Golf Rodeo Street, once a mecca for Korea's golf industry with more than 30 golf apparel, equipment and related businesses clustered together, has lost its vibrancy.
When visited on January 16, the Golf Rodeo Street area along Dogok-ro in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was nearly deserted with only winter rain falling and hardly any pedestrians. About 10 golf apparel and equipment stores lined the main road stretching from Bangbang Intersection to Nonhyeon-ro Intersection, but customers were nowhere to be found inside the shops. The prominent signboards of famous golf wear brands such as Titleist, Malbon Golf and Nike Golf seemed almost meaningless.
"Even during Black Friday or year-end sales, hardly any customers visit the stores. There are many days when we get fewer than five customers," one store employee said.
"Only a small number of longtime regular customers visit the store," the employee added. "These days, people go to department stores or outlets where they can browse comfortably. It's very rare for anyone to come all the way here."
According to the Seoul Economic Daily's investigation, stores including Anew Golf, Callaway, Mark & Lona and Mckayson have closed one after another over the past one to two years, while Uta Golf is now operating jointly with a nearby Felt store. Fairliar has hung a banner reading "Closing Business" in front of its store and launched a closing sale. Currently, about 10 golf apparel stores remain operating in the area, shrinking to one-third of the level seen during the peak years of the early 2010s.
Golf Rodeo Street began attracting attention in the early 2000s as a commercial district naturally formed around golf apparel stores. In 2011, Gangnam-gu designated the Dogok-ro area as Golf Rodeo Street and announced plans to develop it into a golf-specialized commercial district featuring golf apparel and equipment stores, club fitting centers, screen golf facilities and membership trading offices. At the time, Gangnam-gu pursued various cultural events, discount sales and promotional activities with the goal of developing the area into "the mecca of Asia's golf industry." However, Gangnam-gu District Office said it is no longer conducting related projects.
The decline of Golf Rodeo Street is attributed to the overall contraction of the golf market and changing consumption patterns. As the golf population that had grown rapidly during the COVID-19 period has decreased, the golf apparel and equipment market has taken a direct hit. According to the Korea Golf Course Business Association, the number of golf course visitors nationwide last year was 47.41 million, down about 6% from the peak of 50.58 million in 2022. The shift of interest among those in their 20s and 30s toward other sports such as running is also cited as a factor in declining golf demand.
Major golf apparel companies are also showing declining performance. Callaway Golf Korea's revenue last year was 152.2 billion won, down 26.2% from the previous year. Operating profit during the same period plunged 85% to just 1.5 billion won. FCG Korea, which operates Wide Angle, also saw its revenue decline 10.8% last year. Chris F&C (110790.KQ), which owns brands including Pearly Gates, Ping and St. Andrews, has recorded declining revenue every year from 2022 through last year.
"Golf Rodeo Street is not a place people simply drop by while passing through, but a specialized commercial district visited by customers with clear purchasing intent," an industry official said. "It was a highly symbolic place in Korea, where the golf apparel market grew exceptionally fast, but with recent poor performance leading to the closure of many stores, the atmosphere is not what it used to be."
"Only some top-tier companies are holding on by focusing on VIP customers, while the rest are either consolidating into a single core store or closing down entirely," the official added.
