]A pioneering research programme by sports and leisure specialists Sports Marketing Surveys is assessing the playing habits of Asia’s golfers. The research marks the first pan-Asian golf research study and fills an important need for the region’s golf federations, venues, brands and retailers. Major successes like Hideki Matsuyama’s Masters triumph, Yuka Saso’s win at…
The make up of bags at the men’s majors in 2021 shows subtle changes in how players approached the challenges of the different events. The Masters, where fairway finding is key, saw the most fairway woods per bag, with players carrying an average of 1.55 fairway woods. This compares to The Open, at the…
Sports Marketing Surveys provides the equipment census for every European Tour and co-sanctioned event. To celebrate the 149th Open Championship, we round up some of our favourite bags from the event. From vaccine providers on the bag, to bold colourways, football club tributes, early leaders and four degree drivers that do or don’t ‘suck’,…
Welcome (back) I usually start by welcoming you all to this event, but this year it is not just a welcome, but a ‘welcome back’. The golf industry lunch, like The Open itself did not take place in 2020, the first time it had been cancelled since the Second World War – the Open that…
The first edition of the Scandinavian Mixed Event highlighted a difference in club selection on the European Tour and Ladies’ European Tour. Competing for the same prize, the tactics men and women in the field used to get from tee to green varied, providing a fascinating spectacle for fans and viewers. Insights from Sports Marketing…
New figures reveal an increase in golf participation. 2.3 million more adults played on-course in Great Britain and Ireland last year, and the sport is now being encouraged to grasp the opportunity to retain new and returning players. Research led by The R&A, together with England Golf, Golf Ireland, Scottish Golf and Wales Golf,…
Former Solheim Cup player Becky Brewerton won the Rose Series event at Brokenhurst Manor, after a playoff with SMS award winner Liz Young and Brogan Townend. Last week was a story of firsts, with event creator Young claiming her first professional win. This week was a week of seconds. The Rose Series witnessed its…
Liz Young claimed her first professional title at the second Rose Series event of 2021. That she should do so in the Rose Series could not be more fitting. It is, after all, an event that would not have existed without her commitment and ingenuity in providing an opportunity for elite golfers to play…
In every sports fan’s life, there comes the devastating, disconcerting moment when you realise that you’re past it. Players half your age start making their debuts. Competitors ten years your junior win titles. You are forced to confront the reality that in fact, you probably won’t make it onto the tour, into the side, or…
Hideki Matsuyama is a golfer who feels like he has been around much longer than he has. Part of the effect is generated by his beautifully struck irons, which carry him serenely from tee to green and make his game seem mature beyond his years. In part it is his composed, friendly demeanour. Mostly, it…