Dustin Ames
Head Professional
Jug Mountain Ranch
Attending the annual PGA Golf Merchandise Show in Orlando is a priority for me. This opportunity allows me to see the current industry trends, as well as new lines that I may want to bring into my shop the following year. Due to the remote location of Jug Mountain Ranch, not all sales reps come to see me. We need to offer a unique mix of merchandise in the golf shop. I feel that by changing up vendors and lines that we carry, our golf shop stands apart from other shops that tend to feature the same vendors year after year. This show has benefited my facility as well as myself so greatly that I have begun mentoring a fellow golf professional by bringing him to the show with me.
George Ancuta
Head Professional
Deerwood Club
Being Fresh and Promoting Team Spirit
It might be a challenge, however look for something unique to bring into the golf-shop. This might need to be on a limited basis to peak customer’s interest. Having items such as logo etched glassware from Sterling Glassware or Signs by the Sea, Sweatshirts, Tee shirts, coasters, charcuterie boards with club logo or name-drops, with limited quantities sparks conversations and purchases. Keeping it interesting drives additional foot traffic. We also provide some of these items to our restaurant staff. The waitresses and bartenders provide great advertisement and promotion. They actually bring our members into the golf-shop, leading them right to the garments, glassware, and tchotchkes. As the club’s leader, it’s been a mission to bring all club staff members together to strive towards a vision that everyone can be proud and accountable in achieving. This team spirit has increased member participation and revenue in merchandise and food and beverage sales, significantly exceeding planned budgets.
Sumayah Arcusa
Assistant Professional
Washington Golf & Country Club
We have conducted microsites that allow members to shop online. Polo Ralph Lauren has done a great job of spearheading this effort.
Matt Bailey
Director of Golf
Forest Highlands Golf Club
Loyalty Event
Throughout the golf season we track member spending (not including credit book). Members who spend a $1,000 or more for the current golf season are invited to an end of season (Fall) Loyalty Event. The event begins at 6:00pm ending at 8:00pm and includes Hors d’Oeuvres, wine and beer at no cost to the members. We combined merchandise from both golf shops into one golf shop. All of the stock merchandise is provided to the members at a discount, 40%-50% off. We also invite our top vendors to bring their Spring merchandise for members to view and order. Our members get an opportunity to view and purchase the Spring merchandise, at a discount, before their other clubs put it on their floor. Being a seasonal club, this allows us to reduce our current inventory before we close for the winter and bring in sales with special order merchandise while we are closed. At the 2022 event we sold $16,000 of inventory and an additional $17,000 in special orders in the 2 hour period.
Thomas Barksdale
General Manager
Prairie Dunes Country Club
To create more engagement in the retail operation we have focused on training a larger group of the club team on what happens in and around the retail store. Added knowledge, excitement and conversation about new products, upcoming deliveries and opportunities to create special moments for members and guests has helped create an added level of engagement with retail at the club with both the club team and the membership. The added engagement has allowed higher levels of service to be created and made the retail operation a club amenity that enhances the experience across the club.
Shawn Barnes
General Manager / Director of Golf
Gateway National Golf Links
I partnered with a local company called 31FORE (the area code for St. Louis is 314) that offers shirts, t-shirts, hats, head covers & other accessories.
We carry their products on consignment and it has done very well!
Caroline Basarab, PGA
Director of Retail
Reynolds Lake Oconee
Mark Bayer, PGA
Head Professional
Sugar Springs Golf Club
Utilizing “themed” events in and around Covid and holidays to generate play and increase attendance.
Examples:
Sanitizer Scramble, One Person Scramble, Executive Order Open and we continued some of these post Covid.
Also, Highlighted American Themed clothing in and around Veterans event yearly with Fairway & Greene goods.
Gary Bebelaar, PGA
Head Professional
Big Spring Country Club
We have three indoor trackman simulators that stay busy year round and especially busy during weather that doesn’t allow for golf outside. With the simulators and our “Bunker Bar” adjacent to the golf shop we have made Super Bowl squares a large financial impact on retail sales in January. We print an empty board without team names other than NFC along the top and AFC along the side on our plotter printer. We allow members to write their name on squares of their choice while they enjoy the bar and simulators. As each Board fills up we email out the board complete with numbers they have drawn on the board for their review, as well as the announcement of a new board. A large number of members will ask us to pick them a certain number of squares on each and every board. We sell the squares for $20 each and take in $2000 per board. At the end of each quarter we draw a winner and they win the choice of $500 in Golf Shop Credit or a new Custom Fit driver. Our reps help us out and allow us to use event discount. Last year we competed 11 boards, or $22,000. A member called me on the Moe you the Super Bowl and asked me when the last time I sold 44 drivers on one day in February was, followed by a Congratulations. Our members love following the Boards and adds to their interest in the Super Bowl.
Kyle Benish, PGA
Head Professional
Holiday Valley Resort
We buy very affordable polo’s that are embroidered with our logo and have them outside on our sales rack. The sales rack is outside the shop everyday except if it is raining. The sales racks are located right next to our cart return area.
Robert Birtel
Director of Golf Operations
Casa de Campo Resort & Villas
Working with our Golf Sales team, we have had great success adding a retail component into our custom group golf packages. This allows us to send welcome gifts to our guests, which gives an added personal touch, and allows us to continue to move merchandise. We will use this same strategy as well with gift cards, which of course allows guests to pick out what they want.
We have also been working more and more with our Sales / Groups team to create mobile pro shops for meeting and incentive groups. We set up this shop at the groups check in or registration, have merchandise displayed and guests can pick a gift. This is an easy way for groups to give their guests a gift with out having to worry about shipping/importing items.
Jim Bishop
Director of Golf \ GM
Willow Lake Golf Club
Raffle Boards during college football season, March Madness raffle boards, PGA Tour Majors events Pro-Ams for Saturday events. Generates over $25K per year in member gift certificates used for pro shop merchandise purchases only.
Friday Night 4-Hole Skins Game. Averages over 50 players per week with a $20 entry fee. $5 to cart revenue and $15 to prize money in form of pro shop gift certificates for the winners. 50 players times $15 per player generates $750 per event in pro shop revenue thru merchandise sales each week. We start March 11th the first Friday after time changes and go thru the last Friday before time changes November 2nd. Last year we had 32 events averaging just over 50 players per event. We generated over $24K in merchandise with this 4-hole event. The players most of the time have their spouses come to eat dinner with them at the club after the event that helps increase F&B revenue as well. This 4-Hole event is a money maker and creates a buzz with the members.
