Josue Reyes, the 2013 PGA Merchandiser of the Year for Resort Facilities, is the PGA merchandise manager at Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits Golf Club in Kohler, Wisconsin.

In 2013, Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits hosted numerous corporate and leisure golf groups. We also host many junior tournaments, high school invitationals, charity fundraisers and Wisconsin PGA Section-sponsored events. Generally, corporate and group-related retail purchases are coordinated in advance. However, there are numerous groups that don’t purchase items in advance. This is where the tournament operations team gets involved. Our tournament coordinators assist by capturing retail sales the day of the event. They do this by the suggestive selling of prizes for on-course games, tee gifts, and first- and second-place winners. Some of the prizes they offer are: Wedges for closest to the hole as an on-course game, sleeves of golf balls as tee gifts, and $50-$75 shop vouchers for the first- and second-place winners. This approach has worked extremely well as our tournament coordinators have shared that most group contacts don’t even think about or realize the impact that simple on course games and tee gifts can have on their event.

In 2012, we began tracking the “day of” sales generated by our tournament team, which was $81,935. In 2013, the tournament team captured $126,254, a 54-percent increase from the previous year. This increase is attributed to the fact that our tournament coordinators are now more proactive in suggestive selling retail and are seeing the positive impact that it has had on their golf groups’ experience and our bottom line. They also appreciate the incentive program that is based on the amount of sales they capture.

If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email Josue.Reyes@kohler.com

Editor’s note: The above comments reflect the opinion and experiences of the submitting PGA Professional and are not endorsed by PGA Magazine or the PGA of America.