Ken Schall is the PGA Owner/Operator of the Ken Schall Golf Performance Studio, in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Ken Schall on the importance of creating year-round golfing opportunities:
You don’t have to live in the south to have a successful golf business these days. In Iowa, playing golf outdoors is not always a viable option. I thought of a way to maximize my golf instruction, custom club fitting, and club sales business year round. In early 2015, I opened the Ken Schall Golf Performance Studio and have been able to serve golfers in my PGA section twelve months per year. The use of technology, such as Trackman, the SAM putting lab, and effective training aids, adds credibility to our studio and draws serious golfers. I have found that golfers are willing to pay more for instruction and club fitting due to the data and accuracy that this technology provides. We have a full blown club repair operation with Mitchell equipment and a wide array of the latest shafts and grips. Our ability to build clubs on site with such brands as PXG and others gives us the opportunity to fit our customers and have the clubs in their hands the following day. Our golfers love the service and are quick to tell their friends about the experience. We also welcome golfers, including many local high school and college students, wanting to play the simulators. Memberships and corporate outings are available. We’re still young, but we have touched many golfers’ lives already and look forward to growing the game of golf all year round.
Ken Schall on the business impact of creating year-round golfing opportunities:
The key to a facility such as ours is diversity, and options for the customer. Some people walk through our doors for lessons, others to get custom fit for clubs, and still others just to play the simulators on a snowy Iowa winter’s day. We offer lesson packages and memberships at $1,200 for adults and $950 for juniors. That covers 10 lessons and year-round use of the practice bays. We have about 140 members and 450 lesson clients right now. Our club fitting fees and club sales generate the largest percentage of our annual revenues at approximately 50% of the total. Supplementing those primary sources of revenue are club repair, corporate logo apparel, and simulator time. At almost $100,000 in revenues over our first full year, these streams represent about 15% of our revenues. Finally, we are proud to announce that we will be recognized as a Golf Digest Top 100 club fitter for 2017.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email ken@kenschallgolf.com
