Pro Shop Holdings: A Company Driving the Future of Global Golf via Pop Culture and Lifestyle
Powerhouse Capital
Venture and growth investment platform focused on the media sector
"Why Powerhouse Invested" Newsletter
March 11, 2024
Imagine a world where golf transcends its conventional boundaries, where the green is not merely a playground for the sport but a canvas for global cultural extension and inclusivity.
Pro Shop Holdings is a visionary endeavor aiming to leverage the sport of golf’s surging popularity for strategic growth. In an era where digital innovation meets traditional sports, Pro Shop stands as a beacon of transformation and is the much-awaited bridge between golf and pop culture.
Through strategic content creation, innovative commerce solutions, and engaging experiential offerings, Pro Shop is poised to shape golf’s future and redefine the golf media and merchandise landscape. Pro Shop stands to make golf more accessible, enjoyable, and relevant to a younger audience and transform how golf is consumed, enjoyed, and perceived across the globe.
Founded on the principles of innovation and strategic partnerships, Pro Shop creates significant value by being a singular platform that serves golf fans, players, and brands alike. Its businesses are differentiated and encompassing, and work across one another to propel a mutually beneficial flywheel effect: premium studio content and storytelling that activates global fandom, digital and social media with emphasis on community engagement and activation, commerce and brands that appeal to new and underserved golf fans, and broader golf-experiential extensions that cater to diverse audiences (i.e., memberships, travel opportunities, live events, etc.). Pro Shop aims to cultivate a new generation of golf enthusiasts, promising a new era where golf is more than just a game—it's a lifestyle.
What We Like:
1) Exceptional Co-Founding Management Team: Industry Veterans with Strong Track Records, Possessing the Operational Keys to Success
Chad Mumm (Co-Founder): Chief Creative Officer of Vox Media, creating premium series and films for the world's biggest platforms; Emmy-winning producer and executive producer of the hit Netflix golf series Full Swing; Recognized on Forbes 30 under 30 and Variety ’s 30 Executives to Watch
Joe Purzycki (Co-Founder): Co-Founder and Former CEO of Puck News; Previously oversaw operations and sales at Vox Media and Medium; Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Luminary, a premium podcasting platform
David Miller (Co-Founder): Former Senior Vice President & Assistant General Counsel for the PGA TOUR ; Negotiated and managed the league’s relationships with broadcast & streaming partners; Has deep transactional, business, and industry experience across all facets of golf
2) Unprecedented Strategic Partnership with the PGA Tour
At the heart of Pro Shop is a strategic and exclusive partnership with the PGA TOUR (who participated in this round and is a minority owner in Pro Shop).
Pro Shop and the PGA Tour have a symbiotic relationship with a proven track record of mutual achievement, alignment, understanding, and growth. For years, Chad Mumm, co-founder of Pro Shop, has been collaborating with the PGA on "Full Swing," a Netflix show that captured the essence of golf like never before. Season 1 of “Full Swing” significantly boosted PGA Tour event viewership, proving that compelling storytelling can draw new audiences to the sport. This history of successful partnership lays the solid foundation for their current venture, much like the collaborative achievements between Skydance and the NFL.
Through the partnership, Pro Shop gains unparalleled access to the Tour’s extensive digital content rights and footage, unlocking a treasure trove of content possibilities through 2030. The PGA benefits from Pro Shop's filmmaking and distribution expertise, and provides the PGA a proven way to elevate its premium storytelling and DTC media presences. Given the PGA Tour’s strong conviction in Pro Shop, it is contributing underutilized digital media assets fully and wholly to Pro Shop Holdings, signaling that it sees Pro Shop’s expertise as the opportunity to super-charge connectivity to pop culture (Skratch, now O&O by Pro Shop Holdings, already reaching 100 million social fans per year).
The PGA Tour isn't just a collaborator, it's an owner and board member of Pro Shop. This alignment of interests ensures both parties share a vested interest in each other's success, creating a unified front that is as strategic as it is powerful. This relationship creates barriers that establish Pro Shop and the Tour as pioneers in a league of their own. It's a testament to their shared commitment to innovation, growth, and the redefinition of golf's place in the digital age.
