We have been in the golf business selling pro golf equipment for 45 years and have one of the best proshops in a 50 mile radius. It has never been as tough to sell the equipment as it is now. Not because of the customers going to the big box stores, it is because of the golf companies.
What has happened over the years is the shortening of product life. In other words, new release clubs used to have a 1-2 year duration before they were sold at discount because of a new release. That was a long enough time to get demonstrators and work with customers and generate sales. Today it is a nightmare; a new release may only be current for 4 months or less. When we invest in demonstrators for us to help customers make intelligent decisions on what fits them best, a 3-4-or even 6 month window is not enough to stock a club and pay for demonstrators.
BUT, THE WORST PART is when the company, including most of the big club companies decide to mark down clubs; they do it as of today without warning. We may have sold clubs today and tomorrow the company sells them to us for less and we cannot rebate the customer the difference. The customer then sees the clubs for $100 cheaper on a website and thinks we held him up. With such short shelf life we anger too many customers that buy today and tomorrow or in two weeks the price is lowered by the company. It makes us look like shysters. So as you look for clubs at your local proshop, they will help you as much as possible and most times will sell for less margin than the big box stores. Something else to think about is that the green grass golf course has a lot more invested in YOU the customer, the facility and community than the big box store. If the golf course is not considered during your purchase decision of golf supplies, then the golf course will continue to carry less and less for your golf needs; contributing in a declining golf facility to the point of closure.
My point here—- is to help you understand that sometimes the golf companies make the local proshop look bad. —And to consider, a golf facility needs revenue to pay bills. The same holds true if it is your local grocery, hardware store or golf course. It is important to buy local !