Golf Outings, Tournaments, and Gifts

While we were certainly impressed with several new brands and products we saw at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show, I was remiss not to have prefaced my report with exciting news about one of our longtime premier brands.

At the Show, Corporate Golf was authorized by the management of Ben Hogan Apparel to create the catalog and web site for corporate sales of this outstanding brand. The catalog is still in process, but the website is up, and we invite you to visit it at: www.benhogancorporate.com.

We’ve represented Ben Hogan Apparel since 2004, and we are delighted to expand our relationship with this premier brand. Beautifully designed and made from exceptionally fine fabrics, this line is a favorite of our most discriminating clients. The natural fibers used in their fabrics are of the utmost quality – Egyptian and Pima cotton, Zegna Baruffa merino wool, silk, cashmere, and alpaca. So are the microfibers used in their performance blends and wind- and water-repellant outerwear. The performance blends are true standouts, with the look and feel of double-mercerized cotton – but moisture-wicking, quick-drying, and easy-care.

As always, the new fashion collections Ben Hogan Apparel introduced at the Show were simply outstanding – and, as always, also available to our clients.

Well, as I’ve already posted, I’m reporting on what we saw at this year’s PGA Show, and our favorite new brand overall was Sumi-G.

Our favorite new apparel brand was The Weather Company.  Not only is every piece of their outerwear fully waterproof and loaded with additional features for comfort and playability, the pricing is unbelievable for the quality.   Example #1: their original nylon unisex rainsuit with tape-sealed seams, a stowaway hood, double front placket with velcro, velcro adjusters on the jacket cuffs and pant bottoms, etc., etc. – designed to retail for under $100.   Of course, even the pro shops that charge the full retail price are likely to run some sales, and I’m sure you can find stores and on-line retailers that discount the price all the time.  But think about this: you’ve got a tee time at the swanky resort where you’re staying, or at an upscale daily-fee course with top-dollar greens fees.  The skies were overcast when you checked in, you’re on the range, and drops are starting to fall.  If you could run back to the pro shop and buy a great rain suit for $100 to save your round – and that you could carry in your bag for such future occasions - wouldn’t it be worth every penny? 

Now think about this:  you’re hosting a corporate golf outing, or holding a charity golf fundraiser, and you’ve got the same threatening skies and drops starting to fall.  You’ve 40, or 80, or well over 100 players already there.  You certainly don’t want to cancel, and even if you can re-schedule, everyone may not be able to make it.  On the other hand, it won’t be fun for those playing in the rain and unprotected.   Wouldn’t it be nice if every player had a waterproof jacket – or, better yet, a rain suit – in the gift bag?  You betcha!   And we had to add this brand to our line, since at tournament volume pricing, those suits, even with your custom logo, could be easily within your budget.  There are also waterproof jackets for even less.   The Weather Company’s product offerings now include jackets for men and women that convert to short-sleeved with a quick zip, and a men’s microfiber pullover with sleeves that zip off completely to convert to a vest, a men’s fleece-lined convertible jacket/vest that also reverses to become a fleece vest, a women’s rain suit.  Plus new microfiber rain pants in unisex sizing that coordinate with all the new zip-sleeve jackets – so you have lots of choices for mix-and-match rainsuits no matter what the temperature might be at your tournament. 

I’ve add a brand page at www.corporate-golf.com/weather.htm.  If you’re holding a charity tournament, hosting a corporate meeting or other event and looking for participant gifts, take a look!

More to come …

The 2010 PGA Merchandise Show was held in Orlando from January 28 to 30, and the Corporate Golf team was there for the thirteenth consecutive year.   This is the largest trade show in the golf industry, with nearly 1000 manufacturers of golf equipment, accessories, apparel and destinations exhibiting.   It’s the ideal place to spot trends, evaluate which manufacturers are tops in their category, and see which of the hundreds of newly-invented golf products are truly useful innovations.   And we walked every row of booths on the lookout for the best new lines and products.

The good news: we saw more and better new product offerings at this year’s Show than we’ve seen in years.   The bad news: so much to report, so little time!

We were very favorably impressed with the 2010 product lineups from our current brands – and a few we formerly represented looked so good that we’ll be bringing them back.   Another notable trend: a virtually complete lack of price increases on core in-stock apparel “classics” and “standards” – we even saw the occasional price reduction!   Even better, we found several extraordinary new companies, and I’ll start with those. 

