.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} tr.d0 td { background-color: #ccccff; color: black; }
Traffic is picking up at local golf stores as people become eager to get back into the swing of golf. The next couple of months are bigger than the holidays for these niche retailers, as they unveil new products and host events to draw people in. And they may be even more important this year, as one of the harshest winters in recent Iowa history has kept avid golfers from hitting the course and wanting new gear so far.

“I think there’s a lot of cabin fever right now,” said Ron Hornbaker, senior vice president of sales and operations for Twin Cities-based Golf Galaxy Inc., which has a store in West Des Moines. “There’s been a demand; we certainly saw that this weekend. People are coming in a lot more as the weather warmed, and I think it will just continue.”

“This has been a tough winter for everyone, really, a lot of snow,” said Gary Updegraff, who has owned Golf Headquarters in Windsor Heights for around 20 years. “I think people are going to be anxious. … We need about three days of 70s to get rid of all this snow and we’ll be fine. Get everyone playing again.”

Living through one of his worst winters yet, Updegraff said, “We didn’t see (sales) growth at all.” Yet, he’s hopeful that a new line of products released this month, which he describes as “the best ever made in the history of the game,” will attract many people into his store in the next few weeks.

Hornbaker agreed that “the weather definitely impacted us this year,” but with stores in 29 states, many of them in the South, the company has been able to mitigate the financial effects of problems in the upper Midwest. Still, with one competitor leaving the market recently, Hornbaker said, sales and membership in the company’s advantage club in Des Moines have climbed steadily over its 10 years in business here.

In her first year in business, Lisa Ballenger is pleased with the amount of traffic coming into her Golf Etc For Women store, even though sales tapered off in January as people were looking for bargains. “That’s successful for me being very much a niche store and what’s conceived as a seasonal store,” she said. She also has overcome a significant drop in sales last fall, which she claims was due to “some things that occurred within West Glen that really was a disadvantage.

“I really worked hard to build my business back up from that,” Ballenger said. “I was very close to my projections.”

Golf retailers attribute their ability to overcome the tough winter to a focus on events that draw people into the store and the expectation that spring sales will be strong.

Ballenger tries to host an event once a month, has a PGA professional give lessons on the golf simulator, sends out newsletters to regular customers and is involved in community organizations to try to market the business.

“That’s really the key to being successful in winter,” she said, “finding ways to get people into your store.”

Events at the women’s speciality store range from a wine and cheese party to an educational talk about golf etiquette to having a short clinic. To draw people in last fall, she conducted a drawing in October, where she drew a date and those shoppers who shopped on that date in September, won a gift card for the amount they spent. Her golf simulator also has been a major business driver, with lesson times filling up in spring, even with men who have nowhere else to go to practice their swings, she said. And she is considering hosting fashion shows at women’s golf clubs, where members model new outfits while she narrates.

“To have such a unique store and to survive the winter this first year, I feel pretty good about that,” she said. “Golf is not on the minds of people. … You have to be creative and keep in touch with your clients.”

In April, Golf Galaxy will open its stores exclusively to women for a special event that last year attracted more than 10,000 women to the chain’s stores. It also recently hosted an event for accomplished players, those with a handicap of 12 or less, which Hornbaker said is still the biggest customer base even though the women segment is growing significantly. Golf Galaxy also offers lessons from a PGA pro and hosts special events featuring popular brands.

Special events, where a representative from a manufacturer visits the store to custom-fit products to individual customers, have been especially successful for Golf Headquarters. Updegraff also said he began advertising earlier this year, and will host his annual tent party earlier than usual to try to get people excited about the game again. Many customers are signing up for golf instruction as well.

But what Updegraff is most hopeful about this season is the new products coming out, which include an interchangeable shaft system, a new hybrid golf club set (made from a mix of wood and iron that is designed to be easier to hit) and shoes and clothing that look more “high-tech” and “European,” he said. Hornbaker said new styles of golf balls are coming out and many of Golf Galaxy’s customers seem to be gravitating toward purchasing hybrid clubs.

Many golf stores also rely on apparel sales over the winter months to keep sales steadier, selling clothing that can be worn beyond the golf course, such as slacks and sweaters.

Still, with a nearly stagnant economy so far this year, golf stores may feel the effects of consumers cutting back on purchases. Options such as trading in clubs or buying used equipment continue to be popular, Hornbaker said.

Updegraff disagrees. “Golf is a little bit of a recession-proof item,” he said. “And maybe the guy who works all day long likes to have a new toy or driver to tinker with when playing and may skip a vacation, but not the golf driver.”