Golf is delivered completely differently in Spain from most of the UK mainland.

Golf is delivered completely differently in Spain from most of the UK mainland. First of all there is the weather, which provides for perfect golfing conditions in the winter months, and yet some would argue that it is far too hot for golf in July and August.

The courses, which are often built around resort style complexes with villas and apartments to fund the golf development, are not very similar to anything that you find in the UK. First there is a 12 month growing season and all of the courses need to be fully irrigated so that the greens, tees, surrounds, fairways and even some parts of the rough are all provided with expensive water to provide growth and conditions suitable for golf throughout the year. In the winter months golf is particularly lovely for those of us lucky enough to come over to Spain and play.
 

Most golf complexes in Spain have PGA golf professionals working at – and with – the golf course. Primarily these professionals provide coaching skills and some of them run the shop for the benefit of the main business. There are very few traditional golf professionals who have their own golf shop, as is still the case in much of the UK, and there is very little natural loyalty to shop only at your golf shop. ‘Golfers who know, buy from their Pro’ – simply isn’t considered in most Spanish clubs.
 

Golf retail in Spain is very different too. Most courses sell the basics along with quite a bit of clothing – branded clothing identifying your golf facility of choice, is worn as a badge of pride for many golfers. Few of these resorts stock much hardware, and whilst there are some exceptions, it is hard to know where a typical golfer would buy their core equipment. 
 

This is where The Great Golf Company in Balsicas, near Murcia, comes in which has been trading in its current location for just over eight years, run very successfully by Keith and Yvonne Morrison.  It is outside of the main town, in one of those faceless industrial zones which specialise in storage, wholesale and light manufacturing – not where you would expect to see the region’s premier golf retail store. It is definitely an unusual location, but it is within easy reach of most of the golf courses on the Costa Calida. There are scores of golf courses in this area and whilst some may be better at retailing than others, none of them come close to the range of merchandise provided in Balsicas.
 

As expats themselves, Keith and Yvonne, who originally hail from Scotland, naturally attract large numbers of British customers, but this region of Spain is extremely popular with lots of other  expats and northern European snowbirds: Scandinavians, the Dutch, Germans, French and even Spanish customers frequent the store. Neither Keith nor Yvonne are golf professionals, but both are keen golfers and have vast experience of delivering top quality customer care, product knowledge and it is not surprising that their business is growing and developing so well.

The store occupies a large corner plot and is spread across two floors. On the ground floor there is a vast array of clothing, clubs, bags, trolleys, electric trolleys, putters, shoes, wedges, wet weather gear, balls, caps, gloves and accessories, with every major brand being stocked in depth.

The Great Golf Company has developed a very strong reputation for custom-made clubs. Expert fitting is essential for golfers who want to play their best, and the shop offers a vast array of demo clubs with an unlimited amount of options so that all golfers can be provided with equipment that meets their budget, golf game and physical requirements.

During the last two years when Covid restrictions have blighted many businesses, trading has been particularly difficult. Covid and Brexit have both combined to make the supply of golfing equipment extremely difficult for all of those involved. Many people are unaware that the problems with Brexit have not just been for incoming goods to the UK, but also have hugely affected those who are reliant on importing goods from the UK. Titleist custom fit golf clubs are all assembled in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, and these then have to go to Holland for a minor gripping refinement before they can be sent to their final destination. This ridiculous, expensive and long-winded delivery method is exasperating for all involved and another unfortunate example of Brexit in action. 

Last year, there were thousands of instances across the whole of Europe where customers had ordered custom fit golf clubs and were still waiting many months after they were due. This led to a decrease in the number of people ordering custom-made golf equipment, and an increase in people happy to buy golf equipment off the shelf – stocking clubs in depth certainly has some benefits. 

The new Taylormade Stealth clubs are particularly prominent in the shop and seem to have stolen a march on the opposition in the early part of the golf season.  Callaway, Ping, Titleist, Cobra, Srixon, Cleveland, PXG are all also stocked in depth. 
 

Upstairs in the shop, there is a huge putting green, a golfing gym complete with various lifting weights and exercise machines, rooms for specialist sports massage therapists and a TrackMan suite, which provides excellent feedback for golfers wishing to drill down deeper into there technical statistics. The putting green provides a wonderful opportunity to try out an impressive selection of top of the range putters from all the major manufacturers. Putters can be adjusted for loft and lie to provide every assistance for the keen golfer. As with long game clubs, fitting is essential for the best results. 

Away from the main retail floor downstairs, there is a double bay netted golf range complete with flight monitors, putting green and every conceivable option for golfers wishing to try clubs.

All golf clothing is available on the basis of a three-for-two offer: customers can buy three items of clothing for the price of two. This encourages bulk sales and with a great range of colours, styles and sizes, everyone can be accommodated. The prices for one garment are not particularly cheap, but everyone loves a deal and most golfers leave with three, six, nine or even a dozen garments neatly wrapped and bagged by the retail team. Obviously, it is the cheapest item of any free products that is given with the deal, but this brings the prices down to a very compelling level.

Trade is good and the business, which has recently rebranded itself to Love Golf, will definitely go from strength to strength. The shop is open from 10am to 6pm from Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays, which provides an opportunity for the staff to play some golf and have a breather from their hectic schedules.

More details are at:

www.lovegolfplaygolf.co.uk