After every member tournament we have added a SHOOT-OUT event for the top two places in every flight. Creating the SHOOT-OUT events for the member tournaments has increased the number of participants in our events at least 25% for each event.
Joseph Bock
Head Professional
Seneca Hickory Stick
Seneca Hickory Stick Players Pass cost is $99.
Allows our patrons to receive a $5 discount of 18 hole rd & $2 discount off everytime they play, one free 18hole round non-peak time, USGA handicap. $1 off range balls , 15% discount of merchandise in golf shop.
Players pass golf shop increased merchandise sales by 10% to budget.
Promotes loyalty and returning guest play.
Spencer Brookman
Director of Golf
King and Prince
In 2022, I left my previous club midway through the year to take the Director of Golf role at another club in the area. The merchandise operation had very large upside and seemed to lack direction. I quickly created a plan to not only streamline brands but bring in ones with more recognition. The philosophy of bringing in “elevating brands” has been well received by both members and resort guests alike. The retail operation now looks more professional, and this model has attributed to a 26% growth in merchandise sales.
Ian Brown
Director of Golf
Butterfield Country Club
I have created a shopping experience that goes well beyond just your average golf shop. I provide my members and their guests a full retail shopping experience with a golf twist. We want our patrons to have a one stop shop for all their country club sports, lifestyle, back to school, by the pool, after the round needs. I empower my staff to think outside the box on what non apparel goods and accessories we bring in for retail and see how they will interact with the rest of our shop. Whenever we think about bringing a new company into our golf shop, we will do a test run by bringing them in for a trunk show first. If they knock it out of the park we bring them in for stock in our shop. If they bust, then they may need to try again before we offer them on a consistent basis. Our members know that they can get anything they want from any company that we do business with. This allows them to shop online and receive their member price on their orders. This has driven our special order sales to over $1M a year which is half of our annual business.
Stacie Butler
Head Professional
Mill Creek Metroparks Golf Courses
Never judge a book by its cover, as so many people do these days, they judge people based on appearances. I would call out the scene from the movie “Pretty Woman” with Julia Roberts, most people will know what I’m referencing. To many times in the golf industry people are ignored based on appearance. In talking to my colleagues, it happens more than you think, train your staff to be welcoming and helpful. They should be proud to have product knowledge to help the customers. Don’t ignore the ladies. If you can’t sell ladies apparel and accessories, then you are missing out on a big opportunity. Once ladies find out that you value them as a customer, they will continue to support your Pro Shop buying not only for themselves but for their entire families and friends. You will gain loyal lifetime customers.
Kyle Capps
Head Professional
Hallbrook Country Club
We hosted 48 Fitting Days in 2022. These complimentary Fitting Days are hosted by the Manufacturer’s representative and our Professional Staff. Appointments are required for all fitting days. As a result each member is guaranteed one on one time with a member of our Professional Staff as their primary fitter with assistance from the OEM rep. This leads to the best possible member experience. As a result of our Fitting Day program we saw an increase in Hard Goods sales from $280k in 2021 to $440K in 2022.
Stephen Cryan
General Manager
Longleaf Golf & Family Club
Longleaf will be home to the U.S. Kids Golf Academy, the preeminent learning center for youth and family programs and we are the host of many top level Junior golf tournaments. This year we took a more aggressive approach to the youth market, especially the 12 and under category. We brought in a brooder selection of US Kids equipment and apparel, and also added Foot-Joy and Garb kids apparel and headwear selections geared towards the younger market, this aggressiveness lead to, a doubling of sales in this category from year prior.
Michael DAgostino
Head Professional
Penfield Country Club
Sponsor Raffle
During our Men’s Invitational we have Guest Raffle that every guest is entered, and this is NO cost to them. Club members are able to sponsor the event and their company is listed in the event program and on the event website. Each sponsor is given guest passes and cart credit depending on their sponsorship level to use during the season. In 2022 the program raised $19,500 and 100% of the money raised went directly to the guest raffle.
The 2022 event had 84 teams, so that meant there were 84 guests that were all entered into the raffle, and the “Worst” gift was a Vokey Wedge.
I have been at Penfield Country Club for 27 years, and this Raffle is the highlight of this event and the talk of the area each year. It is fun to put all of the products on the table and watch the guests try to pick out what they want before the names are called. I love seeing the first-time guests blown away by the fact that every guest gets called up to pick from the prizes.
This raffle is in addition to all of the daily tee gifts that ALL participants receive in the event, and all of this is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors (only club members may sponsor the event)
Jonathan Decker
Head Professional
Transit Valley Country Club
As a club in a northern climate, my golf shop is closed for an extended period of time during the winter. Partnering with a vendor to create an online microsite for a limited time leading into the season is a great way to keep the members engaged and generate some early season sales in February or March. Some vendors will treat this as a tournament and offer a discount, which can then be passed on to the customer. As a way to incentivize larger purchases, I will offer an increasing percentage off with each additional item to help boost sales.
Brian Delaney
Head Professional
Davenport Country Club
We survey our members and ask for preferences on brands, sizes, ball, glove, etc. This helps when deciding your stock product mix and creates a unique merchandise profile for each member which comes in handy when others come in to gift shop for them. We also use this to send alerts when new arrivals come in that fit their preferences. Keep it simple. Ask people what they want and give it to them.
Sara DelGrande
Merchandise Manager
Martis Camp
We have 2 shops at Martis Camp, one a spacious and beautiful Golf Shop and the other is a much smaller Ski Shop. Knowing I wanted to expand the selection of inventory (by double) I “redesigned” the store, recreating space where there once was not. I worked with our Maintenance team as well as our design team and got VERY creative with the small space we are given. As a result; this year our numbers have increased significantly and our members are grateful for the wide variety of product.
Bryce DiPatri
Merchandiser/Assistant Professional
San Jose Country Club
Black Friday Bag Raffle
We ran a promotion on Starting the Tuesday of Black Friday week.
From November 22nd to December 5th. If you bought $125 worth of merchandise, you earned a raffle ticket. With no limit to how many you can get.
Our Major Christmas Sale was December 6th. And that day you had to spend $225 to earn a ticket, with no limit to how many.
I gave away a bag for every 17 tickets I got. The odds were known when I communicated the sale. We also ran a 20% off bag promotion for the entire thing.
I had way too many bags heading into the season and needed to find away to reduce inventory.
We sold 12 bags and I was able to give away 10 in the raffle. All while adding $22,000 in sales revenue for the month of November heading into the first week of December. And really only costing us 1900 for the bags that I wrote off.
