Old Tom Capital

Time to get the golf crew together… Birdie Houses Pinehurst is live!

Want to know why golf's popularity shows no signs of slowing down? Thank you to Matthew Erley, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Old Tom Capital, for sharing his insights on why golf’s growth has staying power. Golf is evolving beyond a temporary boom. As Matt highlights, innovation and changing lifestyles are driving long-term growth across the industry. Key trends shaping golf’s future: ? ???????????????? ???????????? ?????????????? (6-hole, 12-hole loops) make the game more accessible for time-pressed players. ? ???????????????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????? are transforming how players engage, share, and improve their game. ? ??????????-???????????????? ?????????????? are bringing courses closer to population hubs. ? ?????????????????????? ??????????????, like TGL and high-tech ranges, are expanding golf’s reach. ? ?????????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????????????? into full lifestyle destinations with wellness, family, and cultural offerings. ? ???????????????? ???????? ????????????—including remote work and four-day weeks—give players more time to enjoy golf. Golf today is more social, accessible, and aligned with modern life—offering compelling opportunities for players and investors alike. #OldTomCapital #UsefulInsights #GolfBusiness #GolfBizzReview #GolfIndustry https://lnkd.in/e_XJB-y5

Thanks to Ari Ratner for inviting us on to The Range Podcast. Be sure to check it out!

Let's continue to support great golf startups! Our spotlight this week is Carry, a marketplace for brands and fans to sponsor up-and-coming pro golfers (founded by Donnie D.). Golf is an experiential game, and Carry is creatively unlocking sponsorable opportunities with professional players. Fund the next great players and enjoy exciting experiences along the way. - Caddy for a professional player - Virtual lessons - Invite a pro to your next golf outing - Bag, shirt, hat sponsorship Check our Carry and support one of their great players ?? https://app.carry.golf/

Never before seen data showing the scale of YouTube golf ?? The top 25 golf YouTube accounts now collectively draw viewership on par with major championships on linear TV—and far surpass non-major tournament audiences. Here's the data, complied by an expert in our network, to back it up: https://netgolfdex.com/ Importantly, we believe this viewership is almost entirely expansion, not cannibalization. New interest from new viewers. Some important takeaways from the data: - Every single week, Golf YouTube draws Majors-level viewership. What used to happen four times a year is now happening every week. - There’s a “Trump Bump” in YouTube Golf. Kai Trump is the fastest-growing golf channel, already the 6th most subscribed golf channel ever. The Trump & Bryson video was the most-watched golf moment of 2024. - Kai Trump alone has driven 23% of NGD25 views since launching her channel. She’s been the most-viewed golf channel in 8 of the last 13 weeks. - Bryson’s channel is driving the biggest spikes. His videos with Trump (July) and Phil Mickelson (November) were golf’s biggest online moments, showing that YouTube now has its own “Major Moments.” - Golf YouTube follows the same seasonal cycles as the pro game. Peaks in the summer, slows in the winter, and starts its climb again with the Masters. - Non-Major tour events simply cannot compete with YouTube Golf in pure viewership. - Golf entertainment dominates. Of the Top 25 most subscribed golf channels, only 4 are pure instruction/tips channels—the rest are entertainment-driven. - Even if we included “traditional” golf media, only 4 would crack the Top 25. (PGA Tour, The Masters, Golf Digest, USGA.) Who's paying attention? We love the innovation from the likes of Pro Shop (evolving how creators interact with The TOUR), TMRW Sports and Grass League (new golf formats), and Los Angeles Golf Club and Good Good Golf (merging professional teams with mega-creators). What creators do you subscribe to or watch regularly? How is this tidal change going to impact the investment side of golf?

??Attention Golf Community?? We posted yesterday about a young golf company, Happy Daze Golf, just getting started with beautiful customer stamping and finishes. By the way, we have zero financial upside in their success… we just like their products and supporting founders. They received the below message hours later on LinkedIn, from an individual who has never ordered a product, and most unfortunately from someone connected to the golf industry. Absolute embarrassment. We need to encourage entrepreneurs building across golf, not degrade them. Launching something from scratch is extremely hard and very brave. In an attempt to reverse the awful words that this individual wrote, and certainly aren’t true, leave a positive comment below for the Happy Daze crew and let’s see how we can raise them up! Go to our post yesterday to see the amazing putters they made for our team (the ones who “won’t sell to quality players”). And if you’re in the industry and want to be helpful to their growth, give them a shout!

Friday Founder Highlight ?? At Old Tom Capital, we're not only investors in the game, but also consumers. From time to time we like to highlight a company we are fans of (and specifically one where we are not an investor). Let's lift up founders building in golf. Meet Happy Daze Golf. They are a startup that makes custom hand-stamped putters that are both beautiful and functional. We recently ordered some putters for our team to celebrate our 2024 year (see attached photos). Forget a fancy bottle of wine or a plaque, a custom putter might be the greatest corporate gift for golf lovers. Give them a look and support a great startup in the golf industry. https://lnkd.in/ghNvvhQi p.s. Shout out to our friends at Hanna Golf, another A+ startup, milling and building beautiful putters!

“We’re fundamentally optimistic about the upside in golf… the game is really changing and innovating and we’re putting ourselves at the forefront of investing in great companies.” Colorado AvidGolfer’s Mike Colander, MBA sat down for an interview with Old Tom Capital Managing Partner, Matthew Erley https://lnkd.in/gEmBEj3D

The game of golf is growing, but not in the way it has grown over the last 200 years. Matthew Erley of Old Tom Capital sat down with us to talk about golf and what trends are on the horizon. Stay tuned for the full episode next week! Thanks to Clubhouse Work & Golf for letting us use the space for the day.

Didn’t bring the clubs… See you next week at the PGA Show.