What Are the Hottest New Golf Trends for 2019?
What Are the Hottest New Golf Trends for 2019?
By Ken Martin, PGA Professional Certified in Instruction
Keiser University College of Golf
- Alternative golf sites such as Topgolf and Drive Shack. These venues are interactive driving ranges with food and beverage service catering to all levels of golfer. They tout advanced technology and fun games providing an entertaining experience beyond the traditional.
- Stadium golf venues for PGA Tour stops. The term “stadium golf” was first coined as a description for the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The innovative design makes use of hillsides and mounding around the green complexes of select holes providing an amphitheater effect to optimize viewing for large spectator galleries. The concept has been enhanced with the building of grandstands that partially surround teeing grounds and greens at the Honda Classic in FL and the AT&T Byron Nelson in TX. It has further progressed so far as grandstands that surround an entire hole such as the par 3 16th hole for the Waste Management Phoenix Open in AZ.
- New Golf Rules: The governing bodies for the rules of golf introduced changes that have sparked much debate. Those of most interest regard the use of the flagstick when putting, the ball dropping procedure, the use of “green reading books, “grounding” the club in penalty areas, and disallowing the use of a caddy to assist the player when setting up for a shot.
- Affordable “Boutique” Brands of Golf Equipment. The biggest brands in golf equipment, such as Titleist, TaylorMade, Callaway, and Ping, have continued to raise prices on their new releases to the point that new drivers go for over $500, a set of irons can approach $2000, and a dozen golf balls can top $44. As such pricing is prohibitive to many golfers, the door has opened for smaller “boutique” brands that offer quality golf equipment at “factory direct” prices that are often half or better than the big brands. A few of the more notable in golf clubs are Hogan Golf and Sub70 golf. And in golf balls Snell and Vice.
- Smart Technology in Golf Clubs. Performance data is a vital tool for instructors and coaches and for the big-name players on the world golf tours it is readily available thanks to technology such as the ShotLink System. Thanks to companies such as Arccos Golf, Garmin, and Game Golf, on-course data can now be easily collected for the average player. The trend is to use a sensor either built into or attached to the grip on the club to track golf shots in real time. The data is then seamlessly collected by a smart phone app and reviewed later to identify strengths and weakness by the player and/or their coach.
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