Nike Bails on Golf Equipment

Nike has announced that they are leaving golf. The company will no longer make clubs, balls, or bags, but will continue to make footwear and apparel.

"“We’re committed to being the undisputed leader in golf footwear and apparel,” Nike Brand president Trevor Edwards said in a statement. “We will achieve this by investing in performance innovation for athletes and delivering sustainable profitable growth for Nike golf.”"

According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Nike’s golf equipment revenue grew from the time they entered the market until around 2013 before starting to decline, but the numbers are still rather staggering. Of course 2013 was the last year Tiger Woods played golf on the PGA Tour successfully.

The real question isn’t, “How does this affect Tiger Woods,” because Tiger will obviously be fine and his agent Mark Steinberg reiterated as much in a statement:

"“Tiger continues to be a staunch and massive brand ambassador for Nike,” his agent, Mark Steinberg, told ESPN.com on Wednesday. “Tiger and I will put together a plan on the hard goods side of the business and will discuss working with new companies.” "

The question now is who grabs Rory McIlroy, who is currently in a 10-year contract he signed with Nike in 2013 worth around $200 million dollars, and Brooks Koepka, who is on the verge of becoming a star.

Will one of the traditional brands like Titleist, Callaway, Ping, or TaylorMade, who is being sold off by Adidas, scoop up Tiger and Rory, or will a newcomer like PXG make a splash.

Twitter reacted appropriately.

So…

[Golf Channel]

Note: I play Mizuno irons and I absolutely love them. No, they aren’t paying me to say this.