Best Practice Back UP

Leslie Glove, AGM
Merchandise Manager/Buyer
Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Orlando, FL

Drive Traffic with Creative Promotions

Immediately following the Arnold Palmer Invitational PGA Tour event, everything shut down at Bay Hill due to the Global Pandemic. We were uncertain how long or what impact this would have on the club and golf as a whole. County mandates in Orlando required us to halt normal retail operations on March 17^th, however we could keep the course open, and limit shoppers to no more than four at a time. We had to get creative! To combat the effects of COVID-19, our retail operations rolled out a few special promotions starting in May. These included Mother’s Day Gift Baskets, a COVID-19% sale, Porch Sale and Sip, Shop & Spin by appointment only. These initiatives grossed over $24,000.00 in sales.

The Mother’s Day gift baskets were limited to 24 pre-orders and we ended up getting 25 orders! We had to scramble for that 25^th basket but we made it work! The baskets included items we had in stock such as, a set of three custom candles, a stemless wine glass, eucalyptus spa products, mini bottle of champagne and fresh strawberries (or cookies for the ones being shipped). In addition to these items, we special ordered custom bath robes and slippers. This promotion grossed $3,500.00.

To incentivize our members to patronize the golf shop, I made light of the situation and offered COVID-19% off, on all soft goods. Our members took advantage of this and we were able to move through some new product we had just received in April. We grossed over $6,000.00 in sales during this promotion. Through the monthly AGM Town Hall meetings, I mentioned our COVID-19% sale and it was well received by other clubs and buyers. A few even started similar promotions. Thank you again for setting up the calls! It was very helpful during this stressful time.

Lastly, in May we promoted a Sip, Shop & Spin by appointment only. We ended up scheduling 18 personal shopping appointments within the 10 days we offered the deal. Through F&B I was able to order the members a drink of their choice to have while they shopped. Also, prior to the appointments I handpicked outfits or items I thought the member would be interested in. At the end, the member spun the wheel for their discount. This promotion grossed just over $10,000.00 in retail sales with an average of 22.5 percent discount. We took this idea from the summer and used it to replace our one-night Holiday Open House. Instead of one evening we spread it out over the month of December every Tuesday and Friday evening before Christmas from 6pm-7:30pm. We had several members sign up for the after hours shopping and most said they enjoyed this more than the one-night shopping. They all said it felt a lot more personable and our sales increased over last year’s numbers!

Scot Weller, PGA
General Manager/Head Professional
Auburn Hills Golf Club
Wichita, Kansas

Provide the Best Customer Experience

The stage for our guests’ journey through the facility begins in the golf shop. Our goal is to provide the best customer experience possible each and every day. In addition to engaging our guests, we must have an understanding of the brands, price points & styles that our members and guests support, as well as presenting the merchandise in a visually appealing fashion.

Bobby Jacks, PGA
Head Professional
Baton Rouge Country Club
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Market Services via Instagram

When the pandemic hit, and the golf shop and clubhouse were closed, the club finally started an Instagram account for the entire club. For our private Instagram account, we have 650 followers. We posted daily pics of new merchandise in the golf shop and did “private shopping experiences.” In addition, we were able to run our daily “To-Go Order Specials”, which were a huge success last year! Furthermore, members that were not golfers were able to see that we’re carrying more than just “golf apparel” in the shop. Despite the golf shop and clubhouse being closed for seven weeks and a golf course project in progress, we had our best year ever in the golf shop by 12 percent! In addition, our Christmas sales exceeded $100,000, our best December of all time! Members are watching the Instagram account daily, and often come in and say “I saw the new product on IG.”

John Fields, PGA
Director of Golf
Belmont Country Club
Belmont, Massachusetts

Guest Passes and Balloon Sales

One promotion that has been very popular is an incentive for members who purchase a selected targeted dollar amount within a month’s time to receive free guest passes they can use the next time they have guests to the club. The dollar amount they need to spend in the golf shop is $1,500 within a calendar month, and they will receive two guest passes; if they exceed that and spend $3,000, they will receive an additional two passes. The program is valid throughout the season and the guest passes never expire. This practice has been in place for the past three years, and last season, we gave out 70 free guest passes to roughly 30 members. Most all of these passes are redeemed within the given season. We encourage the members to use the passes, and if the member arrives to the club with guests without the physical certificate, our golf staff knows what members currently possess guest passes and will let them know the pass is going to be applied to the visit.

The other promotion that we run most every year, is our Balloon Sale. We will usually tie this event to a holiday and fill the golf shop with helium balloons. Inside the balloons are discounts that range from 10 to 75 percent off retail, and we will also include a few soft good and hard good items as well as golf lessons and for the grand prize we give a custom fitted driver. Members will make a purchase and at the point of sale they will grab a balloon to pop from the floor, the discount will usually go flying in the air revealing the discount amount or prize. We often see members come back for a second chance and some try and sneak a peek into the balloons to see if they can catch a glimpse of the discount or prize located inside. Many members come into our shop wanting to know when the next Balloon Sale is.

Jameson Wallace, PGA
General Manager & Director of Golf
Chambersburg Country Club
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Clubfitting that Grows with Juniors

With enrollment approaching 90+ juniors from ages 5-14 in our weekly golf academy, we need to provide a way for parents to keep their ever-growing juniors in properly fitting clubs. Thus, our junior rental club program was launched three seasons ago and has really taken off in 2020. Our highly successful program provides a US Kids junior set with a stand bag with a number of clubs based on the junior’s size with more clubs for those that are taller. These lightweight clubs, broken down by sizes for every 3” are perfect for our beginners to use to learn the game. Parents enrolled in the program pay an annual subscription for the service and we guarantee for the duration of the year, their junior’s club will be the proper height. If they outgrow their set, we’ll switch them into the next size, no extra charge. Aside from providing the right equipment for better golf, the financial impact has been strong. With nearly 70 sets in the program, we generate over $6,000 in rental fees each season. Many of the sets have now been rented out three to four years and thus the subscription fees are 100 percent margin. Additionally, we have formed the pipeline of clients for when these juniors need to move to adult sets. We have been the “go-to” for their equipment needs, thus will be their spot when they are ready. Just last year we can track over $15,000 in hard goods sales to prior rental program clients. This is truly a win-win for the clients and our operation.

