Ever since Nike stopped making golf equipment back in 2016, I’ve always wondered whether its heart really remained in golf. The move last month to end the sport's most notorious athlete-brand partnerships alongside Tiger Woods feels like the beginning of a conscious uncoupling from the sport itself. Woods hasn't been the only roster move for Nike this year, with Jason Day's switch to Malbon feeling like the the first of a few dominos to fall in this story.
But why would Nike want to leave a sport that is still in a major period of growth, and why now? If we pan out to look at the wider Nike business, we can see that it is losing out considerably in its running division to new brands like Hoka and On Running. The business is planning to cut some $2 million in costs over the next few years, and golf would be a fairly easy sport for it to strip its funding from. Running is the true core of Nike’s business - and its origins - and it seems there is a wider company shift to refocus back to its roots. Certainly, regaining one or two percent market share in running shoes will make the business a lot more money than the equivalent uptick in golf.
