<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2OmLwU_1Gy8Mv2g00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2OmLwU_1Gy8Mv2g00" width="1440" height="860" ><figcaption>Arizona Country Club's pro shop has more than doubled its merchandise revenue in the last seven years, earning it regional and local recognition. Courtesy images</figcaption></figure>You walk into the golf shop looking for a new polo. You walk out with a pair of jeans, a $150 sweatshirt in August or a mahjong set.At most golf clubs, that might raise a few eyebrows. But at Arizona Country Club in Phoenix, it's all part of the plan.Over the past several years, the club has transformed its golf shop from a traditional member amenity into a thriving retail operation, more than doubling sales since 2019. The approach earned Arizona Country Club (ACC) the 2023 Southwest PGA Merchandiser of the Year award for Private Facilities, and the club is a finalist for the 2026 PGA National Merchandiser of the Year.Behind the transformation is a partnership between director of golf Nigel Spence and retail manager and buyer Cristy Leonard. Together, they've reimagined what a private club golf shop can be by focusing less on what a golf shop is expected to sell and more on what its members actually want.As Spence explains, the club's culture was already a little different. "This club has a great history of the traditional golf side, but it's always been a bit of the guys who have lived a little closer to the sun," he said. "They already had adopted music on the golf course, they gamble, they drink on the golf course. So the culture was already here."The opportunity was to shape the retail operation to reflect that personality and become a more meaningful part of the club.When Leonard arrived in 2019, she saw retail potential beyond the golf shop floor. One particularly underutilized space was a dark, 40-foot hallway lined with trophy cases and etched wine glasses.To Leonard, it wasn't a hallway in need of dusting, but rather extra retail space waiting to happen. "If there's space to hang something and we can sell stuff, then I want to do it," she said.Reimagining the hallway required Spence to make a business case to the club's board and secure additional investment. Other improvements were simpler but just as impactful. The shop had dark carpeting, dark wood and poorly lit displays. Spence and his team doubled the number of canister lights and added dedicated retail lighting."It was huge. People thought we had a new shop, just by changing the lights," Spence said.The transformation took time and a shared commitment. Spence estimates that he and Leonard spent roughly two years getting the operation where they wanted it. He also devoted 40 to 50% of his personal time to merchandising, a substantial investment for a Director of Golf and a sign of how central retail had become to his vision.Getting the staff invested was equally important. The goal wasn't simply to bring in new inventory and brands, but to create an energized retail environment that employees and members wanted to be part of.The timing of Arizona Country Club's transformation coincided with a broader shift in consumer behavior. During COVID, golf courses remained open while many professionals moved their offices home. Traditional business attire gave way to elevated casual clothing and consumers increasingly wanted apparel that was comfortable but polished enough to wear beyond the house.Leonard recognized the opportunity, introducing lifestyle brands such as Alo, Lululemon and Vuori, along with Aviator Nation. That last addition initially raised some eyebrows."Nigel was shocked," Leonard said. "He was like, 'We're selling $150 sweatshirts in August? What's happening here?'" But the merchandise sold, and the lifestyle category began outpacing traditional golf apparel.The idea wasn't to move away from golf, but to recognize that members wanted more than polos and performance shirts. Today, the shop carries denim, athleisure, swimwear, pool accessories, blankets, mahjong sets and holiday gifts. Leonard has sold everything from women's evening outfits to men's jeans.Some of the biggest surprises have come from unexpected categories. Women's swimwear had historically been difficult to sell until Leonard introduced Hunza G, whose one-size-fits-all swimsuits resonated with members. She also sold 60 Lola blankets in two months, while seasonal cashmere hoodies from Greyson have become popular.The assortment reflects the Arizona lifestyle, too: what members might want for a day at the pool, a change in weather or dinner out in Scottsdale. "Whatever the season is, I ask myself, 'What do people need?'" Leonard said.Rather than simply asking what golfers need for their next round, she's thinking about what members need for the rest of their lives.