Analysts: Callaway A Bargain

Bloomberg's Brooke Sutherland talks to analysts about the relative "bargain" Callaway appears to be as CEO Chip Brewer attempts to turn the company around.

Thanks to reader cpmy for the tip.

The Callaway brand and the Carlsbad, California-based company’s foothold in golf equipment could lure Nike Inc. (NKE), said Grace & White Inc., which also sees Kering SA, owner of the Cobra brand, as a potential buyer. Private-equity firms also may be drawn by the chance to carry out Brewer’s turnaround plan on their own, said Gilford Securities Inc.

In golf, Callaway is “the biggest, best-known brand name out there available for an acquirer,” Casey Alexander, New York-based director of equity research and a special-situations analyst at Gilford, said in a phone interview. Even after the rally, it “can still be considered quite a bargain today.”

Bloomberg: As Golf Goes So Goes The Economy?

That's the premise of Bloomberg reporter Nikhil Hutheesing's story which says the economy is improving based on the numbers in golf.

Well, when people retire, some want a house on a golf course with open views and plenty of green, even if they aren't golfers. There’s your existing-home-sales data. When the economy is improving, golfers spend more on golf clothes, golf vacations, greens fees and the like (consumer spending). And as demand picks up, more golf courses, and homes, are built and old ones spruced up (housing starts).

Right now, golf is pointing to an economy that's out of the rough (click here for a closer look at the golf economy). Steven Ekovich, managing director of the National Golf & Resort Properties Group, a division of real estate investment firm Marcus & Millichap, says financing is returning to the industry. He estimates that the number of distressed assets has fallen by 65 percent since 2009 and says that investor sentiment is improving.

"As the economy heals, we expect to see course values go up this year for the first time in six years," he says.

One reason things are looking better: Lenders that were saddled with loads of distressed debt in golf courses when the housing market plummeted have unloaded much of that debt, in part by selling courses. The pace of sales of 18-hole championship-length golf courses slowed from 86 in the first half of 2012 to 55 in the first half of this year. That means the courses that made it through this period are financially healthier, Ekovich says.

NY Times Profile Of Casey Wasserman

Brooks Barnes files an NY Times Businss profile of 39-year-old Wasserman Media Group head Casey Wasserman, who has amassed 1300 clients, at least $150 million a year in revenue and significant clout, may be contemplating a bid for IMG.

And there was this:

Mr. Wasserman, who is married with two young children, works from an office near U.C.L.A. But he conducts much of his business in the field. Last month, he flew to Philadelphia and hung out around the putting green at the Merion Golf Club, where the United States Open was about to begin.

Wearing aviator sunglasses and chewing cinnamon gum, an asthma inhaler tucked inside a trouser pocket, Mr. Wasserman warmly greeted clients like Kyle Stanley and Rickie Fowler. United States Golf Association officials pulled Mr. Wasserman aside to ask for help with a new ad campaign. Perhaps one of his young players would participate? After some banter that took place outside of my earshot, Mr. Wasserman said brightly, “We will see if we can make it happen.”

Study: California Golf A $13 Billion Industry

The SRI International prepared 52-page California Golf Economy: Economic & Environmental Impact Report, commissioned by Golf 20/20 for the California Alliance for Golf has issued its findings.

The report says golf in the Golden State provides "$13.1 billion of overall economic activity that supports more than 128,000 jobs, $4.1 billion of wage income, and more than $346.6 million in charitable giving on an annual basis."

With 921 separate golf facilities, golf in California is an industry that generates more direct economic activity than movie theaters, fitness/recreational sports, greenhouse/nursery crops, and amusement/theme parks.  It brings visitors to the state, spurs new residential construction, generates retail sales, and creates demand for a myriad of goods and services ancillary to the industry.  Almost unique among participatory sports, golf gives back through direct charitable activities and support of non-profit organizations dedicated to youth and education. Contrary to the 
perceptions of some, golf consumes less than 1.2% of the total water used to irrigate crops, accounts for less than 1% of the total fresh water consumed in the state, and generates significantly higher economic returns per acre-foot of water than most other water-intensive industries.

Taylor Made's First Quarter '13: Up 13%

Some rather huge numbers in a down golf economy.

