How YouTube Golf Is Driving Acushnet's Sales

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## Summary - Based on regression analysis of search interest/ sales growth data, Acushnet’s FY25 Q2 (Apr – Jun 2025) sales are forecast to increase 7.9% YoY on a constant-currency basis – following a 1.2% increase in Q1 – driven by 9.7% and 15.1% increases in the US and EMEA respectively. ## 1. Background Acushnet (GOLF) owns the Titleist and Footjoy golf brands, the former renowed for its high-performance clubs and balls, and the latter for its shoes and apparel. As shown in Figure 1, the company's trailing 12-month (TTM) sales have increased 48% over the past 5 years to $2.5B, largely due to the pandemic-driven surge in golf participation <a href="#endnote-1">[1]</a>. Geographically, 59% of TTM sales have come from the US, 13% from EMEA, 5% from Japan and 11% from Korea. <div style="width: 140%; position: relative; flex-direction: column; left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%); max-width: calc(100vw - 2rem); margin: 20px 0px"> <span style="color: #0000EE; font-size: 0.9rem"><i>Figure 1: Acushnet's Sales by Region</i></span> <img src="https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/jackdry.com/articles/2025/Search+Interest+Indicates+8%25+Q2+Sales+Growth+for+Acushnet/region-revenue.png" style="margin-top: 5px"> </div> ## 2. Sales Forecast To forecast Acushnet's FY25 Q2 sales growth, I first fit a linear model for each of its main operating regions, regressing quarterly YoY real sales growth in the region <a href="#endnote-2">[2]</a>, adjusted for the impact of the Kjus acquisition in FY19 <a href="#endnote-3">[3]</a>, on the corresponding quarterly change in aggregate search interest for the keywords "Titleist" and "Footjoy" (see Figure 2) <a href="#endnote-4">[4]</a>. I obtained the search interest data from Naver Datalab for Korea and Google Trends for the other regions. <div style="width: 140%; position: relative; flex-direction: column; left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%); max-width: calc(100vw - 2rem); margin: 20px 0px"> <span style="color: #0000EE; font-size: 0.9rem"><i>Figure 2: Aggregate Search Interest for “Titleist” and “Footjoy” keywords</i></span> <img src="https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/jackdry.com/articles/2025/Search+Interest+Indicates+8%25+Q2+Sales+Growth+for+Acushnet/search.png" style="margin-top: 5px"> </div> Figure 3 shows the regression line fit for each region. I excluded data from FY20 Q2 to FY21 Q4 in all regions as it was heavily distorted by the pandemic. In EMEA, I also excluded FY22 data since search interest for this period was abnormally low versus FY21, especially considering the fact that the number of golfers in the region increased by 6% in 2022 <a href="#endnote-5">[5]</a>. For this reason, I also computed YoY changes for FY23 relative to FY21 in EMEA. <div style="width: 140%; position: relative; flex-direction: column; left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%); max-width: calc(100vw - 2rem); margin: 20px 0px"> <span style="color: #0000EE; font-size: 0.9rem"><i>Figure 3: Relationship Between YoY Change in Search Interest (X-axis) and Acushnet’s Sales (Y-axis)</i></span> <img src="https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/jackdry.com/articles/2025/Search+Interest+Indicates+8%25+Q2+Sales+Growth+for+Acushnet/regression.png" style="margin-top: 5px"> </div> Table 1 shows the quarter-to-date (QTD) YoY changes in search interest for FY25 Q2 (computed using data up to 7 June), and resulting sales forecasts, with the nominal forecast for the Rest of World (ROW) region estimated as the mean forecast of the other regions. The forecast for Acushnet's total sales growth in Q2 is 7.9%. <div style="width: 140%; position: relative; left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%); max-width: calc(100vw - 2rem);"> <span style="color: #0000EE; font-size: 0.9rem"><i>Table 1: Acushnet's FY25 Q2 Forecast Sales Growth</i></span> <table style="flex: 1; margin-top: 10px"> <tr> <th>Region</th> <th>Search Interest Δ (%)</th> <th>Real Sales Growth (%)</th> <th>Inflation Rate (%)</th> <th>Nominal Sales Growth (%)</th> <th>FY24 Q2 Sales ($M)</th> <th>FY25 Q2 Sales ($M)</th> </tr> <tr> <td>US</td> <td>10.1</td> <td>6.7</td> <td>2.8</td> <td>9.7</td> <td>408.5</td> <td>448.1</td> </tr> <tr> <td>EMEA</td> <td>26.3</td> <td>12.0</td> <td>2.8</td> <td>15.1</td> <td>86.7</td> <td>99.