Brooks Golf Club
Brooks, AB
Asked about the drivers that have sold the best, head pro Jeff Ward said: “The G400 is the most sought after here. Rogue and Cobra F8 have done well, along with Titleist 917.”
As for iron sets, he said: “Ping is once again the most popular iron around here. The G400 and G700 have been very well received from our demo days and lead the way for orders. AP3 has also proven to be a popular choice this year; some players have picked up an extra club in distance.”
In wedges, the Vokey SM7 is popular thanks to the different grinds and bounces available. The Ping Glide 2.0 Stealth wedges have gone over well. In hybrids, the G400 and Crossover are popular. The Titleist 818H and the Callaway Rogue hybrids have also gotten a lot of interest.
As for putters, Ward said: “Ping Sigma G series has sold out already. Scotty Cameron is one people are always on the lookout for, and Odyssey Works Red/Black Line have hit the mark with a lot of customers.”
The shop expanded its men’s clothing line to include adidas and Sunice and they’ve been popular. Nike has always been a bestseller and by adding the club logo to all the shirts, the club’s sales have picked up.
In outerwear, Sunice does very well with vests, windshirts and rain jackets that are all comfortable and breathe.
In ladies clothing, Ward said: “Dexim is the most popular line here. The golf dress has been our bestseller for the last couple of years. Nike always is one of our bestsellers as well, especially this year with brighter colours, but also as a lifestyle line more than just a golf line. Our other popular seller this year has been the adidas rangewear dress. We have sold out and had to re-order. Sunice, Antigua and Lopez have also been moving well.”
In shoes, it’s FootJoy, adidas and Skechers for men, with the Contour Fit being the bestseller. In ladies’ shoes, the shop offers FootJoy and adidas. Said Ward: “The W Response Bounce was flying out the door as soon as we brought them in.”
As for golf balls, Ward said: “Titleist seems to be the one everyone is purchasing around here. The TP5 and TP5X have made strong inroads with the membership, and the Truvis does well in this area. We also brought in Volvik Vivid for a trial and did very well with the red and green colours.”
The FootJoy WeatherSof is the bestselling glove for men and women. The shop added the Ping Tour glove and it has sold well.
The shop sells only cart bags, with Sun Mountain, Ogio, Ping and Datrek selling well.
The shop carries Sundog sunglasses.
It’s the shop’s first year carrying Garmin products; the S20 and X40 Approach Watches have both sold out. The Nikon Cool Shot rangefinders have also proven popular.
As for hats, the BGC Golf Club hats are the most popular seller with Titliest and Ping fitted hats right behind. Nike hats always do well thanks to Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Ward added: “We don’t have a very large junior program, but we sell a large number of US Kids Sets of clubs. They range in size from 39 to 63 inches in right and left hand and are very reasonably priced for getting your child into the game.”
As for serving the clientele, Ward said: “Customer service is always a challenge, but I have been lucky to have a great group of young people in the shop this year who understand that keeping people happy leads to repeat business and more sales. It is always tough to make up revenue when you open up five weeks later than normal, but with the right people in place it can be done.”
THE MARSHES
Ottawa, ON
Head pro Derek MacDonald is hoping to expand his shop stock in the near future.
“We do some equipment,” he said. “But because we’re a public facility and not a big membership, we haven’t been bombarded with requests. That’s one thing we’re going to push forward a lot more with next year with the Golf Academy, is to really start promoting fittings on the range. We have Titleist’s fitting cart.
“Mostly, it’s just soft goods. Because we’re public, most people come just for the day. People want to buy a shirt that has a logo and away they go.”
Among the clothing options is Levelwear. Said MacDonald: “I like them because they have so many different options for logoing and branding on their shirts, so it’s a hot seller. We have FootJoy, Travis Mathew, Nike, Puma. We do a few different brands.”
It’s much of the same in the women’s lines of clothing.
Adidas could be in the mix in 2019.
Golf balls are always bestsellers, with the shop Titleist-heavy.
“We sell a lot of golf balls thanks to our second hole,” said MacDonald. “If people haven’t played here before, they get to No. 2 and it’s, ‘Oh, my!’ Pinnacle is a hot seller; Pro V is extremely hot. It would be our No. 1.”
In shoes, it’s FootJoy and Nike.
