Golfsmith

In 1967, Carl Paul and his wife Barbara Paul founded Golfsmith in their Edison, New Jersey home.{{Cite journal | last = Cartwright | first = Gary | title = Equipment Digest: King Carl | journal = Golf Digest |date=March 1998}} Inspired after taking up the game of golf, Carl recognized an unfilled niche in the golf industry: the design and distribution of custom golf clubs and their components, along with instruction about how best to assemble them. Beginning with a typewritten, hand illustrated catalog, Golfsmith first became successful by helping transform club repair shops across the country into custom golf club makers.

In the early 1970s, Carl’s brother Frank joined the family business, and it moved to Austin, Texas in 1972. The first Golfsmith storefront was a components showroom housed in {{convert|6000|sqft|m2}} of unused army barracks. In 1975, the Pauls embarked on their first consumer retail expansion by creating The Golfsmith Store accessory catalog. In 1976, the company first grossed more than $1 million.

Golfsmith operated primarily as a catalog-based business until 1992. That year the company moved to its present headquarters location, a 40-acre campus that includes the corporate offices, a practice range, a {{convert|30000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} Golfsmith store, and {{convert|240000|sqft|m2}} of shipping and distribution facilities.

Golfsmith’s retail expansion began in 1995 with the opening of retail stores in Houston, Denver and Dallas. Golfsmith’s initial public offering of stock was in June 2006.{{Cite web | work = moneycentral.hoovers.com | title = Golfsmith International Holdings, Inc. | url = http://moneycentral.hoovers.com/global/msn/factsheet.xhtml?COID=89472 | access-date = 4 October 2010}} As of August 2014, Golfsmith operated over 100 stores in over 20 states.

In October 2002, Golfsmith sold a majority share in the company to First Atlantic Capital.{{Cite web | work = Austin Business Journal | title = Investment firm buys majority of Golfsmith | url = http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2002/10/14/daily33.html | date = 17 October 2002 | access-date = 4 October 2010}}

On June 15, 2006, Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. made its initial public offering and began trading under NASDAQ symbol GOLF.

On September 14, 2016 Golfsmith International Holdings, Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, owing millions to Nike, Inc, Callaway Golf Company, and others.{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2016/09/14/austins-golfsmith-owes-more-than-100m-files.html|title=Bankruptcy papers show Golfsmith owes millions to Nike, Callaway, others - Austin Business Journal}}

On November 3, 2016, Golfsmith was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy court of Delaware to be acquired by Dick's Sporting Goods after being purchased for $69 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=69000000|start_year=2016}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) dollars.

Golfsmith offers golf clubs, apparel, accessories and practice gear from brands like Adams Golf, Adidas, Bridgestone, Bushnell, Callaway, Cleveland, Cobra, ECCO, FootJoy, MacGregor, Mizuno, Nike Golf, Odyssey, OGIO, PING, Scotty Cameron, SkyGolf, Srixon, Sun Mountain, TaylorMade, Titleist, and Wilson Staff.

In 1998, Golfsmith secured a $30 million private placement with DLJ Investment Partners.{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1214/95012302010435/filing-main.htm |title=GOLFSMITH INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS INC, Form S-4, Filing Date Nov 8, 2002 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =May 15, 2018}} The private placement helped fund the acquisitions of Lynx Golf Inc., Black Rock Golf Corp. (maker of Killer Bee golf clubs) and Snake Eyes Golf Clubs Inc. In 2003, the company acquired Zevo Golf.{{Cite web | work = Business Wire | title = Golfsmith Acquires Assets of Zevo Golf | url = http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Golfsmith+Acquires+Assets+of+Zevo+Golf-a0102476987 | date = 28 May 2003 | access-date = 4 October 2010 | archive-date = 21 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121021080005/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Golfsmith+Acquires+Assets+of+Zevo+Golf-a0102476987 | url-status = dead }} In May 2009, Golfsmith acquired the intellectual property rights to MacGregor Golf.{{Cite web | work = Austin Business Journal | title = Golfsmith Acquires MacGregor Golf | url = http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/05/18/daily34.html | date = 21 May 2009 | access-date = 4 October 2010}}

Alongside products from external manufacturers, Golfsmith offered complete golf clubs, component club parts, apparel and golf accessories under its own Lynx, MacGregor, Killer Bee, Snake Eyes, Golfsmith, XPC, Zevo, ZTech, Tour Trek, Profinity and MaggieLane brands.

