The clubhouse at Independence. (BizSense file photo)
After years of struggling to figure how best to run the pro shop at his public golf course, Giff Breed decided to turn to the pros.
The pro shop at Breed’s Independence Golf Club in Midlothian is a pro shop no longer, as he last week turned over the keys to preppy retail chain Southern Marsh, which also has a location in Short Pump Town Center.
“I don’t know in what manual it’s been written that golf courses need to have a pro shop,” Breed said. “If Nordstrom can’t figure out retail, how in the world can a golf shop figure it out? So why not sit back and watch (Southern Marsh) do their magic?”
Southern Marsh, which was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2008, set up shop in Short Pump last August. It had been considering leaving the Henrico mall in part due to the prolonged closure from coronavirus and already had been in discussions with Independence.
Southern Marsh has opened up a new store at Independence Golf Club. (Submitted)
But Jessica Moneymaker, the brand’s area manager, said it worked out that the company decided to move into Independence while keeping the Short Pump store.
“Initially we thought we were pulling out of the mall altogether. Luckily things have changed,” Moneymaker said. “We are truly treating Independence as another new location and we think it will be part of the future of experience retail.”
Moneymaker had been in contact with Breed since doing some Southern Marsh pop-up stores at Independence last year. Then Breed made Southern Marsh an offer no retailer could refuse, especially in the time of coronavirus – free rent.
The two sides struck a revenue-sharing deal, rather than a traditional lease. It’s a structure Breed has employed as he’s worked to attract nontraditional golf activities to Independence since he took it over in 2014. Last year, for example, he struck a similar deal with Canopy Adventure Park, a ropes course that operates on the outskirts of the golf course.
“I want to have skin in the game and figure out how to drive people here,” Breed said.
With Southern Marsh now open for business onsite, Independence has moved what’s left of the golf shop – those items that golfers typically would need to buy from a pro shop – to a shed out at the course. The transition was made easier, in a sense, by coronavirus and related social distancing. Pro shops are traditionally where golfers check in for their tee times, but that process has shifted to mobile check-in in recent months, a change that will be permanent post-Covid-19, Breed said.
Moneymaker said Southern Marsh’s Short Pump shop reopened with the mall last month. She said the two local stores will be an ongoing experiment, and will share employees and intel on what’s helping attract paying customers as the brand continues to try to gain traction in the Richmond market.
“I think we were just picking up momentum before everything happened,” Moneymaker said, referring to coronavirus closures. “The brand is newer to customers here; the (corporate-owned) retail part of Southern Marsh is still in its infancy. Our oldest store in Houston was just built in 2018 even though we’ve been online for 10 years.”
The Independence shop is the brand’s fifth freestanding store. Its products also are sold in other retail shops around the Southeast.
The clubhouse at Independence. (BizSense file photo)
After years of struggling to figure how best to run the pro shop at his public golf course, Giff Breed decided to turn to the pros.
The pro shop at Breed’s Independence Golf Club in Midlothian is a pro shop no longer, as he last week turned over the keys to preppy retail chain Southern Marsh, which also has a location in Short Pump Town Center.
“I don’t know in what manual it’s been written that golf courses need to have a pro shop,” Breed said. “If Nordstrom can’t figure out retail, how in the world can a golf shop figure it out? So why not sit back and watch (Southern Marsh) do their magic?”
Southern Marsh, which was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2008, set up shop in Short Pump last August. It had been considering leaving the Henrico mall in part due to the prolonged closure from coronavirus and already had been in discussions with Independence.
Southern Marsh has opened up a new store at Independence Golf Club. (Submitted)
But Jessica Moneymaker, the brand’s area manager, said it worked out that the company decided to move into Independence while keeping the Short Pump store.
“Initially we thought we were pulling out of the mall altogether. Luckily things have changed,” Moneymaker said. “We are truly treating Independence as another new location and we think it will be part of the future of experience retail.”
Moneymaker had been in contact with Breed since doing some Southern Marsh pop-up stores at Independence last year. Then Breed made Southern Marsh an offer no retailer could refuse, especially in the time of coronavirus – free rent.
The two sides struck a revenue-sharing deal, rather than a traditional lease. It’s a structure Breed has employed as he’s worked to attract nontraditional golf activities to Independence since he took it over in 2014. Last year, for example, he struck a similar deal with Canopy Adventure Park, a ropes course that operates on the outskirts of the golf course.
“I want to have skin in the game and figure out how to drive people here,” Breed said.
With Southern Marsh now open for business onsite, Independence has moved what’s left of the golf shop – those items that golfers typically would need to buy from a pro shop – to a shed out at the course. The transition was made easier, in a sense, by coronavirus and related social distancing. Pro shops are traditionally where golfers check in for their tee times, but that process has shifted to mobile check-in in recent months, a change that will be permanent post-Covid-19, Breed said.
Moneymaker said Southern Marsh’s Short Pump shop reopened with the mall last month. She said the two local stores will be an ongoing experiment, and will share employees and intel on what’s helping attract paying customers as the brand continues to try to gain traction in the Richmond market.
“I think we were just picking up momentum before everything happened,” Moneymaker said, referring to coronavirus closures. “The brand is newer to customers here; the (corporate-owned) retail part of Southern Marsh is still in its infancy. Our oldest store in Houston was just built in 2018 even though we’ve been online for 10 years.”
The Independence shop is the brand’s fifth freestanding store. Its products also are sold in other retail shops around the Southeast.
It’s really cool to see how inventive and creative Giff has been at Independence. In an era where public golf courses are either diminishing in quality or closing, Giff seems to consistently look outside of golf for ideas, keep his finger on the pulse of changing trends/demographics, and is willing to tinker/experiment. I love it! Keep it up Giff!
Great thinking Giff, I love how you never accept the norm and are always looking for innovative solutions to old problems in the golf industry.