All in all it was very successful and will be a staple to my Black Friday promotion each year.
Cindy Doherty
Director of Retail
Brentwood Country Club
Brentwood Concierge Service
The Holiday’s are upon us!
Let the Brentwood Concierge Service team be your personal helper this Holiday season.
Give us a call to delegate your Holiday To-Do list so you can relax and enjoy a stress free Hanukkah and Christmas season.
If you prefer to shop privately in the Golf Shop after business hours, please call to make an appointment. Complimentary gift wrapping is available.
Nathan Downs
Director of Golf
Greenbrier Golf & Country Club
Acquiring Skills & Tools to Enhance the Retail Operation
In 2022, I challenged myself to learn new skills that create unique shopping opportunities for our customers. The main areas of focus were golf club customization, custom ball markers and custom divots tools. I have spent countless hours learning how to navigate Adobe Illustrator and similar design programs to develop high-resolution images for the Club and Corporate Customers. Using these skills made me feel comfortable enough to purchase a Fiber Laser which allowed me to take the artwork created through Illustrator and etch/engrave onto metal products. This immediately created a market for custom goods and generated over $5000 in revenue in the first 2 weeks! Since purchasing the laser in August 2022 we have sold over 1000 custom ball markers, 250 divot tools and etched over 100 custom wedges. In 4 months, the laser generated $17,240 with a margin of 50%, equating to over $8500 in profit! I am certain that this is just the beginning of a very profitable and FUN part of our business.
Not only did the laser create revenue organically, but it allowed the staff to offer free customization on all wedge sales during certain times of the season. This lead to an increase of 10% in wedge sales compared to the previous season. Creative, attractive promotions can be tough to come by when driving sales and this allowed Greenbrier to offer something new and innovative to our customers. Members posted photos on social media and showed off their new wedges which gave us free marketing through word of mouth.
This was an extremely fun skill to learn and has proven to be very beneficial to our Club.
Kevin Edwards
Director of Golf
Olde Homestead Golf Club
Over the last few seasons, I have purchased specifically for the “sale” rack. Being a small public facility, our sale rack is a very popular place for customers to shop. By purchasing directly for the sale rack, I am actually making a larger margin on some of the items I have on the rack compared to some of the merchandise in the shop. Purchasing products for the rack also allows me to put other items on sale that we are just trying to move without worrying about the margins because I have such a good margin on the other products.
Morgan Faull
Apparel Merchandiser
Sycamore Hills Golf Club
A ‘Merchandising Best Practice’ that has been implemented and has made a positive impact on the retail operation at Sycamore Hills Golf Club is the cultivation and use of our social media. A picture is worth a thousand words. And if done right, a picture, or in some cases, a video can be worth your weight in gold. At Sycamore Hills Golf Club, we have used our social media presence, to grow excitement, traction, and engagement for our retail operation.
Our biggest presence and most active account is our Instagram page (@shgc_golf_shop). After running a 90-day analysis from July1-September 28 using the Instagram “insights” option our account reached +22% more accounts compared to April 2-June 30. The results for the 90-day period were the following: Accounts reached 1,324, Accounts engaged 310, and Total followers 626. This came from 19 posts and 49 stories within the timeframe. The average post within the 90-day period reached 478 followers and 121 non-followers. Out of the 19 posts, 7 were directly related to sales, promotions, or products from the Golf Shop. Though our Instagram page is mainly used as a way to communicate the happenings in the Golf Shop, it is not uncommon for us to make sales through direct messaging and even through interactions in our comment sections.
In order to be present at all times, all of the key Golf Shop staff have access to create and share posts and stories on our account. This, in turn, does not limit the responsibility to just one individual, but instead encourages each individual with account access to share updates or results on events, new products in the shop, or provide club-related updates. Our process behind our social media presence is to provide a fun, exciting, and inviting space for members to feel in touch. A key example of this, is the impact of social media on the types of members that aren’t considered our “regulars”. We increased foot traffic from our social membership members by 26% from 2021 to 2022. With an additional 22% increase in revenue from 2021 to 2022. An effort was made to ask why they found themselves shopping in our Golf Shop when they had not previously shopped with us before, or simply did not frequent us often. Majority of the members informed us that it was through social media or a form of email communication that led them to us.
We will continue to grow our presence on our current platforms along with expanding into other platforms in the 2023 year. We hope to catch a ‘like’ or two from you soon!
Tim Fleming
Director of Golf
Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club
Spring Fling Member Party – 2019
Spring: it’s the season when all things are new, days grow longer, and the height of golf season is upon us. At Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club, we were still deep into our golf course renovation, but we had something new to offer our members: The Golf Performance Center. This two-bay teaching and practicing facility offers our members cutting edge technology featuring: SAMM Putt Lab, Swing Catalyst, and TrackMan technologies, all in a climate-controlled environment. This is certainly something to celebrate and in traditional OKCGCC fashion, we decided to have a party.
Showcasing the Golf Performance Center was the centerpiece of the April 4th Spring Fling Event. We took it a step further making it a fun evening of complimentary food and drinks, inviting vendors to showcase their lines with a 30% off event discount, competitive golf games for prizes, and item giveaways every half-hour. We marketed the event through Foretees emails, social media, club emails, and conversations in the Golf Shop. The event was open to all adult golf and non-golf members.
The event was a huge success as we welcomed 110 members, 9 vendors, gave away two golf bags for his and hers long drives, 8 dozen golf balls and generated $9,430.00 in sales after the event discount. The layout of the event covered our golf shop, outdoor staging area, and Golf Performance Center. Each location was strategically set up with either vendors, games, or food and drink. Members leisurely mingled between the areas, and all enjoyed the evening so much we were asked if this would be a new tradition. An event is well done if the guests are asking when the next one will be before the current one is over!
Kristin Friday
Director of Retail
Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club
This is a simple practice to maximize efficiency and organization during the gift-giving season/holiday rush – precut gift wrap and ribbons and stuff gift boxes with tissue. We’ve been able to save our staff (and our members) several minutes of time throughout busy December days, plus members are delighted they don’t have to wait long for gifts to be wrapped. We also pre-wrap items that we have multiples of for easy grab-n-go gifts.
Shweta Galande
Associate Professional
Westborough Country Club
Changing displays every week, keeps the Golf Shop looking fresh and brings “forgotten” items to the attention of customers.
Olivia Gardenhour
Assistant Professional
Chambersburg Country Club
Since 2014, we’ve offered a loyalty program for our members, called the 1921 Club. This member exclusive program has allowed us to not only improve the offerings provided through our shop, but also provide enhance value for our membership. We cannot thank you enough for your support and patronage throughout the years. This program is designed to bring greater value to yourmembership while assisting in the cost of the projects and initiatives we design.
