First there was tennis, followed by skiing, then came paddle, and after the pandemic, we experienced the period of climbing. A sport typically goes through a cycle of about three or four years where it becomes more fashionable, and in the course of 2021, the trend already seems to have shifted towards a new horizon. This orientation will be fully realized in 2022.
The reference data to reach this forecast have been provided by StockX, a well-known online marketplace and retailer of sports and streetwear accessories and clothing. As usual, the US company has published its commercial report Big Facts, which observes sales trends from January 1st to December 1st of the current year.
The report is one of the clearest reference tools to understand if there has been a change in trend among the most fashionable sports. In the course of 2021, people have shown a growing interest in products directly or indirectly related to golf.
The new golf sneakers, as well as the interesting collaborations that featured them, have been the sensational novelty of the past 12 months. The most important product is the Air Jordan 4 Golf, which ranked in 4 of the top 5 positions, in terms of golf-related products, sold on StockX. The only product that managed to carve out a space within this absolute dominance is a crewneck from the acclaimed collaboration between Nike and Nocta by Drake.
The top 5 main launches are as follows: Jordan 4 Golf White Cement, Jordan 4 Golf Military Blue, Jordan 4 Golf Metallic Green, Nike x NOCTA Crewneck, and Jordan 4 Golf ACG.
If we consider only these 5 products and the data from StockX, there have been 10,000 transactions on their platform in the last year.
The article was originally published on AllinReplica Spain
Golf Numbers in Italy in 2021
Reading the sales data provided by the annual report of StockXis fully confirmed by the official statistics of the Italian Golf Federation. By the end of October 2021, there was a sharp increase in the number of registered members compared to the same period in previous years: 92,135 of which 10,000 are new. It had been since 2013 that the 92,000 mark was surpassed. An increase that also positions golf in Italy as a likely candidate for the title of the most fashionable sport in 2022, but it must face an ongoing issue in this discipline: retention. Abandonment, after the initial enthusiasm, leads to 43% of those who registered for the first time raising the white flag after a year. Fortunately, today there is a greater awareness of the benefits that golf brings to our physical and mental well-being.
The Benefits of Golf
In addition to the specific beauty of a competitive sport that can help socialization and develop creativity, golf is an aerobic activity that takes place outdoors in always well-maintained and often scenic natural settings, capable of providing real benefits to our mood and physical health. An 18-hole green is the equivalent of a 10 km walk, the exact distance to cover per day according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization to stimulate metabolism, control weight, and keep the cardiovascular system active and healthy. Golf has the merit of requiring care of our bodies because to play it, we need to keep our muscles toned: hitting the ball 300 meters from the starting tee requires explosive power, so much so that professionals train in the gym with medicine balls, dumbbells, and barbells. Some biomechanical studies have also highlighted in the swing, the technical movement of golf, a stimulus for developing a sense of balance, an excellent way combined with resistance and muscular functionality to prevent, especially in older age, the risk of accidental falls.