What’s the vibe inside the Orange County Convention Center? What’s the morale of the army in khakis and quarterzips? Is it eagerness, excitement, or quiet desperation from the exhibitors? What do we see? What do we feel beneath this high ceiling and overhead lights? Is this big beast of golf equipment, golf apparel, golf other…dying? (Spoiler: No, we don’t think so)

Do we see the same wrinkles, and onset of decrepitude as we have recently at this annual meet-up? More? Greater hollowing of the eyes, further faux smile stretch? Or are there signs of a new spring? Youth! Vibrance! The industry’s favorite “g” word (growth)? New exhibitors. Stalwarts increasing their footprints on the show floor, crafting compelling exhibits?

Everyone — attendees, exhibitors, media — feels compelled to take the PGA Show’s pulse, rising from the patient to discuss vital signs with those around them. The collective perspective then becomes a narrative swirl spinning further and further out from Florida, hovering over “the industry” as a whole, serving, for many (rightly or wrongly) as golf’s annual physical, writ large.

The consensus this year seemed to be the Show is comfortably well within the bradycardia and tachycardia book ends. Mild and moderate exertion were plentiful in the form of new products and dynamic exhibitors.

To drill down further, we chatted with our Resident Club Junkie and intrepid man on the ground all week, Brian Knudson.

Check out BK’s perspective, below.

What was the vibe like at Demo Day?

Demo Day gave us beautiful weather and what seemed like some added exhibitors on the massive circle driving range. It was unfortunate that the internet went down at the entrance for about two hours in the morning, holding some of the attendees out of the event until about 11 am. I think that delay might have discouraged a few people, as there weren’t as many people walking around.

What standout products did you see at Demo Day?

To me there were a whole lot of people in the Ping booth all day. A lot of interest was focused on the new G430 Max 10K driver, but I think equally of interest were the new irons. Blueprint T, Blueprint S, G730, and the i530. A lot of new stuff, but I feel like everyone was really drawn to the i530. Slightly larger than the i230, the i530 is still a hollow body, forged head with stronger lofts, and a hotter face. From address, the i530 looks great and should fit a wide range of golfers.

How was attendance on the show floor Wednesday and Thursday?

Packed. I was fortunate to get a few minutes with Bob Vokey on the second level in the Titleist booth and when we were done, Bob said “Look at that!” I was packing up my things, looked up, and saw one of the main aisles just packed with attendees walking up and down. I haven’t seen the convention floor this busy since my first few years at the show in 2017 and 2018. I also feel like there were more booths this year as the show covered more of the convention floor space. Simulator and launch monitor booths were more abundant and everyone was in them for product demos and information.

What were the major OEM displays like?

Callaway, Titleist, Cobra, Ping, Cleveland/Srixon, and Mizuno were all there with large booths as you would expect. Titleist had their usual clean white booth with their employees wearing the famous white sports coats. The Scotty Cameron display felt a touch smaller while every club they made was on display. Callaway had a cool sphere LCD display that showed off the new Chrome golf balls and next to that was an Paradym Ai Smoke display that actually produced smoke out of it! They also had a huge putting green where you could roll the new Ai and Ai Milled putters. Ping was very traditional with their booth, but they did have a separate putting green space to roll the new PLD putters. Cleveland and Srixon were combined with a new center aisle where they showed off the new Never Compromised putters and the fitting system to go with them. Cobra had an open-concept booth with a simulator and a small putting green to try all the new gear. Mizuno had a classy booth with a wood floor and tons of the new clubs there, including some limited edition blue Pro 241 irons.

Among smaller brands, who stood out to you?

Booths from smaller brands like LA Golf, Pins & Aces, and Paynter were just flat-out creative and cool. From red velvet ropes, that didn’t keep anyone out, to custom-wrapped trailers covered in product, they were just fun to walk around. Autoflex had tons of shafts on rotating displays and Shot Scope kept it simple with displays that you could easily get product info without any assistance. It was great to see T.P. Mills back with a booth and some of the other smaller putter brands like Makefield showing off their new flat sticks.

Any celebrity sightings?

I know some celebrities were at the show, but I either didn’t notice them or must have missed them on the floor. I did see golf YouTube and social media star Rick Sheils grab a breakfast sandwich in the media center on Thursday morning!

Finally, an important one: Best and worst meals of the trip?

The best meal of the trip was a great dinner with all the folks at Motocaddy on Thursday night. Just a perfect way to cap off the week with some great people and a tasty, medium-rare filet! The worst food had to be lunch on Wednesday with the guys from Edel Golf. The conversation and company were A+ but the $14 personal pizza was far from authentic Italian cuisine!

Check out photos from all our photos from the PGA Show here.