Elizabeth Anne Greene, AGM
Merchandiser
Cherokee Town and Country Club
Atlanta, Georgia

Turning the Dial on Reopening

Combating the COVID-19 pandemic in our retail operation started with our Governing Board reviewing and approving our outline for the reopening of our retail operation. Providing a safe environment was most important. We did not expand services to the point members or staff were placed at risk, and we put many restrictions in place to guard against the spread of the virus. We wanted our members to know we would continue to navigate carefully and responsibly by following all the CDC guidelines and best practices. Our services came back online gradually. Our implementation process resembled or looked more like the turning of a dial than the flip of a switch. Our progress was determined by our success with each reopening phase and the compliance of members to our guidelines. With lots of hard work by our merchandisers and staff we “made the register ring”, but the posting of sales transpired in a different manner. The staff went to work immediately creating online sales opportunities, which included the bolstering.

Patrick Crow, PGA
Director of Golf
Chicago Highlands Club
Westchester, Illinois

Offer a Guest Experience Package

Having been at Chicago Highlands Club since we opened our doors in 2010, I have been fortunate to see our club grow both literally as we recently opened a new clubhouse, and structurally in membership, programs offered, and amenities provided. We are a young club with many families and working individuals who are very supportive and proud of our facility. Many of these members play on the weekends, leaving the weekdays, predominantly Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday open to much client-related play. Members host colleagues, clients, and customers and we strive to show these guests a great time by offering what we call the Guest Experience Package. This package includes the regular guest and golf car/caddie fees, and adds a Chicago Highlands Club golf shirt and ball marker that we personalize to the guest’s name. We place these items in the guest’s locker before he or she arrives, providing what we consider a wonderful guest experience before they’ve even hit a golf ball. In selecting the shirt, I’ll often choose one that doesn’t necessarily fit into the color schemes and displays that we have set up across our golf shop. At other times, I’ll find one that meets our guest’s size requirements, but might be the last of a style selection we’ve offered that season. With a golf shop full of high-end apparel, any shirt we choose will be a welcome addition to our guest’s wardrobe.

After many years of conducting our retail operation out of a temporary space on the property, we welcomed a beautiful new, permanent clubhouse in 2019. With the new clubhouse came many great opportunities to highlight our golf shop operation, as well as the high level of service we strive to provide. Putting the items in the guest’s locker is a nice touch that they appreciate when they get to the club, making our members look good as well. I estimate between 15 and 20 percent of our guests are treated to this special amenity. It allows us to move merchandise and serves as an invitation for guests to peruse our golf shop after their round, often adding to additional sales and boosting inventory turnover.

Steve Rudd, PGA
General Manager/Head Professional
City Club Marietta
Marietta, Georgia

Creative Barriers

Over the last year we have had to make many adjustments to our daily operations to ensure the safety of our staff and guests. With the implementation of social distancing guidelines, we tried many ways to keep our staff and guests separated during the check-in process including lines on the floor and signage to “Wait Here”. Invariably, guests would just walk right past any visual measures until the day that our Head Professional, David Fore, created the “moat”. By rearranging displays to block access to the counter and by moving the credit card swipe readers out to the ends of the counter, we were able to continue serving our players, but from a safe distance. By using merchandise to maintain distancing, we not only created a safer environment, but we are also able to get better exposure for certain items.

Ryan Coll, PGA
Director of Golf
Columbus Country Club
Columbus, Ohio

Deliver Desired Brands

Merchandising is one of the few aspects in the golf business that is 100 percent in your control. You don’t need to depend on weather to have a successful merchandising program. When my staff and I came to Columbus Country Club five years ago, we were determined to sell brands of clothing and equipment that we were “proud” to sell. As the new faces of the golf department, we knew many eyes were going to be on us, so it was our duty to look the part. We eliminated nearly every brand that was here before us and came in with a completely fresh look. We went from being a shop that sold $59 and $69 golf shirts to $79 to $99 golf shirts. I wanted items in our shop that you couldn’t get at the major box stores. The main push to our members was to be excited about wearing our CCC logo. Whether this be on your golf bag, your hat, or your golf shirt for the day, we wanted our members to wear that logo with pride. Our members had a “what’s on sale” mentality so it was on us to flush that mindset down the drain. We have been able to turn our shop from an 88 percent COS operation into a 63 percent COS operation in just a couple years. Shop sales also went from $190,000 per year to $340,000 in sales on a yearly basis. In the hard good department, we had a one-brand exclusive shop, which in turn forced members to go elsewhere to get the majority of their equipment. I now have a staff that represent all of the major hard good brands in golf and we invested in a Director of Instruction and a Trackman, which has sent hard goods sales and special orders for equipment through the roof. My main goal was to be that place where members could get whatever they wanted at “their” club without having to leave to make their purchases. We have turned in that operation and the majority of our members now know that they can come here and make all of their purchases from a friendly, helpful, and trustworthy staff of golf professionals.

Nick Muller, PGA
Director of Golf
Country Club of Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska

Communicate on All Channels

During COVID-19 we really pushed product knowledge out through all our communication channels: my Retailtribe weekly emails, our mobile shop setup through GoogleDocs, our Instagram page, along with through the ForeTees App. With over 125,000 logins to the app in 2020, it was almost impossible for them not to see what we carried in the shop. Our plan is exactly the same in 2021 as I think we’ve trained them well to pay attention to all the great things we are offering!

Steve David, PGA
Director of Golf & Athletics
Denver Country Club
Denver, Colorado

Personalized Member Shopping Experience

As a result of Covid-19, we created a Personalized Member Shopping experience that enabled members to schedule appointments to enter the Golf Shop, work with a member of the golf staff (personal shopper), without interference from other members – true social distancing. Members were encouraged to schedule their appointment online, 48 hours in advance. At the time of reservation, they were asked about their preference in viewing such as men’s or ladies apparel, footwear, accessories, etc. Once the preference (s) were known, a member of the golf staff was assigned to the member and was required to have selections prepared prior to the appointment. The Personalized attention the membership received was a huge hit. The membership felt safe, pampered and well educated on the offerings presented to them. Our Special Order business actually increased an additional 15% through this promotion, mostly as add-on sales. Overall, the promotion produced sales more than $35,000 in sales – averaging approximately $600 per appointment (member).

