Are you tired of being asked the wrong questions when you walk in a golf shop?
If golf is supposed to be a relationship business, why do the well-meaning green grass and off-course retail store associates greet you with generic transactional questions typically answerable with a single word?
“Can I help you today?
“Are you looking for something?”
“Anything I can help you with?”
Even if you had a legitimate answer and an actual objective to entering the store, your natural recoil from those openers might trigger a reflex “no.” I’m convinced we can do better.
In NGF research with Core Golfers conducted earlier this month, only 2% reported that, during their most recent golf retail visit, staff “asked about [their] golf game/experience before discussing products.”
Like many golfers, I generally find the golf shop to be a happy place. The game of golf is the fabric that connects so many of us, and it is commonplace for the employees at golf stores to be golfers themselves. Yet, once these golf passionate folks find themselves in a retail environment greeting you, they often revert to the language they’ve become accustomed to hearing themselves. Can we change that cycle, please? Considering the degree to which most people repel from the emptiness of those closed-ended openers, it’s disconcerting that we’re still serving up such low-value inquiries to the golfers entering our businesses.
I’ve spoken and written often in my 18 years at the NGF that golf needs to be sold (the activity), and it isn’t sold well. Salesmanship is not a dirty word… and it is critical to our sport and your businesses. Some would argue that the past four or five years have proven that golf is pretty good at selling itself. That’s a very short memory POV. This recent stretch is the first in more than a generation where demand for golf is significant enough that some golf course operators feel they could use a break. While true, I assure you that most owners of golf-related businesses would like to see more sales and more loyal customers. Nothing grows to the sky, and someday in our collective and not-so-distant future, golf and its goods and services will require skillful sales and positive customer interactions that inspire people to play and buy.
Your favorite restaurants and stores do more than offer F&B or merchandise you like; they make you feel valued and appreciated. NGF’s most loyal readers may have noticed the previous two issues of Short Game focused on the subject of customer loyalty and some sobering NGF research that showed golfers are rarely having memorable or loyalty-inspiring interactions. The NGF is intentionally planting a flag in the ground, hoping to motivate a game-wide change in behavior.
Many of the smartest business minds will tell you that the time to make meaningful improvements is when business is good, so I’m hopping on my soapbox and suggesting one very particular improvement… training your people to improve their greeting. You need a greeting that can lead to a conversation… instead of dead-ending at “NO.”
“Tell me about your game.”
As a business owner or operator, wouldn’t you like to foster a relationship with a customer, not just pursue a transaction? Golf’s best customers generally enjoy talking about their game to somebody who listens. This greeting is the beginning of a dialogue, it’s the first step on a path to providing meaningful, personalized service. Here are a few responses and you can imagine where the conversation could go.
- My slice is killing me
- Just had my lowest round of the year
- I’m just not making any putts when I need them
- I’m getting better but really want to break 80
- Getting ready to go to Myrtle Beach next week with my buddies
Golf shops in 2025 are places to get help, including expert instruction, fitting, and yes… they sell products! They can also offer friendly encouragement, empathy, solutions and support.
Even if “Tell me about your game” isn’t your preferred cold opener with a customer, I’m sure you could see how a version of this approach shows you care about them as a person/golfer, not just a credit card. “What brought you into the shop today?” That’s another good one. The customer’s answers will lead down the path to appreciation and give you the opportunity to deliver memorable service. Those are the results we want to inspire… because they lead to transactions and loyalty.
Stepping down off my soapbox now.
If you have business questions that need answers and solutions, I hope you’ll reach out to me and the NGF Team.
Greg Nathan became president and CEO of National Golf Foundation in January, 2024, succeeding industry legend Joe Beditz.
Nathan joined the NGF in 2007 and works closely with the CEOs and leadership teams from companies in every sector and is one of the foremost speakers on the state of the golf industry. Golf businesses value Nathan’s insightful perspective, broad and deep category knowledge, and a network of contacts that could challenge Kevin Bacon for degrees of separation. Nathan was recently listed in Golf Inc. Magazine’s 25 Most Powerful People in Golf.
Prior to NGF, Greg was a marketing and brand executive with GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com and a Madison Avenue ad agency suit. Greg knew in his early 20s that he wanted to work in golf… and his passion led him to his “needle in a haystack” position at the NGF. He’s made it his life’s work to figure out how many golf businesses he can help.
Greg loves playing the game, and is a full-blown architecture nerd and GOLF Magazine course panelist who has played more than 80 of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S. Greg grew up in White Plains, NY and graduated Lehigh University with a B.S. in Economics. His foursome includes wife Alyson, son Jack and daughter Bailey and he lives in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
