A pair of sport-mad friends have launched a price comparison site to help local golf club professionals further get into the swing of things.
Gary Hunter and Steven Presho, both low handicappers from County Durham, have secured significant investment to drive Compare Golf Prices forward.
Hailing the venture as “the RightMove for local golf club pros”, they say it will add an extra dimension to players’ games.
Gary said: “We are providing a portal for every golf selling site online, displaying the best prices for each bit of equipment.
“We want to give consumers the best price and then help the club pro too.”
Gary – who created and sold Lease Cars Direct to Vertu Motors in 2011 – says Compare Golf Prices is even more unique, thanks to its ability to invite local pros to bid for sales via its Go Low Pro option.
He says: “We are giving local pros an opportunity to push for some of the business they wouldn’t normally see – for the local people in that area who would go online and not straight to a pro shop.
“We have our own algorithm to do this. It is based on a multitude of factors: customer service, distance, location, stock levels and custom-fitting.”
Gary – who was also behind the launch of marketing company Redu – added: “From a pro’s perspective, it provides an opportunity to get someone in the shop, to deliver a partial lesson while they are fitting, and that could easily build a relationship where that customer might go back.”
The decision-makers behind the website believe it will eliminate the fear some golfers have of a pro shop; those who don’t feel confident enough to talk about their swing speed or shaft and might feel embarrassed or under pressure to buy something.
Compare Golf Prices plans to have alerts, reviews and weekly competitions as it provides somewhere to examine the different prices for clubs, accessories, bags, balls and ‘anything else’.
Club pros will be charged a low monthly fee to be part of Go Low Pro.
And Gary – who was also the co-owner of gift card provider MBL Solutions, which was recently bought by Appreciate Group for £3.5 million – says the endeavor is built on strong foundations with Steven, who has been alongside him with his previous business moves , lending his considerable support again.
He added: “This is led by Steven and I, who have invested in it, and is backed by local angel investors.
“Look at the history of what we have done before – we have proven we can go into a retail environment, sell millions of pounds worth of items for some huge companies and we are now replicating that in the golf industry.
“It’s helping the fightback of the local pros – closing the gap to the big online retailers for those pros.
“There are big online golf sites, but nowhere that compares sites.
“We have no competition for this, especially Go Low Pro.
“There is not one site that has ever tried to help the pro shops.”