Sacks Parente Golf Inc

Overview

Sacks Parente Golf, Inc. (“we,” the “Company” or “SPG”) is a technology-forward golf company, with a growing portfolio of golf products, including putting instruments, golf shafts, golf grips, and other golf-related products. In consideration of its growth opportunities in shaft technologies, in April of 2022, the Company expanded its manufacturing business to include advanced premium golf shafts by opening a new shaft manufacturing facility in St. Joseph, MO. It is the Company’s intent to manufacture and assemble substantially all products in the United States as is economically feasible. The Company anticipates expansion into golf apparel and other golf-related product lines to enhance its growth. The Company’s future expansions may include broadening its offerings through mergers, acquisitions or internal developments of product lines that are complementary to its premium brand.

The Company currently sells its products through the Company’s websites, resellers, and distributors in the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

Historical Development

The Company was formed in 2018 as Sacks Parente Golf Company, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. On March 18, 2022 the Company converted into a Delaware corporation named Sacks Parente Golf, Inc. Pursuant to our Plan of Conversion, on March 18, 2022, all of the outstanding ownership interests in Sacks Parente Golf Company, LLC, and rights to receive such interest were converted into and exchanged for shares of capital stock of Sacks Parente Golf, Inc. The Company retroactively reflected the conversion as of the earliest periods presented herein.

On August 17, 2023, the Company closed its initial public offering pursuant to which the Company sold 3,200,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $4.00 per share. The Company received total proceeds, net of fees, of $11,594,000.

Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. As reflected in the accompanying financial statements, during the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded a net loss of $4,625,000, and used cash in operations of $5,047,000. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date of the financial statements being issued. The ability of the Company to continue as a going concern is dependent upon the Company’s ability to raise additional funds and implement its business plan. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might be necessary if the Company is unable to continue as a going concern.

At December 31, 2023, the Company had cash on hand in the amount of $5,338,000. The continuation of the Company as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to obtain necessary debt or equity financing to continue operations until it begins generating positive cash flow. No assurance can be given that any future financing will be available or, if available, that it will be on terms that are satisfactory to the Company. Even if the Company is able to obtain additional financing, it may contain undue restrictions on our operations, in the case of debt financing or cause substantial dilution for our stockholders, in case or equity financing.

Industry Overview

The golf equipment market size is estimated at USD 13.32 billion in 2023, and is expected to reach USD 17.64 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 5.78% during the forecast period (2023-2028).

In recent years, there has been an increase in young golfers, causing equipment sales to rise. It is one of the significant factors driving golf equipment sales. The growing middle-class income and the increasing number of professional golfers over the last few years are contributing to the substantial increase in demand. The participation rate in pro-golf tournaments is increasing, especially among millennials, further boosting golf equipment sales worldwide. Based on a survey by the National Golf Foundation in 2021, golf is now played in 206 out of the 251 countries. There are around 38,000 golf courses in over 82% of countries worldwide. Globally, millions of people of all ages are attracted to golf, participating in the International Golf Federation’s programs and events. Including golf in the Olympic Games has contributed to a sudden increase in golfers worldwide. The market is highly impacted by product innovations carried out by key players and considerable investments in marketing and promotional activities to reach a broad customer base. With the substantial growth of the golf tourism industry, the market is anticipated to have a positive outlook in the coming years. European countries are investing heavily in Infrastructural developments of the game and hosting many international golf events and competitions. For instance, in October 2022, several golf courses in Portugal invested heavily in improvements, with some new courses opening and others being upgraded. Such investments in golf courses are further anticipated to boost the inflow of sports tourists and influence the market positively during the study period.

Rise in Demand for Golf Equipment from Asia-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific golf equipment market is driven by the rising popularity of golf in Japan, China, South Korea, and Thailand, among other countries. There has been phenomenal growth in the Asia-Pacific golf industry. During the next few years, the golf clothing and equipment market in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow, with major countries such as China, India, Australia, and Japan contributing to the market growth. Japan is one of the major countries in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of the number of golf players, owing to the rising awareness about golf and an increase in the golfer population in the country. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), the golfing population in Japan increased from 8.93 million in 2018 to approximately 10.3 million in 2021. As the population becomes more aware of sports and the disposable income of individuals rises, there is a strong likelihood that the regional market will continue to grow. In addition to already established international brands, the market in the region is being driven by a rise in the participation of gold tournaments and spending money and time on sports activities. Increasing media exposure to international golf events has aided the rise in the popularity of golf among the masses. This trend encourages the youth to play such sports, further boosting the sales of golf equipment in the region.