Ryan Szydlowski, PGA
Director of Golf
Desert Willow Golf Resort
Palm Desert, California

“FREE” vs. Discount

We incentivize a sale with a “free” item instead of a discount. People become addicted to discounts, they do not become addicted to “FREE”. Run a promotion where if a guests spends a certain amount of dollars they receive a FREE piece of headwear, accessory, etc. The cost of the cap, accessory, etc. may cost the facility $7-$14 in profit, but the key is to make the initial purchase enough to cover what a “discount would cover”; example: instead of offering a 25 percent off discount on Men’s Brand A, offer a free logo cap for any purchase over $100 of Brand A merchandise. Even if the cap costs $15 it does not cost the facility a loss of $25 with the 25 percent off discount. We have run a similar promotional program the entire month of January. Using the POS system we tracked and we were able to extend 68 free hats to qualifying purchases. The biggest way to also increase these sales is to get your staff active in the process. Have them remind guests that the purchase is only $10, $15, $XYZ amount away from the free item give away.

Josue Reyes, PGA
Assistant Golf Professional
Destination Kohler (Whistling Straits & Blackwolf Run)
Kohler, Wisconsin

Showcase Golf Brands in Unique Outlets

COVID-19 sent ripple effects through every element of our lives in 2020. Spring in Wisconsin usually kicks off the golf-season with eager enthusiasts that have been ‘cooped up’ during the long, cold Wisconsin winters. With the governor’s orders to shut down all non-essential businesses due to COVID-19, golfing had been put on hold. The list of what was considered ‘essential’ had quickly been revised, and golf was granted an exception, but with the provision that the golf shops had to remain closed, so our team quickly came up with a solution. The Kohler Co.-owned grocery store (Woodlake Market) was considered essential during the shutdown. We quickly worked with the Woodlake Market team to use some of their space in the front of the store to sell golf retail product. We wanted this to be a “win-win” for golf retail and Woodlake Market, so we established an agreement on two key touch-points: golf retail would supply the inventory and restock the inventory when needed and Woodlake Market would sell the inventory and collect a small percentage fee for the sales space we were being given to showcase and offer our golf retail items; approximately 350 sq. ft. To reconcile monthly, our retail team performs an inventory audit and compares it to the sales generated through the Woodlake Market point of sale, ensuring accuracy of sales and inventory levels. Overall, this was a well-received success story for both Woodlake Market and our golf retail operations. This initiative has allowed us to showcase our golf brand at another outlet and drive incremental sales during a period when our golf shops and retail operations were closed. Due to the early success, a decision has been made to continue to offer our golf retail items until further notice. We have and continue to stock our golf logo gear monthly and generated over $32,000 in sales in 2020 and $1,600 in January 2021.

Aaron Palen, PGA
Head Professional
Duck Woods Country Club
Southern Shores, North Carolina

Enhance Overall Member Experience

With the governor’s ordinance to stay-home, stay-healthy, our golf shop was closed. Thinking outside the box was ever so relevant. Our Callaway fitting cart became a prominent fixture on our practice facility during the shutdown, where clubfitting sales filled the void for non-existent shop sales. With the professional staff providing fittings and clinics that included a fitted wedge, all assisted in a 28.5 percent increase in club sales.

Since 2019, the golf shop has outperformed the previous 10 years’ yearly average shop sales by 25 percent. In fact, even with COVID-19 and the shop being closed for two months, we performed to the same financial standards as in 2019. This is in large, due to the forward thinking back in March by the professional staff. Other small factors attribute to the shop’s performance over the past two years; unique visual merchandising displays, partnerships with specific vendors that meet the demographics of our membership, and small but powerful “wow” moments executed by the team; all enhancing the overall member experience.

Amanda Davis, PGA
Assistant Professional & Buyer
Essex County Club
Manchester, Massachusetts

Create a Loyalty Program

In 2020, we were concerned with the influx of products that may be in the market (not knowing golf was going to have incredible growth) so we thought of a way to develop loyalty from our membership and thank those that shop with us as much as they do. We also really have fought hard against a sale/clearance culture knowing it is a slippery slope. With our new “Golf Shop Loyalty” program, members earn dollars for dollars spent (equivalent of 5 percent) in the golf shop. They are able to spend, once their balance reaches $25 (or $500 total spending across their family). All points expire at the end of the season. We would send updates to members about their loyalty balance in hopes of it being a reminder of our appreciation for their support, and so they could spend incrementally on “bonus items” they earn after big purchases.

Nick Haudek, PGA
Head Professional
Evansville Country Club
Evansville, Indiana

Handwritten Thank You Notes

I keep track of the number of members who spend over $1,000 a year. I think it is important to know your customers. At the end of each year, I send a handwritten thank you to each member who hits the $1,000 mark. We have had 70 more members hit that mark over the last three years totaling 137 (376 total golf members) in 2020. Combined, they alone spent $375,700 in 2020.

Lacy Taylor, AGM
Director of Retail
Foresight Golf LLC
New Braunfels, Texas

Luck of the Irish Sale

During March 1st – March 17th, each customer who purchases anything in the shop (besides their round) gets to pick a gold coin out of the pot. Each coin has a discount printed on it 10 percent off – 50 percent off. Discount applies to all regular priced items. And you have to have everything you want to purchase already on the counter before you draw. It’s a gamble and seems to attract attention.

Scott Ashworth, PGA
Director of Golf
Four Seasons Resorts Lanai, Manele Golf Course
Lanai City, Hawaii

Position Merchandise on High Traffic Routes

Our golf course restaurant, VIEWS, is located near the golf shop. Guests have to walk by the golf shop to get to the restaurant. We have always struggled to get guests to visit the golf shop and see the many logo options we have to purchase. What we started doing was putting a couple of sales racks just outside the golf shop, both men’s and women’s racks, that guests would have to walk by on their way to the restaurant. We found that these guests would not only stop to look at the sales merchandise (everyone loves a deal!), but that they would also end up walking into the golf shop. This has increased sales noticeably, helped with inventory by getting rid of older/sale merchandise, and also allowed us to have the entire shop for new merchandise with no dedicated sales racks in golf shop.

