Sector: Consumer Discretionary
ACUSHNET HOLDINGS CORP · Meeting: June 8, 2026
Directors FOR
8
Directors AGAINST
0
Say on Pay
FOR
Auditor
FOR
Election of Directors
CEO and director since 2018; GOLF's 3-year total return of +109% outperforms the peer group median of +4.4% by +104.8pp, well below the 65pp underperformance threshold needed to trigger a vote against, so no TSR concern applies.
Chairman since 2011 with deep consumer-products and sporting-goods experience; stock performance during his tenure is strongly positive and well ahead of peers, so no TSR trigger applies.
Joined the board in 2023, within the 24-month new-director exemption window, so she is exempt from the TSR trigger; she also brings strong financial expertise as a sitting CFO, satisfying audit committee qualifications.
Director since 2016 with extensive finance and private-equity background; GOLF's strong outperformance versus peers means the TSR underperformance trigger does not apply, and no other policy flags are present.
Joined in 2022 and is the CFO of the controlling shareholder Misto; while he brings relevant financial and consumer-products experience, his tenure began in 2022 and the TSR trigger does not fire given GOLF's strong outperformance versus peers.
Director since 2021 with extensive consumer-brand CEO experience; the proxy notes her J.Crew tenure coincided with a pre-planned bankruptcy restructuring, which is disclosed as other matters, but the TSR trigger does not apply given GOLF's strong relative performance.
Director since 2016 with deep M&A and investment-banking expertise; GOLF's 3-year TSR of +109% outperforms the peer median by +104.8pp, far below the 65pp threshold needed to trigger a vote against, so no TSR concern applies.
Son of Chairman Gene Yoon and CEO of the controlling shareholder Misto; the familial relationship to the Chairman (a fellow director, not a company officer) is noted but does not meet the policy's primary concern of proximity to senior management of the company itself, and the TSR trigger does not apply given GOLF's strong outperformance.
All eight nominees receive a FOR vote. GOLF's 3-year total return of +109% outperforms the compensation peer group median of +4.4% by +104.8pp, well short of the 65pp underperformance threshold required to trigger against votes under our policy. Leanne Cunningham is exempt from the TSR check as a director joining within the past 24 months. Kevin Yoon's familial relationship with Chairman Gene Yoon is noted but does not trigger a policy flag given the relationship is between two non-executive directors rather than between a director and a senior company officer. No overboarding, attendance, or independence concerns were identified.
CEO
David Maher
Total Comp
$10,635,556
Prior Support
99%%
CEO David Maher's total reported pay of $10.6 million is reasonable for a Consumer Cyclical company with a $5.9 billion market cap and is within acceptable range for this role and sector. The pay program is well-structured: approximately 61% of the CEO's total pay came from equity awards (split 40% time-based restricted stock and 60% performance stock awards), and the performance stock awards use three-year cumulative operating income and return on invested capital goals — meaningful long-term metrics rather than easily manipulated short-term targets. The 2023-2025 performance stock awards paid out at 125% of target reflecting genuine above-target business performance, and annual cash incentive pay came in at 98.7% of target reflecting near-miss EBITDA results — both consistent with actual company performance. Shareholders gave over 99% support at the 2025 annual meeting, the company has a meaningful clawback policy updated in 2023 to comply with NYSE and SEC rules, and GOLF's stock has returned +109% over three years versus a peer median of +4.4%, demonstrating strong pay-for-performance alignment.
Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Tenure
N/A
Audit Fees
$5,786,244
Non-Audit Fees
$1,446,944
Adding up all non-audit fees (audit-related fees of $825,673, tax fees of $601,412, and all other fees of $19,859) gives total non-audit fees of $1,446,944, which equals approximately 25% of core audit fees of $5,786,244 — well below the 50% threshold that would raise independence concerns. PwC is a Big Four firm appropriate for a $5.9B market-cap company. Auditor tenure is not explicitly disclosed in the proxy, so the tenure trigger cannot fire and a FOR vote applies.
This is a straightforward annual meeting ballot with three standard proposals — director elections, say on pay, and auditor ratification — and no stockholder proposals. All proposals receive a FOR vote: GOLF's exceptional three-year stock performance (+109% versus a peer median of +4.4%) removes any TSR-based concern for the director slate, the CEO pay program is well-structured with meaningful performance conditions and strong shareholder support, and PwC's non-audit fees are well within acceptable limits at roughly 25% of audit fees.
17 companies disclosed in 2026 proxy filing
