An award-winning group of PGA of America Professionals, AGM members and golf industry leaders gathered prior to the 2025 PGA Merchandise Show for the 18th PGA Merchandiser of the Year Conference, held Jan. 18-20. In all, more than 100 attendees spent two days discussing golf business trends and ideas at Mission Resort + Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, which hosted the event for a seventh year.
The attendees at the invitation-only event – which carried a theme of “Built Different” – were well-acquainted with success, as the esteemed group included 15 present and past national PGA Merchandiser of the Year honorees and 103 Merchandiser of the Year awards earned at the PGA Section level. In all, attendees represented buying influence at more than 175 unique facilities with nearly $225 million in total gross retail sales last year.
“The winners in this room have leaned into being different and not doing what everyone else is doing,” said Brian Folino, President of PGA Magazine, at the outset of the conference. “Learning from each other makes you better, and exchanging ideas in this setting is a great way to share best practices and prepare for future success.”
The 2025 PGA Merchandiser of the Year Conference, a part of the PGA Magazine Conference Series, began with a Saturday networking event and dinner, then kicked into high gear on Sunday and Monday with breakout sessions that allowed attendees the chance to share best practices, identify trends and discuss ways to improve their respective businesses.
This year’s breakout topics covered corporate sales and outings, the standard of customer service, market trends in consumer behavior and the role of data in maximizing profitability and buying more intelligently. The conference concluded on Monday with additional breakout sessions focused on visual merchandising and team building. Each breakout session was facilitated by award-winning PGA of America Golf Professionals from across the country.
Presenting partners of the 2024 PGA Merchandiser of the Year Conference included Antigua Apparel, Golf Genius Software, Mission Resort + Club, the PGA of America, Pukka, Revo and SanSoleil. Supporting partners included Ghurka and Sterling Cut Glass.