Perfect Putt | The Business of Golf

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Latest — 06 Aug 2026

Owning the Purchase Decision

Club fitting is priced and organized like a specialty retail service. Its underlying economics look more like a distribution channel: the point where customer acquisition, equipment purchasing, retailer strategy, and manufacturer distribution converge in a single appointment. Equipment manufacturers once competed primarily by building better clubs. Increasingly, they compete by

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Pricing Certainty: The Hidden Logic of Golf Outings

Golf outings convert uncertain demand into guaranteed revenue months before a tee shot is hit. Most courses still price them as if they were selling volume. Welcome to Perfect Putt, a newsletter covering the business and economics of the golf industry. If this was forwarded to you, subscribe to join

Golf's Apparel Land-Grab

The economics of golf apparel have quietly changed. Product still matters, but increasingly the most valuable asset is the direct relationship between a brand and the golfer. Welcome to Perfect Putt, a newsletter covering the business and economics of the golf industry. If this was forwarded to you, subscribe to

How Younger Members Are Reshaping Country Club Economics

Private golf is undergoing a generational transition, and clubs are beginning to reallocate capital in ways that could reshape where investment opportunities emerge across the industry. The median age of visitors at National Golf Links of America on Long Island fell from 40.5 to 33.6 between 2019 and

From Tee Time to Lifetime Value

For decades, golf optimized the round. The next decade will be defined by understanding the golfer. Every course operator can tell you how many rounds were played, what green fees were collected, and how much revenue came from carts on any given day. Far fewer can answer the question that

Golf Is Outgrowing Its Legacy Format

The game isn't running out of demand. It's running out of capacity. Golf set another participation record in 2025. Roughly 48.1 million Americans played the game, the eighth consecutive year of growth and nearly 50 percent more than a decade ago. Yet the most important

The Modern Architecture of Golf Capital

The most important change in golf is not happening on a golf course. It is happening in the capital markets. As industries mature and become more financeable, they become more scalable and attractive to institutional capital. Capital stops supporting the industry and starts shaping it. Golf now appears to be

The Business of the Upgrade

Golf has quietly built one of consumer sport’s most sophisticated secondary markets. What began as a way to resell last year’s clubs has become an infrastructure layer that shapes upgrade frequency, value capture, and control of the equipment economy. Welcome to Perfect Putt, a newsletter covering the business

The Connection Premium

Golf's discovery layer is shaped long before a booking is made. New research from Gather identifies the specific mechanism – and it challenges the assumptions behind how the industry currently values creator partnerships in relation to golf travel. Welcome to Perfect Putt, a newsletter covering the business and economics

Before the Community Arrives

Private club waitlists may be one of the most overlooked indicators of where affluent Americans are heading next. A standard club application captures a rare combination of information: income, family structure, future residence plans, professional networks, and long-term intentions. More importantly, it captures those details voluntarily and often years