to golf, especially when targeting women golfers, many of whom are looking for help purchasing equipment, plus they are demanding functional, yet stylish apparel. Golfers of both sexes are drawn to PGATSS’s size with locations up to 50,000 square feet with multiple hitting bays, computer simulators for lessons or practice, adequate inventory of equipment, shoes, clothing and anything needed to improve enjoyment of the game. As the pandemic changed everyone’s life, golf quickly became the perfect antidote for cabinfever as an outdoor activity, in which the entire family could participate. The number of golfers and number of rounds saw a dramatic rise of roughly 3 million in 2020 and the National Golf Foundation is forecasting the number to be higher in 2021. A major part of this increase was due to women finding the game fun and recent data shows about 40% of new participants on and off course are women. According to Sullivan, “Thirty four percent of the new women golfers are under 18 years of age, and we plan to encourage them with more in-store events, such as clinics. Women’s golf apparel has become a reflection of their lifestyle. Women are shopping for and choosing functional apparel for a more relaxed wardrobe.” In addition to golf, fitness and wellness spending is exploding. Wardrobes are more casual and leisure attire is more acceptable on and off the course. PGATSS is a sponsor of “Get Golf Ready” a series of six one-hour group sessions for novice women golfers. The goal is to make women more comfortable with golf jargon, etiquette, and rules. Participants are taught the basic swing and clubs are provided, if necessary. PGATSS is the official retailer of the nationwide Women’sGolfDay anda sponsor of other programs introducing women to the game. Showing the across-the-board commitment is a slogan the company often uses, “Girls Got Drive.” Additional support is also provided to several other organizations dedicated to bringing more women into the game including “SheWho Golfs,” “Fore the Ladies,” and “Women on Course” Sullivan was candid about the company’s struggle during the pandemic. “All our stores were closed for 54 days during the Covid pandemic, but every vendor was paid on time and not a single employee was furloughed.” Inventory and supply chain concerns were an issue in 2021, leading to some items being in short supply. “Push carts and package club sets for women and juniors, were going out the door as soon as they came in.” At times, extraordinary efforts were called for to meet customer demand. Sullivan told of taking delivery of several thousand wedges without grips to speed up deliver. Making lemonade from lemons, PGATSS due to the lack of a stock grip meant that each wedge’s grip could be customized for the individual golfer.
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