By: Tim Baines

POINTE WEST GOLF CLUB

Amherstberg, ON

Ping is the name of the game at Pointe West Golf Club.

Director of Golf Rick Schmidtgall says sales of the G15 have been “phenomenal.”

“It’s been by far our best,” he says. “It’s what we get the most inquiries about.”

Ping is also a leader in iron sales, split fairly evenly between the G15 and i15.

“We’re getting members who have played Ping in the past, plus those who are converting over, using the clubs. Even the better players are drawn more to the G15 than the i15.

“What we have found is with Ping making its irons in North America, if the members need to make adjustments, the lie or the loft, there’s a quick turnaround time. There is the ability to bring it to us and we send it in and have it back to the customer within 7-10 days.”

In hybrids, Schmidtgall says: “The G15 is selling better than the i15. And we still sell a few fairway woods, the G15s.”

The shop has sold a few Scotty Cameron putters, along with a couple of Ping and Oydssey putters.

“We don’t carry putters that cost more than $200,” says Schmidtgall. “Our retail range is around $100-$140.”

As for wedges, Schmidtgall says: “We’re selling Vokeys. Most are ordering the 52 degree. With the groove rule taking effect, we’re finding a lot of people wanting a Vokey. And they’re ordering three or four at a time. For the last 4-5 years, we still have members asking for Cleveland. Ping makes a good wedge and we have some people asking for those as well.”

As for golf balls , Pro V1, NXT and NXT Tour all sell well, with Penta also picking up steam. In the lower price cycle, Pinnacle, DT Solo and 15 packs of Noodles are all popular.

Clothing sales are a bit off this year.

“But we’re selling Ashworth, the Ping clothing line and the men’s AUR line,” says Schmidtgall. “The Greg Norman ladies’ clothing is good and we’re doing really well with Vuarnet and Nancy Lopez. As far as our men go, they wear the more conservative colours. With the ladies, it’s a splash of bright colours.”

Ogio cart bags have sold very well and with stand bags, it’s been a sprinkling of Ogio, Ping and Titleist.

GPS systems are also a hot seller.

“For the last three years, SkyCaddie has been phenomenal for us,” says Schmidtgall. “For every 10 of them we sell, we may sell one from another company.”

The Pukka hats, with the Pointe West logo, sell well. Titleist and Ping hats are popular. Old Time Hockey T-shirts, sweaters and hats sell well. “We’ve done the fall clothing line from them and we’ve sold out for the last two years,” says Schmidtgall. “We normally bring it in the fall. What sells for us are three teams: Detroit, Toronto and Montreal.”

In golf shoes, Schmidtgall says: “We’re predominantly FootJoy, actually we’re all FootJoy. The Contour is far and away our best seller for the men. For women, it’s the LoPro. And the ladies enjoy the MyJoys because they’re able to match them with their outfits. We have two ladies here who probably have 10 pairs of MyJoys each.”

LLOYDMINSTER GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

Lloydminster, Alta.

The club made a decision to go exclusively with TaylorMade/adidas.

With Golf Town and Nevada Bobs, it was a better decision for us to get in with one company,” says head pro Kyle Mulligan. “You look at all the best players and they’re hitting TaylorMade drivers and irons. Last year, we had Adams, Ping and TaylorMade and at the end of the year, we had no TaylorMade left in the shop.

The R9 has been well received at the club.

“A lot of people have been asking about it and demoing it,” says Mulligan. “We’ve already sold eight R9 and four Burners in 2 1/2 weeks.”

As for golf balls, Mulligan says: “If someone really wants a Pro V1, they’re going to get it, but the Penta ball has just as good a response in my opinion.”

In clothing, Mulligan says: “We’ve seen extremely bright colours. Green seems to be the colour of choice, or bright blue. Colour and designs don’t scare me.”

As for sunglasses, he says: “We sell a bit of Sundog, the Weir, Mahon and Paula Creamers. Women love the sunglasses. When they can get polarized glasses for $75, you can’t beat that, and they’re fashionable.”

GPS units have been hot.

“The SRX model has done unbelievably well,” says Mulligan. “It’s a great product.”

In shoes, Mulligan says: “The Tour 360 is our bread and butter shoe.”

TaylorMade hockey-logoed hats have been popular sellers.

“The hottest have been Pittsburgh, Chicago and Philly,” says Mulligan, who adds that being a border city, merchandise from both the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Eskimos will be popular.