The program provides a discount that will be automatically added to your account via bonus shop credit. This bonus will be available across all product categories and is not limited to any particular category.
There are three tiers of participation this season, each with a “1921 Club” gift of enrolling
1921 $500 Partner
Receive a 15% bonus on the amount invested, invest $500 and receive $575 in store credit
– Gift = Titleist ’21 Club member travel tumbler (first time investment)
– Gift = Titleist hanging toiletries bag (renewal investment)
1921 $1000 Partner
Receive a 15% bonus on the amount invested, invest $1000 and receive $1150 in store credit
– Gift = Titleist backpack with Chambersburg Country Club logo
1921 $2000 Partner
Receive a 15% bonus on the amount invested, invest $2000 and receive $2300 in store credit
– Gifts =
– Titleist hanging toiletries bag
– Titleist backpack with Chambersburg Country Club logo
– Titleist 20″ Spinner luggage
Marie Gateley
Lead Assistant Professional
Baton Rouge Country Club
Creating and Maintaining a “Basics Program”
We like to joke here at Baton Rouge Country Club that we could sell only khaki shorts and white shirts and the membership would never complain. With that being said, it is crucial that our merchandise operation never runs out of the “Basics”. We have created a stock program of basics including khaki, stone, and navy men’s shorts and white jersey and mesh men’s golf shirts. We keep 6 of each size in stock at all times and assign an intern to keep the par levels up to date. We have two styles of white golf shoes that are also always in stock with sizes ranging from 8-13. Our interns are taught how to use B2B websites and are given the responsibility of creating orders and displaying the merchandise.
In the fall of this year we expanded the program to also include ladies white sleeveless and short sleeve polos and white and navy skorts as well as a junior program similar to our men’s assortment. This program has allowed us to serve more of our membership and never miss an opportunity for a simple sale. It also allows for our interns to be apart of and begin to expand their knowledge on how to manage a merchandise operation.
Shawn Gifford
Director of Golf
Adios Golf Club
Use of apps like Slack to track orders from members as well as adding Golf Genius Golf Shop
Lauren Gill
Retail Director
Oaks Country Club
My merchandising best practice is to constantly change the location of all of your shop fixtures (that can be moved, example: tables, standing hanging rack, built ins shelves and bars). This proves successful every time I do this to sell merchandise that has been sitting longer than desired. Members/customers see that things have moved and have a new interest seeing what all is in the shop and they likely will see something that has been in the shop before but think they haven’t seen it.
Bonnie Hamilton
Director of Retail
Washington Golf & Country Club
Merchandising Best Practice that positively impacted sales
What started out as member guest tournament gifts experience, has developed into a “best practice” for our golf shop: pop-up microsites.
Chances are we all use microsites for member-guest tournaments. This past fall, Washington Golf and Country Club expanded the use of microsites
partnering with key vendors during the holiday shopping season becoming a major revenue stream and one of the reasons we will set another all-time high in sales this year.
Here are some examples:
We partnered with Polo RLX to offer an elevated virtual holiday shopping experience for membership at the club. The RLX Microsite ran for a month prior to Christmas and offered an assortment of WG&CC logoed (or non-logoed) RLX Men, Women, Kids, and RL Home product for members to choose from, with the option to ship directly to their home. We also partnered with FH Wadsworth featuring high-end leather goods and Alashan cashmere sweaters and toppers.
Communications is the key:
As of this year, we have a dedicated communications manager who implemented a robust communications strategy with personalized marketing emails sent weekly reminding members about the holiday microsite offerings and encouraging them to support the golf shop especially when looking for a last-minute holiday gift.
Changing consumer behavior:
Who are the members ordering on the microsites? It’s our regular customers as well as members who live in warmer climates in the winter. So, we are capturing new business as well as expanding on existing shop sales. The pandemic changed shopping patterns and our golf shop was in position to capitalize. No longer are we the second or third stop when buying apparel.
Workflow demands:
With many golf staff operating at maximum capacity, microsites offer a turn-key solution to help expand business without stressing the workload. The vendors set up the site, fulfill the orders, and even offer to drop-ship to homes. The only touch-point for our personnel is billing the member. No merchandise to receive, no inventory, no fuss.
Going forward, we will continue to promote pop-up microsites with vendors. It’s become a major revenue stream with continued growth projected for a number of years
Ellen Harris
Merchandise Manager
Delray Dunes Golf & Country Club
Developing Relationships & Loyalty with Parent’s, Grandparent’s & Young Children
At Delray Dunes we have developed a game to play in the golf shop with kids under 12.
The way it works is we hide 5 small plastic animals around the golf shop. There is a letter
taped on to the bottom of each animal. We made a colorful card with a line to write down each letter from the found animals. The word is only five letters. The child then will try to unscramble the letters in to a word. The answer is then written on the card which is then turned in to the counter for a prize. We provide a washable marker to each participant and the prize is a Delray Dunes Sticker. We stay away from candy due to food allergies, sugar before meals or naps, &
other eating restrictions. The main goal of the game is to encourage kids to have fun in our shop & to develop positive experiences around the game of golf.
We want our shop to be welcoming to this age group and of course all our members. Playing this game gives us opportunity to get to know these families in a relaxed and comfortable environment.
Connecting on a more personal basis with members can lead to their developing a sense of pride in our shop. All this adds up to learning more about what our members want which in turn drives sales.
Dave Heavner
Director of Golf
The Las Vegas Country Club
The best practice I use is data and analytics to make the best decisions we can in the Merchandise operations for the facility
Brett Heisler
Head Professional
Olympic Hills Golf Club
We started using technology in our golf shop to our advantage when we begin using Golf Genius Golf Shop to help communicate special order status with our members. The software organizes all our special orders and all along the process the member receives automatically generated emails to keep them informed about the status of the order.
We found that our members are trusting us to place their special orders more often because they aren’t just taking our word for it that an order has been placed and when it is expected to ship. We also receive less questions from members about the status of their orders since they are kept up to date.
The Golf Genius Golf Shop software has become one of our strongest tools that we have to stay organized and it helps us show our members that our Golf Shop is a legitimate business that they can trust.
