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The Golf Club

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By Patrick Brendel Friday, 12 June 2009

The long drive to the nearest golf shop from John Rowsey’s southwest Austin home inspired him to open The Golf Club on South Lamar Boulevard.

“Anytime I had to go buy golf equipment, it would mean an hour roundtrip. I decided to see if a golf shop in south Austin could be a viable business,” he said. “We’ve been growing every year.”

Owner John Rowsey • Photo by Rachel Parkhurst

Rowsey was born in Kerrville and raised in Austin. When he started the store about six years ago, it was a one-man operation (himself) in a 1,200-sq. ft. space. The business outgrew the original store, and Rowsey moved the shop three blocks north to its current 2,500-sq. ft. location at 2320 S. Lamar Blvd. The Golf Shop now has five employees.

Before beginning the store, Rowsey was in a management position at a video game console customer service company. He had also owned several businesses prior. Rowsey has applied that experience to his golfing venture, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with his customers and taking advantage of electronic technology.

Rowsey said he did not have a background in golf before starting the shop, except as a recreational player.

“I probably got to play more golf back then,” he joked.

The store will custom-fit any brand-new set of irons and has “probably the best selection of used equipment” in town, Rowsey said.

He makes sure that his employees are knowledgeable about golf. For example, the shop has an in-store club repair specialist with 30 years of experience.

“We’re not hiring kids just out of high school part-time. They need to have an expertise in the business,” he said, stressing that customer service is the most important component to his company’s prosperity.

“It’s the personal touch. I know most of my customers on a first-name basis, and they like that,” he said. “In a big shop, you might be there 30 minutes before anyone talks to you — if anyone talks to you.”

In addition to being the face of the shop, Rowsey runs the store’s website, which has a catalog for online shopping, drawing customers from across the U.S. He said online shopping now accounts for 40 percent of the business, up from about five to 10 percent initially.

The golf business is cyclical, Rowsey said, with the biggest months in the spring and the slowest months in the fall. He credits the shop’s online presence for the business’ sustained success during the general economic recession.

Why do they call it golf anyway?

Golf: Possibly derived from a pre-modern European word that meant “club”
Links: In Scotland, a “links” is a rough grassy area between the ocean and land. The links, unsuited for agriculture, provided ready areas for development of early golf courses.
Caddie: Scottish adaptation of the French “le cadet,” meaning “the boy.”
Fore!: Possibly derived from the term “forecaddie,” for caddies who would stand where the ball was expected to land. Golfers would yell “forecaddie!” to point out the ball was coming, and it was later shortened to “fore!”
Tee: Comes from the Gaelic word “tigh” meaning house. The tee originally referred to the area on the ground from which the ball is struck.
Bogey: “Bogey-man” was a widely used term in Scotland for a goblin or devil. When golfers measured themselves against a standardized score, they considered themselves playing a Mister Bogey.
Par: Derived from a stock exchange term for a stock that may be above or below its normal or ‘par’ figure. It was first applied to standardized golf scores in Britain.
Albatross: Three under par. A very rare bird. Others call it a “double eagle.”