Much To Do About Nothing Earlier this year the folks at the ‘Home of Golf’ decided the famed Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole at St. Andrews needed a face lift. The grass on the entrance to the bridge was dying and hard to maintain due to the number of golfers that were forced to use it to cross the bern on the historic Club Champion Sees Record Growth Club Champion recently announced that they had one of their best years on record in 2022 with over 94,000 club fittings last year. Via acquisitions, they expanded their international presence in Canada, the UK and Australia Club Champions Founder, Nick Sherburne said, “After over a decade of growth, you’d think there has to be a plateau but that hasn’t been the case for us. We continue to have the best fitters, the best fittings, and the most brands a golfer can try in the bay. We won’t stop so long as there are golfers looking to improve their game through better equipment.” The company also opened 18 stores in the United States last year which led to a 15% increase in the company’s labor force across the United States. With a new distribution center in Tempe, Arizona and renovations to the Willowbrook, Illinois headquarters, the company has reduced would remove the offensive stone walkway and restore the area to the way it had stood for over 700 years. Evidently progress and change are not welcome in St. Andrews. St. Andrews resident, Kieran Clark joined Back 9 Report to talk about the change and subsequent removal. Watch it here: Mou – insert rectangle for video bridge. Plus, the thousands of enthusiasts that stopped to take pictures only exacerbated the situation. The St. Andrews Links Trust decided something must be done, so they built a circular stone pad, similar to a patio, to cover the area around the bridge’s entrance. Golf fans went collectively out of their minds on social media berating the minders of the ‘Auld Course’ and creating such an uproar that they were forced to announce they its average build and ship time to just 10 business days for club orders. Collectively, the two build shops produced more than 345,000 hand-built golf clubs during the year. Club Champion has plans to continue its growth with even more stores in the United States and around the globe. “We’ve got big plans for 2023. Between our fittings and our digital content, we know Club Champion will continue to be synonymous with better golf moving forward.” For more information about Club Champion, please visit clubchampion.com. Michigan Golf Journal
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