VIRUS UPDATE: Golf Industry Feeling the Effects of Coronavirus

I’ve had mixed impressions of 2002 thus far. The PGA Show provided a preview of some awesome industry developments that are on the horizon and the weather, even here in the NYC-area, has allowed for a few early winter rounds in mid-50s weather, coronavirus seems committed to ruining everything good in the world.

Indeed, Callaway Golf has recently felt the pain with the stock market experiencing downturn amidst the global concern. But if that wasn’t bad enough, Callaway has also predicted a $25 million revenue decrease this year due to manufacturing disruptions in China.

Yep, coronavirus might be preventing you from having that brand new MAVRIK driver you just ordered and expected to have in your bag for that first round of spring golf.

Sadly, the problems aren’t limited to Callaway, as it goes without saying that, as coronavirus continues to spread absent any restraint or signs of an effective vaccination, it’s likely that other equipment companies who source components from East Asia, like Honma, PXG, Miura, and Sub70, will also start to feel the pain.

In fact, it’s possible that golf balls is an area that may affect all golfers. With supplies dwindling, it’s possible that prices may increase due to the fact that the majority of golf balls sold by large (Callaway) and small (Kirkland) manufacturers source production out of China.

Adding insult to injury, there’s a possibility that the top golfers may not be playing in the Olympics for the second time after golf was reinstated for the summer games.

Although there’s several months between now and the opening ceremony for the 2020 Olympics (July 24th), the PGA Tour Series-China has already postponed 2 qualifying tournaments and the first 4 events of the regular season (with more postponements and cancellations likely to be announced in the coming weeks).

If that wasn’t troubling enough, the PGA Tour-China has also decided to delay the start of its season from late March to late May/early June. Similarly, the LPGA has cancelled 2 Asian events—the Honda LPGA Thailand (February 20th through 23rd in Thailand) and the 2020 HSBC Women’s World Championship (February 27th through March 1st in Singapore)—in the wake of the outbreak.

Sadly, one has to wonder if modern golf in the Olympics is…dare I say…cursed? Indeed, after golf made its return to the summer games for the first time since 1903 at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio de Janeiro), Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and several others pulled out due to fears over Zika virus.  While it’s still early, is coronavirus setting up an unfortuante déjà vu scenario?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by H1sash1kjm (@h1sash1kjm) on Aug 4, 2019 at 3:25am PDT

Kasumigaseki Country Club – Host of the 2020 Olympic Golf Competition

In brief, coronavirus has really put a damper on everything so far in 2020. Hopefully, doctors from across the world will be able to collaborate, develop a cure and put this behind us.

Cover Image Via Instagram