Dennis Bidenstein, PGA
Head Professional
Fox Run Golf Club
Eureka, Missouri

Consider Rounds Played in Merchandise Plan

Since coming back to Fox Run Golf Club in 2019, I find that it is vital to my success is to make sure I use every piece of information that I can to plan for each year. Fox Run is a small private club here in the Gateway Section. We have roughly 150 members playing 10,000 rounds annually. When planning, I make sure that my merchandise plan (Open to Buy) also includes rounds played, guest rounds played, tournament rounds played, and reciprocal rounds played throughout the year. With us having a small membership, having what I need and when I need it is so important. Having too much too soon or, more importantly, having too much too late can be disastrous regarding merchandise in the shop. An example of this would be when I returned in the Winter of 2019; I noticed that our rounds in late March and early April had declined for the past several seasons, not seeing an increase to rounds played until mid and late April. However, the club would receive the bulk of the new merchandise from late February to mid-March. Moving ship dates allowed us to make sure that the new merchandise was displayed at better times. I always want to make sure that we have new merchandise when it fits our schedule of play, not when it’s best to have the vendors ship it to us. The financial benefit for us was making sure we had rounds being played and merchandise going out the door, allowing us to take advantage of dating/terms on vendor invoices. The use of Sales & Inventory reports combined with when rounds are played has also allowed us to increase the number of times we can turn our inventory, allowing the members to see new items throughout the year regularly. The added bonus to this is we now only need a small sale rack, opposed to a large sale table!

Grant Hanson, PGA
Director of Golf
Geneva Golf Club
Alexandria, Minnesota

Display Corporate Merchandise

One very successful merchandising program we have implemented is having examples of corporate merchandise displayed in our shop. Our facility does a lot of corporate orders through local companies and it has turned into a large portion of our business. As people see what we have ordered for other businesses it gets their mind thinking about what they could order.

Brandon Mendes, PGA
General Manager
Glen Eagle Golf Course
Millington, Tennessee

Emphasize Your Brand

One of the biggest changes for our shop was to encourage the brand at Glen Eagle. We created a new logo and made sure it was included on everything in the shop. This included making sure all marketing was focused around “The Eagle”. We even started a marketing campaign around GolftheEagle which further emphasizes our brand.

Keith Clark, PGA
Head Professional
Hillcrest Country Club
Indianapolis, Indiana

Promote Sales via Text Messaging

I love using the text message function through Golf Genius to promote small quantity sales. The first response to click and commit to the sale will nearly always happen in less than two minutes. I sold (five) Theraguns on a special in less than 20 minutes. I typically will promote no more than six of anything and let them know it is first come/first served.

Steven R. Carney, PGA
Master Professional
Holiday Valley Resort
Ellicottville, New York

Offer Wedge Days

This year we believed strongly that many players had no real idea on the possibilities and differences that were available with wedges. So we offered Wedge Days three times during the year which were open to anyone wishing to find out more about what wedge should be used for which shots. So many different lofts, lies, etc. are available and most players really didn’t know all they can do. These are all scoring clubs and extremely important to lowering your score. On site we offered a small discount but customers got a great value with the clinic so most bought a club or two.

Bruce Mohler, PGA
Head Professional
Jacksonville Beach Golf Club
Jacksonville, Florida

Get Involved with Local Area Business Groups

We have been a part of several meetings with the Chamber of Commerce as well as local business groups in their meetings either physical or via Zoom. We have even been asked to give presentations and been the keynote speaker in a few of these meetings to tell the local and regional community what we do and what we can do for their businesses. We have shown them how we can help market their businesses through our promotional materials and in turn they have done the same for us. We have even hosted several meetings for local area businesses here as a residual from us letting them know about our operation and how our dining room could host meetings for them. We now host meetings twice a month with either breakfast or lunch included here and in turn we have picked up new customers for our practice facilities, green fees and golf car fees, charity events and even equipment sales for beginners. Being involved in the local community has gotten our name out and in turn we know we have picked up a solid amount of business at no real marketing cost to us. We did over to 70,000 rounds in 2020 and 64,000 in 2019 when prior to us promoting ourselves with the local community we averaged 38,000 annually since the mid 2000’s.

Barry Hickley, PGA
Head Professional
Jefferson Golf & Country Club
Blacklick, Ohio

Offer Loyalty Reward Programs

We do a lot of business with the Titleist Loyalty Rewarded Program. We are consistently one of the largest clubs in terms of dozens sold in our Section and state. We communicate the program very well every year through many different avenues and our members look forward to it every year.

Lisa Schwinden, PGA
Head Professional
Osgood Golf Course
Fargo, North Dakota

Maximize League Play

Osgood Golf Course is a nine-hole par-33 public course that generates a lot of rounds each year. Many of those rounds played are within the various leagues we have implemented throughout the week. As a municipal course, we get a very social crowd, often a demographic that enjoys the camaraderie of play as much as they enjoy playing the game itself. There are a majority of these golfers who benefit greatly from a scramble format rather than playing their own golf ball. As such, we have organized playing opportunities for many of our golfers to take advantage. These leagues are conducted with a strictly scramble format. Our men’s and women’s leagues are always full and have tee times that run from 2:00 to about 6:30 on their respective days. Women play Tuesday and men play Wednesday, “competing” in teams of five. They pay for the whole season up front – $5 per week that gets redistributed in golf shop credit. With a 25-week season, that’s a significant amount of money being generated in our golf shop in the beginning of the season. We also have a Sunday league, which is a two-person event that runs all day Sunday, incorporating different formats each week – scramble, shamble, etc. Participants pay $5 per person and can play anytime during the day. Most of these players are regular golfers who have already purchased a season pass to play – getting $5 from each of them that gets paid out in shop credit is a weekly windfall for our retail operation. Players can opt to play some weeks and abstain other weeks, demonstrating the laid-back atmosphere of these programs. Handicaps aren’t considered in the scoring – we flight the Sunday groups by gender and age.

Mike Kiel, PGA
Head Professional
Midvale Country Club
Penfield, New York

Contesting to Move Inventory

I started using my 2 year-end Clambakes to move shirts that I’ve had in the shop for the season and they haven’t sold. I would bring all remaining shirts in the shop out to my 4th tee and have a shirt contest. I would sell the shirts for $35 and most of the members and guests would pay cash for them. If anyone purchasing a shirt hit the green they would be entered into a drawing at dinner for additional prizes. This contest over two events allowed me to move 100-150 shirts each year and allowed me to empty out inventory for a fresh start the following spring.

