What’s The Holdup? Why Orders Are Taking Longer Than Usual

Let me start out by saying that, for the most part, wait times suck right now! We spend a large part of our day sending emails to customers about why their clubs have not shipped or why additional delays are happening with their orders. We understand that delays can be incredibly frustrating, especially since we have all been spoiled with incredibly short ship times from services like Amazon Prime. Unfortunately the pandemic has taken it’s toll on almost every industry across the country, but since this is a golf website, I wanted to lay out what has happened over the past year to get us to where we are today.

In 2020 we saw the largest net increase of golfers in almost 2 decades. This increase has led to more active golfers than ever before. With more people on the course, the demand for golf equipment also surged creating record setting years for many manufacturers. While this all sounds incredibly positive, the dynamics of operating through a pandemic has definitely taken it’s toll on our industry.

The issues initially started in early 2020 from the months of COVID related government and state work restrictions. These restrictions shut down all manufacturing, crippling the economy so badly we are still feeling the effects. Add on the huge surge in golf popularity, and you can see where we could fall into supply issue pretty easily. Once people were allowed back to work, it was still at such a limited capacity that things were rapidly falling behind. We didn’t see things start to slightly improve until late in 2020 as the golf season started to wind down…and I do mean slightly.

With the golf industry still booming, manufacturers tried to increase the inventory levels going into 2021. Unfortunately, no one was able to predict what happened next; A global shortage of workers.  Orders coming from overseas were delayed for months due to a lack of factory workers. Once orders were completed and loaded up they just sat floating in the ocean for weeks with no one around to unload them for distribution.  Once the containers were unloaded, if they even made it to land,  made their way to the likes of Titleist, Taylormade, Ping, Callaway, etc…, those companies didn’t have enough help to build all the golf clubs that were selling. Normal wait times went from 1-2 weeks to upwards of 8-12 weeks.

Fast forward to where we are now. The demand for golf equipment is still at an all time high, but the logistical chain is moving along at a snail’s pace. Certain components like some Golf Pride grips, True Temper shafts, and more are completely sold out across the industry. Some of these components may not be available for 60-90 days, which for many, is just in time for the golf season to be completely over.

I explain all of this, just so you are aware of what exactly is going on and why many orders may extend out to 6-12 weeks from the time an order is placed. Rest assured that we do take extra time with every order to get as close of a timeframe as possible and relay that information to you.  If a large backorder should happen, we give out comparable shaft, grip, or head combinations to try and get your order moving as quickly as possible. If there is no resolution, rest assured that we will be happy to refund your money back due to the delays the manufacturers are facing.

In summary, manufacturers are out of a ton of products right now and everyone is scrambling to fulfill this crazy golf demand.  We do our best to get you information as quickly as possible, but we know we aren’t perfect.  Please have patience with everyone as they navigate these incredibly difficult times. We all want to get product to you as quickly as possible to help you play better golf.  It is never our goal to have to send emails regarding delays or talk about cancellations, but it is certainly possible due to the current nature of the industry. Ultimately there are humans behind every company, and those humans, by nature, want to be kind and help out. Sometimes circumstances, like what I just laid out, are just unavoidable, which is hard on everyone.

Remember to be kind, have some patience, and go play some golf! Soon enough this will all be behind us and things will be back to the good ole’ days.