'It Was A Middle-Aged White Man’s Sport, But Golf Is Changing'

Jill Spiegel, President of PGA TOUR Superstore, is in a unique position to observe the seismic shifts happening across the golf world. Joining the company when it had just 11 stores and was struggling financially, Spiegel, who was originally brought on for her strong retail background, has helped lead the transformation of the brand and, by extension, reflect the changing face of the game itself.

I was keen to sit down with her and find out how a focus on modernity and diversity has fuelled such massive, profitable growth.

"I was an athlete growing up, and I swam in college, so to be able to combine my retail experience with my love for sports, it was perfect," recalls Spiegel. She joined the company over a decade ago to run merchandising before being appointed President in 2022.

Since then, the growth has been nothing short of astonishing. Spiegel shares that when she started, the company was growing, but not profitably at the time. After a few years of the team putting the right structure and organisation in place, the trajectory changed and Spiegel cites this turnaround and seeing the company grow profit as one of her most rewarding achievements.

Store support centre staff has grown from 30-something people to about 200 today, a foundation that allowed PGA TOUR Superstore to capitalise fully on the pandemic-era boom. "Since COVID, we’ve more than doubled our business," she says, a feat achieved through growth in existing stores, not just new ones.

“The beautiful thing about it is not just our growth... is that the golf industry’s maintained that. It has not gone backwards. We’re seeing record numbers in golf participation.”

The question of challenges faced in the male-dominated industry is one Spiegel is asked a lot. She reveals that she was the only woman on the leadership team for a long time and when she first attended meetings, it was a little intimidating.

“I was the only woman in the room, but I always reminded myself, ‘I’m here because of my retail background and my experience,’ and then I made a big effort to start playing and to really, really learn the sport."

While golf is still male-dominated, that is changing within the organisation. The senior leadership team now features four women, and store support is close to 50% female representation.

Still, the need for diversity is a priority, particularly for customer-facing roles. "We do need more female fitters," she says, wanting the associate base to reflect the growing female golf population.

Spiegel is particularly excited about who is driving this growth. "The largest segment of golfers in the US is young adults, 18 to 34, with the youth category and people of color being the fastest-growing segments," adding that this shift moves away from old stereotypes. "It was a middle-aged white man’s sport, but it's changing."

This dramatic demographic shift is what Spiegel mentions as one of the biggest changes she has witnessed over the last five years, along with the subsequent "cool factor" the sport now has.

The modernisation of golf is perhaps most visible in the apparel business. Women’s golf fashion is very large for PGA TOUR Superstore, doing a disproportionately high percentage of the industry's business, particularly in their resort stores.

This success is directly tied to the store’s depth of brands and sizes and its commitment to the customer. "Female customers come into our stores and are like, ‘Oh my gosh,’" says Spiegel, who also explains the need to stay current. "A young girl doesn't want a 17-inch skirt... she wants something a little shorter."

This retail modernity often clashes with club tradition. Spiegel, who belongs to a private club in Atlanta, laughs as she describes advising older friends who complain about modern apparel. "Look at what they wear on tour. You guys need to lighten up a little bit," she tells them.

While she acknowledges the emerging trend of crossover golf lifestyle apparel, Spiegel insists that the core of the women’s business is still golf. "You’re never going to see 50% of our women’s assortment as lifestyle," she says.

The rise of off-course golf at places like Top Golf and Five Iron has equally transformed participation, with the store heavily leaning into the technology space. The company is leveraging the off-course trend, which contributed to a record 47.2 million Americans playing either on-course or off-course in 2024.

The strategy is to make in-home simulation affordable and accessible to fit any space and budget, recognising that leagues, like TGL, drive a visible spike in their in-home simulation business when they air.

Currently operating 80 stores across 30 states, the company's ambition is clearly set far beyond its immediate goal. "We're looking at that 100-store mark, but we're not going to stop at 100. There’s still a significant amount of white space available in the US," Spiegel confirms.

Under her guidance, the retail giant is actively leading the way into a future where the game is more accessible, more relaxed, and growing faster than ever before.