On my final day at the 2026 PGA Show in Orlando, surrounded by innovation and ambition, I kept circling one question: What is the hottest product at this show—Beyond the Fairway?

The answers should be obvious. Autonomous carts glide by. Zero-torque drivers promise straighter shots and fewer regrets. Yardage devices now talk to us, play music, and collect more data than we ever thought golf would need. AI dominates the business conversations. And still—after all these years—relationships remain the most valuable currency in the room. Old friends, new handshakes, familiar laughs. Even in an AI world, golf is still human.

But step back. Look beyond the booths, the tech, the promises.

The hottest product at this year’s PGA Show isn’t a club, a cart, or a platform.

It’s Ireland.

Not something you can swing or plug in—but something you feel.

Ireland Is Calling

Ireland is catching fire at exactly the right moment. Rory McIlroy’s Masters victory—completing the modern Grand Slam—did more than win a green jacket. It lit a fuse. A proud nation somehow standing even taller. A generation of golfers suddenly dreaming bigger.

And coming fast behind it is the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor—a place that doesn’t feel real until you stand in it. A neo-Gothic castle rising out of emerald ground. Trees that feel older than the game itself. Falconry, carriage rides, woodland walks. It’s less a resort and more a living storybook.

The golf will be stunning television. But it’s what wraps around the course that will pull the world in—the thatched roofs of County Limerick, the rolling pastures, the wild edges of the coast, the kind of Guinness that tastes better because it’s shared, and people who don’t just welcome you…they embrace you.

One Hundred Thousand Welcomes—and They Mean Every One

The Irish phrase Céad míle fáilte—“one hundred thousand welcomes”—isn’t marketing. It’s a promise.

In the coming years, visitors won’t just see Ireland. They’ll feel it. In the pubs where music spills into the night. In landscapes that stop conversations mid-sentence. In a country that feels purpose-built for golf—and somehow even better when the clubs are put away.

This is what Beyond the Fairway is all about.

With Rory’s moment at Augusta and a Ryder Cup set inside a castle at legendary Adare Manor, Ireland isn’t just trending—it’s ascending. As a golf destination. As a travel destination. As an experience that lingers long after the flight home.

That’s why Ireland, to me, is the hottest product at the PGA Show this year.

We’ll know for sure in a couple of years—but I wouldn’t bet against a place that already lives in our dreams. Especially for golfers searching for something more than scorecards and souvenirs.

Some places don’t need selling.

They just need their moment - and this Irelands moment.

— Kevin Drum
Beyond the Fairway

#IrishTourism #GolfIreland #PGAShow #GolfBeyondtheFairway

I started Day 2 of the PGA Show the best way possible: coffee in hand, listening to the legendary voice of golf — Jim Nantz.

With the show floor officially opening, Nantz was there representing Titleist, and his story was a reminder of how unpredictable — and special — a life in golf can be. As a young broadcaster, he once caddied for Jack Nicklaus. Months later, he was hired by CBS. Not long after that, he found himself calling Nicklaus’s final-round victory at the 1986 Masters. One relationship, one opportunity, one moment — and everything changed.

Nantz was also on hand to honor the PGA Teacher of the Year and the PGA Professional of the Year, and what struck me most was not just the accolades, but their journeys. One began as a baseball player, then became a ski bum. The other started as a basketball player and later a coach. Neither path was linear, yet both led to the pinnacle of the golf profession.

That’s the part of golf that continues to pull me in — the industry of golf. The routes people take to get here are wildly different, deeply personal, and often unexpected. It’s why I started Beyond the Fairway: to focus less on scorecards and more on the people, places, and moments that shape this game.

Beyond the Scorecard: AI and Data Take Center Stage

With coffee finished and inspiration flowing, I headed to a PGA-sponsored seminar fittingly titled “Beyond the Scorecard.” The panel brought together leaders from golf and the NBA to discuss how data and artificial intelligence are shaping the next era of the sport.

Credit to the PGA Show for leaning into this conversation. AI and data aren’t future concepts — they’re already here. Jay Riola (Orlando Magic / NBA), Brian Koch (Invited Clubs), and Rob Smith (PGA Digital) all offered practical, grounded perspectives.

One comment from Rob Smith stuck with me. Paraphrasing, he said the PGA does a great job engaging fans around its events, but the next frontier is meaningful, year-round engagement. Not just major moments — ongoing relationships. Even the PGA is thinking beyond the fairway, and that lesson applies to just about every business.

