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Business View Magazine
The PGA Merchandise Show
Growing the business of golf
The PGA Merchandise Show, today the world’s largest
and most influential golf business event, had its infor-
mal beginnings in 1954, when a handful of golf mer-
chandisers assembled in the PGA (Professional Golf-
ers Association) National Golf Club parking lot during a
series of winter tournaments. Over the ensuing years,
this yearly gathering of golf equipment manufactur-
er’s representatives grew, and the PGA Merchandise
Show, initially held under a circus-sized tent, travelled
around the Florida peninsula, finally moving indoors
for the first time, in Orlando, in 1975.
In 1998, the PGA of America sold an equity share of
its golf shows to Reed Exhibitions, a leading trade
show organizer. Together, the PGA and Reed, under
the umbrella of PGA Worldwide Golf Exhibitions, pro-
duce and manage the PGA Merchandise Show, which
has evolved to become an all-encompassing global
platform for the introduction of new products, indoor &
outdoor product testing, wide-ranging education semi-
nars, industry symposiums, national awards presenta-
tions, fashion features, player development programs,
and professional networking events.
