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Dicks lays offs all its Pga Pros

The PGA Superstore in MB is always packed.


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Having worked at at golf course for the majority of my adolescent life as a caddy / pro shop assistant this is very tough to hear. It's horrible that 500+ people lost their jobs. This is a massive layoff that clearly didn't happen overnight.

As previously stated, when you have companies like tmade, Callaway, etc. Coming out with new equipment every 8 months or so it's very difficult to recoup your monies with the stock you have. However you want to remain relevant so you want to maintain carrying the newest and best equipment possible.

I also believe that the emergence of pga superstores in the US had something to do with this. When I went to the fitting for my Callaway bb I spoke with the guy who was fitting me about the store and what their plans were. He said that we are slowly doing research in various demographics in the US to make sure that costs are covered overall (the place was the size of a home Depot and on a Wednesday around 3pm I had to wait nearly 45 min. For my buzzer to go off to inform me my club fitter was ready) . It was truly an amazing experience. They really made sure that after trying out various clubs compared to my old one that I left satisfied. The fitting was free however I tipped the guy a 20 and they actually gave me a 20 dollar gift card for getting fitted.

I don't see this reflecting on the golf industry as a whole being on a decline more than just poor planning on Dicks long term goals. It stinks but when other super stores are doing a better job, time to cut your losses. Unfortunately the layoff happened however this is the crappy economy we live in....
 
deuce said:
The PGA Superstore in MB is always packed.


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They have 2 PGA SS in MB and both were packed when I was there. Across the street from of them Golfmsith was opening up a Golfsmith Extreme. I've only been to those 2 stores, but from what I hear they stay pretty busy. Funny thing is the prices weren't any different from the Dicks, GG, Golfsmith, etc on most stuff.
 
Vegan702 said:
They have 2 PGA SS in MB and both were packed when I was there. Across the street from of them Golfmsith was opening up a Golfsmith Extreme. I've only been to those 2 stores, but from what I hear they stay pretty busy. Funny thing is the prices weren't any different from the Dicks, GG, Golfsmith, etc on most stuff.
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Except for all the used gear. At least at my locations, GolfSmith and PGA all have tons of used gear, and a ton more hitting bays and demos. You can try damn near anything, take you time, and it's a good experience.

Dicks doesn't have the used gear, has limited demo and only a single bay (at my location). You don't get into that bay at your leisure at all, either.
 
It is very interesting to me how many people reported the same experience of having the LM supposedly be broken. I had that happen too. What a crazy coincidence.
 
I have always been able to get on the LM at Dicks. They have two bays at the store here, but one is usually stocked with clubs that just arrived to the store so it's out of commission.

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Good.Shepherd said:
Except for all the used gear. At least at my locations, GolfSmith and PGA all have tons of used gear, and a ton more hitting bays and demos. You can try damn near anything, take you time, and it's a good experience.

Dicks doesn't have the used gear, has limited demo and only a single bay (at my location). You don't get into that bay at your leisure at all, either.
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You hit on two issues that always got me with Dicks:
1) No used gear, demo clubs, etc. to hit.
2) Have to pay to even hit on the monitor (multiple stores I've been to). This is probably driven out of only having one bay, but still that is not acceptable.

The other issues that always get me with them is:
1) Limited inventory that is often old
2) Horrible putter selection and putter practice areas. The Dicks I have been to basically limit the practice putting area to one person just due to poor design.
 
My biggest gripe with Dicks are the prices. I bought my Nike Covert 2.0 for about $270 at my local golf store. I was at a Dicks a week later and they wanted roughly $350 for it. If a much smaller local store can sell it for that we all know Dicks can match that.
 
inthehole said:
Sorry for the pga guys losing their jobs - nothing good to say about that in this economy.

However, this is aimed at the industry, and Dicks by default. Golf equipment just costs too much. To charge $399 for a SLDR driver that's mass produced by the thousands (probably tens of thousands) in China is ridiculous in this economy. If they charged $159 for a new driver, I would have to think hard about buying one. It's reverting to a rich man's sport. That's why most everyone waits a year or two to buy equipment at 1/4 the original cost online or on eBay. Golfnow has gone to $hit - so much harder to find tee time deals than it was even last year.

If the retail industry wants to maintain a working class golf representation and put assess in seats so to speak, they simply must bring prices down.
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Error. Never mind.
 
Good.Shepherd said:
To be fair, I don't have strong feelings either way. I could cut my bag down to 12 if I needed to--and sometimes do--and be just fine.

But I think what is so interested is exploring this issue. To me, the central question is, "is the choice of 14 clubs at the heart of golf, or not."

For example, some people say that the heart of golf is NOT having a club for everything--forcing choice. But in that argument 10 clubs would make for a game closer aligned with that heart. Someone could also argue that more clubs may offer more choices in TYPES of shots that can be made, thus increasing "strategy".

It happen to think that the NUMBER of clubs is not in any way associated with the heart of golf. I don't think many people put asterisks by Bobby Jones body of work simply because he carried more than 14 clubs. Or Hagen. Or Varden.

I think that the heart of golf is the challenge of a man or woman taking a small white ball and moving it great distances in competition with course designers, themselves, and their fellow competitors in a test of equanimity, skill, and grit.