Source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/golf-equipment-market

Markets

Our products are sold in the Americas, Asia and Europe. We sell our golf equipment products in the United States and internationally, directly via e-commerce, through distribution or subsidiaries, to wholesale customers, including pro-shops at golf courses and off-course retailers, sporting goods retailers, on-line retailers, third-party distributors, and through Club Champion Golf, the international leader in golf club fitting with strategic locations across the U.S. and internationally. We sell certain products to mass merchants, as well as directly to consumers through retail locations in Japan and have recently begun selling products in South Korea. We offer custom fitting programs online to help consumers find the best fit for their personal specifications. In addition, we sell to corporate customers who want certain customizations of our golf equipment.

Advertising and Marketing

Our marketing campaigns in connection with the SPG brand are aimed to increase consumer awareness of the products and support our overall growth strategy. We will focus our advertising efforts mainly on television commercials, primarily on The Golf Channel and web-based digital, social media advertising, and printed advertisements in national magazines, such as Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, as well as in-store advertising. We also establish relationships with professional athletes and personalities, including members of various professional golf tours as well as other athletes and personalities, in order to promote our golf equipment product lines.

Distribution

Our manufacturing, assembly, warehousing and distribution center is in St. Joseph, MO, with putter head assembly performed at our headquarters and research and development facility in Camarillo, CA. In 2023, we began manufacturing putter and replacement shafts using our proprietary mandrels and wrapping technology. In 2024, we plan to expand our shaft offerings into fairway wood/hybrid replacement shafts. In addition, we plan to grow distribution centers in or near Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, South Korea, Mexico City and other prominent cities based on the needs of these markets.

Production Process

In January 2024, the Company relocated its primary golf putting instrument assembly facility from Camarillo, CA to our St. Joseph, MO facility. It is our ongoing goal to develop, design and manufacture as many of the company’s products, as is economically feasible in the U.S. We currently have limited assembly/fitting capabilities in Japan and South Korea. Overall, the golf club assembly process is fairly labor intensive, requires extensive supply chain coordination and utilizes raw materials that are obtained from suppliers both internationally and within the United States.

Raw Material and Suppliers

Our golf putters raw material consist of a fairly wide variety of steel and aluminum types, along with other metals like tungsten, magnesium, and titanium. Our shafts consist of carbon fiber and prepreg materials along with coatings, paintings, inks and other decorative materials. The suppliers of these raw materials are located in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and other countries around the world. We rely on third-party suppliers to provide our raw materials and CNC machine certain parts. Our putters are currently assembled from components produced in the U.S., Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea. Our shafts are manufactured in-house from materials produced in the U.S. by third parties. We note that some components or materials may be available only from a limited number of sources. We choose not to enter into long-term contracts with any of our suppliers or manufacturers for the production and supply of our raw materials and components, and typically transact business with our suppliers on an order-by-order basis. We also compete with other companies for raw materials and production.

We currently source the vast majority of our grip products from third-party suppliers in the U.S. and China, and we source some CNC milled products from the U.S. and Taiwan. However, we are already producing products, shafts and putter heads in the US, and plan to manufacture as many components in the U.S. as is economically feasible. We have worked with a limited number of manufacturing partners that produced components in facilities located in Southeast Asia and could do so again. We continuously work to diversify our sourcing and manufacturing capabilities.

Anytime a company has limited sources for materials or suppliers, there is significant risk, and we are no different. If we are unable to acquire raw materials such as carbon fiber, it may take significant time to educate an alternate supplier with the specific engineering and manufacturing requirements of our materials or designs. If we were unable to secure a reliable supplier for any component or material that we do not manufacture ourselves and find that replacement in a timely manner, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have experienced supply issues as a result of the U.S. Government blocking all imports from Myanmar, and our source for carbon fiber shafts was instantly eliminated. With no supplier for shafts this materially impacted our ability to deliver product and grow channels of distribution. However, our management adapted and within 12 months overcame these issues by opening our own shaft manufacturing facility in St. Joseph, MO.

Product Portfolio Characteristics

We design our golf products to fit golfers of all skill levels, amateur and professional, and our products are designed with the goal of conforming to the Rules of Golf as published by the United States Golf Association (“USGA”) and the ruling authority (“The R&A”).

