The professional , . . moves a lot of merchandise through his shop
Of the $474,455,500 in dollar and hats. sales for the four categories of volume that club professionals Of the $38,336 the pro's cus- clubs used by golfers—woods, did in total business last year in tomers spent in his shop last year, irons, utility clubs and putters. this country, 60.6 per cent is $12,267, or 32 per cent, was Irons lead the group in unit sales, derived from pro shop sales and plunked down for clubs; $8,434, racking up 49.5 per cent of all 22 per cent is the product of golf or 22 per cent, went to replenish pro shop club sales. Woods are car rentals, according to GOLF- golfers' supply of balls; $4,983, next, registering a 31.9 per cent DOM's First Annual Marketing or 13 per cent, helped deck out share of unit volume. Putters rank third with a 10.7 slice of and Research Study. The remain- men players in suitable attire; club movement, and utility clubs der of pros' income is accounted $4,600, or 12 per cent, was spent account for the remaining 7.9 per for by golf lessons, which con- to help the distaff players do the cent of sales. tribute 10.3 per cent and prize same; $2,684, or 7 per cent, fitted golfers out with shoes; $1,917, money, which brings the nation's These shares of unit volume or 5 per cent, for gloves; $767, pros an average 7.1 per cent of indicate that the average pro shop or 2 per cent, was spent by their income.* sold 36.3 sets of woods, 35.3 sets golfers in the novelties and gad- Thus, on a national basis, sales in of irons, 83.1 putters and 41.1 gets category, and $2,684, or 7 the shop contribute $287,520,000 utility clubs last year. per cent, represents purchases to the total revenue; car rentals In average dollar volume, irons made by golfers in the unspeci- account for $104,380,200 and les- put $6,070 into pro shop cash fied "other" category. sons $49,343,370. registers. Computations from fig- Average annual dollar volume Pros responding to GOLFDOM's ures reported by pros show the for pro shops is a handsome study questionnaires listed break- average iron sold in pro shops in $63,260. In dollar breakouts for outs for volume done in golf club this country retails for approxi- the four categories listed above "Only pertains to those reporting in this category. this means that pro shop sales run to $38,336; golf car rentals $13,917 and golf lessons $6,516. With most of the pro's income National club sales by category stemming from his retail oper- ation, GOLFDOM's study pin- points what each segment of shop sales contributes to the whole. Pros queried were asked to record their dollar volume in sales of clubs, golf balls, men's apparel, women's apparel, golf shoes, golf Irons Woods Putters Utility clubs gloves, novelties and gadgets, and an unspecified "other" category figures have been rounded which covered such things as bags mately $21.50. $16 per club. the average $8,434 worth of golf In the woods category, pros re- Utility clubs movement is run- balls moved out of each pro shop ported to GOLFDOM that the ning at a rate of about half that in the country last year. average number of sets sold was of putters, with average unit sales The 13 per cent contribution to 36.3 per shop, indicating an aver- hitting 41.1 per shop. In dollars pro shop sales made by men's ap- age selling price of $27 per club. this meant $945 to the pro, based parel last year represented $4,983 The usual set of woods, whether on a $23 per club figure, the ap- to each shop in sales. Nationally, including higher or lower number proximate price for a pro line this racked up a $37,377,600 total woods is four, showing the aver- sand or pitching wedge. in sales for male golfing attire. age annual dollar volume per shop Nationally, pros did golf club Lady golfers' haute couture ac- for woods to be $3,915. business to the tune of $45,525,000 counted for 12 per cent of shop Putters represent a good unit for irons; $29,362,500 for woods; sales, meaning the distaff was and dollar volume item for pro $9,975,000 for putters and only a shade behind the men in shops. GOLFDOM's study shows $7,087,500 for utility clubs. purchases of apparel for country that pro shops moved last year, Results of the study show that club and golf course. The ladies' on the average, 83.1 putters. This the 22 per cent of shop sales 12 per cent put $4,600 into the brought the pro shop a dollar accounted for by golf balls adds cash registers of each pro shop, turnover for putters of $1,330 $63,254,400 to pro revenue across on the average. Totally this fig- computed at the average price of the nation. This means that on ure hit $34,502,400.
