For the folks at Golfballs.com, the PGA Merchandise Show is annually a good barometer for the upcoming year in the golf business and the golf industry. If that’s the case, 2011 stands to be an excellent year for the game.

“The Show usually tells you the pulse of what the golf industry is going to be like this year,” said Tom Cox, president and CEO of Golfballs.com, which had a five-person delegation on hand. “This year, it was much better attended, and those that were there were more engaged. There was an excitement I hadn’t seen in five years.”

More than 42,000 PGA club and teaching pros and industry professionals took part in the week-long event that billed itself as “bigger, busier, more optimism and more buzz.” Representatives from every U.S. state and 88 countries filled nearly 10 miles of aisle space at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

And the best part for Golfballs.com customers? The benefits of the PGA Merchandise Show will continue throughout the spring as manufacturers begin rolling out their new products for the coming golf season — many of which were on display for the first time at the Show.

Both TaylorMade and Callaway had brand-new drivers available for testing, with the TaylorMade R11 probably generating more buzz than any other club at the entire show. The rollout of new balls for the coming year was led by Titleist debuting its retooled Pro V1 and Pro V1X balls in an upgrade to the world’s top-selling ball – one that Bubba Watson used to win the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open over the weekend.

“You’ve got the number one ball brand launching a new flagship product,” Cox said, “and the number one driver brand launching a new driver. You can tell the industry’s optimistic.”

Many of those new products will begin appearing on the Golfballs.com web site and in the Retail Center located on Johnston Street in Lafayette in the near future. That followed a week where the Golfballs.com staff got a first-hand look at the products before the general public and other outlets — a by-product of years of work in the industry, Cox said.

“From a business standpoint, it’s taken us 15 years to reach the point where we can meet face-to-face with top-level executives from the major manufacturers and brands,” he said. “That seat at the table helps us gain insight, as well as provide insight, for the future direction of the golf industry. And that helps us service our customers even better.”

With those major equipment, apparel and accessory companies on site, early attendance figures showed an approximate 3.5 percent increase in overall attendance and a seven percent increase in PGA pro attendance.

“It’s really different from the last couple of years,” said Jamie McNamara, director of purchasing and retail operations for Golfballs.com of the Merchandise Show. “You can see some optimism from all the manufacturers and the sales representatives, and we can take that same optimism and create a good experience for our customers. Having that kind of positive feedback from the show is good for all of us.”

Mike Ferris, Vice President of Product Marketing for TaylorMade, talks about two of the clubs drawing the most raves at the PGA Merchandise Show — the TaylorMade R11 and Burner Superfast drivers.

Ginger Gilbert Rovella, whose husband was killed in the Iraq war and whose family is benefiting from scholarships from Patriot Golf Day, talks about the program and its importance in raising scholarship funds for the children of those killed and wounded in military service.

Dan McDonald speaks with Scott Carlyle, Irons and Wedges Product Manager for Cleveland Golf about the process behind how they designed the new Cleveland CG16 irons around the unparalleled quality of their Cleveland wedges.

Dan McDonald speaks with John Rae, Research Group Manager for Srixon Balls about their improved Srixon Z-Star and new Srixon Z-Star XV golf balls and the improvements behind the new models. John also explains that Srixon is one of the only brands out there that offers a premium yellow golf ball.

Dan McDonald speaks with Jeff Brunski, Category Manager for Cleveland Woods about how Cleveland has improved the technology in their Cleveland Woods to cater to golfers of all swing speeds and styles.

Dan McDonald speaks with Bryan Cheramie, Director of Corporate and Event Sales at Golfballs.com about how the Golfballs.com Corporate & Events Team can help businesses grow their brand by associating their company logo with some of the best names in golf.

Dan McDonald speaks with Jeff Perry and Craig Perks of Le Triomphe Golf and Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana about the energy of the PGA Merchandise show and the innovation behind all of the latest golf products.

It’s not just the folks at Golfballs.com that are enthusiastic about the prospects for the golf industry for the coming 2011 season. It is seemingly everybody that’s taking part in the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show that heads toward its conclusion on Saturday.

The lead story on the Show’s in-house publication led with “Bigger, busier, more optimism, more buzz.” That’s probably a good description, and it’s one that one Acadiana-area pro believed.

