London, England: Sporting Insights has announced plans to undertake a major research project into the golf apparel market following the revolution that is taking place in what golfers are able to wear on and off the course in recent years. 

From hoodies on Tour to the easing of restrictions on what can and can’t be worn in the clubhouse, and some clubs doing away with dress codes altogether, golfers have more options than ever to express themselves and their style.

For golf manufacturers, these recent shifts in consumer demand are creating difficult decisions about how to design and market golf apparel. For retailers, buying decisions are changing.

The research will be designed to address these issues and provide evidence-based support for what will be potentially very different strategies across the golf industry.

New questions will delve deeper into important topics, including consumer buying patterns, pain points, and preferences for garment types and materials.

Advertising preferences will be interrogated in detail to understand areas, including golfers’ preferred model sizes and attitudes towards airbrushing. Such additional detail and clearer segmentation will help to add extra nuance to traditionally important – and still included in the new research – metrics such as brand ownership and preferences.

“We’re excited to launch what will be our most sophisticated research programme focusing on this fascinating topic,” said Sarah Goward, leading the project at Sporting Insights, a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

“Our plan is to size audiences by segment to identify how populous certain groups of golfers are but also how important they are in terms of regular or higher spend. That will help our clients decide how to best target their resources.

“We also hope to boost the women’s sample to take a deep dive into this often-overlooked area. Many companies design or stock very limited women’s ranges but may be missing out on achievable revenue by offering the wrong or not enough options.”

The research will cover both core golfers and less traditional players, including range-only golfers.

Fieldwork is due to launch next month, with reports available in due course for the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Sweden, Japan and Korea.