The old fable about the bird that awakens early to make sure he gets a worm may not seem relevant to the work of a PGA professional, but when it comes to preparing your pro shop for the upcoming season and keeping it well-stocked all year long, the bird may know what he’s doing.
Pre-booking, or setting up structured deliveries of key items, ensures you get the best ‘worms’ -- I mean supplies -- for your pro shop at the best prices and on a timeline that makes sense for your operation.
You may already be already using this approach to save money on the apparel items you sell in your shop, but pre-booking tees and pencils might also save you from a bunch of stress during the season.
Many of the high-volume courses who work with All Star Pro Golf already realize the benefits from pre-booking. Just ask Steve Watt, Director of Golf at Glen Oaks Country Club in Des Moines, IA. Steve was already a fan of pre-booking when he started at Glen Oaks six years ago, and nothing has changed since.
“Pre-booking helps me plan,” Steve said. “And it does save me money, too.” Steve pointed out that he was able to secure his supplies through ASPG at 2020 pricing and not risk increased costs in 2021.
“I have a long list of things to get done and by pre-booking my supplies, I know it gets handled,” Steve added.
There are also other benefits to pre-booking. Glen Oaks, like many courses across the country, experienced higher-than-normal rounds due to COVID-19 and the cancelation of many other sports that could not be re-engineered to allow for social distancing. The increased rounds meant they ran through lots of key supplies.
“As we found out this year,” Steve said, “if the basics weren’t already on order, it was hard to get them.”
Courses that use custom or logoed tees, like Steve does, can experience the same level of comfort through pre-booking. While a standard golf tee can typically ship on the same day, imprinted tees typically need a two-to-three week lead time to create, so creating a shipping schedule always includes the necessary design time as well.
Customers who plan ahead can also realize significant savings on their products. I have saved customers hundreds of dollars on orders of just tees by taking advantage of specials or by grouping shipments together to take advantage of other promotions.
I’ve been in your shoes and I’ve been behind the counter too. I know how busy any given day can be with running a junior clinic, then getting ready for a corporate outing and then ‘finishing’ up the day with a league in the evening. The last thing you have time for, or want to think about, is being out of a product.
You can easily avoid the “I have run out and need ASAP” situations by planning ahead during the slow season. Pre-booking now will save you money and gives you the peace of mind you deserve during your busy months. It’s a win-win approach for busy golf professionals who like to keep their golfers golfing.
The dollars and sense of pre-booking