Online golf clearinghouse doubles revenues, adds store with loan

BOULDER – Lugging golf clubs to a garage sale prompted Connie Hirscht to convince her husband they should create a brokerage to sell used golf equipment.

The result was Simply Golf, a half-a-million-dollar business in 1999 that fills a niche in the golf industry’s need to move used equipment. “Prices for new clubs are so high, new players were being shut out of the game,” Val Hirscht said.

Partners Hirscht, his wife, Connie, and Cary Reeves started the company in June 1996 on the Internet at www.simplygolf.com and in a closed warehouse as part of an incubator project for small businesses in Boulder. They incorporated that October and later secured a $150,000 Small Business Administration (SBA) loan to build a retail store on 55th St. in Boulder. The store is also a small business pilot program.

“The golf industry was fragmented when it came to selling used golf equipment,´ said Hirscht. “The only way to sell your old golf clubs was to have a garage sale, put an ad in the newspaper or post a flyer at a golf course or pro shop.”

The owners first launched Simply Golf as an informational resource. In other words, they used the Internet to connect buyers and sellers, and only the warehouse where the clubs were stored until sold was bricks and mortar. Armed with the SBA loan, Simply Golf added a storefront to its online business. The new store offers pre-owned and new equipment. “The SBA loan allowed us to create an off- (golf) course, on-course, upscale retail store,” Reeves said.

The top golf club manufacturers are in the company’s nationwide database. “We evaluate every club we put on the Web site,´ said Hirscht. The quality of the clubs ranges from grade one, new and in perfect condition, to grade five, poor condition – a golf club that may have been used to chop wood, for instance. Even at the very lowest grade, the shaft and head must be structurally sound or Simply Gold will not take it. Grades two, three and four range from excellent condition to average condition.

Simply Golf has developed a Blue Book for the most recent and popular pre-owned clubs available and carries products from more than 50 manufacturers. The company determines the price with information from golf professionals and by tracking retail, discount, wholesale prices and current market value.

The process is simple. Customers either call Simply Golf or enter their golf-club information at the company’s Web site. The staff then assesses the market value of a client’s golf clubs. There is no obligation on the part of the client to sell. Assessments are based on the type of club, its condition and whether or not it’s a hot club at the moment. In addition, Simply Golf looks at regional and national trends and manufacturer’s promotions. Since each factor is variable, the market value of a club will fluctuate.

“The price our customers realize is better than our competitors in the industry,” Reeves said. When Simply Golf finds a buyer, the clubs are shipped and a check is sent to the seller or credited to his or her Simply Golf account.

For information or to buy or sell golf clubs, visit Simply Golf’s Web site at www.simplygolf.com or call (888) 441-2582.

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