“Half the fans here are for the Roughriders, the other half are for the Eskimos,” he said.

FOX MEADOW GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

Stratford, P.E.I

Head pro Trevor Giggey says the club is exclusive Titleist.

He says the pro shop doesn’t stock high-end golf shoes, with Footjoy a popular buy.

In clothing, Giggey says: “Antigua is our main one. Our most expensive shirts would be $79.95. We also have Quagmire, Ashworth and some Nike. Quagmire is putting out some basic stuff now. It’s getting a lot better.”

Second Skin, Sunice and Footjoy outerwear all sell.

“A large majority of our members are 50-plus,” says Giggey.

The club sold logoed chips last year and that went very well. Another popular item is a belt with a fox logo. Head covers with the fox also go over well with the members.

As for golf balls, Pinnacle 15 packs are hot sellers.

CLUB AT BOND HEAD

Bond Head, ON

Director of Golf David White says a lot of people have been looking at the TaylorMade SuperFast and, “with us being a Titleist fitting centre, there’s certainly a lot of activity on the Titleist products.”

In hybrids, Titleist is poplar.

“I play Titleist myself,” says White. “But TaylorMade is still popular, too.”

In wedges, Vokey is a big seller for Club at Bond Head.

“We were originally a Callaway exclusive property, but it’s changed over the years,” says White. “The membership will check out what I’m playing and what the assistants are playing. But every consumer, whether they’re buying Cheez Whiz or tires, they’re comparing prices.”

In putters, White says: “The Rossi is good. And the Scotty Cameron is good.”

In clothing, White says: “We do really well with Hugo Boss. Hollis has had some good success here, too. Greg Norman is good for us. With women’s clothing, it’s Aureus, and also adidas. Golfers here have been into the bright colours. Adidas has a great crimson red. The bright golds and reds are really sharp.”

White laughs and says Club at Bond Head is a “ball factory. We have fescue that grows.”

Having said that, Pro V1 and Penta balls sell well.  Pinnacle and NXT also enter into the mix.

In shoes, White says: “Footjoy has been very good for us. There’s a lot of talk about the Icon. People are very interested.”

Sunice is the only outerwear sold by the shop, which also carries Sundog, Maui Jim and Callaway sunglasses.

COWICHAN GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

Duncan, B.C.

Head pro Norm Jackson says G15 drivers are hot at the Cowichan club.

“It’s like a no-brainer from a price point and playability,” says Jackson, who adds that the club has also had some success with the Diablo Edge.

In hybrids, hot items have been the Cobra Baffler, G15 and i15 for the better players, with some Adams thrown in there as well.

In irons, G15 is creating most of the buzz.

“You can fit the G15 and probably the biggest thing is Ping is a leader in fitting systems. Everybody is trying to follow them,” says Jackson.

As for wedges, Jackson says Vokey leads the way.

In putters, Ping and Scotty Cameron lead the way, with some of the new Odyssey offerings also getting some interest.

With Pro V1 balls still getting plenty of attention, Bridgestone is also getting some play.

“They’re doing a good job with their ball fitting,” says Jackson.

Nike and Greg Norman lead the way in men’s clothing, with Cracked Wheat and Greg Norman getting plenty of action in women’s clothing.

Maui Jim and Oakley sunglasses get some action, but Sundog is the hottest seller.

In outerwear, the shop moves Titleist and FootJoy, with a bit of action on Galvin Green.

In shoes, Jackson says: “The FootJoy Contour is really hot right now and the Icon upscale is good.” There’s also some action on the Nike shoes.

Logoed stuff always does well.

“Our logo is pretty cool,” says Jackson. “One of the local First Nations (natives) did the logo. We put it on shirts, towels, ballcaps.”

Titleist is probably the best-selling hat.

The club also sells Sun Mountain golf bags, with some Ping as well.

BUSHWOOD GOLF CLUB

Markham, ON

Much of the buzz at Bushwood is about Bubba Watson.

The PGA star has long made the golf course a regular stop when he’s in the area, usually during Canadian Open week. His wife Angie is from nearby Pickering. Watson set the course record of 61 in 2005 and shot 62 last year during the week of the Canadian Open.

“He’s been playing here when he’s in town since he went to the University of Georgia,” says Bushwood managing director Mary Evelyn.  ”We sell NHL putters that look like hockey sticks. Bubba came in and said he had to have one, so we had one made (with the Toronto Maple Leafs logo) for him.”