Adam Scott, PGA
Director, PGM and Golf Operations
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, Mississippi

Utilize Social Media Platforms

The best practice I would share is the impact your merchandising operation can have on the perception of your facility. I am so thankful for the technology, specifically the portrait mode on the iPhone, which helps us preset our offerings in a strong/professional manner to our multiple social media accounts.

Greg Wagner, PGA
Director of Golf & Club Operations
Moonlight Basin
Big Sky, Montana

Refresh Logo Offerings

We try and release a new logo or a slight variation of our logo every season. We have many members that come and go throughout the year and shop when they return and see fresh merchandise. For the members that are here a lot, those new logos really stand out and make the person that “has it all” buy something truly new they’ve never seen. We find tremendous impact to our bottom line by coming up with new and creative ways to apply our logos to merchandise.

Duncan Simms, PGA
Head Professional
Oak Creek Golf Club
Irvine, California

Offer Apparel Combos

At Oak Creek Golf Club, we bundled the recent Nike Air Jordan Shoe release with a top and bottom combo. The Jordan golf shoe release is always extremely popular and typically sells out within the first 30 minutes. For the most recent release, we offered the shoes alongside a top and bottom combination of the guest’s choosing. Leveraging the demand for the shoes allowed us to sell an additional 18 pieces. The financial impact of this program was $4,200 vs. a typical impact of $2,300 for the same program without the apparel combo.

Jason Ballard, PGA
Head Professional
Oak Hill Country Club
Rochester, New York

Invest in Staff Development

Regardless of the type of golf facility you call home, it is important to develop the skills and capabilities of your staff, so they have the tools to provide the high-level of service your members and/or customers deserve. At the storied Oak Hill Country Club, we have nine PGA Professionals on board – from the PGA Director of Instruction to the PGA Tournament Director to the PGA Director of Play / Caddie Manager. As the PGA Head Professional, I count on my PGA Assistant Professionals and PGA interns to deliver the highest level of service possible, as well as learn to coach, administer quality tournaments & outings, and not only possess a high level of product knowledge in the golf shop, but have the communication skills to engage members and guests in the sales process. Growing our young PGA Professionals from their earliest days in the industry is a vital aspect of my job and a mission by which I have conducted business for years. Our goal is to get them the jobs that will pay them the salaries they warrant, and give them opportunities to attain the positions for which they strive. Education is a key factor in this endeavor, and out of this philosophy of staff development came “Oak Hill University.” Through OHU, we provide seminars that teach our young PGA Professionals everything from personal finances and goal setting to TPI fitness and club repair. We bring in speakers when needed, but most of the seminars are hosted by the PGA Professionals on our staff. We hosted 19 such seminars in 2019 and welcome staff from our HR department, food & beverage, and other departments when topics are relevant to them. These seminars average 90 minutes in length and are the foundation of staff education at Oak Hill. Oak Hill University was established in 2014, after I saw a similar structure render huge success and opportunities for a fellow PGA Professional, Cameron Wiebe. It is important to aid in your staff’s career development by providing opportunities for knowledge and growth. Success often hinges on education, and hiring individuals who want to get to the next level is what we do at Oak Hill. Because of the benefits young professionals attain through Oak Hill University and our culture of education, our turnover rate is low. PGA Assistant Professionals leave us better than when they arrived, and they leave us for more advantageous opportunities – their first PGA Head Professional position perhaps, or other positions that provide them a clear path to success as PGA Professionals. A huge benefit that cannot go unmentioned is the service and experience these highly-motivated and increasingly-educated professionals deliver to our members and guests. For member-satisfaction and retention, this is an invaluable byproduct of the supportive and nurturing environment we have at our facility. I have two dozen books on customer service on my desk – I require staff to read them and deliver a summary of what they learned. Hiring motivated individuals as we do, my requirement is often irrelevant, as the thirst for knowledge our staff possesses can’t be forced upon them – they have it when they get here.

Tim Fleming, PGA, AGM
Head Professional
Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Before the onset of Covid-19, we looked forward to spring 2020 with great anticipation and excitement. Our golf course underwent a 14-month renovation and we were on the brink of reopening. We had big plans for our Spring Fling party, various events, and our highly-coveted member-guest event. As the industry embraced the many challenges and restrictions of the pandemic; we knew we needed to be very strategic in the way we engaged with our membership. This provided us an opportunity to develop our social media presence in a more consistent and impactful way. Even though our Golf Shop was closed for just a few weeks, we continued to post videos on Instagram and Facebook to let our members know about new products, promotions, and holiday gift ideas. We measured the success of these posts by the reactions they received and ultimately the sales of these products. Our most successful promotion thus far has been the sales of our golf course map belt.

Growing the Game

Kevin Edwards, PGA
Director of Golf
Olde Homestead Golf Club
New Tripoli, Pennsylvania

Utilize “Closeouts”

Having a very small shop and being a public facility we face a number of challenges, especially with space and getting the most of our inventory. One of the major things that I have implemented since arriving at Olde Homestead is the use of “closeouts”. I am able to get packages from Antigua, Donald Ross and FootJoy just to name a few. By purchasing these items at a good discount it allows me to offer quality goods to our customers and reasonable pricing while still maintaining a good profit margin. Mixing these items with current groups keeps the shop fresh and profitable. I also purchase some shoes and bags like this and it definitely adds to the bottom line.

Marianne Zabbo, PGA
Retail Buyer
Pebble Beach Company
Pacific Grove, California

Share Inventory with Neighboring Facilities

One of our best practice ideas on a merchandising program implemented at Pebble Beach resorts was to share inventory between non-competing stores, at different facilities, and using replenishment for longer periods of time. We have seen less markdowns and greater sell-through by having more product on hand and for longer periods of time.

Grace Hurley, PGA
Director of Sports Retail
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Make Money On Your Sale Rack

We utilized lower priced products and put those on our sale rack at an $80+ price point. This in turn keeps us making money on our sales rack instead of losing the money on a full price item.

