Dick's lets go of all of their golf pros

[SFNL]

At all stores. I could see at some sites, but all? Man...
Dick's Sporting Goods fires more than 500 in-store PGA professionals - ESPN

 

[redseat]

WTF!!

I know the dude in the one in my hometown as he is the brother of a golf pro in town... Sad news... Dude was awesome!

 

[redseat]

Golf Galaxy and Golfsmith is the reason why business at Dick's is going down though... I know Galaxy is owned by Dick's but still.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I'm not sure why they needed a golf pro @ every retail store either...at least here in ATL, they're merchandise mix seemed to be aimed at the beginner golfer...whereas as Golfsmith & PGA Superstore carry the full gamut...2 or 3 guys per market to handle fittings, grip changes, etc. should've sufficed.

I've always viewed Dick's as a sports dept store and...oh by the way, we carry golf equipment.

 

[redseat]

Yeah I never thought of Dick's for Golf Equipment BUT I did go to that store because I knew the guy and was a good guy and knew his stuff!!

 

[HizzleRocker]

It's a joke. Sorry to be blunt about the poster who knew a Dick's golf pro - but the whole thing is a joke.

They do not club fit. Period. They are told/forced to sell the in-house clubs that they have. All Standard! Get rid of inventory, at all costs. Again, they do not club fit.

If someone ever tells you that you fit into a standard golf club - don't walk, but run away. I would actually make the case (and can defend it if necessary) that very very very very few players actually need "standard" golf clubs.

On another note - it was a stupid move by Dicks, because for a long time they actually had people mistakingly convinced that they would club fit you there. Now what for them? I guess they can sell golf balls and shoes...???

 

[redseat]

It's a joke. Sorry to be blunt about the poster who knew a Dick's golf pro - but the whole thing is a joke.

They do not club fit. Period. They are told/forced to sell the in-house clubs that they have. All Standard! Get rid of inventory, at all costs. Again, they do not club fit.

If someone ever tells you that you fit into a standard golf club - don't walk, but run away. I would actually make the case (and can defend it if necessary) that very very very very few players actually need "standard" golf clubs.

On another note - it was a stupid move by Dicks, because for a long time they actually had people mistakingly convinced that they would club fit you there. Now what for them? I guess they can sell golf balls and shoes...???

That was me but this guy actually didn't tote the corporate line. He truly did care about people and which clubs were right for THEM not which ones they were told to sell. Granted I didn't get clubs from him... I got fitted there and got the clubs from the golf pro at the golf course... got them cheaper

 

[HizzleRocker]

That was me but this guy actually didn't tote the corporate line. He truly did care about people and which clubs were right for THEM not which ones they were told to sell. Granted I didn't get clubs from him... I got fitted there and got the clubs from the golf pro at the golf course... got them cheaper

Yeah, if you go to any of those places and ask them for a customized club, they will look at you with crickets. Response: What do you mean? I just fit you with the standard club, right here off our shelf.

Sorry to hear about your buddy, sounds like he may have known what he was doing at a place that wouldn't allow it.

 

[redseat]

Yeah, if you go to any of those places and ask them for a customized club, they will look at you with crickets. Response: What do you mean? I just fit you with the standard club, right here off our shelf.

Sorry to hear about your buddy, sounds like he may have known what he was doing at a place that wouldn't allow it.

Thank you. I'm confident he will land on his feet but still sucks

 

[gohusk]

The manufacturers are partly to blame for this. The whole angle of selling something because it will give you "the longest tee shots of your life" and the second the new line comes out making you feel like the club you bought 6 months ago is inferior is lame. People would be a lot better off getting solid equipment, sticking with it, and spending their money on lessons. A couple of lessons would give a lot of the people that I see the 10-20 yards that they're being promised in these commercials. Golf is hard and playing bad golf is not fun so development should be a much higher priority than it seems to be.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

The manufacturers are partly to blame for this. The whole angle of selling something because it will give you "the longest tee shots of your life" and the second the new line comes out making you feel like the club you bought 6 months ago is inferior is lame. People would be a lot better off getting solid equipment, sticking with it, and spending their money on lessons. A couple of lessons would give a lot of the people that I see the 10-20 yards that they're being promised in these commercials. Golf is hard and playing bad golf is not fun so development should be a much higher priority than it seems to be.

True, but that's always been the case. Even in the heyday of golf.

Dick's had some inherent problems aside from that imo...bellying up to Taylormade & Callaway to be the dumping ground for entry level clubs was not a smart idea. Plus I think they made some major investments into private label apparel and I think they bought out Maxfli balls also...hard to get a decent ROI on golf balls even if you go vertical.

As Hizzle has eluded...why have pros in this retail environment if you're really just selling off the rack clubs? Maybe they did static fittings...everyone knows the most important part of the club is the shaft. A true club fitting takes a long time, in addition to loft/lie fitting it requires equipment to measure how you load the shaft to ensure you have the right flex.

I knew all my static measurements, and it still took about 2-3 hours...trying different shafts, and I still kinda suck which goes back to your point in bold.

My point here is paying a pro to be on staff at every store to more or less give advice just didn't make sense and eventually some bean counter asked a question probably and here you go, 500 guys need another job.