The "sweeping wave of market-inspired cold feet" that
has "buried" the plans of many Internet companies "hoping to
mount" an IPO "may have insinuated itself into the
increasingly competitive milieu of the online golf market,"
according to Darryl Owens of GOLFWEEK. Neither Chipshot.com
nor LiquidGolf.com would comment about their IPO plans, and
despite "word" that TheGolfer.com was "looking at a full
sprint toward a spring" IPO, company Dir of Marketing Tracy
Nackel said, "At this time we do not have imminent plans to
go public." Golf services network ezlinks.com Senior
VP/Marketing Colette Hogan: "It is interesting to watch
companies that had been making a lot of noise in the golf
industry with round-the-clock press releases ... slowly, and
very quietly, moving away from their very publicly stated
IPO dates." Owens writes that some online golf companies
"probably concluded it best to weigh anchor for [a] spell in
safe private harbor" rather than going public.
TeeMaster.com CEO Michael Hsu: "From an IPO perspective,
waiting would seem prudent at the current time." But Hogan
said the "volatility is here to stay until we become more
discerning and raise our expectations of how a company needs
to be positioned before going public." Also, Forrester
Research "predicts that most online retailers will splinter
like a tee by year's end, whacked by weak financials, a glut
of competition and weak-kneed investors" (GOLFWEEK, 5/6).