Mike Rogers, PGA
Director of Golf
Raven Golf Club at Snowshoe Mountain
Snowshoe, West Virginia

Golf Shop Certificates as Prizes

We do a weekend promotion called “The Green Game” where we have a girl stationed on the 12th tee (a 165-yard par-3) and she takes bets on whether the customer will hit the green. If the player hits the green they double their bet in the form of a golf shop gift certificate, good only that weekend. If they miss the green they get what they bet in the form a golf shop gift certificate. The customer sees a perceived win either way and all we are doing is just giving a discount on the merchandise for the winners. The business impact is that nearly every customer plays and we have about a 40 percent win rate on the hole. Overall we do about 40 percent of our merchandise business with this game.

Susan Farrell Morrison, AGM
Merchandise Manager
Red Sky Golf Club
Wolcott, Colorado

Connect with Your Customers

We focus on many different aspects of retail best practices but most importantly we believe connection with the customer is imperative. One of the ways we try to execute this is through staff training, recognition and retention. The staff having knowledge of your product offerings, fabric and fit is essential to selling. It gives them the opportunity to open dialogue and create a connection with the customers. During COVID-19 when in-person connection was limited we communicated new offerings, online shopping, and pick up and drop off via emails, newsletters and social media. We would talk to the customer and get an idea of what they are looking for then put a bag together of options and have it waiting for them when they arrive. They could grab it after their round and take home to try on then they could drop off and keep what they liked and we would bill them. It worked out great and women loved that they could go home and shower and then try on items and see how it worked in with their closet. This is something that we will continue to offer and even elaborate on. Connecting staff with guests is a great way to boost sales and gives the staff a feeling of accomplishment and invested in the retail success.

Caroline Basarab, AGM
Director of Retail
Reynolds Lake Oconee
Greensboro, Georgia

Use Increased Rounds to Solidify Relationships and Shore up Equipment Sales

With the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the nation, people were encouraged to stay home, but golf allowed them to enjoy the outdoors in a safe environment. Our rounds at Reynolds have increased dramatically since reopening our six golf courses. We even saw new players take up the game along with others who came back for the opportunity to enjoy our beautiful golf courses. I feel people were using their down time researching the latest and greatest golf equipment for 2020. Since they are already playing more golf, they wanted exchange their outdated golf clubs for new equipment. Even the beginners taking up the game wanted to invest in the latest technology. We launched our demo schedule on June 26th with 16 events through October 11, which also included a “Women Only” demo day. We complied with the CDC guidelines with fitters in a separate designated area wearing masks, gloves and social distancing when possible. Because of the extra precautions, we were only allowed to schedule six to eight one-hour fittings. This would give us enough time to sanitize the clubs and any other equipment before the next fitting. Our members book online their reservations through our Reynolds member website and within six hours, the demo day is completely booked.

The result of our 16 demo days was sales of approximately $98,000 and counting, with orders arriving daily. In addition, our lesson revenue has increased since new people are taking up the game as well as the avid golfer wanting to lower their scores. The biggest impact is the opportunity to see and reconnect with our membership during this difficult time. I feel we have all missed the face-to-face interactions with our friends, family and members with the pandemic. The increase in rounds allows our golf professionals to see our members, giving us the opportunity to understand their golf games and equipment. I feel when we invest our time to help our members, they will be loyal supporters, taking more golf lessons and purchasing golf equipment from our shops.

Justin Forster, PGA
Head Professional
Ridgewood Country Club
Danbury, Connecticut

Create a Unique Shopping Experience for Your Members and Guests

In our continued efforts to grow the game and create successful businesses, it is important to provide exceptional experiences for members and customers, whether through special events, a great practice facility, or a unique golf shop that serves their golfing needs and provides a special shopping experience every time they visit. I feel that my retail philosophy or approach is rather distinctive. Rather than carry the same brands and lines as most other shops, I prefer to carry unique, sometimes obscure brands that are as big a draw as the rest of our facility. What I do is look to how the boutiques or specialty shops are doing it. It creates a more exciting retail landscape and enjoyable experience highlighting an interesting assortment of goods that one might find in Palm Beach, Southampton, or Greenwich. When a shopper sees these “off the beaten path” types of brands, it entices them to really look around. They find some things that are specific to the shop at Ridgewood – and it keeps them coming back in every time they visit. They understand that the shop on a Friday may look very different than it did on Tuesday. I get a lot of small shipments constantly, rather than big bulk deliveries. This is how we stay fresh and new, no matter how often a member enters our doors. We offer as many non-golf brands as we do those who specialize in products for our game. We notice many members wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses, not a brand you see in many golf shops, but they fit perfectly into our retail theme. We put a lot of energy into the décor of the shop to create a warm and quaint atmosphere. Now in my third year owning the golf shop, it has always been my philosophy to create a golf shop unlike any other.

Greg Bryan, PGA
Head Professional
Roaring Fork Club
Basalt, Colorado

Let Them Own It!

At Roaring Fork Club, we provide each assistant with the responsibility for all categories of products but provide each of them with a specific category where par values are integral to keeping the right amount of stock and increasing turns. Year after year our most successful integration of this concept comes with our shoe program. At the beginning of the year, we receive our shoes in from three different vendors and that begins our “in-stock” program. Each time a pair of shoes is sold, its brand, style, color and size are recorded on a document. On Sunday evening this document is reviewed along with any other special orders that have come in over the past three days to process a refill order. On Monday morning before the golf shop opens, a refill order is placed for each pair of shoes that was sold in the prior seven days and any special orders from the past three days. Typically, even though we’re located in the remote mountains of Colorado, we receive these products in three to four days. This quick turn and attention to detail ensures that we are never “out of business” on sizes or styles and also allows us to see what is selling in real time versus what isn’t. When certain styles are identified as slow-movers we will typically send them back for full credit, less restocking, to our vendors so that we can free up dollars for future refills or bringing in a fresh style. The result of this process, while having a monetary component, is better measured by member and guest satisfaction when going through the shoe buying process. We are almost never out of a size or style which satiates their desire to get the pair that they wanted and rarely do we have to special order product, given our breadth of inventory, causing more expense and a longer wait time for the member.

Craig Hunter, PGA
Director of Golf
Sand Point Country Club
Seattle, Washington

Create Online Promotions

This spring I’ve worked with some vendors in creating online promotions and showcasing product where members order online. This has been really helpful with added sales and getting my shop products in front of my membership. Callaway, Nike and johnnie-O have been especially good at developing a Sand Point online store; the membership has been very supportive which I’m so grateful for.

