THE GOOD GOLF SHOP

  As you know, the golf shop is the hub of the facility.  It is where golf and conversation begins.  Today’s post is about improving the golf shop in 2014.  Because there are many types of golf facilities, with a wide variety of shops and clients, this post will be based on a general theme while providing thoughts on becoming more effective in the new season.

  Because your shop may be at a resort, private club, or a 36 hole public facility, you may be serving an average of 250 golfers, all the way up to thousands of golfers over the season.  One of the real lessons to learn about the golf shop is that it has little to do with retail.  Yes, there are transactions, but your business is about far more than transactions.  It is about wants, desires, and dreams.  The business must first begin with a plan, and move all the way to teaching people how to use what they will purchase.  You have the great opportunity to know your golfers far beyond a big data story.

  Creating a better golf shop includes watching the details.  It also includes building relationships with every person of value in your world.  This includes your golfers, your team, and your suppliers.  Today there is an added thought in the standard mix of five.  Here they are in general terms:

IMPROVING THE EXPERIENCE:

1. Build a plan for the entire season.  Know you will need to tweak the plan often as you move through the year.  Weather, course conditions, new products and trends will each play a part in the tweaks
2. Manage your shop by product category.  Watch sales each week by category.  Know the 3 categories that drive over 50% of your sales.  Sell off the slow movers quickly
3. Know that your shop should be about Edutainment!  Focus your shop on flair and fashion, while you focus time on educating staff and golfers on your goods.  Never leave education up to web sites and magazines.  You are the teacher.  Create your own stories
4. Know the top 20% of your golfers who drive 80% of your sales.  Think about those numbers.  First know exactly who they are, and then know everything about them, their families, and their golfing dreams
5. Provide good/better/best product options.  There is low-hanging fruit in every golf shop.  Be certain to address daily needs as well as the dreams
6. Promote/Promote/Promote: the goods do not sell themselves.  Have your plan extend to the sale and well as the after sale trials, and lessons.  Create events that interest and excite your golfers.  When you work with your golfers, you are improving their game as well as building your golf shop.

  The good golf shop includes the very key ingredients of products, passion, trial, and learning.  Have the golf shop where all can come to have FUN, to learn, and to live out their golfing dreams.

  Over the next three weeks, I will present three blog posts on the PGA Show and the merchandise business for 2014.

Jack Dillon is the author of the highfive series.  Jack is an expert in building and improving the golf shop.  His e-mail address is highfives81@yahoo.com.  He can be reached at 407-973-6136.  Jack is available as a speaker and consultant.  His passion for excellence infects everyone on site.  He is a member of the PGA Speakers Bureau.