For Immediate Release:

TAYLORMADE-ADIDAS GOLF REPORTS STRONG Q1 2013

Global Industry Dominance Continues with Strong Metalwood, Iron and Footwear Growth

CARLSBAD, CALIF. (May 3, 2013) – TaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG), the largest and most profitable golf equipment, apparel and footwear company in the world, today announced strong Q1 2013 results of $559 million (€423 million), representing  an increase of 13% on a currency-neutral basis. Additionally, TMaG recorded significant currency-neutral, year-over-year growth in nearly every category in Q1, including metalwoods (+8%), irons (+35%), balls (+21%), and footwear (+23%).  Regionally, the U.S., which accounts for approximately half of TMaG’s global sales, enjoyed the strongest market growth with sales up +21% year-over-year.

TMaG’s ongoing success is a direct product of the company’s expanding global dominance in the golf equipment, footwear and apparel industries, as evidenced by numerous recent achievements:
•       The R1 driver holds the No.1 position in U.S. sales.1
•       RocketBladez irons, launched to market last November, is far and away the top-selling iron in the U.S.2
•       RBZ and RBZ Stage 2 fairway woods and Rescue hybrids currently rank No. 1 and No. 2 in U.S. sales.3
•       TaylorMade is the No. 1 driver and fairway wood brand on the world’s six major professional golf tours: PGA, European, Champions, Japan, LPGA and Web.com.
•       adizero footwear, launched in January, is having remarkable success around the world, making it the best-selling golf shoe in company history.

Additionally, TMaG’s acquisition of Adams Golf last year offers a significant opportunity for future growth.  Adams has increased its presence on the PGA TOUR by adding Robert Garrigus and Jeff Overton to a Tour Staff that already includes Aaron Baddeley, Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer, Kenny Perry, Yani Tseng and Brittany Lincicome.  Adams is the No. 1 hybrid brand on the PGA, Champions, and Web.com Tours.
 
TMaG’s first quarter success is all the more impressive given that an unusually cold spring in the northern United States has delayed the start of the golf season for hundreds of thousands of golfers, stunting equipment sales significantly.
 
“Last year was our best ever in terms of sales, so to start this year with a 13% increase over last year’s first quarter is very satisfying,” said Mark King, CEO and President.

SwingTip Gets CES Launch

John Strege wrote about it in more detail last September, but it's still interesting to see the potentially cool SwingTip data collector get a launch at the Consumer Electronics Show and backed by $4.4 million in financing.

Tiffany Hsu of the LA Times reports on the $129.99 one-ounce device that latches on to your club and can last 18 holes before sharing the data with your smart phone. Roll your eyes, but Hogan would have been all over this!

But for its Santa Clara maker, the selling point is the gadget’s ability to track and analyze users’ golf swings using motion sensors. SwingTip then wirelessly transmits 3-D animations of the golfer’s movements via Bluetooth to iOS or Android mobile devices.

The tool can gauge swing path and speed, club face angle, impact zone and more. The metrics are broken out individually into a scorecard and also used to compile an animated video tutorial showing the swing from three different angles.

Cordillera And Its 54 Holes Auctioned For $14.2 Million

The Denver Post's John Mossman on the paltry price paid by Rose Holdings LLC for Cordillera's Fazio, Nicklaus and Irwin 18's along with a Pelz practice area, though developer David Wilhem only opened the Fazio course the last two seasons.

Donald Trump lost out in the bidding and according to Risa Wolf-Smith, an attorney with Holland & Hart of Denver that represented the unsecured creditors, he put on a good show.

"Auctions are always interesting, and this one was a little bit crazy," Wolf-Smith said. "It really was fun to listen to Donald Trump. He has a personality even on the phone.

"He wished the best to the other bidders as he passed on his last opportunity to bid. He muttered here and there that he didn't think it would go this high. There's always a possibility that he may try to work something out with Wilhelm on the back end."

The bankruptcy case was complicated by litigation between Wilhelm and 610 club members.

Last spring, Wilhelm promised to open all four golf courses but — for the second year in a row — opened only Fazio's Valley course. He also laid off dozens of workers.