15 replies to this topic

[teeituphigh]

Hi Guys,

Im on the verge of potentially getting a position as a Head Professional at a golf course here in New Zealand and was wondering what would you guys like in a shop...obvioucly we are all gear heads and the minority but what about the general public?

Also, if anyone has any great ideas for a business/shop name id love to hear them.

My name is Brett, the course is Hastings Golf Club (or Bridge Pa) any other things people would need to get the ideas juices flowing id love to hear them!

Stay tuned and fingers crossed I get the job!!!

[pgagreg1]

Shouldn't you be asking your members and regular golfers this question?
I'm sure you will a lot of varied responses here but at my golf course I have never met anyone
that is a member of golfwrxs

[saltrunner]

Congratz hope you get the position ...  Ya know most golf shops are pretty similar .. What sets one apart from the other is service. Good honest friendly service .. Good luck !

[SketchyBFC]

saltrunner, on 20 November 2012 - 02:42 PM, said:

Congratz hope you get the position ...  Ya know most golf shops are pretty similar .. What sets one apart from the other is service. Good honest friendly service .. Good luck !

+1

[teeituphigh]

Thanks guys. Yeah, it will really be a dream come true. Im pretty pumped up about it. Want to do it right the first time.
Hardest thing is just coming up with a name...not as easy as you might think!

[Willie Malay]

The Golf Shop at....(insert name of place here). Don't get too cute with the the name, especially if someone has to look it up to find you.

[RRFireblade]

Congrats.

Yeah , hard to offer advice without knowing your target demo. GolfWRX exists in an alternative reality that's not indigenous to this planet.

I'd say get to know your locals , be out there with them and see what thier talking about to each other. Hit the bar and catch them after a round a drop some ears.

Generally the big rub at the local stores is pricing and selection. These things are universal and difficult to overcome in a small scale shop. See my previous statement about hitting the larger market segments.

So good service and customer care are going to have to be paramount.

All in all , good luck !

[rvgolfer]

Certainly you need to do a survey with the existing members and patrons.  I wouldnt think it would be too difficult to get a good amount of cooperation.  Questions like where do you buy, how much per year, what do you buy and etc, should provide you valuable insight as to the competition and desires of the survey participants.  If you have a business college near your course, I'd contact the business dept and see if there was a student who would like to conduct the survey as part of their curriculum.  You'd get a better survey, plus some help in evaluating the results.

The one single thing that will do the most to make your shop successful is to convince the club to give out pro shop credit instead of cash as tournament prizes.   Without that concession, your shop wont be nearly as successful.

I'd also try to figure out how many guests/tourists that frequent the course.  I would think logo apparel, and logo accessories would sell fairly well to visitors.

I dont think many shops do well with stock clubs, but fittings and custom orders are the best way to go, except for putters.  If I had a shop, I'd select Ping, Odyssey and SC as my putters to stock.  Those putters tend to be an impulse buy, first due to their reputation, and secondly due to visual appeal.  I'd also stock a variety of grips and cleats to replace on demand by your members/patrons.

If you offer fair prices, and be honest with your customers, I dont see any reason why you cant succeed with your golf shop.

Edited by rvgolfer, 20 November 2012 - 04:44 PM.

[teeituphigh]

Appreciate all the feedback and ideas. So much bouncing around in my head its not even funny! Fingers crossed for the position! The sky is the limit!

[WUGolfer3118]

Focus on providing services that distinguish your shop from golf retail stores or other nearby clubs. An example would be cleat removal/replacement for the cost of the cleats, you're paying your staff to not sit around so have them do this task. It adds value to the cleat purchase, uses your labor force more efficiently, and by not charging an additional fee for the service makes your customers more likely to make future cleat purchases from you in the future. Another example would be club fittings out on the actual course (assuming course isn't busy or potential buyer is able to play out on the course). That way the buyer can use their ball, and get a feel for where the new club is going compared to where they're usually at on a particular hole, rather than relying on trackman or range balls. Good luck, and don't worry about the name (if your service is off the charts it won't matter)!

[Chief Illiniwek]

If I had a shop around me with a simulator or trackman I'd make every single golf purchase there.

[teeituphigh]

^^ So would I.....problem is the cost! $10,000 is alot of clubs to sell until you start making a return!

How about SpecialTee Golf....

[Kylesplace62]

I live down in Dunedin and buy nothing from shops in NZ any more due to fact I can get clubs so much cheaper from the USA. All my mates are the same and we always say that someone should ignore the local distributors and bring in there own gear especially the previous generation clubs which are so cheap once new clubs come out and sell them locally.

[twixster888]

its all about price and value.  buy these two get these other free.  buy a iron set and get free green fee for life.  those kind of deals would get people banging down your doors.

[awil]

twixster888, on 25 November 2012 - 11:15 PM, said:

its all about price and value.  buy these two get these other free.  buy a iron set and get free green fee for life.  those kind of deals would get people banging down your doors.

But you would lose money for life average iron 900$ average green fee 40- 50$  Disney make a ton of sense

[winn0040]

awil, on 26 November 2012 - 09:57 PM, said:

twixster888, on 25 November 2012 - 11:15 PM, said:

its all about price and value.  buy these two get these other free.  buy a iron set and get free green fee for life.  those kind of deals would get people banging down your doors.

But you would lose money for life average iron 900$ average green fee 40- 50$  Disney make a ton of sense

While we're on the subject of making sense...