We live by the statement “Physics not Gimmicks” and as a result, we believe that we have created game changing innovations like our patented Ultra-Low Balance Point technologies that we believe make any putter a better putter. Ultra-Low Balance Point is a balance point on the shaft that is five (5) inches or less from the sole of the putter. The Company achieves this, not by making the putter head heavier like some companies have done, but by making the putter shaft and grip feather light. An ULBP putter has substantially more of the relative weight at the putter head which makes the putter head feel a lot heavier than it really is. The result, supported by independent testing, is a putter that promotes a natural pendulum like tempo, natural squaring of the head at impact and a natural release of the toe of the putter head, all of which can help contribute to better putting performance.

By investing in research and development and leveraging applied science and physics, we design golf equipment and products to be technologically superior by breaking the “sea of sameness” that exists in golf today. We have the ability to create and modify product designs using computer aided design software, finite element analysis software and structural optimization techniques. Further, we utilize a variety of robotics and testing equipment, along with computer software, including launch monitors, an in-house laboratory and test center for our golf equipment products.

We manage our global business operations through our operating and reportable business segments. Our business segments currently include, golf putting instruments, golf shafts, and golf related products.

SPG Putters

Our putter products include golf putters, shafts and grips sold under our SPG brand and are generally made of steel, aluminum, titanium alloys, carbon fiber, tungsten, our patented magnesium face plate technologies, and various other materials.

Our putter technology has been shown by The Golf Lab, a Canadian golf research and education provider, to improve players’ ability to make putts, feel of the putter head, stroke, face angle at impact, and distance control. Our management believes that our proprietary shaft designs can enhance the performance of players’ putters as well as drivers and other golf clubs. Further, our management believes that these innovative designs, along with our proprietary manufacturing techniques, create performance improvements over traditional golf shafts.

We are in prototype phase on multiple new or enhanced putter designs that are popular on the market, which we expect to launch during 2024. Management believes that our versions of these models, while having a familiar shape, could out-perform other versions in the industry because of our design and use of advanced metals.

Newton Shafts

On November 20, 2023, we announced a significant expansion of our product portfolio. We introduced “Newton,” the Company’s latest business division and the Company’s first foray into the world of golf club shafts. The Newton Motion driver shaft, the first Newton shaft to debut in the market, is a carbon fiber shaft designed to enhance a golfer’s performance by promoting straighter and longer shots with reduced effort. Using the Company’s proprietary shaft design and construction, the Newton Motion shaft features four essential technologies:

In addition to the four aforementioned technologies, instead of using the traditional categorization of shaft flexes of ladies, senior, regular, stiff, extra-shift, etc., the Newton Motion shaft uses a DOT system. Ranging from one to six dots, the system allows for a seamless transition from the most flexible shaft at one dot to the stiffest at six dots. SPG’s innovative DOT system, employed by SPG’s expert shaft engineers, optimizes golf shaft performance by fine-tuning it to golfer’s unique abilities, leaving traditional flex systems in the past.

The Newton Motion shaft is visually captivating. When in motion, the shaft undergoes a mesmerizing color transformation from green to purple and various shades in between. The coloration not only adds a dash of style to a golfer’s game, but it also distinguishes itself from other shafts in the market.

The Newton shafts are manufactured in St. Joseph, Missouri, SPG’s shaft manufacturing facility.

Soft Goods

In addition to our existing products, we intend in the future to sell high quality soft goods such as golf apparel and golf accessories including golf bags, gloves, headwear, practice aids and more. We are in the early stages of planning our soft goods business and do not anticipate that we will begin manufacturing or selling soft goods until 2024.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations that impose limitations on the discharge of pollutants into the environment and establish standards for the handling, generation, emission, release, discharge, treatment, storage and disposal of certain materials, substances and wastes and the remediation of environmental contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”). In the ordinary course of our manufacturing processes, we use paints, chemical solvents and other materials, and generate waste by-products that are subject to these Environmental Laws.

We endeavor to adhere to all applicable Environmental Laws and act as necessary to comply with these laws. We maintain an environmental and safety program at our facilities. The environmental and safety program includes obtaining environmental permits as required, capturing and appropriately disposing of any waste by-products, tracking hazardous waste generation and disposal, air emissions, safety situations, material safety data sheet management, storm water management and recycling, and auditing and reporting on its compliance.