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3) Right Now is the Opportune Time for Golf: Unlocking Mass-Audience and Growth of the “Casual Fan”
Spurred by the impacts of global digitization that has enabled expanded reach, the landscape of traditional sports is evolving, and golf is just now experiencing its ascension into a new era of popularity and cultural relevance. The timing for Pro Shop is just right, and it aligns perfectly with golf's growing appeal across a younger, more diverse demographic.
Content and merchandising aside, the game of golf's growth trajectory is impressive and is marked by a significant uptick in participation and rounds played. In the U.S. alone, the sport has witnessed a 20% increase in rounds played from pre-pandemic levels. This surge isn't confined to the U.S.; globally, golf boasts around 80 million players, navigating approximately 40,000 courses worldwide.
Golf’s expanding interest is beyond the traditional 18-holes. Innovative, up-scale, tech-infused and community-focused off-course options like TopGolf, Puttshack, indoor simulators, etc. have seen huge success and continue to introduce aspects of the game to broader audiences, while significantly reducing the average age of participants and barriers associated with the game. These formats have made golf fresh and contemporary, attracting players and a mass-audience of “casual fans”.
Golf is shedding its old-guard image and is appealing to younger and more diverse audiences. Since 2014, the U.S. has welcomed 11 million new golfers, half of whom are under 25, with 25% people of color and 40% women. Golf is becoming a sport for everyone, mirroring the diversity and dynamism of contemporary society. The growth of digital platforms and social media has played a crucial role in enabling the creation of niche communities and identity cohorts that see golf as a lifestyle, not just a game.
"Full Swing" Season 1 series reached millions of viewers per episode, but most notably, the audience was younger and more affluent than that of traditional golf media, highlighting the potential for growth in this segment.
Pro Shop is at the nexus of an extraordinary opportunity: combining the rich tradition and newfound dynamism in Golf and redefining what it means to be a golfer in the 21st century, inviting players old and new to be part of this exciting journey.
4) Pro Shop's Multi-Pronged Business is a Long-Tail Enterprise-Generating Flywheel
Pro Shop Holdings is a strategic, multifaceted holding company that leverages the transformative power of digital platforms. Pro Shop's business model wins by encapsulating the key aspects of different media formats (premium storytelling, digital copyright, social media short and long-form content, live events, digital community forums, etc.) and distribution strategies (SVOD, AVOD, PPV, theatrical, digital DTC, OTT CTV / FAST, etc.) while simultaneously pioneering new frontiers in activating affinity and loyal fandom across its audiences through commerce and experiential lifestyle businesses.
At launch, Pro Shop has two already distinguished golf media brands: premium studio docuseries title "Full Swing" and digital media asset Skratch, once the PGA’s innovative DTC content platform. These brands both resonate deeply with younger demographics.
As it builds a funnel into commerce and lifestyle, Pro Shop will be successful because at its core, it is truly curating an experience that aligns closely with the evolving preferences and expectations of today's consumers. As part of opportunistic growth, the company will leverage highly strategic acquisitions to further develop its content-to-commerce funnel.
In an era where traditional ad-supported digital media struggles to compete against tech giants, Pro Shop's community-centric, commerce-driven model stands out as a beacon of innovation.
We at Powerhouse could not be more enthusiastic about our decision to invest in Pro Shop, a company not simply committed to participating in the golf industry, but actively shaping its future.
5) A High-Impact & Strategic Investment Syndicate
Pro Shop Series A investment syndicate includes highly strategic groups committed to the long term success of Pro Shop PGA TOUR, PGA of America, Elysian Park Ventures, Marquee Ventures, Gametime Capital
See Additional Press on Pro Shop's Series A Fundraise:
USA Today | Sports Business Journal | Sportico | Golf.com | The Hollywood Reporter | The New York Times DealBook | IMDb | PGA Tour | Yahoo Entertainment | DealTown | BVM Sports | Yahoo Movies | Essentially Sports | inkl | AlphaMaven
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