“My career highlight was getting this job”

The head PGA professional at Coventry Golf Club since 2014, Martin Sutliff, discusses the benefits he’s seen from a new indoor swing studio, managing stock in the pro shop and why TGI Golf is a benefit to him both professionally and personally.

How has your business adapted to the golf industry’s changes since the start of this decade?

The biggest thing that has changed for my business is that I invested my Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan in an indoor swing studio. This allowed me to come out of the pandemic with a positive, enhancing the services we offer to include full custom fitting, which as we know has become a must in our industry. It has also added to our reputation in the local area as we can now offer more to golfers than ever before.

We took on new members during the Pandemic so we now have a much stronger membership and I have become more of an ambassador for the club in helping to retain those members. Building relationships with club members has always been an important part of the PGA Professional’s role and that seems to be more important now than ever for me, and is something that I love doing.

I have also had to look more into streamlining my business and with the help of my TGI Golf retail consultant, Chris Taylor, I have been putting together far more in-depth buying plans to help me buy smarter and ensure that my money goes further.

What daily challenges do you face in running a pro shop and teaching?

From a pro shop side of things, I’m lucky as I’ve always been very interested in the retail and service side of things, so I have surrounded myself with people who teach with / for me. My teaching assistants Sam Dodds and Mark McKay focus on teaching, which allows me to focus more on the day to day running of the shop and the course.

Price is a continual challenge – making sure that you charge the right amount but without being too greedy. Now that we have the swing studio that has made things a bit different as we now have that quality experience that the customer demands, and people are a little happier to pay a premium when they are receiving such an experience.

We work closely with the manufacturers to manage our pre-books better and with the reps to get the best deals.

There is a constant flow of new golf products – how do you manage your stock to serve the needs of your members and visitors?

I try to cover all price points as best as I can and communicate to my customers that if I don’t have something in stock, we can usually get it quite quickly. I believe it is vital to be honest with your customers. If I can’t get something or can’t price match I will often show the customer the cost price so they can see that I’m not pulling a fast one and I genuinely cannot get what they want without losing money.

I believe communication is incredibly important as if we don’t make that sale that day, by being professional and friendly about it they will remember that service and we may make 10 sales to that customer in the future, which will help stock turn and grow the business.

How do you manage your day?

We look at the rotas a week in advance and ensure the shop is covered at all times. I’ll be in on the main days when there are big events, societies and so on.

I’ll be in on a Monday as that’s banking day and I like to be there to make sure we’re ready for the week. That first hour of the day is important for me as I like to have everything set up so we are ready for what’s coming.

I do believe that it is important to have a couple of family days too, otherwise you find yourself working hundreds of hours a week, and that’s not great.

I’ve always tried to make sure I have Fridays off as my partner is off too and I’ll try to have Sundays off so I can watch my boy play rugby. But if there’s a club competition on, then I like to be around to make sure that goes smoothly.

I like to be flexible with my staff too, so if it’s quiet they can go off and practice, play a round with some of the members or study.

What are you doing to support junior golf and introduce kids to the sport?

We recently relaunched the Coventry Junior Academy, which is now being run by one of our members who was formerly a Warwickshire County Junior Organiser.

It is open to both members and non-members to attend and consists of a free of charge session every fortnight. From there we invite them to join the academy which gives them access to the practice facilities, clubhouse and fun competitions to get them used to being a member of the club.

Once they become a full junior member they have full access to the course, there’s no age threshold, once they are confident enough to play then they can join anytime.

We have a measured junior Blue Course on the main Championship Course which is another stepping stone for juniors to get into the game.

Are you trying to attract more women to golf?

We are. We have a very active ladies’ section, with the ladies themselves working well with a buddy system to help new ladies feel more settled as it can be quite daunting for new people joining, particularly at an established club.

All our non-board Saturday competitions are open to female members too, so the boundaries are being broken down each year to allow access to competition golf and to the course over the weekend for more ladies to play.

We have a two-year academy membership scheme for ladies too which includes a course of lessons in year one, growing into full access to the course and a handicap in year two, then full membership in year three.

A lot of PGA pros are having to be a step ahead of their competitors in their offerings and technology – what additional added value services do you provide?

We have a GC Quad in the swing studio which has been a huge addition to the business, the investment there has paid for itself and is simply a service that PGA professionals have to provide now.

We have also installed a new Huxley Green for the pitching area and will be working with Titleist to provide a full Vokey Wedge fitting service. We unfortunately don’t have a full-length driving range, so we would like to become the best short game facility around.

When did you join the TGI Golf Partnership and what was it about it that attracted you?

I joined in 2014 when I took over as head pro at Coventry. I had been recommended to the group by fellow partners Simon Wood and Jon Salter. From day one it has felt like a family; the support that you get, the atmosphere created at events and in general is unrivalled.

From a business perspective, being part of TGI Golf has been instrumental in helping me grow my business by £100,000-plus in nine years. The accessibility to stock and suppliers as well as the expert retail knowledge is unrivalled, why wouldn’t you be a part of it?

Has TGI Golf been of benefit to you as a PGA professional?

Absolutely, the full package from the retail support to the personal support has been incredible. If you invest the time to take advantage of everything that TGI Golf has to offer, then there is no way part of TGI Golf could not be beneficial.

Over the years the support I have received from everyone involved in TGI Golf, from my retail consultant Chris, to the marketing team and the staff at head office has helped me to maximise my business to provide the very best for my members.

What year did you turn professional and what have been your career highlights, both playing and employment?

I turned professional in 2007 and my playing career highlights are very limited indeed.

My career highlight will be becoming head PGA professional here at Coventry in 2014 – I was an assistant here before, so to take on the main role was a great achievement.

One major highlight for me was seeing my then assistant PGA professional Adelle Middleton win the PGA Assistant of the Year award, Women of the Year award, Custom Fitter of the Year and then get a job at St Andrews all in the one year. It was a tremendous achievement for her and one that we were all proud of.