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Club Rental Experience?


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Fellas and Ladies,

 

First time poster, long time reader...recently, a few buddies and I have been dabbling in a new concept. Golf club rentals. We've all had experiences where we had some time to kill, the pass from our wives/bosses (maybe 1 in the same at times), and a course near by.

 

We all fell into the "gotta rent from the course" game, and ended up with a bag of trash, mostly 60 gram senior/regular flex shafts, and a few irons not even worth pulling from the bag.

 

All that being said, we're looking at launching a peer-to-peer marketplace for golf clubs. No need to get into all the specifics, we're just trying to get a feeling if this is a widespread issue, or just us. Like AirBnB for golf clubs. would love to get some feedback here since ya'll are the market we want to learn more about, so a few things would be awesome:

 

1. Do you ever rent clubs to play? If so, was it worth it?

 

2. What would you will be willing to pay to rent someone else's that fit your setup better?

 

3. Would you be interested in posting your clubs (for free) and getting paid to let someone else game them?

 

4. How much would you need to make to post your clubs for rent?

 

I know there are tons of questions, but assume everything is 100% smooth on insurance, logistics, etc.

 

Hoping this isn't too salesy, we're really just trying to learn, and see if this even makes sense.

 

If you really want to know more, head over to our blog to get a bit of details https://sticksupply.wordpress.com/

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Interesting concept, but I don’t like people touching my clubs. Maybe a backup set though.

 

1. I have rented only once or twice and I don’t enjoy it. I normally always bring my clubs.

 

2. Other people’s clubs probably still won’t fit me. I play +1 in. So that won’t help.

 

3. No, sorry. I wouldn’t let anyone touch my clubs. Maybe my old set but they are in a different state for when I visit my in laws.

 

4. My old set, probably $20.

 

Personally, I feel like most serious golfers are very attached to their sticks. I know I am, maybe I’m in the minority but I doubt it. Good luck!

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Interesting concept, but I don't like people touching my clubs. Maybe a backup set though.

 

1. I have rented only once or twice and I don't enjoy it. I normally always bring my clubs.

 

2. Other people's clubs probably still won't fit me. I play +1 in. So that won't help.

 

3. No, sorry. I wouldn't let anyone touch my clubs. Maybe my old set but they are in a different state for when I visit my in laws.

 

4. My old set, probably $20.

 

Personally, I feel like most serious golfers are very attached to their sticks. I know I am, maybe I'm in the minority but I doubt it. Good luck!

 

I'm with you on the "not wanting someone to touch my gamers" but I'm one of those guys that has spare sets sitting around, b/c the money to sell them to a shop just isn't really worth it these days. I end up giving stuff away cause it's going to someone who actually needs a set (high school kid trying to learn or something)

 

We've been building out all the different filters, and 1 of them is length, I know lots of guys that play longer sets, or even shave em down (I shave my driver down an inch).

 

Thanks for the feedback man, hopefully someday soon you'll see us around a check us out

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I think the big hurdle you have to clear is convenience. When you rent clubs from a course, they are right there at the pro shop and you leave them there when you are done. There are a lot of rentals that are high quality, but very few that are a close match to what I'm used to playing. So nearly all rentals are a bad fit for the person's game and pretty much everyone knows this. But we want to play so we suck it up and get clubs that are convenient at the course for $50.

 

If I were going to inconvenience myself to drive for clubs closer to my gamers, it would have to be really cheap. Or the AirBNB-like company would have to deliver them to the course I'm playing. I think it would be relatively easy to get a steady supply of good clubs available compared to the logistics of getting clubs to the player. As Amazon knows well, the last mile of the customer journey is the most expensive.

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I think the big hurdle you have to clear is convenience. When you rent clubs from a course, they are right there at the pro shop and you leave them there when you are done. There are a lot of rentals that are high quality, but very few that are a close match to what I'm used to playing. So nearly all rentals are a bad fit for the person's game and pretty much everyone knows this. But we want to play so we suck it up and get clubs that are convenient at the course for $50.