Nick Knee, PGA
Head Professional
Sandia Golf Club
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Incorporate Lifestyle Pieces

With the majority of our traffic and business comprised of resort guests and high limit gamers we tailored our open to buy to their buying trends and implemented more lifestyle pieces. This included luggage items, lifestyle footwear and high-end accessory items. This proved to be our most successful year of merchandise sales as any year as we became the preferred outlet to guests and VIP gamers.

Jonathan Parsons, PGA
General Manager of Golf Operations
Schaumburg Golf Club
Schaumburg, Illinois

Personal Clubfitting Appointments

Due to COVID-19, our golf shop opening was delayed. In turn, our focus was on selling equipment through a personal clubfitting appointment. The clubfitting fee could be applied to purchase of a custom fitted club. The custom fitted sales went very well.

Mark Bayer, PGA
Head Professional
Sugar Springs Golf Club
Gladwin, Michigan

Surpass Expectations

Know what your base wants and needs are and try to surpass their expectations. Eighty to ninety percent is from my annual fee payers but we have built the brand and expanded to other leisure areas to grow the business 10-15 yearly over the past 10 years. Being in the shop and the face of the brand has helped along with all staff in on new arrivals so even the cart staff preps clientele for new arrivals.

Jeffrey Petersen, PGA
Director of Golf
Sun Valley Golf Resort
Sun Valley, Idaho

Accessories! Accessories! Accessories!

Unique one-of-a-kind logo items are a goldmine. These are not “big ticket” or “grand” items but added together can make and have made a big difference to the bottom line. These purchases can include, logo headwear, flasks, flags, dog collars, etc.; merchandising these items with usual displays and linking sales has been a great success. A $20 item here and $50 there. By the end of the season it is certainly noticeable! Our accessory categories nearly doubled in year one and continue to grow annually. This year was nearly $70,000 in sales and $40,000 in profit. Retail is not an exact science and is difficult. Spending time in the shop allows you to know your customers and see your market opportunities.

Amy Pendergast, AGM
Director of Retail
Sunriver Resort
Sunriver, Oregon

Create Urgency with Weekly Promotional Offers

In 2020, the resort was closed for almost two months as management navigated strategies for operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. It wasn’t long after closing that the state decided golf would be allowed to continue. We were able to operate the courses while keeping resort buildings closed to the public. With a few new spring deliveries arriving, we had to quickly find a way to make our retail accessible to our members who couldn’t enter the golf shop. We decided to send weekly, promotional emails featuring a different brand. For example, we had just received our shipment of FootJoy shoes so we photographed our new styles and offered them at a discounted price. They could elect to have the product placed in their golf car during their next round, we could hold the product for them, or we offered free shipping for those who may not have yet traveled back to the area. And so this continued for about five weeks, with each week offering a new product. To create a sense of urgency we only offered the promotion for one week – until it was replaced by the next item. These weekly promotional emails helped generate over $5,000 in retail sales and allowed us to engage the membership in a new way.

Ryan Steele, PGA
Head Professional
Swan Lake Resort
Plymouth, Indiana

Extend Buying Period

We are a unique facility in our area as we are very much seasonal and have the largest percentage of our rounds come from stay and play guests. The merchandising approach was to load up on items early in the spring and then work through the season with minimal fill ins and new orders. Over the last couple of seasons I have worked to spread out our buying over a longer time period and extend our selling season deeper into the offseason. We have seen improved sales all the way into December over the last couple of seasons. The pandemic did effect our overall results, but we were able to exceed initial ownership projections by over 15 percent.

Brad Lardon, PGA
Director of Golf
The Club at Las Campanas
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Merchandising Outside the Box

This crazy COVID-19 pandemic has definitely got us thinking outside the box. We are located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The restrictions in New Mexico are and have been some of the strictest in the country. Because of this our golf shop traffic has been not what we are accustomed to. Because of this we have begun working with as many of our partners as possible, utilizing microsites. These were very successful especially during the holiday season this year. Basically, with retail shut down in New Mexico we were the only game in town for our 800 members. Not only did we target the normal golf membership, but we have been targeting the entire membership. What we have found is that equestrian, tennis and social members still wanted and needed product as well. They are also now very aware of the types of products that golf sells. Also, since we have branched out into more lifestyle pieces the past few years, we can now target the entire membership as potential buyers. Microsites have been a great hit with the membership and allowed us to achieve our budgeted sales goals for 2020 in a year where golf shop traffic was minimized because of COVID-19.

Jeff Selts, PGA
Golf Professional Emeritus
The Club at Rolling Hills
Golden, Colorado

Be Proactive in Driving Golf Shop Sales

It’s surely been a transformative year in the golf industry, as we have welcomed many new golfers and welcomed back others who had stepped away from the game. Being one of the more accessible activities for people to take part in, golf has been a refuge for so many people during this time of pandemic. Golf shops should take this opportunity to drive merchandise sales and fully engage their members and customers and promote their goods and services to the masses. This process begins with making members feel comfortable and important, fostering a family atmosphere. It consists of conversation around our golf shop and digital communication via email and social media to market the many retail opportunities available to these individuals. With almost 700 members, a third of whom can be classified as non-golfers, we are not afraid to try new brands and carry non-golf items. We have merchandise to attract all members to our golf shop, including those non-golfing members. We also proactively educate members in the merchandise available through special orders – this encompasses roughly 30 percent of our business. Much of this includes hard goods sought through custom clubfitting using some of the leading technology in the industry. We can’t carry everything, but we can get anything a member may desire. In addition, we strive to supplement the retail sales we gain from daily play by proactively driving corporate business. With 150-200 business owners on our member roster, these individuals are always looking for logoed apparel, accessories and golf balls. Corporate sales add almost 20 percent to our golf shop’s bottom line.

These days, being proactive is the only way to conduct business, especially when it comes to providing exemplary service and increasing golf shop sales from year to year. We even make good use of a snowy day, sitting down to send emails to engage members on events, sales and holiday shopping opportunities. Creating a welcoming atmosphere sets the stage for the success we strive for – people will be more inclined to put their trust in you, whether for a simple golf shirt or their next OR first set of golf clubs. Engaging with members on any of these topics helps create relationships that carry over to all other areas of your facility. We must continue to drive more revenue for our club – you will fall behind otherwise. By boosting sales and keeping operational costs low, the club’s bottom line will reflect positively on your proactive efforts to engage members in person, carry quality merchandise, establish relationships that facilitate special orders and use email and social media to reach out to people during slower periods, teaching your assistant professionals what our business is all about.

