Golf Is Growing. Is Your Back Office Ready for It?

Five wholesale signals every golf merchandiser and brand partner should watch in 2026

A guest contribution from the team at RepSpark

Golf is having a moment, and the numbers back it up. The National Golf Foundation reports that total participation hit a record 48.1 million players in 2025, a 2% bump over 2024 and a 55% jump over the past decade.

Just as encouraging for anyone who cares about the game’s future, growth is coming from new places.

Compared to 2019, female participation is up 46% to 8.1 million, and participation among people of color is up 61% to 7.7 million.

For golf merchandisers, sales reps, and the brands that supply them, that’s a tailwind worth celebrating. But RepSpark’s latest State of Apparel Lifestyle Wholesale 2026 report, built on proprietary data tracking more than $5 billion in transaction volume, original survey responses from wholesale brand leaders, and third-party research, found some signals that AGM Members should pay attention to.

Growth is being stress-tested, and the brands and shops that thrive won’t necessarily be the ones selling hardest. They’ll be the ones operating cleanest.

Here are the five signals we think matter most for the AGM community.

1. An operational drag worth noting

Fifty-seven percent of brands we surveyed saw sales growth in Q4 2025, and 71% felt confident about hitting next quarter’s goals. Yet that confidence sits on a shakier foundation than most leaders admit. While 81% of brands rate their operations as Good or Excellent, 80% also say inventory visibility and forecasting are exactly where they need to improve most.

Only 19% have fully integrated their B2B ordering platform with their ERP or inventory system, and more than half still forecast demand using manual spreadsheets.

Why it matters for golf retail: When a brand can’t see its own inventory clearly, the merchandiser on the other end of the order feels it, in the form of backorders, wrong variants, and slow answers during the seasons that matter most. As demand for golf climbs, the gap between looks digital and actual integration becomes the difference between a smooth season and a scramble.

2. Buyers now expect the Amazon experience at work

The line between consumer and wholesale buying has all but disappeared. After a decade of one-click consumer shopping, golf buyers expect the same from their wholesale portals: real-time inventory, 24/7 self-service ordering, and an interface that gets out of the way. Gartner projects that by 2028, 75% of B2B deals will close through digital channels, and a majority of buyers say they would switch suppliers for a better digital ordering experience.

Why it matters for golf retail: For merchandisers, this is a source of leverage. The days of waiting on a faxed-back order confirmation are ending, and shops increasingly have the right to expect speed, transparency, and easy reordering. For brands, their online portal is now a primary driver of buyer loyalty and a real competitive moat.

3. Visual merchandising sells, on the line sheet too

One of the clearest findings in the report speaks directly to the merchandising craft AGM has championed since 1989: 95% of retailers say lifestyle and brand imagery is what most influences their buying decisions, ahead of detailed specs and fit information (62%). The principles that make a pro shop floor convert, like strong storytelling, compelling visuals, and a clear sense of the brand, apply just as powerfully on the digital buying side.

Why it matters for golf retail: Brands that treat their wholesale catalog as a visual merchandising surface rather than a static spreadsheet are seeing higher engagement and faster reorders. For merchandisers, it’s a reminder that the same instincts you use to build a winning display are the ones to look for in the brands you buy from.

4. A shift to smaller and more frequent orders

The big once-a-season buy is giving way to a just-in-time rhythm. On our platform, reorders grew 32.8% year over year in 2025, as retailers placed smaller, more frequent orders to match real-time consumer demand rather than overcommitting months in advance. At the same time, the number of retailers buying from multiple brands in one place rose 27.4%, as shops consolidate their purchasing.

Why it matters for golf retail: This is inventory discipline in action. Brands are tying up less cash in unsold stock, which gives them the opportunity to chase what’s actually selling. For merchandisers, it rewards strong reorder relationships and platforms that make repeat buying effortless. For brands, it means the easier you make the next order, the more often it happens.

5. Stability is the new growth strategy

As brands face tariff volatility and an unpredictable cost environment, they are choosing to optimize their operations rather than continue a growth-at-all-costs approach.

Instead of expensive structural overhauls, 43% are deepening existing supplier relationships, and 52% are favoring fixed, disciplined MSRP pricing over complex dynamic models to protect brand identity and margins.

Roughly 62% of brands maintained gross margins, and another 24% improved them via tighter operations.

Why it matters for golf retail: MSRP discipline protects everyone in the channel, including the shop’s margins and the brand’s long-term equity. Predictable pricing and dependable supply partners are what let merchandisers plan a season with confidence.

What it means for the AGM community

Golf’s growth and its broadening, more diverse player base are a genuine opportunity for everyone in this association. The brands and shops best positioned to capture it are the ones investing in the unglamorous pipes of wholesale: clean product data, real inventory visibility, and frictionless reordering.

It’s a trend we see firsthand in golf.

In 2025, the number of retailers on our platform identifying as golf sellers grew 41.8%, and the 2025 AGM Membership Survey found that 80% of golf retailers already use RepSpark in their daily operations.

As the game grows, our commitment is to help brands turn seasonal volatility into sustainable, profitable growth, so the relationships at the heart of golf retail get stronger.

The full State of Apparel Lifestyle Wholesale 2026 report is available at wholesale.repspark.com/Report. For more information on how wholesale ecommerce software can help your brand, check out RepSpark.

To join a merchandiser community and gain weekly educational opportunities and resources, sign up to become a member of the AGM.