Member Service Is Prime Point of Pro Shop Design B«# PAT PATTEN Professional, Orinda (Calif.) Country Clnb

I've been seeing in GOLFDOM from time ing the charges necessary to secure and to time plans for new clubhouses to be hold membership is buying the privilege of built when conditions permit and have spending his money under the most pleas- studied especially the location of pro shops. ant circumstances. It is plain that the function of the pro The well-run pro department gives the shop and where to put it still is generally member, for nothing, what can't often be in a minor place among the factors archi- bought at any price elsewhere. The pro's tects consider in planning the clubhouse genuine and expert personal interest in the that will be a model for years to come. member's game is expressed by free, Usually in the older clubhouses the specialized advice on playing and by con- lockerrooms and the pro shops are dark, veniently arranged paid lessons when the poorly laid out for service and not at all in member so desires. keeping with the theme of "class" and The pro at a private club has to make service which should prevail at a private careful study of what his members need club. and can afford in equipment for their The background of the pro shop explains games. The difference in the pro and store why so many pro shops are too small, in- policy is that the pro buys to serve while conveniently located and too dark for the the store buys to sell. proper display of merchandise to be used Supervision of handicaps, caddies, ar- in a game played in the sunshine. Origin- ranging and conducting tournaments and ally the pro shop was built around the club- arranging games for members who come maker's bench. Members had to find their out to the club without having spots in way to that shop when a hickory shaft foursomes, conducting juvenile classes, and broke. The apprentices, assistants or club- seeing to a number of other details for makers were not of a disposition to demand assuring the member's enjoyment of his good light for their workshop. Then too club, are duties which center in the pro the caddie situation was casually handled shop. and nothing like today's tie-up of the pro shop merchandising, club storage, club Architects' Blindspots cleaning and caddie management existed. Yet how rarely does the location and But such great changes have been made construction of the pro shop indicate the in golf that the club with an out-dated type vital importance of the pro's functions. of pro shop today is not giving its mem- However as the pro considers the archi- bers what they're paying for. tectural errors in lockerrooms he is not in- clined to complain that he has been dis- Pros, in many instances, at their own criminated against but to be constructive expense have modernized and brightened in hoping that his ideas may help progress shops as far as rigid architectural limita- toward the perfect clubhouse. tions will permit. The pros, of course, have done this work in the hope of attracting The first point in properly fitting the pro more business into their shops. And it shop into the clubhouse general scheme is would interest club officials and members locating it where as much traffic as pos- to know how often such improvements sible would pass through. From the pro's have gone so deeply into the pro's income merchandising viewpoint such location of that he actually has lost money in provid- course would be highly desirable but a loca- ing a service that is essential to first class tion for maximum traffic and convenience club operation. would be even more desirable for the mem- bers. A Dividend on Membership Fee The ideal spot would be one correlated The thinking pro looks at his job at a with the men and women's lockerrooms, private club as something that theoretic- the first tee and the eighteenth green. For ally and actually gives the member a de- convenience of all involved the handicap finite profit on what the member pays in board should be located in the pro shop so initiation fees and dues. the cards could be kept up to date and The member of a private club by pay- easily consulted. Golfers need to be reminded of their re- serve soft drinks and sandwiches to the quirements. That's one of the services the boys from a place adjacent to where they pro is expected to render. He must do his receive and pass in bags. This the architect selling- by wise selection of stock, attrac- also has to bear in mind, and to consider tive and easily inspected display and swift that with many members to serve and service rather than by any high-pressure many functions to perform the pro depart- selling. He is at the club to serve rather ment not often has more than a pro, an than to sell, but he's got to sell and sup- assistant, a club-cleaner and a caddie-mas- port himself to a considerable extent or the ter and usually has some of those jobs club won't be able to secure the character combined as one fellow's duties. Hence the of pro service required by a first class pri- layout of the shop must be such that all vate organization. parts can be watched by one man. There is a lot of paperwork to a pro's Club storage and cleaning will get back business; far more than the architects, club to the former standard as more young men officials and members realize. But space susceptible to training become available. for a pro office is a rare thing in pro shops. Facilities must be provided so a good and Also a rarity is adequate storage space complete job can be quickly and conveni- for merchandise. The pro today is ex- ently done. pected to have on hand an inventory far Club storage facilities seldom are ade- larger than most members would imagine. quate or properly placed. I believe that The old days of the member being content the best club storage racks are those simple with having the pro send away for some- ones made of pipe so the bags can be set thing the member wanted were about gone in horizontally and at a slight angle. Divi- before the war. Now that merchandise is sion pipes would protect further against getting more readily available the mem- damage to adjacent bags. Such racks have bers expect the pro to have it on hand. no sides, top or bottom to collect dust. The burglary risk at pro shops having The storage should be separate from the inadequate storage of stock is a factor cleaning room. architects very seldom consider. I believe that a main reason for the Light from windows, skylights and elec- architectural inadequacies of pro shops is trical fixtures is a primary need in the pro a mistaken belief that the good pro shop shop to give it the cheerful atmosphere is only for the pro. It is mainly for the every part of a golf club should have. That member. It should have some loafing and element is as necessary to the member's waiting facilities so the member could stay pleasure as it is to the pro in the proper there and chat until his foursome showed display of merchandise. up and not feel that he was in the way. Not often is there enough wall space for The pro will be very surprised and highly display of pro shop merchandise. The content if his shop is designed for making architect must remember that the member service to the member as easy, complete of a private club expects his pro to have and bright as is humanly possible. Then available for his inspection and possible the pro will get his own profit and satis- purchase a wide variety of merchandise. faction in due course. What the architect doesn't know is that generally the pro at a private club stocks and displays more lines of golf merchan- GEORGE CHRIST DIES—George M. Christ, dise than a high grade down-town store 52, pro at Country Club of Rochester, N.Y., died does. at his home in Rochester, June 26, after a long If the architect can figure out how to illness. George succeeded Walter Hagen as pro serve the member without having wall at the club in 1918. Prior to receiving a back space for the display of this variety, he injury George was an excellent golfer. As a club will be solving a problem that has kept pro he was a fine pattern of a friend, host and many a pro puzzled for years. businessman. George had considerable to do with the development of pro and amateur talent in The showcase, except for balls and some western New York. He was a grand character small accessories and as a place for the who'll be missed by golfers all over the country. sales books, is on its way out at pro shops. His widow, a son and three daughters survive. But in changing to the open table dis- play so merchandise can be seen and hand- led easily (in most instances protected by FLORIDA GSA ELECTS—O. S. Baker, Indian cellophane wrappings) the pro again has a Creek CC, Miami Beach, Fla., was elected pres., problem of inadequate and poorly laid-out Florida Assn. of Golf Course Supts. during the floor space. He needs help here and a lot business meeting that was a part of the organiza- of it from the architect. tion's first annual turf management conference. Ralph Linderman, Mountain Lake (Fla.) CC was Layout for Complete Service elected vp and Ward L. Wood, Palm Beach (Fla.) Caddie control often has to be centered CC, sec.-treas. The new organization has a mem- in the pro shop. It may be necessary to bership of approximately 60.