Jared Henzlik
Director of Retail
Big Cedar
Clean, neat, shoppable displays where in a high volume and fast paced sales environment our guests can easily find items. We emphasize with our merchandising team that we are not decorating rather building straightforward/interesting shopping areas so when we are unable to personally assist, our guests can locate what they are after. We all know this happens during busy times…its unavoidable, so we work to stay ahead of it by using this merchandising practice throughout our resort. We do build more creative and themed display areas for events such as the Masters and Ryder Cup as well as holiday weekends like Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. Even then we work to feature the product, keeping it accessible, and have any accessories or props remain secondary and a strategic enhancement to the overall concept.
Hill Herrick
Head Professional
The Greenbrier
Off-Season Logistical and Operational Changes
For the first time in 25 years we kept our Golf Shop open this off-season, in the past we had moved inventory to the adjacent Tennis Club during the off-season (December through late March) and shared space with the Tennis Shop. The Golf Club Bar (Slammin’ Sammy’s) was also open for dining 5 days a week, it typically was only open the last 12 days of the December to cover the holidays and closed in the first quarter. Finally we kept our premier course (The Old White) open the during the off-season, which has led to more traffic. Merchandise sales have tripled in December and we look forward to continued success throughout the winter.
Kelsey Jo Holsten
Golf Shop Manager
Monterey Peninsula Country Club
The Merchandising Best Practice that we have utilize the most is our relationship development to create the ultimate member experience experience. From the moment a member a member walks into the golf shop, they are greeted and taken care of buy our staff. Our staff is well educated with a lot of our members wants and needs. This plays a great role when interacting with them and thinking of them when new items come into the shop. This has built a lot of trust with our staff and membership.
Billy Holtz
Head Golf Professional
Baton Rouge Country Club
E-Commerce
Following the success of our custom ball program, we have worked to extend this ‘stock-up’ program into other areas such as gloves, socks, junior apparel, etc. Working with vendors who have the capability of creating portals to manage the orders efficiently and accurately for our customers. i.e. We send out a link allowing the customer with options to select from, advertising both the retail and promotional price. On the link, members can select their glove and/or sock preference. Orders are placed by the 1/2 dozen, and we offer special pricing through the promotion. This provides us with the opportunity to build loyalty, while putting less stress on our in-stock inventory. It also provides us with valuable information to use toward future buying in these categories.
Grace Hurley
Director of Sports Retail
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club
The Singles Selection
Many shops experience a color story having a 90% sell through that leaves singles in popular featured patterns, colors and some odd sizes left over. Instead of putting these items on the sales rack Grace and her team offer these items on a selected singles rack. They are organized by size and a small sign indicates these are the last of their sizes and are being offered at 15% OFF. As a result, she is able to turn this inventory quickly at full margin and clean up the color stories for the incoming orders.
James Hylton
Assistant Professional
Secession Golf Club
Organization to Promote Higher Volume Sales
By completely overhauling our merchandise stock room and the presentation of the Golf Shop, we have made it easier to locate back-stock items and keep the Shop replenished appropriately. Each apparel brand has a designated area in our stock room, where each style is organized by size for easy accessibility. This has drastically improved our ability to replenish missing sizes and styles in the Golf Shop not only during opening and closing procedures, but also throughout the day. It has also reduced the amount of time a member or guest has to wait in the event that we do have to search the stock room for a missing size. Ultimately, leading to higher volume sales due to the fact that being able to locate merchandise more efficiently increases the likelihood of capitalizing on a sale. This process also makes it easier to know when it is time to add to or move certain styles around in the Shop, as well as which ones are achieving the fastest sell-through. The focus throughout the Shop is presentation and accessibility through organization. By grouping and organizing apparel, accessory and headwear items, it has improved the efficiency of the shopping experience, as well as allowed us to maximize the selling space of a small Golf Shop.
Bobby Jacks
Head Professional
Wichita Country Club
Limited Edition Products
Everyone wants a “Limited Edition” of something, especially if it’s something not many others will have! We went back to the archives and found an original crest of our logo, and our team was tasked with using the logo on specialty items. The team first decided on putting the logo to use on Smather’s and Branson Belts. Smather’s and Branson belts have become a luxury collector’s item for many members. We sent the logo to S&B and they came up with some great designs! We settled on one design, and sent it to the members via an e-mail with a subject line “WCC Limited Edition Belts.” We pre-sold 42 belts before they even hit the door! Smather’s sales have added up to $7,500.
Further, we did the same promotion with KU National Championship gear and putting covers! This helps with carrying less inventory of product that is slightly more expensive and you are unsure of the sell though. Peter Millar KU Championship apparel brought in $5,100 and putter covers have brought in $2,500
Dennis Johnsen
GM/Head Professional
Pine Meadow Golf Club
On fitting days, we extended a 5% discount if order placed day of fitting. This was a hard and firm policy. This created a order rate of over 90%.
We had found too many players were being fit and then shopping EBay or the Big Box stores. This policy prevented this from happening.
Dave Kemnitz
Head Professional
Minocqua Country Club
Embrace your surroundings. Our club is in a special area in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and we try to incorporate the lakes, woods and history into all they we do in the Shop – including decorations, fixtures and product offered. We are also a destination, with many guests coming from Illinois, so we try to celebrate Wisconsin and the history of the club/area.
Michelle Kempe
National Director of Retail
Escalante Golf
Our most successful promotion across the board was the Holiday ‘Santa’s Bag’ Sale. We ordered re-usable shopping totes with holiday-themed club logos and sold these at a set dollar amount. Members and guests received a percentage off on whatever they could fit into the shopping tote. It was a great way to liquidate alot of stale merchandise and encourage multi-unit transactions vs buying a single item.
Natalie Knopp
National Merchandise Manager
Escalante Golf
Across our portfolio of 21 properties, at Escalante Golf we have found great success with statement headwear. Headwear that tells a story whether that be an exploded large club logo or a “nickname” of the club in large letters. Even matching headwear back to the apparel collections in the shop. We are excited for new headwear trends in 2023!
Robert Koontz
Head Golf Professional for the Pete Dye Course, Assistant Director of Golf at French Lick Resort
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort
Multi-logo headcovers. Instead of just dancing single logo, we created historic logos that help tell the story of the venue. 6-8 logos spread out on driver, fairway, hybrid and different sized putter covers has definitely increase our headcover sales. The different logo catches the eye of all types of guests compared to maybe just the normal one logo that a guest may or may not like. We have done this at two of our golf venues to a resounding success. Our guests are looking to collect them all.
Chris Krause
Head Professional
Yahnundasis Golf Club
I have tried to bring in new lines every year to keep the shop fresh. My effort is to make the golf shop a shopping experience instead of a place to grab a quick sleeve of balls or hat.