 

If I were going to inconvenience myself to drive for clubs closer to my gamers, it would have to be really cheap. Or the AirBNB-like company would have to deliver them to the course I'm playing. I think it would be relatively easy to get a steady supply of good clubs available compared to the logistics of getting clubs to the player. As Amazon knows well, the last mile of the customer journey is the most expensive.

 

Thanks for the feedback. The pick up/drop off is definitely our focus right now. Trying to come up with creative ways to make it simple. some of the ideas:

 

Partnering with an uber (like) company to do deliver on behalf

 

Find some spots to install amazon locker like storage

 

Some of the suppliers we're looking into recruiting are used golf club shops. So ideally, the convenience factor doesn't come into play, and clubs are delivered to the course for your round. All things we're trying to figure out.

 

if anyone has any great idea for the "last mile" we'd love to hear it

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Honestly, I don't think this would work. Most of the courses where I have had to rent clubs have been higher end clubs that essentially gave me nearly brand new sets - some allowing a choice of manufacturer and almost always shaft flex - to play with. While obviously not a perfect fit, I would much rather play with the newest/latest and greatest than someone else's set. Also, the people that might be most interested in making sure their clubs are to spec most likely just take their clubs when traveling.

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to be clear here, I'm not talking about traveling with the expectation to play golf. I think there's a solve for that already (southwest no bag fees, ship sticks, etc).

 

This is really for all the use cases you want to play while traveling, once you've arrived at your destination, or you think you may play on the next trip but it's a long shot therefore taking your clubs isn't worth the "possibility" of playing.

 

We're also looking into the inventory including the latest and greatest new sets available. In conversation now about how that would work. So essentially there are 2 types of offerings:

 

1. New sets available to rent

2. Possibly lower cost options that are peer-to-peer

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I looked into this for a possible trip to Australia. I was worried both about the cost of shipping my clubs and their getting damaged or lost. So that is a possible use scenario -- an international traveler. I was looking to be in Australia for a month and play several courses. I was looking for a cost savings for renting for an entire trip vs. paying to ship or paying at every course for rental clubs.

 

I also think a demo arrangement where you send out the newest driver head with 4 or 5 shafts to a discerning player who has a launch monitor at home, or wants to try it out on the course might be of interest to some.

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I looked into this for a possible trip to Australia. I was worried both about the cost of shipping my clubs and their getting damaged or lost. So that is a possible use scenario -- an international traveler. I was looking to be in Australia for a month and play several courses. I was looking for a cost savings for renting for an entire trip vs. paying to ship or paying at every course for rental clubs.

 

I also think a demo arrangement where you send out the newest driver head with 4 or 5 shafts to a discerning player who has a launch monitor at home, or wants to try it out on the course might be of interest to some.

 

thanks for the feedback. I know there's a company out there that does "demo's of the latest driver" for like $25 for a few weeks at a time. I'm not sure about all the ins and outs though (whether you can get a custom shaft, tweak all the specs, etc)

 

We're exploring the idea of getting new gear from manufacturers to rent out. Over time, retire the gear and sell at a heavy discount.

 

this is a great use case though. I know a few other guys have mentioned having backup bags in areas they're in a lot (like in laws, vacation homes, etc) that collect dust....

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I've rented about 6 times in the past 2 years in Las Vegas and San Diego. Since the entire bag was same brand, I assume the manufacturer provides them to the course for a heavily discounted fee. That I remember, I've played with TaylorMade M2 irons/woods, Callaway XR irons/woods, Titleist AP1 irons and 715 woods and a Scotty putter. I'm a standard L/L/L man and shoot around the same scores with rentals. Some courses charge $60 down to $25.

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1. Do you ever rent clubs to play? No

 

2. What would you will be willing to pay to rent someone else's that fit your setup better? If the clubs were already at the course I would consider it after seeing them.

 

3. Would you be interested in posting your clubs (for free) and getting paid to let someone else game them? Never ever.

 

4. How much would you need to make to post your clubs for rent? NA

 

Are you providing replacement insurance for rented clubs?

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1. Do you ever rent clubs to play? If so, was it worth it?