Said MacDonald: “We find most of the time hotel guests get here and realize there’s a golf course here. Then they rent clubs, but haven’t brought their shoes. We find that’s where a lot of our shoe sales are.”
As for hats, he said: “We go through a lot of hats here. Typically, we have a lot of Marshes hats and I stock the different brands: Titleist, Ping, TaylorMade, Travis Mathew.”
In sunglasses, it’s Sundog and Electric. Speaking about the Electric brand, MacDonald said: “I think they’re very sexy-looking sunglasses. They’re advertising themselves as golf sunglasses, but it’s something I would wear more off the golf course.”
So, what about 2019?
Said MacDonald: “Next year, I want to find more knick-knacky, memorabilia items, so we’ll be fully stocked with that kind of stuff.”
NORTH BATTLEFORD GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB
North Battleford, SK
Asked about what his shop stocks, director of golf Dana Johnson said: “We have pretty much everything. Our two biggest suppliers are Callaway and TaylorMade. We do bits and pieces from Ping, Titleist and pretty much everybody else.
“Business has been great. We’re a little shop. We’d be lucky to be 1,000 square feet with the pro shop. For us, in a little shop in a smaller city, we still do $100,000 in hard goods. That’s pretty good for a little shop.”
And about the equipment, he said: “Rogue is still leading in the woods; the M4 is a close second. There’s still a big following with the Odyssey O-Works putters. When Tiger Woods started using the Ardmore putter, then the TaylorMade putters took off. We still did fairly well with Epic Star. The driver’s $1,000, but we had a pretty good run on them – like six drivers for us from one model, that’s huge. The Mac Daddy 4 wedge has been strong; the TaylorMade TP Milled has been strong. Third would be the Vokey SM7.”
Fitting is important for them.
Said Johnson: “Fitting is huge. I’ve been in the business since 1990. The biggest thing we tell people is we can show you an improvement on a fitted set of golf clubs over what you’re currently playing. I tell people ‘we’re not going to sell you a set of clubs just because I’ve got some clubs on the rack. If it’s not right for you, we’ll just order it in.’ The biggest advantage we have over some of the discount shops is you’re hitting in simulators there. We’re outside; you can see how far the ball flies. Fitting is so important, even with putters.”
As for golf balls, Johnson said: “One of the latest crazes has been the AVX ball, the new ChromeSoft ball has been great, the TP5 has still been strong. Pro V1 is always strong.
“Believe it or not, the sought-after golf balls for us are the coloured golf balls – the Noodles, the neons, and the Callaway Bolds. I jumped on board with Volvik last year and couldn’t keep the balls in stock. I know a lot of pros maybe missed the boat and didn’t bring in the coloured balls because I gave up some of my inventory to other pros. Recreational golfers are just finding it easier to see.”
In men’s clothing, Travis Mathew does well, then there’s adidas and Callaway. In women’s clothing, Dexim is the No. 1 seller by far. Then there’s some adidas and Nike.
In outerwear, it’s Levelwear and Sunice.
In shoes, it’s Nike, PUMA and ECCO.
As for hats, Johnson said: “We’ve done New Era with our logo which has been spectacular. A lot of people are loyal to their brand of club they play.”
In gloves, it’s Callaway and TaylorMade.
In bags, it’s mostly Callaway, with some TaylorMade and Under Armour.
And the shop is thinking outside the box. How about this from Johnson:
“This might sound funny, but we have a lady anklet ball marker (from One Putt Designs). We started selling them in 2017 and we’re sold out of the product again. We like to find things that nobody else has. Everybody’s got a Bushnell range finder, but this is something different. It’s something that’s really neat, maybe for a Mother’s Day present.”
MACTAQUAC GOLF COURSE
Fredericton, NB
Head pro Alex Egan said the M4 drivers have been popular, as the most asked-for in the shop. The 917 is probably the next most popular, followed by Cobra.
In iron sets, the AP3s have been good sellers, with the M4 also doing well.
In wedges, it’s the SM7.
In putters, Egan said the shop has “gone through a pile of Scotty Camerons and Odyssey 2-Balls.”
The shop just carries Titleist, with the Pro V1 and VIX selling well.
AVX has also sold well.
In men’s clothing, the shop has done well with FootJoy and adidas. They’ve also found success trying Columbia.