Paul Leahy
Director of Golf
Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake of the Ozarks
Since we were branded a Margaritaville Resort in 2019 we have successfully incorporated different versions of our new logo onto all retail items. We have utilized our base logo for our shirts and outerwear but have incorporated “Lake of the Ozarks” on our outerwear on the left sleeve to differentiate ourselves from another Margaretville Resort. We have pulled the Parrot out of the logo and used just it on hats and ladies pieces. We have also used the full resort logo that has many colors onto our bags, ball markers, tumblers, golf balls, anything that can accommodate the full logo. We have even done the customized Truvis golf ball with Callaway that has 2 different colors of parrots on the ball. This year we are bringing in a customized golf shirt from Swannies Golf with a Margarita glass, palm tree, parrot and a shark fin embossed in the shirt and our logo on the left chest. We try each year to bring in something different and to use our logo in different ways so customers see different things each year. I feel it is important to freshen your logo from time to time and to use it in different ways so it does not get stale.
Jason Loomis
Director of Golf/General Manager
Great River Golf Club
No Birthdays Allowed…On Merchandise
A lot of shop owners and merchandisers are typically hesitant on discounting product or hold on too long before doing so. I was in the same boat at first when I took over the retail operation at Great River. With the golf shop owned by the club and part of my performance evaluation tied to sales and margin goals, I was not over the moon on selling items at a discount, never less than I paid for them. But then I attended a retail education seminar at the PGA Show all about discounting. The speaker introduced me to some new ideas about sales, discounting, and a proper timetable to do so. My favorite thing the speaker said was “no merchandise in the shop will celebrate a birthday!” That idea stuck with me, and we adopted that next year at the club.
With the new information on when to discount and to have sales, we started a new merchandise marketing plan with the internal message of “No Birthdays Allowed” It was uneasy at first, but once we noticed the merchandise moving faster, cash flow increasing to buy more inventory, and the ability keep the shop floor from ever getting stale, it almost became addictive and hard to stick to the timeline of discounting new items. With the increased inventory turnover and the ability to keep members happy with more and more product lines, our total sales at Great River grew over 39% in one year, but more importantly our margins maintained the levels we wanted them to be. We have been successful the last few years in our “no birthdays allowed” campaign and continue to see growth year after year not only financially, but more importantly with our members and guests.
Jacob Martin
Director of Player Development and Golf Operations
Big Spring Country Club
While I was the head professional at a club in California, we were struggling with club sales. Our previous method was to have multiple companies come to us on the same day for a demo day. Our members would try the different clubs, and then head to a off site golf retail store to buy thinking they could get a better price. Knowing this, we changed our plan and started having individual company fitting days. Members would set up their appointments and received a professional fitting from the manufacturer. If our members committed to purchase on the day of the fitting, we would discount the purchase by 15%. In addition to the club discount, we would offer 25% off on an accessory item such as a new bag or headcovers. This increased our members purchases and proved we were there to help our members, not just make more money.
Victoria Matthews
Director of Retail
St. Andrews Country Club
Never say NO
Our philosophy is to never say NO to our members. We go to any length to fulfill their request, even if we have to purchase items at full retail. And yes, the means we don’t make a profit. This philosophy is carried through out the club and in each department. Our goal is to provide the best in class service and we believe that starts with never saying NO.
Linda McGurin
Buyer/Pro Shop Manager
Self Employed
During our Ladies Member/Guest we have put our ladies selections “on wheels”; featuring selected apparel and specialty/giftware lines at registration in order to showcase some of the items that are available in our pro shop. Items are available to purchase at registration for the convenience of members and their guests who find themselves short on time either before or after the event. We also bring our “sale items” on wheels because after all…who doesn’t love a bargain!
By making products readily available at registration, we have found we are able to capture sales which would otherwise not happen.
John Mlynarski
Director of Golf
Links at Perry Cabin
The importance of using short-range planning to establish goals and plan inventory
At Links at Perry Cabin, I focus on short-range planning. This involves looking at the most immediate concerns and setting goals for the business to achieve them. This type of planning allows me to react to last year’s numbers and set new goals and forecast differently than the previous year to produce the most profit. I also practice top-down planning – although it is on a smaller scale compared to Macy’s – but all goals are set. A budget is set and formed by my Professional Staff, and then the budget is distributed to each team member. Once the sales goals of the golf shop are established, it then gets broken down to each category and classification. Planning this way assists with not only goals for the year but also allows us to create a plan for inventory and assortment for the year. We mainly use the basic stock method, which focuses on having enough stock to meet projected sales each month. We generally have caps in backstock because their turnover rate is so much higher than any other category.
Apart from last year with shipping being delayed because of the supply chain, we have had no issues with reorders on apparel essential items. Customers know we do not have apparel in back stock, which motivates impulse buys because the item may not be available the next day. We generally order keeping a broad and shallow assortment in mind. This means we have several different vendors for men’s and women’s from which we order several size runs and collections. This allows us to sell several high-end vendors with shallow sizes, which entices the customer to buy quicker, and increases sell-through.
Gracee Morrison
Retail Coordinator & Merchandiser
Oklahoma City Golf & County Club
Keeping displays and inventory fresh.
Sara Muldoon
Director of Golf
Hershey Country Club
Bela Nagy
Director of Golf
Sandridge Golf Club
We have continued to work with our Cleveland Rep to do the Cleveland Scoring Clinics and this past year sold 154 wedges with the clinics that we promoted every month from November to April. We also added a “Seal the Deal” Putting Clinic where our Callaway representative came out and we conducted a 90 minute session on putting fundamentals and he custom fit White Hot OG and Stroke Lab Lines for a cost of $275. The program sold out two hours after we sent out the email to our database and we added a second program a month later which also sold out for a total of 20 students and 20 putters.
Carrie Norris
Merchandiser
Kinloch Golf Club
Using space wisely. If there is a focal point in the shop, you want to put new merchandise there or items that members and guests may not seek on their own. Placing items that go together in that single display can encourage someone to buy multiple pieces.
Aaron Palen
Head Professional
Duck Woods Country Club
In 2022, we created a secondary logo that incorporated a very scenic element that is seen throughout Duck Woods Country Club; an Osprey flying out of its nest. We have roughly six nests stationed through the course.
This secondary logo was used on Headcovers, cozies, bottle openers, belts, etc.. This idea became very popular with our members guests that visited us during the summer months, along with great gift ideas during the Holiday Season.