Then Brian Koch delivered the line that stopped me cold. From a club-management standpoint, he explained that websites are no longer designed just for humans — they must be designed for machines. If AI can read and understand your data, your brand can be discovered without anyone ever visiting your website.

Call me a geek, but that was a mind-blower. Your website isn’t built only for people anymore. It’s built for machines. Sit with that for a second.

Pickleball at the PGA Show?

By 1:30 p.m., I still had nearly 1,000 exhibits left to see over the next two days — spread across 1.1 million square feet. As I finally hit the show floor, one thing was immediately clear: this isn’t just a golf show anymore.

Non-golf brands were everywhere, because golf is cool, golf is aspirational, and golfers spend money beyond the fairway. From YETI coolers to Maui Jim sunglasses to household names like Duracell, everyone wants access to the golf consumer.

But the biggest surprise this year? Pickleball.

Yes — pickleball has officially invaded the PGA Show.

From equipment booths to full-scale programming, the sport is impossible to miss. I’ll be watching Matt “Pickleball McNasty” Manasse host celebrity matches later today, and it’s clear why the PGA Show has embraced it. Golf courses are natural partners, and pickleball has quickly become an industry of its own.

Tennis is here too, of course — but let’s be honest. Pickleball is the new hot kid on the block. (No offense, tennis fans.)

Make Golf Your Thing

As impressive as the new equipment and apparel are, one of the most compelling things I saw wasn’t a product at all. It was a PGA marketing campaign called “Make Golf Your Thing.”

At first glance, you’d expect it to be about playing the game. It isn’t.

The campaign is about careers. It’s about opening doors, reaching underrepresented groups, and showing young people that golf isn’t just something you play — it’s an industry where almost any skill set can belong.

Kevin Drum, Beyond the Fairway

Demo Day: Golf, Beyond the Fairway

If you want to understand where golf is headed, don’t start inside a convention center. Start outside, on Demo Day.

Day one of the PGA Show in Orlando kicks off at Orange County National with what’s now branded as Demo Day: Beyond the Fairway. And that name isn’t marketing fluff. This isn’t the demo day many of us remember—quiet lines of five-irons and drivers, polite swings, polite conversations. This is a massive circular range, wrapped in tents and booths, stretching in every direction. It feels less like a range and more like a festival built around golf.

You Can Hear the Change Before You See It

The first clue that golf has entered a new era comes through the speakers.

This isn’t my dad’s golf soundtrack. No Bing Crosby. No Dean Martin. Not even Hootie. As you walk into registration, it’s Mac Miller—colorful language and all (or “swearing,” as my mom would’ve said). That moment tells you everything you need to know: golf is changing. And to the PGA Show’s credit, it has changed its tune—literally—with the times.

Of course, walk a little farther into the demo grounds and you’ll hear a country band playing away, just to balance the universe. Old golf never fully leaves—it just shares the stage now.

From Golf Carts to Vodka—and Everything In Between

Once inside, the range of companies is staggering. Golf carts. Equipment. Apparel. Vodka. Yes, vodka.

But what really stands out is what lives beyond the fairway. Wellness is no longer a fringe idea—it’s front and center. In the old days, golf wellness meant a club sandwich and a Diet Coke. Today, it’s serious business. There’s an entire dedicated area focused on new wellness solutions—think hot yoga meets golf performance.

Again, credit to the PGA Show for recognizing reality. Times have changed. Beer guts aren’t fashionable in golf anymore. It’s almost a Lake Wobegon vision of the game—where everyone is healthy, good-looking, flexible, and mindful. And honestly, it’s about time.

Now you go to the club and find avocado toast, stretching sessions, and golf-centric yoga classes alongside the pro shop. Wellness isn’t an add-on anymore—it’s part of the modern golf experience.

Demo Day Is Also a Reunion

But Demo Day isn’t just about products.

It’s about people.

It’s a day of reconnecting with old friends—company presidents, golf professionals I’ve known half my life, and some I’ve known since they were kids. It’s catching up with media colleagues who, like me, have been covering this industry long enough to remember when demo day was… quieter.

Networking is still king. And I can confirm the bar remains one of the most efficient networking tools ever invented.

On to Day Two

I’m looking forward to Day Two, which is shaping up to be one of the largest PGA Shows in history. I’ll be posting from the show floor—the largest gathering of the golf industry in the world, with no fairway in sight.

