The first full week of April always brings together the golf manufacturing and marketing community “under the tree” behind the clubhouse at Augusta National. In a typical year, the mood is congenial, with business competitors setting aside ill will to enjoy the smell of spring, the sounds of the birds and excitement in the air as they prepare for the upcoming golf season, kicked off by the Masters.
For much of Tuesday and half of Wednesday this year, CEOs and senior management within major golf companies used words like “catastrophic” and “devastating” when describing the potential impact of the Trump Administration’s proposed tariffs on their equipment business. Then, in a surprise move early Wednesday afternoon, President Trump temporarily reduced the tariffs that were to be imposed on most countries to 10 percent for the next 90 days. Meanwhile, he escalated a trade war with China by raising its tariffs to 145 percent. Because many golf club components are touched or manufactured there, the potential impact will be substantial if t...