Beginning in 1970, Golfsmith offered the first golf club maker training programs to teach custom club fitting, assembly and repair. Golfsmith now conducts clubmaking schools throughout the year, at three levels of expertise: the Complete Clubmaker’s Training School, the Advanced Clubmaking, Fitting and Repair School, and the Master Craftsman School.

In 1980, Golfsmith established the Golf Clubmakers Association (GCA) to support and guide the growing number of clubmakers around the world. The GCA offers three levels of professional accreditation: Accredited Clubmaker, Professional Clubmaker and Advanced Clubmaker. In 1988, Golfsmith hosted the first GCA International Conference.

In 1993, Golfsmith collaborated with teacher Harvey Penick to develop the Austin-based Harvey Penick Golf Academy, which instructed golfers in the methods and philosophies of the Little Red Golf Book coauthor. The academy was renamed the Golfsmith Learning Center in 2009.

In 2004, Golfsmith formed a partnership with GolfTEC, a Denver-based national chain of golf instruction facilities.{{Cite web | work = Austin Business Journal | title = Golftec Swings Into Austin Market | url = http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2004/05/24/daily30.html?jst=s_cn_hl | date = 26 May 2004 | access-date = 4 October 2010}} As of August 2010, GolfTEC provided golf lessons in 57 Golfsmith stores.

In 2003, Golfsmith acquired six San Francisco-based Don Sherwood Golf and Tennis stores and began offering a wide selection of major-brand tennis merchandise.{{Cite web | work = Business Wire | title = Golfsmith Acquires Don Sherwood Golf and Tennis World | url = http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-23921933_ITM | date = 25 July 2003 | access-date = 4 October 2010}} At one point, the company sold tennis gear in over 55 of its stores nationwide, as well as online and via direct-to-consumer marketing. Golfsmith also offered tennis racquet restringing by technicians certified by the United States Racquet Restringers Association. As of 2013, Golfsmith no longer sold nor serviced tennis related products.

As of August 2014, Golfsmith operated over 100 stores in over 20 states, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Golfsmith stores had putting greens, driving ranges and digital swing analysis equipment inside most locations, and tennis courts inside some.{{Cite web | work = The Wire | title = Golfsmith Opens New 'Playground' for Bay Area Golfers and Tennis Players | url = http://www.golfbusinesswire.com/releases/133616 | date = 25 July 2003 | access-date = 4 October 2010}}

In 2009, Golfsmith introduced the Golfsmith Xtreme brand of superstores, which is larger, with more interactive features like indoor hitting bays and sand bunkers.{{Cite web | work = Enhanced Online News | title = Golfsmith Opens New 'Playground' for Coachella Valley Golf and Tennis Players | url = http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090116005488&newsLang=en | date = 16 January 2009 | access-date = 4 October 2010 | archive-date = 30 September 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110930141627/http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090116005488&newsLang=en | url-status = dead }}

A few different factors contributed to Golfsmith's bankruptcy, the primary factor being Golfsmith not slowing store openings as its business began to decline. Golfsmith was opening dozens of stores yearly during the 00's while golf was seeing an increase in popularity--mostly attributed to Tiger Woods. Golfsmith took this opportunity to establish itself as the largest golf retailer in North America (164 stores before the bankruptcy). The stores Golfsmith operated were 15,000-40,000 sq. ft each (the average being 23,000 square feet). This led to expensive operating costs, which hurt the company, especially when the golf business began to weaken. Massive amounts of inventory sat in Golfsmith stores losing value as the newer models came out. This was the reason Golfsmith owed $5.5 million to Callaway Golf Co., $5.1 million to Taylormade Golf Co. Inc., $3.5 million to Nike, $2.3 million to PING Inc. and $2.1 million to Titleist. Golfsmith CEO David Roussy blamed "a recession-driven decline in golf participation and an oversized brick-and-mortar retail presence" for its situation. Golfsmith was purchased at auction by Dick's Sporting Goods. Most Golfsmith stores closed on December 28, 2016. Any remaining Golfsmith stores were converted to Dick's Sporting Goods or its Golf Galaxy brand. Hilco Liquidation purchased approximately 80 million dollars of Golfsmith's inventory for approximately 8 million dollars. This led to steady price discounts of everything in the stores, including clubmaking shop tools, hitting bays, shelves, and other fixtures. Hilco dropped prices up to 95% off the original retail price in the final hours of operation.

