Just a couple of decades ago, the idea of hitting balls into a screen at your home or office and having it display in real time was something only the elite could afford. Whether it be for improvement to one’s personal pursuit of better golf or hanging around with friends for a round during the winter, the combination of technology and golf makes a lot of sense.
Fast forward to the present and like anything technology related, prices have come down. Options have gone up. The term Trackman used to be synonymous with launch monitors, now is far from it. Mainstream brands such as Garmin and Bushnell have entered the space, brands like SkyTrak offer more bang for the buck, arguably, than just about anything on the market and golfers can have in home practicing made easy and effective regardless of price range.
With choices, comes decisions. With decisions, comes overthinking. How does one decide what to buy? Where to buy it? This is the journey of a brand that is not based on creating the best golf at home, but rather helping you find the best for your needs. This is Rain or Shine Golf…A Brand Story.
When buying electronics, before the online invasion of websites, you went to a store. Best Buy, before that maybe Circuit City, Service Merchandise, etc. You would speak to an “expert” that would help pave the way to the right purchase for you. The world of golf technology and playing at home came long after the internet, so walking into a store and getting customer service by experts, and seeing what existed is largely a thing of the past.
Rain or Shine was created partly by necessity of need in the space and partly by entrepreneurship of Shawn Foley and his idea that this was a growth segment in golf. Rather than explain where the idea came from, Shawn Foley explains:
“I started Rain or Shine with a high school golf teammate of mine in an effort to really grow the game of golf through off-course golf solutions. We both grew up in Wisconsin winters, where 6 months of the year was filled with domed ranges, indoor to outdoor facilities, but never really had access to golf simulation type products. I ended up building a putting green with my dad after our basement flooded growing up, and Rain or Shine actually started out of this inspiration, first getting into indoor putting solutions. This quickly included golf simulators and golf technology in an effort to serve those folks that also did not have access to golf through the winters in the midwest. We have since expanded into serving those that also don’t have enough time to play golf, want to supplement their game with technology, want to teach their family in a less intimidating setting, and many more. We simply aspire to grow the game and its reach worldwide.”
Back in 2016, when Rain or Shine was getting started, they were largely a drop shipping company. What that means is they set up a website, but do not inventory a lot of products. You are shopping with them for their site and/or expertise, yet the products ship directly from the manufacturers. It would surprise some of our readers to know how many online golf stores are doing this with a large amount of their products. In some ways it is a great idea, in other ways, it does add another step to receiving.
Why? The biggest reason for this type of business model is capital. Using Rain or Shine as an example, the amount of capital it would take to internally house all of the different launch monitors back in 2016/17 would be immense. Combine that with screens, projectors, putting mats, hitting mats, etc. You get the idea here.
The brand was built by customer service. By taking care of, and even working for the customer to get them not only exactly what they wanted, but what they needed to make the space perfect. It didn’t matter if it was a single small putting mat or a large full blown simulator, the assistance was important.
After a few years of growing through this type of setup, Rain or Shine Golf expanded. Their roots were planted with customer service, and drop shipping equipment, but certainly didn’t stop there. Going as far as warehousing products for ease of fulfillment along with manufacturing their own in house branded products. The company points to these markers as key turning points in their history.
The early years of a company can make or break them. One that is built in a space that really didn’t exist previously is a whole new animal. What were the early years like? Shawn Foley explains:
“The early years were filled with a digital nomad lifestyle, until we grew to the level to need to hire employees. My partner left on a 6 month trip throughout the world while my wife (then fiance) and I moved from Wisconsin down to the Carolinas. I was hustling to get the business off of the ground by providing customer service and sales consultation, fulfilling orders and keeping the operations on track, and handling the administrative needs of a start up. Our biggest turning point was in June of 2018 when we hired our first full time employee to really start going all in, and setting up an office in Charlotte. We still very much maintain that start up mentality, although we have matured from the days of laptops and broken down desk chairs. I am very committed to the culture and preserving this scrappy confidence yet humble approach to business to this day.”
As the business is getting its sea legs under it, 2020 happened. While it was a few years ago, the Covid world we lived in was unlike anything most of us reading (or writing this) could have imagined. The phrase shelter in place is one that many still shudder when they hear it.
At the beginning of this pandemic, nobody was thinking about running out and playing golf. It wasn’t considered essential. While we know the outcome and how that changed, as a business owner in what some might call a “luxury space”, this was a real scare.
Rain or Shine Golf was the perfect storm of playing golf and staying at home. Demand boomed. Then came availability. It seems like we are discussing from the past century, but just a few years ago, the wait times on golf products, was measured in months, not days. The wait times on tech products may have been worse. Measuring those stormy waters and coming out on the other side is tough sledding. Shawn Foley explains further:
“Covid was definitely a mixed bag of very odd situations. Demand was sky-high, but product availability was at an all time low. Although the top line sales were very thankful to the Covid pandemic, navigating covid as a business owner was an absolute nightmare. We spent many days wondering if we would be able to make it through the year and how many months of cash we had left to cover payroll, and many more wondering how we were going to deal with so many sales coming through with as much as 9 month backorders. At the time, I would have said Covid was a major break for us, but looking back, growing so quickly and then having to right size the last two years proved to be a very challenging process as a business owner.”
