Golf pro finds retail a competitive challenge

Many of today’s golf pros are “teaching” or “club professionals” who studied golf management in college and went on to direct golf programs at country clubs or golf courses. Lynn Janson, owner of Egypt Valley Pro Shop in Ada (just outside Grand Rapids), got into the business the old fashioned way: as a playing professional.

One of Michigan’s winningest golfers, Janson played in numerous major championships, including the 1975 U.S. Open in Chicago at Medinah, where he was paired in the third round with his boyhood idol, Arnold Palmer.

Janson explained the unique history of the relation between golf pros and retail operations at golf courses and clubs.

“Historically, golf pros moved on from playing in tournaments to working with manufacturers, wholesalers or retailers, putting their expertise into the development and improvement of the equipment.”

As more clubs and courses opened, owners, who often had little interest in retail, would invite a former playing pro to offer lessons and open a shop as a separate business.

“In those early days, a club’s shop was viewed merely as a convenience for the player who forgot his golf balls or needed rain gear, and it was usually quite small,” said Janson. Today’s club and course owners are seeing the value of owning their pro shop as well, hiring a golf pro to manage it.

Janson’s own history as a golfer is impressive. Playing on Michigan State University’s golf team, he was named to the All-America second team as a senior. In 2000, his alma mater named him as the greatest golfer in the history of the university.

A five-time winner of the Michigan PGA “Player of the Year” Award and a multiple winner of both the Michigan Open and the Michigan PGA Championship, he was inducted into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Janson opened his first pro shop at the Green Ridge Country Club in Grand Rapids. In the late 1980s, the owners sold the Green Ridge property to a retail developer and bought new property in nearby Ada, where they had Egypt Valley built. Janson has now spent 15 years at each location and 30 years with the same club owners.

The store philosophy reflects the personality of the club: less formal, friendlier, younger than many country clubs. Friendliness and a soft-sell, low-pressure approach is essential with his clientele, Janson believes.

Egypt Valley has hosted the Senior PGA Champions Tour for 11 successive years, from 1994-2004. As a result of that first Senior PGA tournament, the pro shop started accepting credit cards, which hadn’t been necessary before then.

Members can charge their purchases to their club membership, billed monthly, so the shop doesn’t need bankcard processing for those transactions. But guests need to be able to use credit cards, and increasingly, members will use “premium” credit cards instead of charging to their club accounts, in order to get airline miles or other benefits.

After a few years with another processor, Joyce McKivitz, the store’s manager, switched to MRA for bankcard processing, to get better rates and customer service and free supplies.

As with many pro shops, members are routed through the shop before they golf. That helps with sales, but it also makes sense, because players come to the shop for service—to pick up clubs they keep stored there or arrange for a golf cart.

The shop also serves as a source of information about events. “I think retail is almost a sideline for Joyce and me—service is the main business,” said Janson.

Another area of their business that’s not strictly retail is ordering custom merchandise: golf balls with corporate logos, hats or shirts for specific events. Including special-order golf clubs, custom work is roughly 20 percent of their overall business.

Janson sees the shop’s biggest challenge as intensified competition. Michigan claims the title “America’s Summer Golf Capital,” and, according to Janson, Grand Rapids is one of the most competitive areas for golf in the nation.

“Manufacturers and suppliers bring their test markets here. It’s an interesting position to be in,” said Janson.

The shop’s primary competition is from “off-course stores,” the golf pros’ term for sporting goods retailers.

“Most club members won’t buy from another club’s pro shop, but increasingly they are shopping at off-course stores,” said Janson.

For McKivitz, the biggest challenge is working in a store associated with a private club, where most shoppers are members. It makes marketing simpler—they only advertise to members—and getting to know customers well is wonderful. But the lack of new faces is a challenge as well.

“We see many of our customers several times a month throughout the season, sometimes twice a week!” she said. “Repeat clientele presents a greater challenge—finding ways to catch members’ eyes with our merchandise.”

It helps that on Mondays the club hosts golf outings, which brings in nonmembers who are often thrilled with the store.

McKivitz tries to change the shop’s two center tables—one for men’s apparel and one for women’s—at least every two weeks. Seasonal changes help drive new product, but much depends on keeping turn high.

Inventory management is a constant struggle to maintain balance.

“We try to keep a lean inventory, but it keeps creeping up,” said Janson. “Golf clubs are especially difficult. We carry about 12 brands of clubs, and there’s a danger in keeping the inventory too lean. Members expect a wide choice.”

In the spring, peak season, the store keeps a larger inventory—three times what it carries in the fall. While all retail is somewhat seasonal, a pro shop is even more so, and the weather plays a large role. “Bad weather can impact the business tremendously,” said Janson.

The only months the shop is closed, however, are January and February. It does a good business for Christmas, especially with members who travel over the holidays and need golf merchandise for a trip, such as travel covers for clubs.

McKivitz, who has been with the store since just after it opened 15 years ago, says the best part of her job is working with Janson to serve their members. The two of them bring a professionalism to their jobs that helps put the “pro” in pro shop.

This article was written by Amy Buttery, Michigan Retailer staff writer.

Return to May Michigan Retailer Page one • MRA home