Golfsmith’s website, golfsmith.com, offered online shopping, product reviews by customers, streaming videos about products, and services such as golf handicap tracking and live online customer service.{{Cite web | work = Business Wire | title = Golfsmith Innovates with Live Chat Service | url = http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20081203005232/en/Golfsmith-Innovates-Live-Chat-Service | date = 3 December 2008 | access-date = 4 October 2010}}

In 2007{{Cite web | work = Internet Retailer | title = Nine sites earn top customer service ranking in new study | url = http://www.internetretailer.com/2007/01/09/nine-sites-earn-top-customer-service-ranking-in-new-study | date = 9 January 2007 | access-date = 4 October 2010}} and 2008,{{Cite web | work = Internet Retailer | title = E-Tailing Group cites 11 online retailers for standout customer service | url = http://www.internetretailer.com/2008/01/15/e-tailing-group-cites-11-online-retailers-for-standout-customer | date = 15 January 2008 | access-date = 4 October 2010}} golfsmith.com was cited for exemplary customer service in the E-tailing Group’s annual Mystery Shopping Survey. In 2009{{Cite web | work = Internet Retailer | title = Toys/Hobbies/Sporting Goods: Retailers score by engaging customers | url = http://www.internetretailer.com/2009/11/21/toys-hobbies-sporting-goods | date = 21 November 2009 | access-date = 4 October 2010}} and 2010,{{Cite web|work=invodo.com |title=Golfsmith Makes Internet Retailer Hot 100 |url=http://www.invodo.com/html/2010/09/08/golfsmith-makes-internet-retailer-hot-100/ |date=8 September 2010 |access-date=4 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011092805/http://www.invodo.com/html/2010/09/08/golfsmith-makes-internet-retailer-hot-100/ |archive-date=11 October 2010 }} Internet Retailer put golfsmith.com on its "Hot 100" list of the best e-commerce sites.

In 2010, Golfsmith launched a new mobile website and iPhone application.{{Cite web | work = iTunes Preview | title = Golfsmith | url = https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/golfsmith/id389168119?mt=8 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121110023528/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/golfsmith/id389168119?mt=8 | url-status = dead | archive-date = November 10, 2012 | access-date = 4 October 2010}}

Golfsmith published and distributed multiple print catalog titles throughout the year, including a general golf equipment catalog, one for custom golf club makers and one offering only tennis products. The company was the first golf retailer to publish a catalog of equipment and fashion exclusively for women.{{Cite web | work = about.com | title = Golfsmith Unveils 'Drive' | url = http://golf.about.com/b/2004/07/14/golfsmith-unveils-drive.htm | date = 14 July 2004 | access-date = 4 October 2010 | archive-date = 11 June 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110611222652/http://golf.about.com/b/2004/07/14/golfsmith-unveils-drive.htm | url-status = dead }}

Golfsmith operated Golfsmith Canada LLC, a club components distribution center in Ontario, Canada.

{{Reflist|2|refs=}}

• [https://web.archive.org/*/www.golfsmith.com Official website] (Archive)

{{Dick's Sporting Goods}}

Category:Companies based in Austin, Texas

Category:Defunct companies based in Texas

Category:Defunct retail companies of the United States

Category:Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq

Category:Golf retailers of the United States

Category:1967 establishments in Texas

Category:2017 disestablishments in Texas

Category:Retail companies established in 1967

Category:Retail companies disestablished in 2017

Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016