Club Pro v Internet

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Sid Rixon IV

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Having read the American Golf thread I wondered how many of us give the Club Pro an opportunity to price match or whether your Club Pro is even keen to do so.
Last week my Pro asked me to ensure I bought a set of irons from him (with a combined fitting/lesson) after pricing online. He matched my best find.
Similarly, I've bought shoes, bag, waterproof jacket and trolley on that basis in the last 2 years.
The only proviso is you provide the link so he can tackle his supplier.
He's also very supportive in getting replacements for returned goods that have proven faulty.
I'd not purchase equipment without allowing him to compete.
(I'm not including minor purchases such as gloves, balls etc)
 
Buy all irons and wedges from my Pro, as well as lessons. He knows me and my game, he knows what I want from a purchase and price matches himself. I do not get woods from him as he does not have aftermarket shafts and only does Ping and Mizuno. I get balls and gloves from the net as they are cheap, too cheap to push my pro on price.
 
It's ok if your club pro has a decent stock to choose from.
I will happily buy my club polo's/jumpers and other clothing from my pro, along with wedges as he now carries Cleveland RTX ones.
BUT, as he only stocks PING and TM gear, neither which I can stand, then I will not buy from him just for the sake of buying from him. Balls, he only stocks Titleist and Srixon, I prefer Mizuno and Bridgestone. He wasn't even aware that Mizuno made a ball but as he has long term supply contracts with the aforementioned manufacturers then he won't be stocking them anytime soon.
Similarly shoes, he only stocks FJ and ECCO shoes, neither of which I like (well except ECCO World Class GTX in brick red but at £250 that's not gonna happen).

So it's great for people to talk about supporting your pro, but what it the pro has nothing for you to support. I do what I can to give him trade but with limited choices having to be balanced against what is good for my game then the support I can offer will remain limited.
 
only used my club pro once never again.
he fit me for a set of ping g25 irons right from the word go i could not use these clubs after a month went back to him to be rifitted as i am sure the lie angle was wrongly fit.
he showed no intrest just claimed the ping fitting system was not very good this coming from a ping aproved stockist.
i am now stuck with a set of irons i can not use as i am not in the position to pay for another fitting
 
I feel sorry for the club pros because they really need demo carts from all the manufacturers to be able to offer the customer the chance to try out clubs prior to purchase. The manufacturers however expect a minimum annual turnover else the pro gets financial penalties.
I know it is around the £10k-£15k per annum per manufacturer.
It forces pros to concentrate on best sellers and push those manufacturers products.

Manufacturers to blame if you ask me to the detriment of all.
 
Always - I've asked my club pro if he can source me a new Odyssey putter. He's going to do that for me. He stocks Ping putters and his mate down the road in The Army stocks Odyssey - so they give each other business and take a little cut. He's getting me the putter to try out - no obligation to buy.
 
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gdc said:
I feel sorry for the club pros because they really need demo carts from all the manufacturers to be able to offer the customer the chance to try out clubs prior to purchase. The manufacturers however expect a minimum annual turnover else the pro gets financial penalties.
I know it is around the £10k-£15k per annum per manufacturer.
It forces pros to concentrate on best sellers and push those manufacturers products.

Manufacturers to blame if you ask me to the detriment of all.
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Do not feel sorry for them.... Its like any business, you need to be good at what you do and get out there.
 
Alex1975 said:
Do not feel sorry for them.... Its like any business, you need to be good at what you do and get out there.
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I probably feel more sorry for myself because it means I can't easily try out as many clubs as I'd like to.
I'd rather have access to all manufacturers in one place and not have to travel here,there and everywhere to try out different brands.
 
A Pro/course shop gets my business when they have the right something at the right price at the right time

I generally wont spend my time providing a pro shop (or any shop for that matter) with information about how uncompetitive they are or what they need to do in order to get my business

If they want folks to shop there then they'll already be taking steps for that to happen

Curious about this bit from your post...
Sid Rixon IV said:
He's also very supportive in getting replacements for returned goods that have proven faulty
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Prob just the way its worded but you'll know the pro has to be a lot more than supportive when they've sold you faulty goods?
In the first instance its their problem to deal with not the manufactures (great for the shop if they have a returns policy with them but doesn't change what he needs to do for you
 
Hi Slab.
Ive not returned anything but other players have told me how satisfied they've been.
He got one player's shoes replaced and they weren't even bought from him.
As for not aiding him to be competitive, if he quotes his price his first question is "Have you seen it for less?" then he'll match once he's seen the evidence.
When I bought my clubs from him I'm pretty sure he'd contacted the rep.
I assume that he, in turn, then gets a reduction to secure the sale.
 
GreiginFife said:
It's ok if your club pro has a decent stock to choose from.
I will happily buy my club polo's/jumpers and other clothing from my pro, along with wedges as he now carries Cleveland RTX ones.
BUT, as he only stocks PING and TM gear, neither which I can stand, then I will not buy from him just for the sake of buying from him. Balls, he only stocks Titleist and Srixon, I prefer Mizuno and Bridgestone. He wasn't even aware that Mizuno made a ball but as he has long term supply contracts with the aforementioned manufacturers then he won't be stocking them anytime soon.
Similarly shoes, he only stocks FJ and ECCO shoes, neither of which I like (well except ECCO World Class GTX in brick red but at £250 that's not gonna happen).