Keith Penke
Head Professional
Ridgeway Country Club
My “Best Practice” I would like to share is my annual Balloon Sale. This year marked our eighth annual sale, and I always have sale the Thursday before Thanksgiving from 5:00 – 7:30 pm. During the sale I put discounts ranging from 10% – 50% OFF the entire purchase. Members can special order items and the discount applies to everything in my golf shop. During the sale I serve free beverages and have a gift wrapping station. My wife, daughter, and mother-in-law were nice enough to donate their gift wrapping skills this year. Every year the sale has continued to grow, and this year we once again broke the record and generated $55,000. Members start talking about the sale months before and the sale has turned into a party type atmosphere. Our F&B operation also has a big night with most members having dinner either before or after shopping. It is a win win for the entire club and a fun night for all!
Jason Prendergast
Head Professional
Country Club of Jackson
Consider expanding your open-to-buy into two components; Expected (historical) sales and Growth (new sales). Create your open-to-buy for expected sales with your historical sizing percentages. Focus your growth open-to-buy on your core sizes. You may even decide to eliminate your fringe sizes. My expected size run (Med-2X) per 100 shirts is 28-43-22-7. My growth open-to-buy for 20 more shirts would be (5-12-3-0). Growth is a Guess, so concentrate on your core sizes.
Josue Reyes
CEO / Owner
Reyes Retail Services
Moving through excess inventory without impacting your COGS too heavily… Rather than discounting unsold invetory at 30-50% discounts; move that inventory by creating promotional packages and/or complimentary gifts. For Example:
If a polo costs $42.50 and retails at $99 and a 40% discount was given since it did not sell, you sold this polo at $59.40; capturing $16.90 in gross margin (28%). Instead, offer this polo at a $99 package price with a complimentary hat and sleeve of golf ball. With an average cost on hat at around $12.50 and a sleeve a golf ball at $8.00 plus the $42.50 polo, you are now capturing $36.00 in gross margin (36%) vs. $16.90 (28%) at the 40% discount.
This strategy not only helps your COGS, but also helps move multiple inventory items.
Brian Riddle
Senior Head Professional
TPC Sawgrass
Like everyone else, we struggled to get product in 2021 so when it was time to place 2022 orders, we made a conscious decision to go deeper in size runs. We are a Resort Course and see different customers on a weekly basis so we could afford to carry lines a little longer than those clubs that see the same customers routinely. Our 2022 sales were outstanding, so this allowed our displays to stay in-tact for a longer length of time. We typically move around the shop every 2 weeks but when we struggled to receive product, we were moving product every 5 days. This created extra work for our staff instead of focusing on the customer. Going deeper in lines allowed us to focus on providing high level service to our customer while still capturing high merchandise sales.
Mike Roeder
GM – Director of Golf Operations
Ravenwood Golf Club
Ask them what they want – The club has implemented a survey to the Members to find out key information to help better order the right size, the favorite product etc.
We ask for: Shirt size, waist size, shoe size, glove size, hat size
Favorite Brand of: Shoe, Glove, Hat, Ball, Clubs (Irons, Metal Woods, wedges, Putter), Bag, Top 3 Clothing Brands
We use this information to place orders and have found there to be less Inventory to put on sale or carry over.
Having what they want and in the right size helps turn the product faster and leads to more re-orders.
Riley Sherwood
Merchandiser
Wichita Country Club
Something that I did immediately when I came on board was update our displays. I added accessories such as coffee table books, ginger jars, greenery, and more to all of our displays. This broke up the merchandise and added some interest to our displays. It also made the shop feel more put together and complete.
Eric Shillinger
Director of Golf
Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club
Forging Relationships as a New Golf Shop Owner
I recently celebrated one year at Delray Dunes Golf & Country Club, having migrated south from the Philadelphia area. Starting the next chapter of my career in the middle of a pandemic has posed its challenges. But I felt it was vital to my early success in Florida to establish relationships, even amid COVID-19.
As a longtime PGA Professional, I have built many wonderful relationships with members at previous facilities. This was tougher than usual in 2020, with members not permitted in the golf shop, everyone wearing masks and social distancing. Going up to members, looking them in the eye and introducing myself with a handshake was impossible.
To overcome these social limitations, we took the golf shop outdoors and hosted several pop-up sales. We welcomed reps from Maui Jim who displayed their variety of sunglasses and others from SCALES golf apparel who showed off their nautical-themed clothing. Members showed up and were excited about the opportunity to engage with fellow members, meet sales reps and even get to know their new PGA Director of Golf. We hosted other pop-up sales and trunk shows at various women’s events and offered discounts on special orders to attract shoppers and stimulate sales.
In addition, I made sure to be out of the golf shop as often as possible. I’d walk the range during busy times and strike up conversations from a safe distance out of respect for our members and to follow COVID protocols. Playing with members wasn’t an effective option, as single-rider carts were required which didn’t lend itself to personal engagement.
Now, with current COVID requirements not as strict as a year ago, I strive to touch members every day and build those relationships that are so important. We recently implemented a “Go Low with the Pro” tournament that has our PGA Professionals playing with three random members. This not only enables our pros to meet any new members who’ve come to the club, but gives members an opportunity to meet each other. After all, relationships among members are an integral part of any club’s member retention efforts.
We’ve got more foot traffic in the golf shop now, and I have been able to establish some great connections with many of our 350+ members. I introduce myself to everyone I can, a practice I learned as a young professional years ago. Finally, as I started here last year, I reached out to PGA Professionals I know who’ve owned their golf shops for years. They provided a plethora of helpful information and guidance – thankfully I had already established those relationships way back when.
Eric Shillinger is the PGA Director of Golf at Delray Dunes Golf & Country Club in Boynton Beach, Florida.
Samantha Sorensen
1st Assistant Golf Professional
Las Vegas Country Club
The merchandising best practices that I have found to have a positive impact on my retail operation involve data analysis and strategic product displays. I have found that analyzing sales data over a period of time will give you the best idea of what to have in your shop. Having the sales data be as specific as possible will help with knowing what brands, colors, sizes and quantities will benefit your shop or are potentially hurting it. It will also help you to know when to move displays around and which seasons certain products sell best in. I really believe in having a simple system that is justified through data.
Mason Spalding
Associate Buyer
PGA TOUR / TPC NETWORK
This year, we were able to introduce a number new vendors to our facilities, capitalizing on sales with trending brands like SWAG Golf, Maui Jim, Goodr, Hyperice, Melin, Vessel, and Lululemon. Expanding the mix of selection throughout our golf shops has helped increase total sales more than 30% over 2022 budget!
