When Myra and I planned our trip to Palm Springs we had a good idea of what to expect really, I had done my research and chosen some fantastic golf courses to review. I think you will agree from the list that we have reviewed already its pretty impressive indeed.
We don’t need really have a need to buy much though as a section of our garage back home looks like a golf pro shop. Loads of shoes, extra golf sets, a bag with 6 putters and 10 hybrids in it, stacks of towels, 5 gallon pails of balls and on and on it goes.
We do have a reward system whereby if Myra makes a par, she gets a hat, a par on the front and back nine, a shirt and if she breaks 55 a shirt.
My rewards are a hat for a birdie, shirt for 2 birdies or breaking 80 on 18 holes.We have this inside joke that it’s the prize or something of ” equal or lesser value”. I am hatted out so I opt for the lesser value prize of a ballmark repair tool from the course we played on that day.
Myra being a former accountant breaches the rewards programs rules a little and doesn’t redeem them on the same day, she lets them build and establishes a credit big enough to get something more substantial, see she’s hatted out too.After making a great par each day at the 2 amazing courses at Desert Willow she had now established a 2 hat credit or enough for a shirt. Smart lady. We always support the course we review, we have a meal and try to spend our reward money there. This time she couldn’t find that reward that was “just right”
So it was off to the PGA Superstore in Palm Desert, which we had only heard about from one of the golfers we had met last week.It is to golfers what the Loire Valley in France is to wine drinkers. This mecca of retail paraphernalia must be a million square feet in size, well ok it’s really huge. It has more equipment than you can shake a shanked wedge at, at least 10 hitting bays for club fitting, a practice green to die for and a very impressive club repair shop to the left as you walk in, where you can find one of the nicest and most talented golf repair techs, Matt, our new buddy.
As outstanding as this carnival of golfing exuberance is, it is the staff and their wonderful attitude that is the star of this show. A proverbial welcome mat as big as the desert is rolled out and Jason LaBaff ,who we met along with Operations Supervisor Robert Waggoner and fellow staffers, Melissa and Rich, confirmed what I already thought and appreciated.You don’t have to come and buy anything, you are welcome to just hang out and shoot the breeze with the staff and fellow golfers. It’s like a big golf lounge except they don’t serve drinks.
Should you need assistance blue shirted staff are everywhere to guide you or direct you. Now to the cherry on top, they give stuff away, daily! The have a promotion called “Match your score” where by everyday they will randomly post a score between 75 and 100. You bring in your scorecard and if matches the score of the day you win a $25 gift card. Its posted right there on a nice white stand as you walk in. The first day I brought my card in the score was posted….82…my card read 83, damn that missed putt on 18. The next day after our round we headed to see what the score of the day was, I had shot a pretty steady 40-41 for an 81- 9 pars and lots of bogies, no rewards from Myra. As we walked towards the store I could see the score through the glass, it was…yes…. 81! I was a winner. The staff must have thought I was a bit of weirdo, I almost pounced on the first employee as I walked in. ” I won the score of the day, where do I go, who do I talk to?’ After calming down Robert handed me a gift card and off we went to put the gift card towards Myra’s reward. What a promo, what a store.
After we paid for the shirt using the gift card which covered half the cost, I had the aforementioned group of 4 staff help captive or more like prisoner with a few insights to who we are and what we do in the golf world. It was a great end to our day and after our next 3 rounds we will be popping in to see if I match the “score of that day”. As we walked out of The PGA Superstore I think I heard one of the staff whisper ” that guy needs to get out more”. Yes I do, to our new favourite hangout, see you later today.
