What do you guys think about an actual Disc Golf retail store? Do you think people would actually part from the internet stores and actually give business to one. Since these seem to be a rarity aside from your local gas station or internet site I was just curious if people would actually visit a full blown disc golf store.

I have been thinking the same thing..I am sure it would do great where I am from!

The scary part about it is getting locked into a long term lease and it not being very successful. Its not like you will attract non-disc golf customers which means you are relying solely on disc golfers to support it.

Fairway Flyerz seems to be doing fine in the Twin Cities. However, I think these retail stores probably still need an Internet presence to succeed.

http://fairwayflyerz.com/thebasket/

I think you are definitely correct about that.

Identified Flying Objects in Atlanta closed its doors November 30, 2005, although that may not have been from lack of business. I don't think it was exclusively a disc golf retail store, either - I think they sold boomerangs and juggling equipment there too.

I believe their sign business including tee signs was much more successful and they continue doing that along with producing Scoreports.

www.ifoatlanta.com/ (http://www.ifoatlanta.com/)

DiscNation (http://www.discnation.com/) has been in Austin, TX for over a year now. The bricks and mortar location is good for the locals but it's probably the online sales that make it possible.

Discovering the World has had a disc golf only retail store in southern California for decades, although internet business surely makes up a great portion of their sales nowadays.

http://www.dtworld.com/

Seems pretty much all retail locations either a) are more "clicks and mortar" type businesses or b) cater also to other sports or hobbies, or c) some combination of A&B.

-Mahshall Street in MA is successful thanks to their clicks and mortar business type.
-Wright Life in CO is successful because they cater to "extreme sports" and have both tangible and intangible storefronts.

Those are the two I am most familiar with. We have a new struggling disc golf store in Denver that I haven't been to because it's about an hour and a half from where I live, so I'm not sure if they just carry disc golf items or not, and I don't think they have an online store. From what I understand though, they are "subsidized" by Wright Life so they can survive.

While disc golf stores are great in theory, in practice they've proven to only be profitable when they gain mass audiences, either through the internet or adopting other sports. Don't get me wrong - I'd love to see the day when a local store can boast only disc golf gear and pull a good profit!

generally, i think there is too much competition for a retail store to rely on DG alone to survive.

in our area, the competition for the "immediate satisfaction" buy (as opposed to internet purchasing which i assume dominates share of sales) would be the local clubs who distribute plastic both retail at weekly events and via am payouts. dick's sporting goods sells plastic as well.

a small (two stores) company called princeton sports (http://www.princetonsports.com/) seems to succesfully sell plastic, though most players i know prefer shopping online. i took a visitor there once from czeck republic, he was like a kid in a candy store and dropped $150 on plastic. apparently, plastic is hard to come by over there (on another note, when we played that afternoon, he marveled that there were actually other players on the course at the same time). i tried to pitch sponsorship for an upcoming tourney, they seemed interested but nothing ever came of it.

the best way to make money off DG seems to be the soft serve ice cream dude who shows up to our thursday weekly conveniently when hoards of discers are wrapping up.

Discovering the World has had a disc golf only retail store in southern California for decades, although internet business surely makes up a great portion of their sales nowadays.




I believe they also have some significant distribution agreements for wholesale sales with Wham-O for one. Gotta Go Gotta Throw provides discs to many resellers besides their walk-in warehouse and online business.

I think pay-for-play locations can do well with pro shop retail sales. In fact, that can be necessary as part of a total revenue stream for survival. I believe Snapper has made more revenue on everything he sells or rents rather than the greens fees at Morley over the years.

generally, i think there is too much competition for a retail store to rely on DG alone to survive.




Honestly that was my original thoughts. However I am in the process of opening up a sports pro shop in the DFW so maybe I will just test the waters and carry some plastic. Deep Sea Diving seems to be the best way to make money on plastic these days. There are even select holes on courses where the baskets are moved so that people will lose discs and Mr " Murky Water Plastic Diver" can cut his overhead and just get them free. But thats another subject... Hopefully 1 day though with the way disc golf is growing that a disc golf retail store would turn some numbers.

In the case of Fairway Flyerz, they are essentially the "Pro Shop" for public Acorn Park which is one of the most popular courses in the Twin Cities, just a half mile away. I think locating near a popular course might be essential for walk-in success in addition to online sales. I remember in the 90s, the Flight Center retail store was central to the Twin Cities but not closer than 20-30 minutes to any one course. It lasted maybe a few years and might have survived if it had built-in traffic near a popular course.

What really makes this idea hard is if it were a disc golf only type of store you cant really grab traffic. The average non disc golfer isnt going to stroll through your store and spend money. People still to this day have never even heard of the sport so chances are if someone did walk-in they are not going to buy. I think I will stick to my idea of just adding some plastic to my store. I know one thing though... I will make sure to carry discraft. You just cant find discraft hardly in the Dallas area.

A while back in MI a few guys opened the "Disc Golf Store." The store did eventually close for reasons not entirly related to sales. One thing they did that helped their business survive without online sales was to host several tournaments throught the year. These guys ran QUALITY tournaments almost every weekend including a points series for baskets. Their payout vouchers were redemably both at the tournament and at the retail store. It seemed like this setup is convenient for both the store and the players. If a player did not like the merch at the tourney they could always go to the store.

Play it again sports does a pretty good business in new discs in two stores in the DFW area. One is sponsoring the PIAS Open B-Tier next month.

We have a new struggling disc golf store in Denver that I haven't been to because it's about an hour and a half from where I live, so I'm not sure if they just carry disc golf items or not, and I don't think they have an online store. From what I understand though, they are "subsidized" by Wright Life so they can survive.

Hey marshief!
Are you talking about Dog Leg Discs in Aurora? If so, I'm pretty sure they carry only disc golf related merchandise. I'm a hands-on type of disc buyer, so I try to give them as much business as I can. Being just a couple of minutes from the Expo course helps them a bit I'm sure. Goodness knows how many discs those lakes eat; even with twmcoy and Gary Barbier "fishing" regularly!

nanook