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Japan</td> <td>2.7</td> <td>1.4</td> <td>3.0</td> <td>4.4</td> <td>29.8</td> <td>31.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Korea</td> <td>-20.7</td> <td>-7.4</td> <td>2.1</td> <td>-5.5</td> <td>83.8</td> <td>79.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ROW</td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> <td>5.9</td> <td>75.0</td> <td>79.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Total</td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> <td>7.9</td> <td>683.9</td> <td>737.7</td> </tr> </table> </div> ## 3. Growth Drivers In the US, the increase in search interest for Acushnet's brands is likely due to a further increase in golf participation – driven, according to NGF research <a href="#endnote-6">[6]</a>, by the improving perception of the sport, and in turn by the surge in views of golf-related content on social media, such as YouTube (see Figure 4). <div style="width: 140%; position: relative; left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%); max-width: calc(100vw - 2rem); margin: 20px 0px"> <span style="color: #0000EE; font-size: 0.9rem"><i>Figure 4: Aggregate Daily Views of 30 Largest Golf Channels on YouTube</i></span> <img src="https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/jackdry.com/articles/2025/Search+Interest+Indicates+8%25+Q2+Sales+Growth+for+Acushnet/yt-views.png" style="margin-top: 5px"> </div> Although the increase in EMEA is likely also due to the "YouTube golf" effect, drier weather and Rory McIlroy finally winning the Masters in April have doubtlessly provided a further boost <a href="#endnote-7">[7]</a>. The fact that the number of downloads of GHIN and MyEG – the official apps in the US and UK for submitting scores through the World Handicap System – have increased by approximately 29% and 20% respectively QTD (see Figure 5) further evidences the increased participation in both regions <a href="#endnote-8">[8]</a>. <div style="width: 140%; position: relative; left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%); max-width: calc(100vw - 2rem); margin: 20px 0px"> <span style="color: #0000EE; font-size: 0.9rem"><i>Figure 5: Number of Downloads of GHIN and MyEG apps (60D Average)</i></span> <img src="https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/jackdry.com/articles/2025/Search+Interest+Indicates+8%25+Q2+Sales+Growth+for+Acushnet/app-downloads.png" style="margin-top: 5px"> </div> In contrast, the sharp decline in interest in Korea is likely the result of the country's continued political/ economic uncertainty, following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law attempt last December. ## 4. Endnotes <ol><li id="endnote-1"><br><a href="https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/c42c7bf4-dca7-00ea-4f2e-373223f80f76/5e780495-cdee-4157-ad3f-3f1aef5a773b/The%20R%26A%20Global%20Golf%20Participation%20Report%202023.pdf">The R&A Global Golf Participation Report 2023</a><br> <a href="https://nbloom.people.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj24291/files/media/file/golfingfromhome.pdf">How Working from Home boosted Golf</a></li> <li id="endnote-2"> Real sales growth computed using the Fisher equation and inflation data from: Eurostat, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Statistics Bureau of Japan, and Statistics Korea. </li> <li id="endnote-3"> US and EMEA FY19 Q3 to FY20 Q1 sales growth figures adjusted for Kjus acquisition using impacts specified in 10-Q/K filings. </li> <li id="endnote-4">EMEA search interest computed as average across the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, South Africa and the Netherlands, weighted by number of registered golfers in each country. </li> <li id="endnote-5">Estimated by computing the change in registered golfers, according to the R&A's 2023 Global Participation Report, across the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Spain, South Africa and the Netherlands. </li> <li id="endnote-6"> <a href="https://www.ngf.org/short-game/70m-americans-changed-their-views-on-golf/">70M+ Americans Changed Their Views on Golf</a> </li> <li id="endnote-7"> <a href="https://golftimes.co.uk/april25-busiest-uk-golf-month-in-history/">Rory McIlroy Inspires Record Golf Boom in UK</a> </li> <li id="endnote-8">Downloads estimated based on AppMagic rankings data. </li> </ol>