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Golf is big business, but we already knew that. In fact, golf has a direct impact of almost $102 billion on the U.S. economy, a 20% increase over 2016 ($84 billion). That’s nearly 5x the revenue of the NFL. 

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As an outsider with absolutely no credibility to speak on the matter, outside of my experience in capital markets, the $12.3 billion valuation placed on the PGA Tour feels a bit light on the surface of it (based on the $1.5 billion initial investment). Glancing at the financials, the PGA Tour generated $1.9 billion in revenue in 2022. I guess what is more surprising, despite the roughly $400 million year-over-year increase in the Tour’s 2022 revenue - is that it’s only $1.9 billion - in context of the overall industry generating nearly 50x as much revenue. 

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Now of course that’s an overly simplistic view of things, but it’s no wonder why LIV was able to so easily shake things up. For players not regularly making the cut on weekends, without significant sponsorships, I’m sure they’re worried about their financial future. And as we all know, one’s golf game can often come and go as it pleases. Not that Phil Mickelson is the median caliber of a pro, but nonetheless:

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Besides the big pay days coming from the PIF for the LIV guys, the league owns 75% of each team, while the team captains have 25% equity. Pretty creative if you ask me. And more than anything, it forced the PGA Tour to consider a way to structure their players to have ownership in the Tour itself. Of course it took a push from some private equity titans of the sporting world to force the issue, but incentives seemed to be properly aligned. This not only will provide immediate financial security to the Tour’s members, but keep them fully invested and engaged to diversify and expand the Tour’s revenue potential.

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At the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. Not so much expanding the entire pie, but giving the Tour and its players a larger slice. And it’s now abundantly clear the best way to accomplish that is through leveraging equity as a previously untapped currency. Brilliant if you ask me. This is such an underutilized growth strategy and the best companies use it to their full advantage. Especially when their employees either ARE the product, as in this case, or can be leveraged to drive revenue through purchasing products from said company. In either event - the employees are the evangelists that can truly drive growth - and in turn, they’re rewarded for it. 

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Our vision for Parscape has always been to build a community owned group of companies in golf. A co-op of sorts, that buys from its own family of brands, uses its own software products, helps provide opportunities to one another - providing mutual benefits to everyone involved. For as much as we play the game, spend on the sport, and LOVE it, it makes all the sense in the world to look for ways to carve out our own piece of the pie as the game continues to grow. We believe this is how we truly grow the game, inspire the next generation of creators, golfers and entrepreneurs, as well as create sustainability in our own golf careers at the recreational level. Because why not? 

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Follow us to keep up with our journey! 

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Mike 

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Co-Founder & CEO

Parscape, Inc.