Datatech. In terms of dollar sales, woods were down 14.3 percent and irons were off 16.2 percent compared to 2008 figures.

The following year wood sales fell another 6.6 percent, while iron sales were flat. The first three months of 2011, however, have seen golfers reaching for their wallets with a surprising -- and, for the industry, most welcomed -- frequency.

According to Golf Datatech, the first quarter of 2011 saw wood sales rise 22.2 percent, while irons posted a 16.6-percent gain. Why the boost? For starters there has been new equipment to get excited about, such as TaylorMade's R11 driver and Callaway's RAZR X irons.

Then there is the most salient reason of all: Golfers like their toys and don't like to go without new ones for very long.

-- E. Michael Johnson