So it's great for people to talk about supporting your pro, but what it the pro has nothing for you to support. I do what I can to give him trade but with limited choices having to be balanced against what is good for my game then the support I can offer will remain limited.
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Pretty much the same for me, expect our only sells Ping clubs period!

I've since learnt he has another business so I think he doesn't put as much into the pro shop that he could to meet the needs of many members, comes across as too much of a comfort zone so 99% of my business, like many others, goes elsewhere.
 
Fish said:
Pretty much the same for me, expect our only sells Ping clubs period!

I've since learnt he has another business so I think he doesn't put as much into the pro shop that he could to meet the needs of many members, comes across as too much of a comfort zone so 99% of my business, like many others, goes elsewhere.
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Disappointed in you Fish ;)

Mind you - if my pro tells me the Odyssey putter he is getting for me to try out will cost me £120 when I can get it on-line for £90 I wonder how far my loyalty will stretch.
 
Our pro stocks Callaway.
Yesterday I took out the X Hot driver to see what the fuss was about (it's actually quite good!)
Their price (non-negotiable) is £199 - exactly the same as I'd pay in AG.....

Except AG are giving away a hybrid with it.....worth £129......

No brainer I'm afraid.

As we don't have a range and it's only possible to hit a few extra drives on the course, I asked if I could "borrow" the driver for an hour to go to the range about 3 miles away to give it a real go - bear in mind I'm well known to them and have been a Member for 4 years now - and the answer was a categoric No.

So if I wanted the X Hot Driver I'd go to AG or similar.
 
Imurg said:
Our pro stocks Callaway.
Yesterday I took out the X Hot driver to see what the fuss was about (it's actually quite good!)
Their price (non-negotiable) is £199 - exactly the same as I'd pay in AG.....

Except AG are giving away a hybrid with it.....worth £129......

No brainer I'm afraid.

As we don't have a range and it's only possible to hit a few extra drives on the course, I asked if I could "borrow" the driver for an hour to go to the range about 3 miles away to give it a real go - bear in mind I'm well known to them and have been a Member for 4 years now - and the answer was a categoric No.

So if I wanted the X Hot Driver I'd go to AG or similar.
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They don't help themselves do they but expect our custom!

Its so refreshing when I go and play at many other courses how diverse the pro shops are, in the main they all have a few stands of various manufacturers irons & woods, various putters, loads of balls & accessories, shoes, bags and clothing, some have trade-in clubs for sale, and although that area may not be that profitable, it keeps the footfall coming in and hopefully they think they'll pick up other stuff when in their. Its obvious on my travels which pro shops have embraced the needs of their members and the ones which have blinkers on. I don't think I've been to one recently which doesn't have a Sale (half price) rail of clothing, always worth a rummage through ;)
 
My pro is a conundrum. Offers me some great deals (Myjoys etc) but when I wanted a quote for my Ping he wouldn't get close to what I could get elsewhere so he didn't get the gig. I have known him for years, socially as well as in his working capacity and I don't expect "mates rates" but I would like him to be competitive.
 
The irons and woods I bought recently, I didn't actually get from my own pro, but I did actually use a different pro, who has a lot of connections to family friends.

This guy had a full stock, let me try loads of clubs on the range using trackman, and didn't push any particular club on me. When I had chosen, we went and looked on the internet for the cheapest price, and then beat it! I was very very impressed. Happily reccomend to anyone.
 
Imurg said:
Our pro stocks Callaway.
Yesterday I took out the X Hot driver to see what the fuss was about (it's actually quite good!)
Their price (non-negotiable) is £199 - exactly the same as I'd pay in AG.....

Except AG are giving away a hybrid with it.....worth £129......

No brainer I'm afraid.

As we don't have a range and it's only possible to hit a few extra drives on the course, I asked if I could "borrow" the driver for an hour to go to the range about 3 miles away to give it a real go - bear in mind I'm well known to them and have been a Member for 4 years now - and the answer was a categoric No.

So if I wanted the X Hot Driver I'd go to AG or similar.
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Hi Imurg,
If you could have tried it out at the driving range (and liked it) would you have bought it from your pro in spite of the hybrid offer?
 
Still waiting for Odyssey putter to arrive to try out and yestersday asked my pro what he'd do if I didn't like it. He said - no problems - he's happy to take that risk and hold it as it's a good putter and he knows he'll sell it pretty pronto so I needn;t worry on that front. Good man. Good service. Now let's see how much he's going to charge me. On golf bidder I can get it new for £90-£105. What would you pay to give your pro the business.
 
I've just bought an Anser cart bag. The best tinternet price was £99 with free postage. I asked the pro if he would like to match the price, he said he would if he could get the bag. Sadly he said Ping had none left as they were limited edition production run.
I got it off the web and it arrived next day. I'll always ask the pro but sometimes they will not budge far.
 
drawboy said:
I've just bought an Anser cart bag. The best tinternet price was £99 with free postage. I asked the pro if he would like to match the price, he said he would if he could get the bag. Sadly he said Ping had none left as they were limited edition production run.
I got it off the web and it arrived next day. I'll always ask the pro but sometimes they will not budge far.
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Depends I'm guessing on how much business you give him. In the last three yrs I've bought a Ping driver, a Ping four wood, a Callaway five wood and a Cleveland rescue club, plus two Titleist vokey wedges, a Ping carry bag, a pair of Footjoys - and a pair of shorts and a pull trolley. Now that adds up to a fair amount of money from one member - about £780.
 
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