Our favorite new product line, hands down, was from Sumi-G. This hot new accessories maker had the most innovative line we’ve seen in fifteen years in the golf business.  Every product is unique, useful, beautifully designed and well-made, the result of years of testing and multiple rejected prototypes.

While Sumi-G’s prices are quite high, these products aren’t just beautiful and functional, but also designed to last.  They’re well worth the premium.  One example is a stainless steel club-cleaning brush that slides on to any golf towel – and stays there.  If that doesn’t sound impressive, it’s because you didn’t see the quality of the brush, nor did you shake, drop and throw the towel across the booth without budging the brush.  (To use the brush, you simply grab and slide it down the towel.  It comes off easily when you want to remove it; it just won’t happen accidentally.)

Another of our favorite products is the snap-on head cover that easily fits the largest driver.  This is so well-designed, you can take it off and put it back on without using your hands, or even bending over, while the cover is lying on the ground – but again, it will not come off accidentally.  If, like me, you lose at least a couple of head covers a year, it’s well worth a $40 – $50 investment for one that’s virtually un-loseable.  (That’s at retail, not our tournament pricing.) 

Sumi-G also makes gorgeous shoe bags, travel bags, belts, and more.  The entire line is simply extraordinary – and they even have several pre-packaged tournament player gift sets.  We’re delighted to add this brand to our product offerings.

I’ll write more when I get a chance.

Nina

Years ago, my employer hosted a two-day conference for its investment bankers and stock analysts. An excellent turnout reflected the care taken in selecting the date, location, and resort. Equal attention was paid to the conference schedule and other arrangements, from the menus to the pairings for the golf outing that followed. The conference was highly successful in that the presentations were well received, the guests had better insight into the company’s business and results, and relationships were built or strengthened on the course.

The single exception was the “gifts”, which the conference planner chose from the company’s promotional products stock. The bankers and analysts took golf balls to use in the outing, but most of the shirts, hats, and other items were still on the display tables at the end of the welcome reception.

If everyone loves freebies, why didn’t the bankers even pick up this swag? The answer is very simple: we love getting something free only if we want the freebies in the first place.

I considered this an extremely valuable learning experience because it’s rarely so obvious when the freebies are unwanted. Most of us habitually take them regardless, then “re-gift”, donate, or throw out what we don’t want. Perhaps the small effort required to select the gifts, then pack them to fly home, explains why these people simply took a pass.

Nor is it usually readily apparent why the recipients don’t care for the gifts. In this case, I could easily guess – the company’s financiers were a totally different demographic than its customers. This company’s industry was agriculture, and its customers, farmers – who succeed through hard, dirty work, and controlling their production costs and overhead. The company’s sales gifts were low-cost, and basically looked that way – but for that target market, free and serviceable was plenty for the gifts to be appreciated. There’s little benefit to fashion, innovative design, superior materials, or fine workmanship where nice things can easily get ruined. The bankers and analysts also work hard, but in clean offices, and they succeed by making their clients richer. Wearing or using things that look inexpensive doesn’t promote the prosperous image that assures their clients of their competence and past successes. Translation: this is an industry whose executives particularly value obvious high quality.

I offer up this story because you don’t need to make a mistake yourself to learn from it. I didn’t – but I did.

Nina

Hi!  My name is Nina Renaud, and in the interest of full disclosure, I’m a principal at Corporate Golf.  Therefore, the opinions expressed in this blog reflect the company’s philosophy.  

However, those opinions are based on more years of experience in corporate life than I care to admit.  That corporate career culminated at the “C” level, and included many years as an executive in finance, sales, and marketing.  During that entire career, I played golf with business contacts, including customers, dealers, stock analysts, and colleagues in other departments.  Most of the meetings, conferences and conventions I attended were held at resorts, and included a golf outing.  When I organized management, dealer, and customer events, I did the same, so I hosted a lot of golf outings.   And, as a good corporate citizen, I also played in charity golf tournaments during that period, often bringing a team that included clients and colleagues.  So when I speak, I speak from experience.

It is true that if you listen to me, and what I say makes sense, you’re more likely to want to use my company as a supplier than our competitors with different philosophies.  But I’m also hoping to save you from the possibilty of being embarrassed, or wasting your money – which may be worse in this economy – by making a poor choice.