A Sucker is Born Every Minute: The U.S. Putter Market 7-31-25
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What does the phrase 'a sucker is born every minute' mean in the context of the U.S. putter market?
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. Today's discussion is, a sucker is born every minute, the U.S.
putter market. So for anybody that's not aware, a sucker is born every minute is an old line from P.T. Barnum, the founder of Barnum & Bailey, one of the great, great circus companies of all time and one of the great entrepreneur, creative geniuses of our time. and just hustler and entrepreneurs, P.T. Barnum. So the U.S. putter market proves the case that a sucker is born every minute. And I'll just go through a couple stats very quickly.
How many putters are sold each year in the U.S. and what is their dollar value?
And anybody that's a golfer that this will resonate with, or anybody that's a tennis player, anybody that does anything that thinks a new laptop is going to make them a better professional, that a new tennis racket is going to make them a better player, the new golf course can make them a better golfer when they really need to spend time and money investing in learning and practicing versus buying clubs, buying a computer, buying this tool, buying that tool. It's like the salesperson says, I can't get started without the new CRM system. I literally want to tell that salesperson to GFY, but I usually don't. But the U.S. putter market proves the case of the suckers born every minute. Here's a quick breakdown.
In the U.S. every year, estimated sales are Two to four million people buy a putter every year.
What are the top brands dominating the U.S. putter market?
And I think that's probably understated versus overstated because so many people golf and so many of those golfers can't help themselves but try the new putter, try the next thing, anything they think that will give them another stroke, take a stroke or two off their game. I don't know. At the end of the day, swinging the club better and making good decisions on the course. Those are the two things that really take your handicap down, but swinging the club well and making good club choices, but making good decisions. But again, so many people are fixated on clubs. So about two to four million putters are sold a year in the U.S., $550 million in putter sales a year are made. Throughout the world, the estimated number of putter sales by dollar volume is $3.5 billion.
So that's a lot of PT Barnum suckers out there buying new putters every year.
How does consumer behavior influence putter sales in golf?
In terms of the big brands here, Callaway Odyssey, TaylorMade, The Spider, Titleist, Scotty Cameron's in their line. Fourth, Ping, and fifth, Lab. Lab Companies is a putter company that started about eight years ago. It was more the center, you know, I don't pronounce it right, but the center-facing putter. But Lab Company has really hit it out of the park recently. Many of the estimates show that they've probably surpassed Ping in sales. I cannot tell you the amount of people that we go off with that now thinks that they are the next scotty scheffler because they have a lab putter it's literally gone to a lot of people's heads i know a friend of mine recently got one for his wife and we talked about a a project trying to get his wife to put better and she's actually a very good putter and she's actually the most brilliant person in that family that family actually created a son who's a valedictorian and we generally give that woman the credit
for that creation of the son who's a valedictorian the other son is actually brilliant and fantastic too and as good as they come but i but i segue but this is how bad this putter thing has gotten my friend feels compelled by the lab putter for his wife i don't know if that's because she thinks she's going to be better putting with it or he thinks she's going to be happy with him because of it the old concept happy wife happy life must live on in that family of valedictorians in that event
What role does marketing play in the purchase of golf equipment?
That's the U.S. putter market. Again, Callaway, number one. They're Odyssey brand of putters. They're different putters. TaylorMade, Titleist, then Ping and Lab, but maybe Lab ahead of Ping now. Two to four million putters sold a year in the United States, including another web putter sold to a buddy who beats me on the golf course all the time.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What does the phrase 'a sucker is born every minute' mean in the context of the U.S. putter market?
0:00–0:39
2
How many putters are sold each year in the U.S. and what is their dollar value?
0:39–1:21
3
What are the top brands dominating the U.S. putter market?
1:21–2:12
4
How does consumer behavior influence putter sales in golf?
2:12–3:35
5
What role does marketing play in the purchase of golf equipment?
3:35–4:08
6
Why do golfers prioritize equipment over practice and skill development?
4:08–4:09
Speakers
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