NGF initiative recognizes the most successful, influential and prominent companies in the U.S. golf business
JUPITER, Florida – The National Golf Foundation has released its latest list of the NGF Top 100 Businesses in Golf, an effort to recognize the most influential, successful, prominent, and innovative companies on the commercial side of the U.S. golf industry.
Included in the biennial NGF Top 100 are companies and brands that deliver products and services primarily targeted to recreational golfers and golf courses, and conduct most of their business in the U.S.
The NGF Top 100 Businesses in Golf is not a ranking, rather more of a who’s-who list across various sectors of an immense industry: equipment, apparel, retail, media, turf maintenance and course supplies, software and consumer technology, developers and builders, management companies, and more.
“Golf is one of the largest participation sports in the country and a lifestyle for tens of millions who play, purchase, travel, and engage with the game in a growing number of ways,” said NGF President and CEO Greg Nathan. “Our goal in producing the NGF Top 100 Businesses in Golf is to highlight the incredible size and scope of the industry by recognizing those that make golf the greatest game in the world.
“We want to celebrate many of the brands that are so well-known to golfers, along with a host of other innovative and impactful companies that contribute to a game with an annual economic impact of more than $100 billion in the U.S.”
The Top 100 representatives span a broad spectrum, from Acushnet (a portfolio company of well-known brands such as Titleist and FootJoy) to Yamaha (among several prominent golf car companies recognized). Topgolf Callaway and 8AM Golf are examples of other major portfolio companies with a number of popular brands under their expansive umbrellas.
There are equipment manufacturers, from TaylorMade to PING, apparel and accessory companies such as adidas and AHEAD, golf retail giant PGA TOUR Superstore, a cutting-edge instruction and club-fitting company in GOLFTEC, many of the game’s biggest management companies such as Troon, KemperSports, and Invited, industry leaders in turf care and irrigation like Toro, John Deere, and Rain Bird, and innovative technology businesses such as Bushnell, Five Iron Golf, and Trackman. Five Iron and GOLF+ are among the group of 14 newcomers on this year’s list.
As in previous editions, the major associations and tours, non-endemic business partners, and event and marketing agencies are recognized separately to keep the focus of the Top 100 Businesses in Golf on companies that sell goods or services geared toward consumers and golf courses.
The full list of the Top 100 golf businesses as well as criteria, FAQ and company profiles for the NGF Golf 100 can be found at NGF.org.