"Tap-In's"  News Headlines For 2007

2007

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GolfTEC to Add A New Location at The Country Club Plaza

GolfTEC is continuing to grow across the United States. With over 100 locations from Coast to Coast GolfTEC continues to expand. The Kansas City Market is excited to announce their newest location (2nd of 4 GolfTEC's to come to the Kansas City Metro) one block northwest of The Country Club Plaza at the intersection of Belleview and 45th Street.  The new location is expected to open its doors for their Grand Opening and OPEN HOUSE is tentatively planned for the 3rd to 4th week of June 2007. Visit  www.golftec.com/newsletter for Grand Opening details.

Brian Wilson will serve as The PGA Director of Instruction at the new Plaza location. Brian, a PGA Professional, was formerly the Head Golf Professional at Drumm Farm and more recently the Director of Instruction at Golf Galaxy. Come in for a complimentary walk through or observe a GolfTEC fact-based lesson in progress.

GolfTEC is excited to announce its 1,000,000th lesson given. Predicted to take place in early June, GolfTEC will have given over 1 MILLION golf lessons across the United States. With business growth toping over 300+ locations by 2012, GolfTEC will continue to add locations to better serve the golfing community. Call your local GolfTEC PGA Professional or stop in and see for yourself what all the buzz is about.

GolfTEC The New Plaza Location, 1010 W. 45th Street, Kansas City, MO 64111

For more information call Dan Dolan at 913-642-8881

• Falcon Valley Golf Course... New Owners Northern Golf Partners, LLC announced January 19, 2007 a purchase agreement with Falcon Valley, LLC for the acquisition of the Falcon Valley Golf Course of Lenexa, Kansas.

Dean Ralston of Northern Golf Partners, LLC states, "Plans are to expand the market outside of the Development to the surrounding residential and business communities generating additional rounds of golf and non-golf related food and beverage sales."

Paul McKeown of Northern Golf Partners, LLC says, "Dean and I are excited about this venture. We're passionate about business and we're passionate about golf. Our mission is to make Falcon Valley Golf Course the top golf venue in the area!"

Northern Golf Partners, LLC was founded by Dean Ralston and Paul McKeown. Ralston has worked in the golf industry for over 17 years while partner and avid-golfer McKeown has 22 years business experience in executive management and marketing positions.  A February 2007 closing date is expected for the purchase of the Falcon Valley Golf Course.

Falcon Valley Golf Course is the only championship length nine-hole golf course in the Kansas City area. Recently named by Tee Times Golf Guide™ as  "the Only 5-Star Nine-Hole Layout in the State of Kansas."

Falcon Valley Golf Course with its Zoysia fairways and Crenshaw Bent grass greens provides you with some of the most beautiful golf holes the state has to offer. With its dramatic elevation changes and undisturbed beauty, this par 36 measuring 2,610 yards from the front tees to almost 3,400 yards from the back tees provides a very playable course that can challenge the best golfer.

For More Info Contact: Dean Ralston, General Manager  or www.falconvalleygolf.com. 913-780-5976,

9801 Falcon Valley Dr., Lenexa, KS. 66220

• Dick’s Buys Golf Galaxy.... Let the Consolidation Begin.        Submitted by Bill Hanna

I wrote in April that Dick’s had opened a prototype concept store called simply The Golf Shop. Now, it appears that Dick’s didn’t want to wait to see how it would perform. Instead they went out and bought Golf Galaxy for $225 million.

According to Edward W. Stack, chairman and CEO of Dick’s, he believes that the industry is ripe for consolidation, that’s why they swooped in and grabbed Golf Galaxy. With a sluggish industry firmly in a recession, some analysts wonder why Dick’s is willing to invest so much in the golf retailing space.

Dick’s Sporting Goods, with 300 stores and over $2.5 billion in sales, can afford to pick up Golf Galaxy and add its $250 million in sales to the balance sheet. They also will have more leverage with suppliers than Golf Galaxy did. Dick’s also has its own private label products and the Ben Hogan golf line that they can add to Golf Galaxy’s offerings.

What this is going to mean to the industry is that smaller retailers like GolfUSA, Golf, Etc., Nevada Bobs and others will continue to struggle and that franchised shop in your town might close. A small chain made up of independent franchised stores cannot compete with the better funded big box players. A Golf Galaxy or Golfsmith might have a 20-30,000 square foot store while a GolfUSA might have 2,500 square feet.

Yet, these companies are not the competitors that Dick’s is worried about. It’s Golfsmith. With 62 stores and a strong balance sheet coming off an IPO, Golfsmith is the only pure golf retailer that Dick’s has to worry about.

As odd as this might sound, I believe that Golfsmith is a candidate for a takeover by one of the bigger fish in the sporting goods arena. With less than $400 million in sales, it might make a nice addition to The Sports Authority and their head-to-head, dog-eat-dog competition with Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Brad Demo, PGA was named Director of the Midwest Section of the PGA replacing the retired director John Jacobson. Brad has spent the last 19+ years as General Manager of Alvamar Golf Course in Lawrence, KS.  He has received numerous PGA awards including Golf Professional of the Year - 2001 and is the Past 2005 President of the PGA section.  

Bob Stevens purchased Burning Tree Golf Course Located in Desoto, Kansas. The 9-hole layout on the banks of the river is scenic and challenging.  Bob is renovating the clubhouse to better accommodate players.

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