Intellectual Property

We are the owner or licensee of multiple utility and design patents in the U.S. and foreign countries relating to our products and product designs, including U.S and foreign trademark registrations relating to our products, product designs, manufacturing processes and research and development concepts. Other patent and trademark applications are pending and await registration. In addition, we own various other protectable rights under copyright, trade dress and other statutory and common laws. Our intellectual property rights are material to our business, and we seek to protect such rights through the registration of trademarks and utility and design patents, the maintenance of trade secrets and the creation of trade dress. When necessary and appropriate, we will enforce our rights through litigation.

Our patents are generally in effect for up to 20 years from the date of the filing of the patent application. Our trademarks are generally valid as long as they are in use and their registrations are properly maintained and have not been found to become generic.

Patents

We currently hold the following patents:

The Ultra Low Balance Point Utility Patent described above was licensed to us by Parcks Designs, LLC on July 24, 2018. The license granted to us is perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, and exclusive aside from one other licensee. The principals of Parcks Designs, LLC are Steve Sacks and Richard Parente, cofounders of the Company together with Tim Triplett and Akinobu Yorihiro. On May 25, 2022, we and Parcks Designs entered into a Consulting Agreement whereby Parcks Designs will perform club and shaft testing and analysis, putter head design consulting and other services as may be agreed upon from time to time. The consulting fees due to Parcks Designs will be nominal in the beginning and increase to $2,000 per month after June 1, 2024.

On August 7, 2018, Richard E. Parente and Steve Sacks assigned to us the entire worldwide right, title and interest in and to the Quad Weighted Lightweight Putter.

Confidential Information and Trade Secrets

The success of our business depends, in part, on the maintenance of confidential information and trade secrets, generally referred to as proprietary information. We have implemented procedures to maintain the confidentiality of our proprietary information. Employees enter into confidentiality agreements with us and, where appropriate, a confidentiality agreement is executed before confidential information is revealed. Confidentiality provisions are also present in consulting agreements and supplier agreements in certain cases where the consultant or supplier may be exposed to confidential information.

Trademarks

The following marks and phrases, among others, are trademarks of the Company:

Domain names

We own the domain names listed below. Domain names are generally renewable every year or every two years.

www.sacksparente.com

www.newtonshafts.com

www.spgolfinc.com

www.spgolfco.com

www.spgputter.com

www.spgshafts.com

www.newtonshafts.com

www.spgtour.com

www.physicsnotgimmicks.com

www.spgfangster.com

Social Media Accounts

We operate the social media accounts listed below.

Government Regulation

We are subject to extensive federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations, as well as other statutory and regulatory requirements, the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”), and similar state laws, privacy and cybersecurity laws, environmental, health and human safety laws and regulations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other similar anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws. New laws and regulations or new interpretations of existing laws and regulations from federal, state and local authorities may also impact the business.

Employees

As of December 31, 2023, we had 18 full-time equivalent employees. We employ additional people on a part-time basis as needed. We have never participated in a collective bargaining agreement. We believe relations with our employees are good.

Competition

We compete on the basis of technologies that improve the player’s experience. Management further believes quality and unparalleled customer service define the better companies in all industries. In order to better understand trends, management receives and evaluates internally generated market trends for the United States and foreign markets, as well as periodic public and customized market research for the United States and Asia. Providers of such market research are Golf Datatech and The National Golf Foundation that include trends from certain on- and off-course retailers. In addition, we utilize data from other market research firms in Asia.

Our major competitors for putting instruments are TaylorMade, Ping, Acushnet (Scotty Cameron, Titleist brand) and Callaway Odyssey/Toulon brands.

Our major competitors for golf shafts include Fujikura Composites, Inc, Mitsubishi Chemical MCC, Graphite Design, (Asia) Co Ltd, Nippon Shaft Co. Ltd, and Paderson Kinetixx, Taiwan.

All these and other competitors have been in business years longer than we have and have substantially greater resources than we do.

Customers

Our customers include individual golfers as well as wholesalers and retailers, including Club Champion Golf, the international leader in golf club fitting with strategic locations across the USA and internationally.

Available Information

The Company maintains a website at the following address: www.sacksparente.com. The information on the Company’s website is not incorporated by reference in this report. We make available on or through our website certain reports and amendments to those reports that we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”). These include our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. We make this information available on our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or furnish it to, the SEC. In addition, we routinely post on the “Investors” page of our website news releases, announcements and other statements about our business and results of operations, some of which may contain information that may be deemed material to investors. Therefore, we encourage investors to monitor the “Investors” page of our website and review the information we post on that page. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at the following address: http://www.sec.gov.