Keith Stilwell
Director of Golf
Perry Park Country Club
We have a toy box in our golf shop that we keep stocked for any junior to grab a toy each time they come in the shop. Our Golf shop is on a separate level from the restaurant so this has helped incentivize a visit to the shop from families that otherwise had no reason to stop in.
Adam Stinogle
Head Professional
Westwood Country Club
A Merchandising Best Practice that I have implemented in the last two season is marketing. We have created a member price program that keeps us lower than MAP on all items in the Golf Shop. This is a merchandise plan that allows us to be competitive to all other online and retail shops. Now, what we were lacking was our ability to market this to our membership. By creating a social medial following on instagram we could proof to our members what we had as well as the knowledge that it would be a better price here then anywhere else. Showing our membership as well as their families what the new items our in the Golf Shop, new pricing plans, news for the golf operation, as well as what is coming soon has allowed us to grow in all aspects. The Golf Shops Instagram has allowed us to stand out from other clubs in the area when marketing our product.
Gordon Swennes
Head Professional
Wentworth By The Sea Country Club
Spring Shoe Sale
At our seasonal club every spring we would stock lots of golf shoes and hope to sell maybe half by the end of the year. So my buyer/golf shop manager, Linda McGurin suggested we offer the members a shoe sale. We sent out an email to the membership indicating we were having a shoe sale on one brand of shoes and orders needed to be in by a certain date. We didn’t need to stock a ton of shoes anymore and we sold more shoes than we normally would do for the season in that one sale. We still kept shoes on hand but not the large amount we once did.
Chris Thompson
Head Professional
Club at Savannah Harbor
Tie a promotion to a local tour event to increase traffic. In April In Savannah, Ga we are lucky to have 2 big time tour events that are close to home, The Masters and the Heritage tournament on Hilton Head. We take advantage of both events to increase our traffic for the month of April.
Brian Tolnar
Director of Golf
Mill Creek Park Golf Course
Promote your facilities History
The Mill Creek Park Golf Course has almost 100 years of great history along with many great stories to tell from its historical past. When it comes to merchandising in the Golf Shop, we work hard on using the decor that era as well as pictures from decades prior. A storied history in a time when so many courses have shut their doors goes a long way in telling the significance of the importance of our facility.
Mill Creeks heavily trafficked areas in the Golf Shop use a great deal of old school display pieces like victrola record players, old fashion radios, Donald Ross paintings, and items from the 1920’s when the facility opened for play. We’re fortunate to have a remodeled Fieldhouse where the newly updated Golf Shop calls home and we try to play off of the legends of the game who played exhibition matches there. Located within the Mill Creek MetroParks; Ohio’s first park system in 1891, we have access to some great display props to tell our story.
Our staff feels like anytime you can tell the story of your facility it tends to give you customers a comfortable shopping environment. Stay & Play customers make up 25-30% of our daily play on the two Donald Ross courses and it opens up an avenue of merchandise sales that’s there for the taking if presented properly. We’re lucky to have such a rich history and the staff works hard to parlay it to our ever growing customer base.
We can’t tell you how many times we hear: I wasn’t expecting this when they enter the Golf Shop. It’s a great feeling to have customers walk away happy and knowing they were taken away by your award winning display and hard work.
Sharing your facilities history and heritage is a win-win for both the customer and facility. Everyone facility has a story to tell, make yours a memory for others to share as word of mouth promotion goes a long ways.
Chip Watson
General Manager
Lonnie Poole Golf Course at NC State University
In 2018, we started a one day “Holiday Sale” on the second Friday of December. This one day sale was advertised as early as mid-October and everything in the golf shop was discounted on this one day only. Most merchandise was 40-50% off. We use this one day sale to clear out old merchandise, sell items with old logos, make some profit with close-outs, sell rental sets, sell golf rounds and range buckets/cards, and generate cash. We offer free gift wrapping on this day with donations accepted for a worthy cause associated with the University. This one day sale gets mentioned all year round by customers and sales range from $40,000-$50,000 for this one day only.
Steve Watt
Director of Golf
Talisker Club
To keep a clean and crisp Pro Shop in terms of merchandising, it is important to present the displays in an organized fashion. I order specific sized card stock to fold our polos and layering so they stack nice and neat….all while keeping the look of neat and tidy and organized. the items are then placed in size order for easy finding by staff and members alike.
Meghan Whittaker
Head Professional
Forest Highlands Golf Club
At the beginning of each season, the Assistant Professionals are each assigned a company/brand/product to research. At our first staff meeting, each pro will give a short presentation to the group pointing out the key product features. We have biweekly staff meetings, after the first staff meeting we will have two product knowledge presentations at each meeting for the remainder of the season. This helps our entire staff to be on the same page with everything we are selling in the shop and be more confident when selling to the members.
Kyle Williams
Head Professional
Old Hickory Golf Club
I always try to pick 1 sales rep and vendor in each product category (hard goods, apparel, accessories) to build a deeper relationship with.
They way I try to do this may vary, but as with anything its the little things that count. I may try to buy a few extra items that I don’t “need” or some styles that may not be the absolute best seller in that category, and do my best to direct any fringe business to those vendors. I take the time to get to know the sales rep and build a genuine relationship with the person, not just the product. Aside from the obvious healthy emotional relationships, these conversations and relationships almost always produce better product knowledge, better understanding of the overall market, and better buying decisions. Maybe most importantly, I’ve found that sales reps behave like many of us do when we make buying decisions: if all things are equal, reps will make a little extra effort to take care of the people with whom they have good relationships. That can translate to priority access to scarce product, tracking down that hard-to-find item, or stepping up in a pinch to meet customer or member needs. The benefits to you as the merchandiser are clear.
Kristee Wright
Senior Professional/Buyer
Oakland Hills Country Club
Lack of space was never an issue for us until we went from a 3600 sq.ft. sales area to about 1000 sq.ft. With that, we have had to find new ways to attract our members into the shop as they are dealing with a very limited selection in comparison to the past. To do that, we have two rolling racks that we display in front of the full length window in the front of the shop; every 3-4 days, we swap those racks with other racks within the shop. This allows for fresh colors and styles to be seen from the first tee area and for those walking by, and creates a sense of wonder when members see these updated racks. Even when new product isn’t hitting the floor, it gives members the sense of something being new and many times the product is something they haven’t seen from their quick visits in. This has helped with quicker sell-through and assisted with increased turn and of course, more member satisfaction.
Chad Yogan
Assistant Golf Professional / Buyer
Hershey Country Club
Adding new lines to the golf shop that are not just golf specific. Taking a educated guess, and a risk to test the product line. We want to be known and want to be the one stop shop for our members and guests when they come to our facility.