ORLANDO — More than 31,000 golf industry professionals from 89 countries and 50 U.S. states came together to meet with more than 1,000 golf companies and brands at the 71st PGA Show in Orlando, Florida, Jan. 23-26, 2024. With the continued upswing in consumer golf participation, the PGA Show, organized by RX and the PGA of America, signaled a bullish year ahead for the $102 billion golf industry.
While the PGA Show began in the trunks of cars during a 1954 golf tournament, it has grown into golf’s longest-running and largest global business gathering, covering 1.1 million square feet of exhibit, demonstration, and meeting space within the Orange County Convention Center. The games’ most recognizable brands and veteran manufacturers, along with more than 350 exhibitors new to the PGA Show, showcased the latest innovations that will enhance the golf experience and drive the business of the sport.
“As someone who has attended the PGA Show for over 30 years, this one certainly had an added excitement around it,” said PGA of America President John Lindert, who is also PGA Director of Golf at the Country Club of Lansing in Lansing, Michigan. “The golf industry is in a great place, and that was very evident this year. The Show is annually the largest gathering of PGA of America Golf Professionals and industry leaders and is the epicenter of the golf business. It is also the largest stage in golf for education, career development and professional networking. As an industry, we are better equipped to drive continued growth of this game we all love by coming together annually at the PGA Show.”
Among the tens of thousands of trade show attendees were more than 7,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals, LPGA and international PGA Professionals, representing widespread professional positions in the global industry and driving grassroots participation in the game by millions worldwide. More than 1,000 VIP buyers from 775 golf facilities and mass merchandisers sourced new products and services, bringing approximately $900 million in purchasing power and nearly $2.9 billion in retail sales to the event.
“The PGA Show is the most effective way to connect with those golfers through PGA Golf Professionals in a single four- or five-day span. We did 1,200 fittings at Demo Day and the momentum carried over to the PGA Show floor. The traffic and response have been tremendous this year. Our appointment books have been full, from start to finish every day,” Dan Ladd, President of Cobra Puma Golf-North America, said.
Additionally, more than 900 media from 22 countries reported from the trade-only PGA Show, offering an exclusive inside look at the game’s newest innovations for millions of consumers around the world. Industry professional attendance came from 89 countries and all 50 U.S. states with Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, China and Ireland topping the list of international attendees and New York, Texas, Georgia, California, and Pennsylvania representing top states, outside of the host state of Florida.
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While the PGA Show is a marketplace for discovering the latest golf innovations, PGA Show Week also offered industry professionals programming to recharge and renew their passion for the business of the game by attending high-level industry presentations, participating in education and career workshops and connecting in person with peers from around the world.
In addition, there was entertainment. “We are especially thrilled with the positive response to the inaugural PGA Show Winter Jam featuring country music star Jake Owen, and many other new experiential events that gave our attendees and exhibitors a chance to connect in fresh and exciting ways. We can’t wait to build off these successes in 2025,” said PGA Golf Exhibitions Vice President Marc Simon.
PGA Show Week began on Jan. 23 when thousands of PGA of America Golf Professionals tested the latest equipment and technology from some 70 top golf companies during PGA Show Demo Day, the world’s largest professional outdoor demo day, at the expansive circular range and 42-acre practice facility at Orange County National Golf Center. The immersive day-long event, produced in partnership by the PGA Show and PGA Magazine, also featured extensive product education, coaching workshops, club fitting presentations, programming on golf range strategies, demonstrations by PGA TOUR professionals and top PGA of America Coaches, and opportunities to meet one-on-one with industry leaders in numerous categories.
The following day, PGA of America President John Lindert and PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh shared welcome remarks and the announcement of the association’s first-ever 30,000 membership milestone while officially opening the Show. Following the ceremony, the Exhibit Hall doors opened to more than 1,000 companies and brands to create the world’s largest business-to-business golf event.
In addition to the busy marketplace across the expanse of the show floor, PGA Show days were full of professional learning opportunities during exhibitor and industry presentations at five Show Floor stages. The 2024 PGA Show also featured a comprehensive schedule of education sessions across a wide range of professional development topics presented by the industry’s foremost experts.
PGA Golf Exhibitions will next hold the mid-season PGA Buying Summit, July 29-31, in Frisco, Texas and the PGA Show will return to Orlando, Jan. 21-24, 2025. Event details can be found at PGAShow.com.
Reach John Lindert at (561) 624-8400