 

2. What would you will be willing to pay to rent someone else's that fit your setup better?

 

3. Would you be interested in posting your clubs (for free) and getting paid to let someone else game them?

 

4. How much would you need to make to post your clubs for rent?

 

 

 

1. I rented some times, some were worth, some were awful (I remember a set I rented in Bethpage that was a shame). Some golf shops in Europe rent a good set for 50/70€ a week, I would consider such a way to rent clubs for holiday places.

 

2. It depends. If I am in a golfing holiday I bring my set of clubs, which normally costs 60/100€ form many airplane companies. If I paly a random round of golf, it'd bother me if renting costs more than 20€.

 

3. 4. Not my set of clubs, maybe a second set, but I don't think that the money I could get would be worth. I could expect to get 10/15 euros per round.

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My Dad and I rented clubs from a guy in Scotland (can't remember the name of the company but I can get it if someone wants it), but he met us at the Edinburgh airport, and he picked them up from us in St. Andrew's. It was all Taylormade 2017 M2's. They weren't my clubs, but it was so convenient. The guy was super easy to work with and coordinate with, and while I wish I had my clubs, I know this was easier.

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My Dad and I rented clubs from a guy in Scotland (can't remember the name of the company but I can get it if someone wants it), but he met us at the Edinburgh airport, and he picked them up from us in St. Andrew's. It was all Taylormade 2017 M2's. They weren't my clubs, but it was so convenient. The guy was super easy to work with and coordinate with, and while I wish I had my clubs, I know this was easier.

 

I had the same experience .

When visiting St Andrews i also noticed that there are very much good renting options overthrew.

Countdown for Augusta!!!

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1. Do you ever rent clubs to play? No

 

2. What would you will be willing to pay to rent someone else's that fit your setup better? If the clubs were already at the course I would consider it after seeing them.

 

3. Would you be interested in posting your clubs (for free) and getting paid to let someone else game them? Never ever.

 

4. How much would you need to make to post your clubs for rent? NA

 

Are you providing replacement insurance for rented clubs?

 

The plan is to have an insurance policy that's available for both the supplier and renter. We're looking into some of the insurance companies that are a little more "forward thinking" with the p2p market.

 

This does live and breath today in a few other businesses. So, the short answer is yes. How it will all look on paper is TBD

 

Basically, we don't want to run the risk of renting out your irons, then some idiot snaps one over his leg...or hits it off the cart path and scuffs it so bad you're looking on 2nd swing for a new iron

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"Basically, we don't want to run the risk of renting out your irons, then some idiot snaps one over his leg...or hits it off the cart path and scuffs it so bad you're looking on 2nd swing for a new iron"

 

Nice premise & thoughts, but I do hope you realize that there are way tooooo many people out there that don't treat ANYTHING with it's proper respect (take it from me, who own 2 laundromats and no matter how many signs and have verbally told customers not to do "something" (example, "pls. don't wash old carpets or mats with the rubber bottom grippers falling apart as they could clog the washer")... they still do it!) and abuse the "hell" out of my equipment!... people just don't care...

 

In regards to your other questions:

 

1. Do you ever rent clubs to play? If so, was it worth it?

The most I've done is rent 1 club, so my reply of a "yes" might not be too helpful.

 

2. What would you will be willing to pay to rent someone else's that fit your setup better?

I'd be willing to pay about $20 to $30 more what is the standard rental price (example, if it's $50 price at a golf course, then I'd be willing to go up to $70 or $80).

 

3. Would you be interested in posting your clubs (for free) and getting paid to let someone else game them?

Maybe only my backup golf clubs, but NOT my gamer bag.

 

4. How much would you need to make to post your clubs for rent?

For my back up bag, if I'd do it, maybe, I'd take anywhere from $25 to $35 to rent it out (it's older stuff, not recent).

 

 

If I was renting from you, I'd be easy to please. Regular shafts, close to standard length be fine (even if I'd been professionally fit to be 1/2" shorter from woods/hybrids all the way down to PW. Putter, need a 33" length and Driver need 44")... I've spent a great amount of money getting my gamer close to specs to 3 fitters recommendations, so I would never put it out to rent and I'm sure MANY memebers here at golfwrx.com feel the same.

 

Keep us informed and BEST OF LUCK with this!

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