Evelyn says equipment sales have been a bit slow so far.

“It’s been interesting coming out of the recession, the new mentality is being very price conscious. Our prices are very reasonable, but they’re not buying anything unless it’s on sale. They know you will sell it for half price at the end of the year. We’re up against the big retailers and it’s not just Golf Town.

“We’ve also noticed that they’re being smarter about buying the equipment. They want to get fitted. People will pay the money, but they want to get fit. We have The Golf Lab here on site, so they do the fitting and there’s no guessing.”

In clothing, the ladies LPGA, Aureus and some Nike is selling.

The pro shop sells a lot of Pro V1 balls. Callaway and Wilson would be the second- and third-best sellers. A popular item is a ball with a Caddyshack logo on it. The course in Caddyshack was, of course, also named Bushwood.

OWL’S HEAD

Mansonville, Que.

Head pro Francis Graveline says the Diablo drivers are big sellers.

“When you try different clubs, they’ve always been a good club to hit,” says Graveline.

They also carry Callaway, King Cobra and Adams.

Diablo fairway woods are also solid, with the Cobra doing well.

As for hybrids, Graveline says it’s “Adams by a mile. It’s an awesome club.”

Vokey wedges are big sellers.

In irons, Cobra is the favourite with Callaway also doing well.

The Adams 14-piece set is popular.

Graveline says the Scotty Cameron and Odyssey putters both do well, “pretty even” in sales.

While Pro V1 is the hottest-selling ball, the pro shop sells plenty of Srixon, especially for women golfers.

In golf gloves, Srixon is “super comfy and at a good price.” Callaway gloves also sell.

Graveline says Ecco golf shoes are popular.

“I’m a big fan of them,” he says. “You put your feet in and you’re ready to go. They’re unreal. We’ve been carrying them for five years and they’re our biggest seller by far.”

Aureus clothing sells well and the club has brought in Puma.

Daily clothing for ladies does well.

“Daily has a lovely line and Puma is more for the younger crowd. The ladies are wearing a lot of pinks. For the men, it varies. Purple is in, so are bright greens.”

Sunice and Zero Restriction outerwear both do well.

Adidas, Oakley and Sundog sunglasses are available.

In golf bags, it’s Sun Mountain and Callaway.

“We sell the cart bags, more than the carry ones,” says Graveline.

The Sun Mountain four-wheeler is “lighter and more compact.”

A Titleist hat, with the Montreal Canadiens logo, is a big seller.

LIONHEAD GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

Brampton, ON

Kaneff Golf Group GM/vice president Boris Uvakov says the VR driver is doing well and “we sell a fair amount of custom orders through Ping. The G15 and VR are probably our best sellers.”

In hybrids, Nike is doing fairly well.

In wedges, it’s Cleveland.

Uvakov says there have been some custom orders for Ping irons.

As for putters, Uvakov says: “We’ve sold a few Methods. The Odyssey two-ball is still popular.”

While Pro V1 is the top-selling ball, Srixon, as an economy choice, also does well.

Uvakov says Nike clothing dominates, with some FootJoy and On Tour merchandise also on hand. FootJoy outerwear is also popular.

“With Nike, it’s the styling,” he says. “Your eyes just get attracted to it.”

Srixon gloves, at a great price point, have been good sellers.

While the higher-end shoe models don’t move, the Nike Tour and FootJoys sell.

Sundog sunglasses sell.

Nike and Titleist hats are probably No. 1 and 2.

Uvakov says, “we do fairly well with our accessories – belts, divot tools – but it’s nothing spectacular.”

TABOO RESORT GOLF AND SPA

Gravenhurst, ON

Director of Golf Operations Ryan Chatwin says the Taboo pro shop is Titleist exclusive.

“It’s our second year with the academy and The Golf Lab,” he says. “We’ve become the Muskoka area’s fitting base. We push all the Titleist clubs. It’s a great name and a great product.”

“With clothing, we do carry FootJoy shirts and raingear. Sunice is our biggest seller across the board. The product is fantastic and the price point is amazing. It’s such a great line.”

In shoes, Chatwin says the RealFits are the most popular shoe. “We don’t sell the $400 shoes,” he says. “People coming up here and buying shoes are the ones saying, ‘Oh, I forgot my shoes at home, I need to buy a pair to play today.’ ”

Taboo-logoed hats are popular. Logoed towels are also a hit. “It’s all about branding,” says Chatwin.

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