Established 1988

The Merchandiser of the Year Awards recognize those PGA professionals who have demonstrated superior skills as merchandisers in the promotion of golf. The award is given for excellence in golf shop operations in three categories: Private, Resort and Public/Municipal/Military/Semi-Private. The following criteria are applied to all awards: PGA Member in good standing, credit rating with the industry, overall credit rating and community involvement. The candidates are judged in the following areas: merchandising ability and techniques, inventory levels and turn rate, shop display and attention to detail.

2011 Winners

Public - Tom Nelson - Christmas Lake Golf Course

Tom Nelson’s merchandising philosophy centers around utilizing the unique aspect of his facility name and logo and applying it to high quality items. He also tries to keep the prices reasonable at the same time by mixing fresh merchandise in with carefully picked closeout products. He also firmly believes in keeping all of his facility staff members well-trained and happy to be wearing the facility logo.

He rotates displays on a weekly basis and heavily markets the “Santa Claus” theme to both golfers and non-golfers. His $200,000 plus in merchandise sales is accomplished in a shop that is just 600 square feet.

Private - Chad Ayres - Hillcrest Golf & Country Club

A three-part plan to merchandising has allowed Chad Ayres to achieve success in his golf shop. First, he provides apparel and equipment that match his members’ preferences while also introducing them to new trends. Next, he displays his merchandise in a unique and appealing way in line with the upcoming season or event. And lastly, he believes in providing exceptional customer service by making sure all employees have appropriate product knowledge.

He tries to create the “WOW” factor and relies heavily on merchandising around themes and events. Every Spring, he gears up for the beginning of golf season with a Masters theme, using Masters memorabilia and even hosting a tournament on Masters weekend including a Friday Par 3 tournament like The Masters.

His course does just over 10,000 rounds but he still manages to consistently top the $200,000 mark in annual sales.

Resort - Jon Chapple - The Fort Golf Resort

Jon Chapple’s merchandising plan has three key elements: offering a wide variety of quality products and vendors, offering competitive prices, and employing a friendly sales staff. He and his staff encourage demo use and welcome merchandise returns. He claims the most important and successful tactic is simply talking to his customers to help them decide how to best fit their needs and budget.

He does 100% of the buying for The Fort and does his best to take advantage of rebates and programs that make sense for his facility. Displays are changed at least every 10 days.

Past Winners

Year	Private	Public	Resort
1988	Jack Barber	Don Essig III	None
1989	Larry Bianco	Paul Kemps	None
1990	Jack Barber	Jack Sudac	None
1991	Ed Knych	Paul Kemps	Mike Griggs
1992	Eric Scheider	Paul Kemps	Mike Griggs
1993	Jim Ferriell, Jr.	Greg Bishop	Mike Griggs
1994	Jack Barber	Greg Bishop	Dave Harner
1995	Eric Schneider	Don Dicken	Mike Griggs
1996	Eric Schneider	Greg Bishop	Mike Griggs
1997	Bob Kruse	Lenny Hartlage	Rollie Schroeder
1998	Tom Thome	Dave Huffman	Rollie Schroeder
1999	Tom Harris	Dean Prange / Brian Nicholoff	Rollie Schroeder
2000	Jon Hoover	Paul Kemps	Rollie Schroeder
2001	Lyle Palmer	Craig Heibert	Scott Larson
2002	Bob Jacobs / David Hannon	Brian Godfrey	Rollie Schroeder
2003	Jack Sudac	Rick Ried	Jim Newton
2004	Tim Frazier	Brian Nicholoff	Dave Harner
2005	Jon Hoover	Mike Caskey	Jeff Schroeder
2006	Mike Reynolds	Bo Wright	Pat Bayley
2007	Dave Carich	Chad Cockerham	Jon Chapple
2008 2009 2010	George Arvanitis Kedric Perkins Nick Marucci	Bo Wright Jan Tellstrom Mark Nance	Jeff Schroeder Dave Harner Pay Bayley