The Business Of Golf As PGA Tour Season Arrives

Welcome to the latest episode of Full-Court Finance, the podcast from Zacks Investment Research focused on the intersection of sports, business, and the stock market. On this week’s episode, Zacks producer and avid golfer Daniel MacPherson joins the show to discuss the current state of golf and the big business surrounding the PGA Tour as the 2018 season swings into full gear.

The golf world is abuzz with the possibility of a 2018 PGA Tour season that could see the long-awaited return to success for Tiger Woods, as his presence alone often substantially boosts television ratings and overall interest in the sport. With millions of dollars invested in television coverage, the likes of NBC (NASDAQ:CMCSA) , Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) , CBS (NYSE:CBS) and ESPN (NYSE:DIS) are all actively rooting for Woods—who missed a majority of the last few seasons due to injuries—to remain healthy.

Still, no matter if Woods makes a real comeback or not, the PGA Tour is still a big draw for sponsors as the likes of AT&T (NYSE:T) , FedEx (NYSE:FDX) , Microsoft (NYSE:T) , Dell Technologies (NYSE:DVMT) and many other major companies are all heavily involved in golf through sponsorships and more.

On top of that, despite Nike (NYSE:NKE) exiting the golf equipment business and Adidas (OTC:ADDYY) selling TaylorMade, the two sportswear powers are still major players in golf apparel even as struggling Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) grows its golf segment. What’s more, other golf-focused companies including Titleist and Footjoy owner Acushnet Holdings (NYSE:GOLF) and Callaway Golf (NYSE:ELY) have done well.

Lastly, despite gloomy attitudes about golf’s future, the game and business of golf are far from doomed, as amateur interest continues to be spurred by the rise of fun and recreational golf outlets such as Topgolf.

If you have any questions about this episode of Full-Court Finance please feel free to shoot us an email over at podcast@zacks.com. Please also make sure to check out all of our other podcasts at zacks.com/podcast and remember to subscribe and leave a rating in iTunes.

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