Golf is changing. The PGA Show knows it. And Demo Day makes that impossible to miss.

—Kevin Drum
Beyond the Fairway

As I prepare to attend the 2026 PGA Show as a writer, like my dad, I reflect on a family connection to the PGA Show that spans more than seven decades—beginning in a Florida parking lot in 1954 and continuing through the modern golf industry.

The first PGA Show wasn’t much of a show. It took place in 1954 in a parking lot at Dunedin Country Club on a rainy day. No booths. No signage. No badges. Just exhibitors opening the trunks of their cars or throwing their wears on a table – the golf business was born.

My father, Bob Drum, was there.
From those beginnings, the PGA Show grew into the central gathering of the golf business it is today. From car trunks to one of the largest industry conventions in the country, from informal conversations to a global industry hub, it became the place where golf beyond the fairway took shape.

Between my father and me, we’ve witnessed more than seventy years of the PGA Shows evolution as the center of the golf busniess “Beyond the Fairway.”

Beyond the Fairway: The Peabody Rule

Why the most important deals in golf were never made on the show floor

If you went to the PGA Show in the 1980s, you knew the show didn’t end when the floor closed.

Almost everyone eventually found their way to the Peabody Hotel. Golf legends, executives, writers, and manufacturers gathered there, waiting for the ducks to be ushered from the fountain to their house by the pool.

While people watched the ducks, deals were being made—not contracts, but trust. Relationships formed there shaped careers and companies. That was golf “Beyond the Fairway.”

Beyond the Fairway: My Father Noticed What Others Missed

Lessons from a golf writer who understood the golf business before it was called the golf business.

My father wasn’t interested in hype. He watched how people behaved when no one was watching.

He understood that golf’s real currency wasn’t distance or technology, but credibility. The people who lasted were the ones others trusted.

Those lessons mattered far beyond writing. They shaped how the golf business grew and how I grew into being part of this fantastic industry called golf—and how it endures and impacts us all in clothing to tech to items we use in everyday life – Golf’s PGA show examines the game and impacts the economy “Beyond the Fairway. “

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Palatka, quoting Dan Jenkins, is Golf its Own Self

Palatka Golf Club Turns 100 but its Atmosphere Beyond the Fairway get a 10

It started with an idea by Palatka businessmen L.W. Warren and Walter W. Tilghman, who in 1924 acquired 117 acres with a radical notion for their time — to build a golf course for the public, not the privileged. They convinced the City of Palatka to buy the land for that purpose and sought expert advice on design. When Donald Ross was contacted, he reportedly said the site was “perfect,” and an agreement was made for him to lay out the course routing.

Palatka Golf Club, one of Florida’s classic golf treasures, opened in 1925 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this Saturday with a special community tournament honoring that founding vision and its legendary architect.

Part of the same golden era that produced Ross’s celebrated Jacksonville-area courses — Timuquana Country Club, San Jose Country Club, and Hyde Park Golf Club — Palatka reflects his enduring design philosophy: “Make the game difficult for the expert, but enjoyable for the everyday golfer.”

At Palatka, that philosophy thrives through turtleback greens, natural sandy ridges, and subtle contouring that reward creativity over power. Its location beside Ravine Gardens remains as natural and inspiring as it was a century ago.

“It’s one of those rare layouts that still feels exactly as Ross intended — a thinker’s course, not a bomber’s,” said Andy Heartz/Director of Golf. “You can play it a hundred times and still discover something new.”

Over the decades, champions have played here — Tom Lehman, David Toms, Fuzzy Zoeller, Chris Patton, and John Daly among them. Even former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beaman was a regular competitor in the annual Azalea Tournament. Palatka Golf Club remains what golf is all about — pure, authentic, and rooted in community.

The Centennial Tournament celebrates what municipal golf is all about and its what happens in club house before with biscuits and gravy and $5 Nassaus and after with with home cooked meals and plenty of beer and friends and the lawyer hanging out with the the fork lift driver who would never meet otherwise. It’s melting pot and it’s what makes golf great. So the next time go play a classic municipal course remember to order the BLT or ask about the history - go Beyond the fairway. Below is classic seen of Palatka that day to imitate an old Saturday evening post that looks similar which is in the Dunes Club. To be a fly on the wall better yet I was that fly on the wall and I can’t wait to go back and hang out Beyond the Fairway.