As golf courses and clubs around the world report record rounds and membership sales, let’s not all forget how we got here. Just because Golf is enjoying a surge in activity lately doesn’t actually translate to growth.

Picking new lines for the golf shop is always tough. And you never really know how it will do, and what your margins will be, until you have had time to sell it all through. This can take weeks or most often months to see the whole picture. In this episode I provide a tip for how to find out how an item will do much faster.

I’m not saying that clubs should, but is there a case to be made for charging a premium for green fees amidst the restrictions created by vivid-19? Is it price gouging? Aren’t you providing a better products under some of these restrictions? I look forward to hearing your reaction to the topics brought up in this episode and to any feedback you have on if you are doing this at your club.

With many golf shops still closed, inventory levels can remain higher than where you want them. Now is the time to look at where you need to be by the end of the year and start offering promotions to help get you there. You may have to give up the margins you were looking for for this year. But, just make sure you don’t sacrifice next year too by trying to hold out for higher prices. Use what communications channels you have to start some one day hot sales by email, social or website to start moving things now, before it’s too late.

There has been a lot of longing for life and golf to “Get back to normal.” But don’t forget to look at the changes you have been forced for make at your facility and ask yourself the question, “What parts of what we are doing are actually working better than before?”

Being more efficient managing your costs can be a good thing. But just make sure the systems you put in place to become more efficient, don’t create friction for your customers. You may end up making more per customer, but just having a lot less customers... and profits.

Last night a listing that I had for a broken rangefinder completed with the auction price going well over $100. This made me suspect considering that most of them go for about a third of that in broken condition, so I emailed the person that bought it and reminded them it was in not working condition rather than send it with the no reruns policy in this item that I had listed. He asked to cancel of course, but maybe the rangefinder came back for a reason?

I killed my Inventory, Order and Sales Tracking system by accident. But at least there may be a happy ending to the backwards battery rangefinder saga.

A couple days ago I thought I was being scammed by a buyer on Amazon. Today I’m not sure I have that right.