Continued on page 60
Overall dollar volume $474,455,500 Average dollar volume for golf club sales $12,267*
49.5%
31.9%
10.7% 7.9%
Pro shop Golf car Golf lesson» " Prize Irons Woods Putter* Utility clubs sales rentals 5 49,343,370 money $6,070 $3,915 $1,330 $ 945 $287,520,000 $104,380,200 * •only pertains to those reporting in this category
Average annual dollar volume $38,336*
Golf clubs Golf balls Men's apparel Women's Golf shoes Golf gloves Novelties Other $12 267 $ 8.434 $ 4.983 apparel $ 2.684 $ 1.917 and gadgets $ 2,684 $ 4,600 $ 767
Total pro shop sales $287,520,000*
Total volume Total men's Total women's Golf shoes Golf gloves Novelties Other for clubs apparel sales apparel sales sales $14,376,000 and gadgets $20,126,400 $91,950,000 $63,254,400 $37,377,600 $34,502,400 $20,126,400 $ 5,750,400 using a base figure of 7,500 you want the bunker to drain. Building sand bunkers Fill the bottom of the ditch 4 inches deep with gravel (one- By Don Wright Superintendent, Carmago Club, Cincinnati fourth-inch to 1 inch size). The gravel should be top grade. Then Contrary to popular belief, the By having the floor of the bunk- place PVC tile or drain tile in bed primary purpose of a sand bunker er at least 12 inches above the of rock, making sure that there is not to trap the golfer's ball. fairway grade at its lowest point are 2 inches on each side of tile. And secondly, it is not placed in and the remainder of the floor at Place gravel on top and each side a location to penalize the player. an elevation of 1 foot to 5 feet to of tile up to the floor of the It is there to: (lj show the play- 1 foot to 10 feet above the lowest bunker and to the ground ele- er the way the golf course archi- point of the bunker surface, drain- vation outside the bunker. tect wanted the hole to be played; age is possible. This is called fac- (2] help define dog-legs; (3) give ing the bunker and allows it to be Do not cover with any kind of a perspective of the fairway in seen from the hitting area. An- soil. Seed or sod the ditch and let relation to the bunker; (4) frame other reason for surface drainage it cover by itself. It is then ready out greens and give them depth, is that when it rains very hard in for loose sand at a minimum depth and (5) add to the aesthetics of a short period of time the sub- of 8 inches. Finally, when placing the course. surface drainage doesn't take all sand in the bunker, be careful not to run a truck over the tile. With these five points in mind, the rain away. let's construct a sand bunker. Subsurface drainage is the key To begin with, locate it so it to good bunker drainage and will can be seen from the tee shot or greatly improve playing condi- The professional the fairway shot that is being tions if done properly. First, shape Continued from page 23 played to the green. Secondly, the floor of the bunker to drain don't treat a sand bunker as if towards the lowest elevation of At a total of $71,880,000 in it were just a hole in the ground the bunker. Then dig a ditch 8 golf clothing, apparel designed with sand in it! A well-designed inches by 12 inches at the highest for golfing must be reckoned as bunker has both surface and sub- part of the lowest elevation of the a major factor in the clothing busi- surface drainage as well as a bunker. Run the ditch so that it ness as must professional shop shape pleasing to the eye. falls all the way towards the area retailers who sell it. Footwear for golfers repre- sented 7 per cent of pro shop sales to the tune of $20,126,400. For each pro shop this means an additional $2,684 in volume, on the average. Golf gloves must be viewed as a retailing phenomenon and one of the relatively strong points in sales in the pro shop. An item of so relatively modest price ac- counts for an amazing total of $14,376,000 in sales. This means on the average, $1,917 in sales of gloves, which contribute 5 per cent to total pro shop volume. Novelties and gadgets in many instances figure as a plus for the pro. They may take the form of living room putters or novelty tie clips. They do, however, account for 2 per cent of shop volume which means $767 additional dol- lars per shop and $5,750,400 in countrywide revenue. The "other" category inGOLF- DOM's survey was an unspecified 7 per cent, including golf bags and hats. For the average pro mm shop this amounted to $2,684 in If the Maxfli Red doesn't get them, the Maxfli Green sales. Nationally, this resulted in or Black will. Sell Maxfli. They'll never know Maxfli aggregate sales of $20,126,400 how good they are until you do. By DIWLOP annually. • For more information circle number 24 on card 60 • GOLFDOM/1969 FEBRUARY