“PART OF THE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES OF PLAYING
GOLF IS TO HIT THE BALL BETTER. HOW CAN WE
POSSIBLY BE DOING OUR JOBS IF WE ARE NOT
FITTING AND TEACHING TO MAKE THE GAME
MORE FUN TO PLAY? THAT IS THE
FUNDAMENTAL GOOD OF THE GAME SIDE.”
How The PGA of America has
taken/ will take steps to
better equip PGA
Professionals to be more
influential
While outside forces are leading to
greater influence, so too are the initiatives being instituted by The PGA of
America. The PGA Professional is consistently gaining more influence, thanks
to contemporary education and training programs, a variety of player-devel-opment programs such as Play Golf
America and Get Golf Ready, continued efforts to build the PGA brand, and
ambitious marketing initiatives to promote PGA Professionals as the experts in every
facet of the game. Formation of the World PGA
—KEN MORTON SR., PGA
HAGGIN OAKS GOLF COMPLEX, SACRAMENTO, CALIF.
making golf more attractive to the masses, especially the younger generation.”
Retailing Expert: Q&A
Leigh Bader, PGA
Pine Oaks Golf Club,
South Easton, Mass.
Over the course of a quarter-century at Pine
Oaks Golf Club, Leigh Bader transformed a
240-square-foot golf shop into the 8,000-
square-foot Joe & Leigh's Discount Pro Shop —
the second largest on-course store in the
country. In 1995 and again in 2001, Bader was
honored as the national PGA Merchandiser of
the Year for public facilities.
PGA Magazine: A host of trends in the world of golf equipment,
combined with significant changes in retail, leave us with the
impression that PGA Professionals — particularly in small
green grass shops — are no longer losing market share and
seem to be in a position to take back part of the market. Agree
or disagree, and where to from here?
Bader: First, a look back. As a brief, oversimplified, history
lesson for those who weren’t in the business in the 1970s: It
used to be easy! A golf course shop was the place to go to
buy clubs and the PGA Professional was the person with
whom to talk. Consumer resources were a few magazines
and the PGA Professional. Equipment choices were few.
Fitting golfers into equipment was a matter of guiding
them to the “performance” of forged vs. the “playability”
of cast irons. The determination of shaft flex, lie angle and
shaft length involved some low technology devices such as
a yard stick, maybe a scorecard to slide under the toe and
heel of an iron at address, an inexact, Van-L loft and lie
“machine” and some educated observation. What color
finish do you prefer in woods, sir, and would you like a
Bullseye, Anser or maybe an Ironmaster putter? OEM
quality was generally mediocre. Ball choices were wound
vs. solid.
Today, things couldn’t be more different. There are
more models available in more categories than ever before.
In irons we have blades, game improvement and super
game improvement, hybrids which can replace irons and/or
fairway metals, drivers in titanium, and multi materials
with adjustable lie, loft, face and lie angle technology and
wedges with replaceable faces. Putters, long and short,
heel, center, and toe shafted. Quality is, generally,
outstanding. Ball choices include number of layers, feel,
spin and distance. Fitting technology includes launch
condition monitors, lasers, and radar technology once
reserved for the military. Now available in the golf shop of
your choice! Speaking of choices, there are thousands of
outlets, big and small, for golfers to buy
their equipment, and then there’s the
Internet. Consumer resources now include
Hot Lists, Obsolete Lists, many magazines,
TV, blogs, Web sites and, oh yes, one
resource stays the same — the PGA
Professional!
PGA Magazine: Could you please discuss how the significant
growth in clubfitting plays to the strengths of PGA
Professionals through lower inventory investment, having an
outdoor range, lower costs of ball-flight technology, and
personal contact?
Bader: Models, fitting attributes, fitting technology tools,
and the subsequent need to be properly fit has evolved and
exploded. OEMs are emphasizing the importance of being
properly fit to get the most enjoyment and performance
out of their equipment. This has opened the door for us to
effectively compete in distinctive ways from big-box golf
merchants. Here are some of those ways:
Skill Set: PGA Professionals’ expertise includes the golf
s wing, instruction, cause and effect of equipment features
and communication skills. We are the most highly trained
specialists in the industry.
Customer Intimacy: Big-box stores need to do tonnage.
This makes it difficult for their staff to dedicate enough time
to any individual customer. As PGA Professionals, we know
our members and golfers in deeper ways than they ever will.
Trust: The closer relationship cultivates mutual trust.
Golfers want to buy from someone they trust. This makes
for long-term relationships.
Low Entry Costs: OEMs have made available fitting carts
of different sizes and investments. Removable and
interchangeable heads have made these carts more
compact, complete and affordable.
Quick Turnaround: OEMs can turn around special orders
in a few days. This means a much lower, if any, inventory
level in store.
PGA Magazine: You manage the PGA Trade-In Network,
serving more than 6,000 retail accounts. How are PGA
Professionals using this service to deliver more value to their
customers?
Bader: In short, it allows those 6,000 members to offer new
equipment more affordably to their customers and perhaps
open up a new profit center for them, both in a financially
risk-free way! Offering legitimate, market values for trade-ins ( PGA.com Value Guide) accomplishes the affordability
part, selling the trade-in in the shop the next part. The
option to liquidate through the PGA Trade-In Network for
the amount offered in trade makes this financially risk free.
There’s a lot going on behind the scenes here. The goal in
creating this Network was to introduce similar
sophistication and resources into the golf industry that the
automobile industry has enjoyed for years. The PGA.com
Value Guide has market values for 52 brands and over 5,000
models. It is arguably our Industry’s standard — the Kelly
Blue Book of golf equipment, so to speak. The back end B2b
infrastructure allows streamlined liquidations. This is
similar to the wholesale auction network that drives the
secondary market in automobiles.
PGA Magazine: When it comes to golf’s hard goods, the
consumer is better educated than ever before. When they
walk into a PGA Professional’s golf shop, is having a staff
wearing the PGA logo more important because of this trend?
Bader: Yes, absolutely. Consumers are looking to the PGA
member more and more as the expert in fitting and
equipment. We shouldn’t keep it a secret that we are PGA
members. We need to display the logo on our clothing and
around the golf shop. It has more impact than ever.
PGA Magazine: For those PGA Professionals not reaping the
rewards of clubfitting, what advice would you give them on
how they can start to benefit?
Bader: Come on in, the water’s fine! Seriously, many PGA
members are already doing fittings to one extent or
another. That said, there is upside to everyone’s fitting
program.
