Call it a "crude awakening." The rising cost of crude oil -- now hovering around $70 per barrel -- is impacting the golf industry in more ways than simply the cost in gas it takes for a player to get from his or her home to the golf course. Many components that make up golf equipment, from nylon in golf bags to outsoles in shoes to the rubber that makes up the core of golf balls, are made from petroleum products that begin in those barrels of high-priced oil.
The ball probably is the most visible golf-related product whose components are made of petrol products. Golf balls require Surlyn and other polymers and copolymers, each a derivative of oil-based processes. Some are byproducts and others use oil to manufacture the chemical formulas. Premium golf balls, such as Titleist's Pro V1, Callaway Golf's HX Tour 56, Nike Golf's Platinum One and Bridgestone's Tour B330, already sell in green-grass shops and retail stores for between $40-50 per dozen.
"Our rubber price is about 80 percent higher than it was in January 2004," said Frank Simonutti, manager of recreational golf ball development for Wilson Golf's manufacturing facility in Humboldt, Tenn.
Doug Purnell, director of purchasing for Bridgestone Golf, said his company has not only seen an increase petroleum-based materials such as synthetic polymer and plastic resin in the past several months, but there's also been an increase in natural gas used in the manufacturing process. That is, the heating and melting of the materials
and then the processing under pressure requires energy. Gas or electricity is used to heat the materials.
"This has forced us to work harder reducing costs in other areas so we don't have to increase prices and still remain competitive," Purnell said.
Oil has driven up costs of all plastics, FootJoy President Jim Connor told PGA.com, but the biggest impact on footwear so far is components such as outsoles, midsoles, cushioning foams and rubber.
"We use an extensive amount of TPU (thermoplastic urethanes) in our outsoles for its properties of light weight, strength and flexibility and those costs from makers such as DuPont and BASF have risen dramatically in the last six months," Connor said. "Many rubber compounds are more plastic than rubber, so components such as outsoles made from synthetic rubber have risen as well."
Connor said laminates used in outerwear for waterproofing and the synthetic shell and lining materials themselves have not escaped increases. "But we've been largely able to offset these increases with the cooperation of our factories in improved efficiencies, lower margins, etc," he added.
"Suffice it to say that every category in golf -- from balls to clubs to shoes and apparel/gloves) -- have been negatively impacted by the higher costs of oil," Connor said. "Whether it is in the material themselves or the transportation bill, these costs are going up steadily -- in some cases quickly -- and will eventually find their way 'downstream' in higher wholesale and retail prices for these goods. The last 12 years of price stability has somewhat lulled us into a false sense of comfort that inflation was gone for the long term. Well, it's back."
For Ping Golf President Doug Hawken, increased costs are nothing new.
"It's something we have to deal with -- that hasn't changed in 45 years of doing business," said Hawken. "Nothing that is insurmountable; it's just something all manufacturers are going to have to deal with."
Sooner of later, golf consumers will be dealing with it, too. Thus far, however, most golf companies have resisted the urge to pass along their increased costs to consumers in much the same way that they've been eating the rising costs of titanium and graphite used to produce club heads and shafts.
"We don't have any plans for price increases," said Bridgestone Golf Director of Marketing Dan Murphy. "The market is very competitive and we are looking for other manufacturing efficiencies to keep costs low."