To me, club numbers just don't really come into that. I think the number is arbitrary and we've just gotten used to it but it holds no particular value.

The debate behind it is interesting, however, and I've loved reading replies here about it because it almost accidentally forces a conversation about what golf is all about and exposes different priorities in our appraoch to the game. .
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I think you posted in the wrong thread?
 
jspangs said:
I think you posted in the wrong thread?
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I did for sure. Caught it within 15 seconds and had it in the right thread. Man you move fast! :clapp:
 
Good.Shepherd said:
I did for sure. Caught it within 15 seconds and had it in the right thread. Man you move fast! :clapp:
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Lol, well I was reading it going, I wonder how he's going to ties these two topics together. Once I got to the Bobby Jones part I figured it was the wrong thread.
 
One good thing about Dicks is their customer service. They had these golf shoes with a "lifetime waterproof warranty". So I wore them for 3 years and of course eventually they developed a slight leak. I didn't even have a receipt and got $80 back for them. They were a pretty sad looking pair of shoes.
 
grathan said:
One good thing about Dicks is their customer service. They had these golf shoes with a "lifetime waterproof warranty". So I wore them for 3 years and of course eventually they developed a slight leak. I didn't even have a receipt and got $80 back for them. They were a pretty sad looking pair of shoes.
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Thats a manufacturers warranty, of course Dick's had to honor it haha I've found the opposite to be true with Dick's and their cs.
 
No, for some reason Dicks was the manufacturer. I think they were Walter Hagen's or something like that, or some company they must have bought.
 
grathan said:
No, for some reason Dicks was the manufacturer. I think they were Walter Hagen's or something like that, or some company they must have bought.
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I guess that could be the case. Glad you had a good experience as have others, personally the ones near me are a complete joke unless you need basketball gear haha
 
Wake said:
I've only been to one, but it was packed, and was by far the best store I've been to. I wish I had one closer.
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I went to the one in Delray Beach. I was so overwhelmed that it was actually hard to narrow down what I wanted to buy. I wanted to buy everything and I think I finally bought a grip or something. I wasn't mentally prepared for that place.
 
Evok said:
Thats a manufacturers warranty, of course Dick's had to honor it haha I've found the opposite to be true with Dick's and their cs.
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A retailer has no obligation to honor a "manufacturers" warranty.
 
Head about this yesterday. It's never good to see a large group lose jobs, especially in the golf industry. It makes the industry as a whole look bad, and to some this is a way to point a finger "showing" it is. I'm worried that others may do the same, and in smaller locations, PGA Pros don't really make a good living to begin with.
On the other side...having a PGA Pro on staff does cost more than a knowledgeable person like most of us on here. If we were there, there isn't a label to make our jobs feel more respectable than "PGA Pro", but I still feel like the this move will hurt them more than save them money.
 
I was talking to a buddy that is a Dicks employee and mentioned that on average the PGA Pros were making about twice what their departments were bringing in. He said that with that salary they would be able to hire four part-time, albeit not skilled, employees.

I was curious if companies like TM dictate the volume in which they have to order but he had no info on that.
 
There was a PGA pro at my local Dicks store. He was a really nice guy who even gave me some free pointers when they were slow one day. He must have sensed something was coming down the pike because I went in a few weeks ago and asked where he was, and they said he was now at a Mercedes dealer.
 
The layoff of these employees is obviously horrible for them and their families. I'm not going to attempt to understand the reasons behind Dick's decision but I have experienced a few things that clearly led me (and others) to realize Dick's is not a "golf store." Sure, they have some of the newest equipment but their inventory is spotty at best depending on how big the store is, especially with smaller OEM's.
Interactions and experiences I've had with some of the PGA pros there have been neutral at best. They were generally polite and cordial but seemed to be annoyed by having to work at a retail giant. Their knowledge (or interest) in proper fitting left much to be desired. Twice I was fitted for the wrong clubs when I started playing. I also had someone regrip my clubs, which were crooked and not completely on the shaft (yes, these were the Pros!). The few times I hit in the "closet" on the LM no one was interested in helping in the fitting process despite me being one of two or three customers in the department.

On a positive note, their customer service is pretty good at times and I've worked some nice deals on trading old clubs or using the Dicks "points" for some great savings. Now I usually just shop there for golf balls and tees.
There are at least 4 stores within 20 miles or so in my area. I would love to see one of them turned into a GG since there are no golf super stores anywhere. Dick's could at least re-hire some of these guys if this were to happen...
My trips to Myrtle Beach are like heaven. I block off nearly one day just to roam around the golf stores and hit the LM.
 
I just wandered into the DSG near my office, as I often do on lunch.

Nearly every wood in the place, with the exception of the SLDR and SLDRs, had an orange clearance sticker on it. Not just the clubs in the clearance bins--the clubs hanging from the Nike/Cobra/Callaway/Cleveland branded racks. X2Hots, Covert 2.0, BioCell--current (six-month-old) clubs.

Prices weren't that low, maybe $30 off the usual MAP we've seen..but I thought the orange tags were interesting. Thoughts?
 
Lay off all your pros, tell everyone you're having to cut prices to move product, HBO tells the world the game is dying, people come in and see discounts and buy, golf is saved.
 
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