“You can tell the enthusiasm was really there,” said David Gary, head professional at The Wetlands. “You could hear the PGA club pros talking about it. Those guys are digging in more and doing more on the marketing side, trying to help grow the game and retain players.”

Gary was actually in Orlando early in the week taking part in the PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit held at the Faldo Golf Institute. The summit featured 22 presentations by instructors and other speakers – including former college football coach Lou Holtz.

“You talk about a motivator,” Gary said. “I’m going to take the video they did of his presentation and show it to all our staff.”

Le Triomphe director of golf Craig Perks and club professional Jeff Perry were still at the Show on Friday, looking at products and services to bring back to Le Triomphe.

“Our whole goal is to provide an increased level of service to our members,” Perks said, “and there are quite a few things we’re looking at here that we can incorporate into that. It’s really an impressive show.”

It’s that kind of optimism, after a couple of down years for the game, that is prevalent throughout the Show.

“It’s really different from the last couple of years,” said Jamie McNamara, Director of Purchasing and Retail Operations for Golfballs.com. “You can see some optimism from all the manufacturers and the sales representatives. It’s much busier than last year, and that’s good for all of us.”

McNamara and the rest of the Golfballs.com staff have been in meetings with many of those companies over the past two days, wrapping up those meetings Friday afternoon before the crew returns to Lafayette on Saturday.

“It’s been a very good show,” said Golfballs.com president and CEO Tom Cox. “We’ve had a lot of interaction with the highest level of people at many of the best golf companies in the world, and that’s not only going to help our business but will also help us bring the best possible equipment to our customers.”

Johnny Sneaking up on G-Dub

What better way to end the opening day of the 2011 PGA Show than to bump into our great country’s 43rd President, Mr. George W. Bush!

Steve Ogg, Vice President of Golf Ball Development for Callaway, provides a preview of the new Callaway Diablo line of balls as well as refinements on Callaway’s two Tour balls.

Matt Kuchar, one of the golfing celebrities at the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show currently underway in Orlando, answers questions submitted by Golfballs.com customers on a wide range of subjects.

Matt Kuchar, the PGA Tour’s 2010 leading money winner and the Vardon Trophy recipient Thursday morning at the PGA Merchandise Show, talks with Golfballs.com about his award-winning season and his affiliation with Bridgestone Golf.

White Cobra S3 Driver

We are halfway into the first day of  the 2011 PGA Merchandise show and it has been awesome! We spent a little time making sure we got at least a glimpse of what was out there, but spent a big chunk of our time talking to the folks at Titleist, Bridgestone, Cobra Golf and Callaway.

The new Pro V1 and Pro V1x was the main buzz around the Titleist booth, as expected. But we were impressed about how Bridgestone stepped up to the plate with their new e-Series golf balls. We can’t wait to dive deeper into all of the other great golf products the show has to offer. In the meantime, check out this cool pick of a WHITE Cobra S3 driver!

Matt Kuchar Interview

Our very own Dan McDonald has caught up with 2010 regular season money leader Matt Kuchar and cornered him for an exclusive interview. This is just a sneak peak. We will have a full video of the interview to come…

2011 PGA Merchandise Show Lobby

So we’ve arrived at the Orange County Convention Center for the first day of the show. The Demo Day yesterday was awesome and we can’t wait to start interacting with fellow golf enthusiasts soon. But for now, we wait.

The Golfballs.com staff makes its first appearance at the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show, and provides a quick glimpse of Wednesday’s Demo Day activities and a look ahead at the next three days.

Johnny provides a preview of the Taylor Made R11 driver, the most highly anticipated club debuting at the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show.

We’ve just landed in a sunny Orlando, at a cool 64 degrees. Some of us had a problem staying awake during the plane ride, but we will certainly need our rest for the amount of walking and talking that will be taking place over the next few days. While the actual PGA Merchandise Show doesn’t get kicked off until tomorrow, today is a fan favorite as it is Demo Day, where we can get our first glimpse at all of the hot new golf equipment and gear. Rest assured that the Golfballs.com team will be doing all of the necessary research so that we can expand our product lines to help put you in the best place to improve your golf game. Stay tuned for more in-depth info!