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=23DPiq_1Gy8Mv2g00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=23DPiq_1Gy8Mv2g00" width="1000" height="750" ><figcaption>A tight-knit staff who knows its membership well is key to fostering a strong culture, according to Arizona Country Club director of golf Nigel Spence (middle, seated) and head merchandiser Cristy Leonard (third from left). Courtesy image</figcaption></figure>A broad assortment can attract attention, but Leonard believes the real advantage of private-club retail is something that can't be replicated simply by bringing in more brands: knowing the customer."You have to know your membership," she said. "I've had management companies that wanted me to come work for them and do the buying for five or six properties, and I can't do that. I want to know my actual member."That familiarity influences everything from brand selection to size runs. Leonard doesn't order the same assortment of sizes for every brand because she knows which members gravitate toward particular products.Her research doesn't stop at buying appointments, either. Every Tuesday morning during the club's Ladies Day, Leonard makes a point of observing what the women are wearing. It's firsthand market research, allowing her to see what members actually choose for the golf course rather than relying solely on what apparel brands say women golfers should want.It's particularly important in a category she considers challenging to merchandise. "Women's golf [clothing] is almost impossible to make everybody happy," Leonard said.Leonard has learned that what looks beautiful in a showroom doesn't always translate to sales. She also knows her members well enough to spot a shirt featuring fighter jets and immediately think of the club's fighter pilots — customers she knows are likely to appreciate it. That personal connection extends beyond the buying process. During the season, Leonard averages approximately 15 special orders a day, fulfilling requests from members who know they can come to her for something specific.Spence sees those relationships as central to the club's philosophy. "This is not a master-servant relationship at Arizona Country Club," he said. "I would say 99% of our membership have a relationship with our staff in the golf shop that allow us to be on a first-name basis."For Leonard, understanding the customer also means setting aside her own preferences. "I need the clothes to be able to sell themselves without me talking," she said.Private-club retail has a challenge that a resort shop may not: the customer comes back tomorrow. And the day after that.ACC members pass through the shop regularly on their way to the course, practice area or clubhouse. Keeping the merchandise fresh is essential to giving them a reason to look again. "There's nothing worse than walking into a golf shop and it looks like those shirts have been hanging there since last year and they might be hanging there next year when I come back," Spence said.Leonard takes that philosophy literally, regularly rearranging displays and moving collections to different parts of the shop. "You walked past it for three weeks when it was over there, but now it's in your line of sight, so it's new to you here, today," she said.That constant reinvention is more than an occasional exercise. In his 2023 Merchandiser of the Year application, Spence estimated that the shop created 60 to 70 different displays annually, refreshing at least two each week during its approximately 32-week season.Leonard also watches how members interact with the merchandise. If a line isn't getting attention, she'll move it. Over time, she's even trained customers to know where to find certain brands, such as Johnnie-O, making the shop easier to navigate.Scarcity plays a role, too. Leonard doesn't necessarily want unlimited quantities of every item. Members have learned that if something catches their eye, waiting too long can mean missing out. Her advice: it's easier to return something than to come back wishing you had bought it.The results are evident in the sales figures. In 2017, ACC's golf shop generated approximately $842,000. By 2022, sales had climbed to nearly $1.67 million. The club's 2023 Merchandiser of the Year application projected $1.709 million that year. Spence says sales reached $1.775 million in 2024 and $1.812 million in 2025 — more than double the shop's 2019 total.The changing sales mix offers another indication of the shop's evolution. Hard goods accounted for 46% of sales in 2019; by 2022, that share had fallen to 34%, during a period when the club was broadening its apparel and lifestyle assortment.Behind the growth is a disciplined approach to retail. Spence's application describes monthly sales analyses and quarterly reviews of inventory and category performance, with staff members given ownership of particular brands and merchandise categories. The goal is to make the entire team invested in the shop's success.For Spence, though, the ambition goes beyond the bottom line."It's important to me that this is maybe the happiest place on the property," he said. "We draw all members. We draw the youth, we draw the parents, we draw the grandparents buying gifts for their grandkids. We get everybody in here, and most people leave very, very satisfied with the experience they've had."Arizona Country Club's success offers a lesson for golf shops everywhere: the best retail strategy may not start with what you want to sell. It starts with knowing who's walking through the door and giving them a reason to come back.</div></body>

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You walk into the golf shop looking for a new polo. You walk out with a pair of jeans, a $150 sweatshirt in August or a mahjong set. At most golf clubs, that might raise a few eyebrows. But at Arizona Country Club in Phoenix, it's all part of the plan.

What happens when a golf shop thinks beyond golf

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You walk into the golf shop looking for a new polo. You walk out with a pair of jeans, a $150 sweatshirt in August or a mahjong set. At most golf clubs, th

What happens when a golf shop thinks beyond golf

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