The highs and lows of owning a small business are unlike most things in the job world. The responsibility of others’ lives through employment can be both rewarding and gut wrenching. The Covid bust/boom/bust time period was literal insanity on the minds of those with the title.
Facing those first few months of the pandemic had so much uncertainty, that coming out on the other side only makes a brand stronger. For most retail shops that were considered non-essential as well as a small business, the future was bleak at worst and cloudy at best. The sunshine peeked through the clouds for some and Rain or Shine continued to grow.
As they move passed the struggle to get an inventory of products, more new items hit the market. Like anything tech related, prices came down from early adoption and lead to a pretty competitive space. How has that changed a business like Rain or Shine Golf? Shawn Foley shares some thoughts:
“Much like what we have seen in the commoditized technology product space (TVs, Projectors, etc), launch monitors and other golf technology prices have started to drop as well. This obviously presents the need for change within a business in this space, but as an avid golfer and consumer myself, I love to see it. Our goal is to make golf more accessible and bringing the price of the simulator from $30k+ down to sub $10k for a really solid option is exactly what was needed.”
Good customer service is paramount, but so is getting the right information to people. Every golfer has a different goal they are trying to accomplish, whether that be indoors or on the course. Navigating the ever changing world of technology, combined with different individual goals is a minefield that is not for the weak.
During the indoor golf boom of a couple of years ago, THP created the Garage Sim Crew. A thread on our forum designed with the premise of golfers sharing ideas and feedback on products and spaces strictly in and around the indoor golf space. It has blossomed into an entire section of our online community and continues to grow by the week.
While there are not a plethora of stores that specialize in this type of thing, there are a few. How does Rain or Shine Golf stand out versus others? It sounds like an easy question, but Shawn Foley offered a level of transparency that we found rather refreshing.
“We differ in a few key ways. One, we stand out from the tech manufacturers because we can provide a 100% unbiased opinion and consultation on what the best solution would be for our customer. We do not accept any sort of preferential treatment from our vendors, sales spiffs, or anything of the sort, so you can always be confident that our recommendation comes from an expert yet unbiased opinion. Two, we stand out from other resellers in this manner as well. Our competitors will often partake in these programs and will be involved in pay to play arrangements where there really is a bias to the consultation. We are also committed to manufacturing the best possible hitting area components to add on to the technology in a way that our reseller competitors are not able to do. I am confident that this level of unbiased consultation and understanding of the product overall is second to none in the industry. We have every product that we sell hand tested by our team in our Charlotte facility to ensure that the products we sell are something that we would truly recommend to our own family.”
Wait, there is a store? Some place someone can go test everything? There is. Rain or Shine Golf is based in the Charlotte area and has a full showroom setup. This is a far cry from the drop shipping that was taking place a handful of years ago. Why go full on with this level of investment? Shawn Foley expands:
“We have a showroom for a few different reasons. The first is that we want to be able to serve the local community with the ability to come in and test a product that they are considering, and to showcase our true recommendations in a way that you can actually interact with. Second, we use our showroom frequently to produce digital content, both photography and video, to use to both entertain and educate our customers on what the world of golf simulation has to offer. Third, we wanted to have a space to both train our customer success team as well as give them the ability to have fun playing around with our products. I believe that if a team member is able to use our products in person, they will be able to develop a true unbiased recommendation based on their own experience. We also have a fulfillment center as a part of our building so that we are able to get product out to our customers as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we cannot always trust the effectiveness of fulfillment through 3rd party vendors, and made the decision to bring that in house to have more control over the customer experience.”
There comes a point in every story where we ask about what the future holds. Typically our Brand Story features revolve around an OEM creating products and it is a great way to get a glimpse into what might be next. When asking about the future of Rain or Shine Golf, Foley takes it in a different direction. Something a bit more humbling, and while it could be viewed as a sales pitch, it comes off incredibly sincere.
They want to expand the reach of the golf simulation industry as a whole. The mission is much of what you have read already. Combining innovation with customer service, to make the road map less cloudy. It was a refreshing take, one that was unexpected, and finished with this from Shawn Foley:
“Thank you for the opportunity to tell a little bit about our story and why we do what we do best. I am honored to have the opportunity to make a small dent in the future of this great game of golf that I, and all of us, love so much.”
It could have just as easily been about future products that they are excited to sell. It’s not. The entire conversation with Shawn Foley about Rain or Shine Golf centers around helping golfers reach their goals by education of products or setups that they might need some guidance.
It’s a refreshing take and one we happen to agree with wholeheartedly. Leave the game we love in a better place than when you arrived. We think the Rain or Shine Golf aligns with that and look forward to hearing more from them.
For more information on Rain or Shine Golf or any of the products they carry, check out their website at www.rainorshinegolf.com.
