Thanks to those who replied both on and off the list to my first question. Upon reflection, I think I was attracted to the golf course shop for reasons beyond the commercial potential. As in, I could waste, er spend, my free time on the range and putting green. ;)
OK I have another question. It's shorter, if not simpler. Has anyone ever figured out who their *typical* customer is? In terms of handicap/ability, experienced/inexperienced, looking to save money or for better fit, etc. If he had to buy off the rack, would he be a Titleist-Ping-Callaway guy or a Northwestern guy? Or maybe used clubs from eBay? Is he a golf club nut who is constantly on the make for a better club? -- Doug Clark ----- Original Message ----- From: "Corey Bailey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, September 15, 2003 12:25 AM Subject: Re: ShopTalk: What size town for a clubmaker > OK, the cat is out of the bag, I'm an Audio Engineer, not a full time > clubmaker. > But, > Being a part-time clubmaker who services two public courses and until > recently stocked the pro shop for one of them, I can offer the following: > > Golfers show up at golf courses to play golf, not buy clubs. They will > however, pick up an occasional club they may need if the price is right. I > found that the clubs that sell out of the pro shop are the utility clubs > and putters. And more putters. That's about it. The full sets of irons and > drivers I sell are by word of mouth. Golfers, when walking into a retail > golf shop, are there to look at and talk clubs. I would look for the > higher volume foot traffic with convenient parking and then make deals with > the local courses. > > CB > > > AL Taylor wrote: > > Second, I would be a bit more positive on the GC location. You also > > have something to give a golf course. On course repairs. Of course your > > benefits are the fitting and sales of new custom clubs. You may be able > > to work a deal such as very low or no rent in exchange for doing the > > repairs they drum up at a discount. etc etc. (read, they make a profit > > on your repairs) Of course your particular skills will come in to play > > also, but heck, talk is cheap and fun. ;-)) Good luck. > > > >Al > > > >At 11:19 AM 9/13/2003, you wrote: > >>Hello all, > >> > >>I am a hobbyist clubmaker with about 5 years experience. I am considering > >>opening a retail shop. > >>My question is, what would any of you say is a rule of thumb for the size of > >>a town/city/area needed to support one storefront clubmaking operation? > >> > >>I have a lot of retail business experience. I sold my retail non-golf > >>business and am now in semi-retirement, but I am wishing for more contact > >>with customers again. I could probably start another non-golf business and > >>just keep my clubmaking as a hobby. But talk is cheap and fun, so .... > >> > >>I am talking about a retail storefront, not my garage. My midwestern USA > >>county is rural but on the expanding fringe of a large metro area. We are > >>talking basic midwest, not Myrtle Beach or some other golf mecca. > >> > >>The total county population is probably, oh, 40,000. There are no > >>clubmaking retail shops in the county. If there are any professional > >>basement/garage shops, they are unknown to me. My particular town is > >>~6,000, and has about 20,000 (including the 6,000) within 15 minutes drive. > >>The biggest town in the county has 2 country clubs, about 20 minutes from > >>here, and each of those has an in-house club repair guy. I don't gather > >>that they get a lot of business from outside their members/golfers. There > >>are a few other courses in the area and out to a half-hour away, such as > >>munis, daily fee 18's, 9-holers, etc. I don't see any of them doing > >>anything significant in clubmaking and repairs. > >> > >>It is possible, but I don't know how likely, that I could rent a basically > >>vacant building of approx. 500 sq feet that is on the grounds of a nice 18 > >>hole daily fee course. They don't do much of anything, pro-shop wise. > >>There is no club pro to speak of, although one does have an arrangement to > >>leave business cards and travels 45 minutes to the course to give lessons by > >>appointment. I mean, in the clubhouse, they sell golf balls and caps and > >>such, no clubs! > >> > >>The building I could MAYBE rent, if the owner goes along with it, is right > >>by the first tee, practice green, and driving range. I think it served as a > >>temporary proshop while the main building was under construction. It's a > >>nice little building that looks to be a junk bin right now. :) > >> > >>If there appears to be any merit to it, I'll have to get more training and > >>certification, plus more research on the business end of things. But for > >>now: What is your seat-of-the-pants opinion on whether or not this is a big > >>enough market to support a one-man retail storefront? Or, does being on the > >>18 hole course trump all the other considerations? > >> > >>Thank you very much, > >> > >>Doug Clark > >
