Orlando Show Is Still Relevant

I’ll be off to Orlando for the PGA Merchandise Show soon.

The plan is to fly in the Tuesday night before the show begins and play golf on Wednesday with some of the staff members we’re taking down.

Then, it will be off to the show Thursday and Friday, before probably flying home Friday evening. We’ve got a function at the club on the Saturday, so I’ve got to get back.

I’ve probably been going to the show for about 20 years. I’ve missed a couple of years for one reason or the other, but not a lot. In the early days, it was more of a manageable show, but still big.

Then, it got to the point where, in its heyday, you could have wandered around the technology section for an entire day to see the booking systems, GPS systems and all of the new, improved technology.

I saw it go from a manageable show to a huge show and I think it’s come back to the point where it’s manageable again.

The show is still relevant to me. The biggest change I’ve seen is that when I went to the show in January back then, there was so much to see in golf equipment and clothing and other things.

Now, companies are getting their products out throughout the year. Fifteen or 20 years ago, I would see 50 per cent of the new stuff in Canada that was in Orlando.

Now, the Canadian golf industry and their parent companies have done such a good job that at the Canadian golf shows in October and November, I’ve seen most of the new products in the marketplace.

If you’re looking at clothing in Orlando nowadays, it’s more for summer-fall delivery which we will look at, but for a lot of people, it’s not what they have to do.

However, the Orlando show is still relevant for me to see people, see the trends, maybe see a few new products.

I hope to see competitive pricing in scorecards, tees, divot tools, that kind of product. At the Canadian shows, there might be three companies I’m shopping, but in Orlando, there might be 15 I’m shopping. You can really get some unique things in Orlando, be it unique prizing, trophies, giveaways or clothing.

Let’s say there’s a new softwear out there that does scoring for your members or tournaments. It might just be that little gem that we pick up that puts us ahead of the rest of the pack.

I think the key is reinventing the trip to Orlando.

Twenty years ago, we saw countless product introductions. Now, you’ve got everyone under one roof and you can compare and find some neat little things that separate your shop,

The Orlando show is still relevant and it’s that mid-winter break where you get to see a lot of Canadians and a lot of reps.

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