In women’s clothing, it’s adidas and Nivo.
The shop has been selling 2UNDR underwear for the past three years and has probably sold about 50 pairs this season.
In shoes, the shop basically sells FootJoy, with the DNA and Pro SL popular.
The shop sells mostly cart bags: TaylorMade and Titleist are popular.
Asked about the shop specifically, Egan said: “Our shop is larger than most; we’re in a provincial park. The building is 50 years old, put up by the province.”
BLUE DEVIL GOLF CLUB
Calgary, AB
Asked about which drivers sell well in the shop, head pro Blake Clayton said: “We carry TaylorMade, Titleist and Ping. By far, the Twist Face M3 and M4 drivers have been our No. 1 sellers. When you get the amount of street cred off the guys on tour – when they’re crushing it and winning with it – that translates down to the average golfer. It certainly motivates them to buy that product.”
As for sets, he said: “Our pro shop doesn’t sell a whole lot of sets. We have a smaller membership. From my limited sales, Ping irons did very well. The products they’ve had out for the past few seasons have done extremely well for us.”
As for wedges, he said: “By far this year, it’s the new SM7, they’ve been really hot.”
Speaking about putters, Clayton said: “Any of the Spider Tours sell well. Having it on TV almost every week – winning – it draws people to them. Tiger moves the needle a lot, obviously. We’ve seen a lot of people convert from the toe-head putter blade, or a variation of that, to try and use that face stability that those Spider and Ardmore kind of newer designs have.”
As for golf balls, he said: “Pro V1 is still a huge seller, AVX sold well. I think more people are intrigued by it because it’s new. Honestly, sales wise, dollar for dollar, the TP5 ball has sold incredibly well. We carry Srixon and it has its own cult following.”
As for shoes, Clayton said: “adidas Boost has been super popular, a smash for us in our shop. What they’re doing with golf shoes – integrating the Boost into those shoes – translates well into our market for 40-plus players who are on their feet a lot, and maybe have to wear dress shoes, and want to wear a comfortable shoe on the golf course.”
As for bags, he said: “I don’t think there’s a brand that outsells another in our shop. I feel like people are purchasing more cart bags than carry bags. When I was younger, you typically didn’t see a lot of those bulky cart bags unless it was a 60-year-old senior that rode a cart all the time. Now you’re seeing 20-somethings roll in and they want a big bag. The trend is getting away from the double-strap, lightweight carry bag.”
In men’s clothing, Clayton said the shop “dabbles in a bit of everything, from Travis Mathew to Sunice to Nike to adidas. Our shop now is primarily adidas.”
In women’s clothing: “We sell a lot of adidas. We’ve always done really well with Sunice. The last couple of years they’ve done a really good job with introducing some solid sleeveless polos. Outerwear is dominated by Sunice – great design, great colours, great fit.”
Branding is important to the shop.
Said Clayton: “The biggest thing nowadays is putting your stamp on unique items. I’ve been in the business for a long time. Back in the day, golf courses didn’t brand themselves much. You’d throw a crest on a golf shirt or a hat or something like that. Now it seems like the trendy thing to do is to get headcovers made or get big tour towels with embossed towels.”
Another item that sells very well is the Eco Vessel insulated water bottle, with bright colours and a logo.
As golf shops seem to be bouncing back across the country, Clayton said: “A few years ago things were a bit different. People gravitated more to those big box stores. In the past few years, things have maybe started tilting back in our direction. Finally, the emphasis on club fitting got past the drive for a deal. That was always the motivation for the green fee player: go to the store and get the best deal. Now, it seems like the average player is asking, ‘where can I get the best fitting experience because I’m going to invest $1,000, or $2,000, or $3,000 in a golf set. I want that to be really dialed in.’
“That’s where professionals like myself can help. Pro shops have guys on staff that can do that. A lot of clubs have TrackMan or FlightScope, and it’s at the point now where hitting it into a net or a screen five or 10 feet in front of you isn’t enough anymore for consumers. That’s where we clawed back. The club companies have put so much time and effort into getting customers fitted, they want their stuff to perform properly. If a person is hitting a longer, straighter driver, the likelihood of them getting a 3-wood probably goes up if they’re fit properly and the driver is performing like it should.”
