Golf Pros are heading south to Orlando this January for the 58th PGA Merchandise Show. This is the world’s largest gathering of golf industry professionals, and GolfGurls is going to be there to meet, greet, learn and share with you, our readers, the latest products, training aids and resources we can discover in four short days. The show is only open to golf industry professionals and the media. GolfGurls.com was granted a media pass which allows us to go to the entire show. We will be reporting daily from the Convention Center.
It all begins with an Outdoor Demo Day, January 26 held at the Orange County National Golf Center. I visited this fabulous facility last year and wrote about it in a previous post. (Check it out here.) The practice range is an enormous circle, hundreds of yards across. and with over 200 hitting bays, there is plenty of room for the top golf pros in the business to test out and demonstrate all the latest golf equipment.
Here are more highlights from the show’s fact sheet:
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Product Presentations — Nearly 1,000 top golf companies and brands within nearly 1 million gross square feet of interactive exhibit, demonstration and presentation space create the world’s largest business-to-business golf event.
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Indoor Demo Days at the ETC – This massive indoor driving range features a scalloped design with 46 hitting bays, two putting greens, a practice pitching area and a full schedule of demonstrations and clinics. Attendees hit more than 250,000 balls at the ETC last year!
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PGA Equipment Forum Stage– The PGA Equipment Forum stage will feature the industry’s most pressing topics and initiatives, plus additional presentations on new equipment introductions, women’s golf initiatives, golf employment, teaching best practices, merchandising ideas and more.
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PGA Fashion Gallery – The PGA Fashion Gallery returns with a main stage for fashion and industry presentations, along with a new apparel New Product Center and buyers’ lounge.
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Education Conference — More than 65 seminars are presented by the industry’s foremost experts in instruction, management, retail and, now, business categories such as social media, new technology and environmental issues. An unprecedented 46 MSR credits are available to PGA Members during Show week.
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Career Fair — Workshops to attract, retain and motivate employees; PGA Apprentice and Member access to career counselors; industry professional access to industry employment recruiters; job posting boards and more.
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PGA Best Practices — Daily sessions on the best practices in business, merchandising and teaching will be offered to help PGA Professionals better market their services, improve facility revenue and grow the game.
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PGA Awards Night — The PGA of America presents their most prestigious national awards at PGA Awards Night, Jan. 27, at the OCCC. Award presentations include the PGA Professional of the Year, PGA Merchandisers of the Year, plus additional national award winners.
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New Product Centers — Three New Product Centers provide a premium presentation of the industry’s top new products in convenient settings right on the Show floor. Best new products are voted on by top PGA Professionals, retailers & industry leaders.
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Specialty Exhibitor Pavilions – Several specialty exhibitor pavilions including the new Inventors’ Pavilion, plus one-stop shopping for travel, teaching, training aids & fitness, new exhibitors& PGA Sponsors/Licensees, allow attendees to easily locate products and services in one convenient setting.
