The Future of Sports – All Interactive All the Time! (“What I Told You in 2010 Is All Around You Right Now!”)

Each year, the PGA of America – the longest-serving professional sports organization in the world – holds its massive annual PGA Merchandise Show. Canceled last year due to Covid, it went ahead this year. It’s a massive, sprawling trade show that allows all things golf-related to showcase their new products, services, training aids, equipment clothing, and more.

There’s also an educational component – workshops, leadership meetings, and the main stage. I was so blessed to be invited to deliver the opening keynote for the 2016 show and found myself sandwiched on the agenda between Lee Trevino and Bubba Waston. As a passionate golfer, it was nirvana – but it wasn’t my first talk for the PGA – they had me open their annual general meeting in 2010, where I delivered a keynote that would set the pace for the innovation arriving in the game in the next decade.

That’s why it’s such a thrill to see articles from the show floor today because they are all about what I predicted in my 2010 keynote and reinforced in my talk of 2016.

Both of these articles hit upon the trends I identified in my 2010 and 2016 keynotes. For example, here’s a clip from 2016 where I’m talking about the conected golf equipment of the future – exactly the type of thing covered in today’s article above.

Wellness and fitness? Here’s a clip from 2010 that aligns with the article of today. Back in 2010, I suggested that there was a big opportunity to align itself to the fitness and health imperative. Check this clip for some big scary statistics!

Here’s a long version if you want to understand some of the context behind the story.

What’s the point of all this? It’s a good reminder that it’s important to study trends because opportunity comes from aligning to those trends.

And I must say, it’s nice to see my predictions coming true!