Jason Horricks, PGA
Director of Golf/Head Professional
The Jewel at Grand Hotel
Mackinac Island, Michigan

Taking Advantage of the Facility Logo

Many facilities have a logo that tells a story and makes their property unique. The competition for golf facilities is vast when trying to grab business from consumers. Our golf merchandise operation utilizes our facility logo in all of the items that we display in the golf shop. Grand Hotel which is located on Mackinac Island is a very unique location. Mackinac Island banned the use of automobiles in 1898; the mode of transportation on the island is either by bicycle or horse and carriage. Our logo utilizes the horse and carriage to tell the unique story of where the Grand Hotel is located. Many of our guests come into our facility to take home some type of memento to remember their stay at our resort. The use of our logo in our merchandise operation is key to grabbing the consumer’s attention. Over the years, we have tried items that do not feature the logo and, ultimately, those products didn’t do well. We have successfully moved away from those items and now feature our logo on all of the items displayed in the shop. It is also important to use unique logos on your merchandise for special events that take place. A few years ago we took advantage of the resort’s 125th anniversary and used a special logo on some of our products during that season. We had a hard time keeping up with the demand for those products that included that feature. If your facility has a well known and unique brand, it is important to display that in the merchandise operation to set your operation apart from the competition. Taking advantage of your logo in the merchandise operation can be beneficial in a few ways. When a customer buys your facility logo on a golf shirt and they travel across the country displaying that logo, it can be a great marketing value to the facility. Having the logo on your product mix will make your products stand out from the competition, and having that unique brand will make the demand for your inventory attractive to your customers. If you utilize your facility logo effectively you can also create a higher value for the items you display. Many of the margins we make on our logo items are higher than what a discount or department store would have. For example, a custom box of golf balls can be priced much higher than non-logoed balls sold by the competition. If your logo is used effectively, this strategy can be applied to all of the product mix to allow for greater margins in the retail operation.

Brian Schmersahl, PGA
Head Professional
The Legends Country Club
Eureka, Missouri

Wine & Whiskey

We have focused in on our wine and whiskey groups to increase sales in our stemware category – offering packages for our tasting events has been a huge success and will continue to grow!

Rob Clark, PGA
Director of Golf
The Ledges of Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama

Implement Instagram

With COVID-19 restrictions in play for all of 2020, we had to come up with new ideas during our holiday season because members were not shopping. So we came up with the idea to use Instagram for the 12 days of Christmas where we picked a particular item and promoted it with the sizing as well. We were able to sell almost all products and we wrapped and did pull-up delivery. We were able to sell roughly 50 units of products through this that may not have been sold had we not done this program. it was a small piece of business but it was just another way to provide a member experience under unusual circumstances.

Benji Boyter, PGA
Manager of Retail
The Sea Pines Resort
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Buying “Narrower and Deeper”

The idea of buying “narrower and deeper” isn’t anything new, but most think that means buying fewer lines and buying deeper within those lines. We’ve taken it a step further and started buying fewer styles within lines and going very deep with our size runs. Instead of buying 16 polos from a vendor for example, we may only buy eight and go with deeper size runs. This works for us for several reasons: 1. Allows us to truly pick the “best of the best” styles to ensure better sell-through. 2. Allows us to get more sizes per style out on the floor so we have less missed sale opportunities because of missing sizes. 3. We’re a resort location so we have a different customer walking in the shop on a weekly, if not daily basis. While this approach may not work everywhere, it works for us and we’ve seen significant revenue growth at both of our golf facilities as we’ve narrowed our selections.

Miles Blundell, PGA
Director of Golf Operations
Turning Stone Resort Casino
Verona, New York

Create Unique Areas

In the last few years we went “all-in” on two different projects. The first involved taking two indoor tennis courts at Turning Stone’s Sportsplex and turning them into a unique indoor short game area. The short game area that we created is 17,000 square feet and has elevation changes of nearly 10 feet. It has three greens, a bunker and various lengths of synthetic turf that create fairway, first cut, second cut and deep rough areas for practice, instruction and clubfitting. With uphill, downhill, and side slopes you can create just about any shot situation. With the addition of the area it’s allowed us to more effectively club fit 365 days a year which is challenging in the Northeast. The space created a perfect fitting space and with it we’ve increased our wedge and putter revenue significantly. We also introduce the Golf Show at Turning Stone. The facilities at Turning Stone create a perfect consumer show location at the Sportsplex.

Donny Kirkpatrick, PGA
Head Professional
Wampanoag Country Club
West Hartford, Connecticut

Hold Sales During Mid-Season

Have your big sale in the middle of your season instead of the end of the year. When you do it in the middle of the season you have more inventory. It allows you to show off new and old inventory and more options for those that are shopping, instead of just “what’s remaining”.

Jay Dufty, PGA
Director of Golf
Washington Golf & Country Club
Arlington, Virginia

Keeping Members Engaged

As the pandemic hit in late March we were coming into our golf season. Due to the uncertain circumstances of whether we would remain open or closed, we worked with a variety of vendors to create online ordering sites to fulfill orders and have items drop shipped directly through vendors. We secured orders for over 112 pairs of pants, 86 pairs of shorts, and many items as we kept our membership engaged. Working with vendors to help partner in a myriad of ways was essential for us.

Linda McGurin, PGA
Pro Shop Manager/Buyer
Wentworth by the Sea Country Club
Rye, New Hampshire

Monday Guest Special

On Mondays, if we do not have an outing booked, we offer a “Monday Guest Special”. Members may bring up to 3 guests for a discounted guest fee which includes a pre-made sandwich selection and beverage. We send out an email reminder alerting the members to the open Monday. This is a win-win for both the members and the club.

Vince Pulizzano, PGA
Head Professional
Westmoor Country Club
Brookfield, Wisconsin

Mirror Your Service Levels to Amazon

Customers want product now. While they are willing to wait for special orders, they expect fast delivery. Train your staff to place orders once they come in rather than wait for a day or two. When it comes to returns, always take items back! Customers will become more loyal if they know you take returns. With multiple avenues for excess inventory it’s never been easier to off-load returned items.