The 2025 PGA Show took place in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 21-25 at the Orange County Convention Center. The show came on the heels of an arctic cold blast that brought snow to the panhandle of Florida. Even with the cold rain, there was record attendance and exhibitors, making it the largest PGA Show in 15 years.
Organized by the PGA of America and PGA Golf Exhibitions, the show welcomed more than 33,000 golf industry professionals from 94 countries and 50 U.S. states to meet with more than 1,100 brands. And with the continued growth of the game, organizers said there is an optimistic outlook for the $102 billion golf industry.
“Every year the PGA Show leaves us energized and inspired, setting a positive tone for the new golf season,” said Don Rea Jr., president of PGA of America, PGA master professional and owner/operator of Augusta Ranch Golf Club in Arizona.
Kicking off the show on Jan. 21 was Demo Day at a circular range and 42-acre practice facility at Orange County National Golf Center. The day-long event allowed PGA of America golf professionals to test the latest equipment and technology from more than 70 top golf companies. Demo Day included product education, coaching workshops, golf fitness presentations, a club fitting genius bar, programming on golf range strategies, demonstrations by PGA and LPGA Tour professionals and opportunities to meet with industry leaders.
The marketplace on the show floor had two days of heavy traffic with a diverse crowd visiting booths and lining up to demo simulators.
Toptracer launched its largest activation at the show, presenting its entire suite of products. It was the show’s largest booth, allowing attendees to experience Toptracer Range. There was also a new application of Toptracer Range for an indoor solution designed for smaller spaces.
“Our customers tell us that they want technology across their entire property to engage with every segment of their customer base,” said Oskar Asgard, senior product manager at Toptracer. “We believe we have the capabilities to transform each aspect of any facility, whether it be indoor or outdoor ranges, clubhouses or teaching academies.”
Jim Koppenhaver, president of Pellucid Corp, and Stuart Lindsay, principal of Edgehill Golf Advisors, presented a 90-minute session, “22nd Annual State of the Industry.”
Koppenhaver said round are up 2% and growth continues but there are players that lapsed in 2023, and courses need to invite them back.
“Your POS system can be upgraded to leverage customer data allowing owners to effectively compete for share-of-golfer,” he said. “Owners will need to move to more innovative ways of operating to keep the momentum moving.”
While challenges will continue with labor and maintenance, Koppenhaver said revenue for 2025 could reach 5% with rounds approaching 540 million.
GolfNow officially launched Athena at the PGA Show, a new offering within its golf course management platform, designed to help courses maximize revenue, streamline operations and enhance the golfer experience.
Athena takes basic dynamic pricing principles to new levels, leveraging extensive data points, predictive and prescriptive modeling to help a golf course operator make better informed pricing decisions. By using machine learning and artificial intelligence, Athena can rapidly aggregate and analyze a massive number of variables every hour, such as weather, day of the week, time of day, available inventory and market trends to gauge how golfers respond and then predict optimal pricing over time. The thousands of pricing decisions – more than 45,000 each day – available to the course operator through Athena can be integrated into a golf course’s electronic tee sheet in real time.
“Athena will be a game-changer in golf revenue management, allowing our system to learn and adapt faster, and deliver increasingly accurate prescriptive pricing over time,” said Todd Triplett, senior vice president of GolfNow. “The longer Athena is in use, the more precisely it aligns pricing with demand and golfer behavior, maximizing revenue and golfer satisfaction simultaneously.”
The show provided interactive areas to engage with company products and services including the Equipment Test Center, which featured 44 testing bays and a 3,750 square-foot putting green; the Innovation District with the New Product Zone for a one-stop shopping of the newest golf merchandise; and the Inventors Spotlight exhibitor pavilion for patented products not yet available at retail.
Rea Jr. said the true essence of the show is the relationships and collaboration within the industry to advance the game of golf.
“The show offered a wealth of business opportunities, but equally important were the mentoring, networking and career development moments,” he said. “I love seeing our younger professionals at their first PGA Show walking side-by-side with their seasoned mentors.”
