The America250 craze has reached the golf course. Golf fans aren’t just buying stars-and-stripes polos this summer. Special-edition clubs are selling so well that some brands are struggling to keep them in stock.
Also, a note to FOS readers: There will be no PM edition of The Memo today, but check your inboxes on Sunday for our regularly scheduled morning newsletter.
Golf equipment manufacturers, brands, and retailers alike have been seeing high demand for special edition Americana-themed products ahead of this quarter-millennium Fourth of July.
“The response from golfers exceeded even our highest expectations,” Callaway VP of global marketing Nick McInally told Front Office Sports.
Callaway rolled out a USA 250 Collection of clubs, which included drivers, putters, and wedges—some at significant markups. For example, the Odyssey Ai-DUAL USA 250 Freebird Cruiser putter is selling for $429.99, compared to the $349.99 price point for its standard Jailbird counterpart. That hasn’t turned customers away, though.
“The demand was so strong that our team quickly went back to work to produce additional inventory wherever possible,” McInally said.
TaylorMade was the other major golf equipment maker to produce U.S.-themed clubs, as part of its Americana 250 Collection, also with a noticeably premium price point.
The three-club Americana MG5 wedge set is selling for $750, or $250 per club, which is $50 more than the $199.99 retail price for a standard MG5 wedge. TaylorMade’s Americana Spider ZT putter is $649.99—$200 more than the standard Spider ZT model at $449.99.
Callaway
Trading Greens for Red, White, and Blue
Beyond specialty clubs, TaylorMade, Callaway, and many other brands rolled out golf balls, headcovers, hats, apparel, and other accessories adorned with all kinds of 250 markings and 1776 monikers to celebrate the occasion.
Swag Golf—the company that made the U.S. Ryder Cup team’s bags in September—has a $250 bill George Washington putter headcover that actually costs $125.
PXG is selling a $495 Stars and Stripes golf bag, and it launched a fan giveaway that will see the winner receive a 1-of-1 set of custom PXG Stars & Stripes 250 wedges, among other products.
The official America250 store even has a golf section, although its most expensive item is a $75.99 polo.
PGA Tour Superstore
Stars, Stripes, and Sales
Americana-themed merchandise and red, white, and blue collections in golf are prevalent every summer, typically starting around Memorial Day and running through the U.S. Open in June and into July 4. Even more brands got involved this year, and retailers reaped the benefits.
“I will say that there are a fair amount of those products that I wish I had more of,” PGA Tour Superstore SVP of merchandising Ben Helmrath told FOS.
The America250 gear sold particularly well in Northeastern PGA Tour Superstores. “I could have quadrupled the inventory, and we would have been fine in those markets,” Helmrath said.
At Golf Galaxy, USA 250 is one of the top trending themes online.
While some special collections have sold out or have low inventory, many products will stay in stores and be available online for the remainder of the summer. They could see more spikes around Labor Day and the Presidents Cup, which will be back on U.S. soil in September at Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago.
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LOUD AND CLEAR
Bursting in Air
Jack Casey/Atlanta Braves-Getty Images
“We are going to blow the place up.”
—Braves VP of fan experience Scott Cunningham on the upcoming July 4 America250 fireworks show at Truist Park. Atlanta is among the MLB teams going all out on pyrotechnics this weekend to mark America’s semiquincentennial birthday.
Baseball’s quintessential fireworks shows are the product of months—sometimes years—of advance planning. “If we don’t have all our tracks picked by January, we’re already behind,” Cunningham says of Atlanta’s packed pyrotechnics calendar. Read the story.
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Red, White, and Bites
Levy Restaurants
Megawatt fireworks won’t be the only form of America250 fanfare taking place at MLB stadiums across the country this weekend. Some celebrations will also be edible.
Four clubs teamed up with concessionaire Levy Restaurants to develop special menu items marking the occasion, many of which take nostalgic ballpark classics up a notch.
At the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field, that means apple pie nachos and a bacon-wrapped Firecracker Dog dusted with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Dodger Stadium is serving an All-American Burger topped with onion rings and barbecue sauce, while Wrigley Field is pairing fried chicken with churros and giving Chicago’s famous Italian beef sandwich a brisket twist. And in Washington, D.C., Nationals Park is leaning in to its capital locale with a Liberty Shake that swirls raspberry, vanilla, and blueberry ice cream.
“Baseball and great food have always gone together, and a moment as big as America’s 250th anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate what makes a meal at the ballpark together so special,” says Lou Bastian, Levy’s SVP of culinary for its West Division. The goal for each item, he tells Front Office Sports, is to “evoke the feeling of a backyard gathering on a warm summer day.”
While patriotic, the items aren’t exactly cheap; they’ll run hungry fans anywhere from $13.99 (nachos) to $19.99 (burger). Fan sentiment and sales will determine whether they’ll stick around for the rest of the season, Levy says.
Beyond food and fireworks, fans can also score lots of America250 freebies throughout July—from commemorative coins to T-shirts to flags.
Thursday’s result: 52% of respondents think Kylian Mbappé will win the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot. 32% think it’ll be Lionel Messi. 6% think it’ll be Erling Haaland. 4% think it’ll be Cristiano Ronaldo. 6% think it’ll be someone else.
