After about 12 years The House of Golf store in Coorparoo in the eastern suburbs of Brisbane is under lock and key.A notice in the window directs enquiries to HOG at Nundah .Originally on Logan Rd Mt.Gravatt when run by Shane Austin he relocated to Coorparoo about 2 years ago .Shane sold out to Marc Harris and his business partner soon after but it was never the same.Recently the planned busway which will resume the property got some impetus and the shop has been deserted even with some stock still on display and a light left on but no sign of life.I did hear there was a sell at any price sale for cash a month or so ago but didn’t see it.Another case of how difficult it is to stay in business.Amen

A new Drummond Golf has opened in Camperdown (Parramatta Road) in Sydney. Great set up, but it apparently cost the lads $1mil to open the doors…flower me, but is that an ENORMOUS personal cost for a business which does have a very high failure rate?

Massive cost, I do hope that they make some cash though, more good stores the better for the consumer.

they should do their research better!

Yet another reason to buy your gear online.

The Golf Works in Kawana Waters has closed and has been replaced by House of Golf. Haven’t had a chance to get in to look yet.

There is a Golfworld across the road, but I wouldn’t buy there – too expensive.

Milhouse please keep buying on line someone has to buy the fakes
I sent an email to Callaway USA to find out a driver i wanted to buy online and they told me that under no circumstance should I buy on line. They said no manufacture world wide has any accounts with any companys unles they are
1 on course or
2 retail shop.
While they look the same they are not made from the same quality steel. You should also note that you cant trade them in as no one will give you money for fakes That means they are not the real deal. So go on please give the crooks your hard earned
The more people that buy on line the less companys like Callaway make the more they put the price up and the more people will have to pay

I agree with Bagger, I would never buy online, all those copies are going somewhere. Also I like to support the local pro. I know lots of golfers who will check the gear in the shop and then buy online. This has got to be dodgy. The pros know what these customers are all about and it hurts the relationship. The pro is the best resource a golfer has for lowering your score, finding a tee time, minding your gear, giving a useful tip, watching out for your kids when they’re on the course, cutting you a break when you need a spot for vistors etc. I struggled with a shaft that was too whippy until a pro set me right. A case of thinking I knew everything.
I look after my local pro and the returns are much greater and often in ways that are unexpected

Milhouse go for it buy online – couldn’t happen to a nicer person.

However I do think it is about time manufactures acknowledge the size of the online consumers market and that they should endorse selected reputable golf website to sell their gear.

Its really is madness that in this day and age that their is no comprehensive golf site in Australia that sells everything.

Milhouse please keep buying on line someone has to buy the fakes
I sent an email to Callaway USA to find out a driver i wanted to buy online and they told me that under no circumstance should I buy on line. They said no manufacture world wide has any accounts with any companys unles they are
1 on course or
2 retail shop.
While they look the same they are not made from the same quality steel. You should also note that you cant trade them in as no one will give you money for fakes That means they are not the real deal. So go on please give the crooks your hard earned
The more people that buy on line the less companys like Callaway make the more they put the price up and the more people will have to pay

How do online stores in the States get away with selling online then ie. TGW, Golfworks etc?

alot of them do sell the genuine stuff but you try and get a warranty on it you have to send it back to usa , also a point that has been overlooked is we are about 7 months behind the usa on release of clubs so what is current here can be superseeded there and thats when it is cheaper but it evens out in the end . example i bought a taylormade r360 when they were current for $250 us they were $699 here but this was because the r500 drivers had just come out in usa about 4 months after i bought driver they were retailing here in australia for $299 if the same club is the current model in both usa and here at the same time there is pretty much no difference in price

JB – What you have to remember is that many hundreds of thousands of golfers don’t belong to a club and don’t have a local pro. Buying online is not something evil, it has it’s place for some golfers while others will want to shop locally – both options are good.

I think you’ll find most people caught with fakes are buying from some two-bit website because it’s cheap. Like anything in life you get what you pay for and this is no different.

You buy from TGW or Edwin Watts and you will pay more but you won’t be stuck with a fake. You buy from Crazy Barry’s Bargain Basement online golf store and you have a chance at getting caught.

If the golf companies actually worked closely with online retailers in each country the situation would be a whole lot better. They’re burying their heads and hoping the internet will go away.

Well said admin. Too many people are sadly misinformed or just plain ignorant when it comes to this issue.

by the way, when is the ISG pro shop going to be back up and running?

I sent an email to Callaway USA to find out a driver i wanted to buy online and they told me that under no circumstance should I buy on line. They said no manufacturer world wide has any accounts with any companies unles they are 1. on course or 2. retail shop.

Sorry bagga, but sounds like complete and utter BS from your source. How could club manufacturers always distinguish wholesale orders from retailers with or without a shop front? Anyway, some eBayers are shop owners looking for an alternate, low cost marketing option or a way of offloading excess or superceded stock. I looked into one Aussie eBay seller, and actually ended up checking his credentials with QLD PGA. Completely kosher.

I know lots of golfers who will check the gear in the shop and then buy online. This has got to be dodgy. The pros know what these customers are all about and it hurts the relationship.

I agree that taking a good chunk of a pro’s time and expertise, hitting his demo sticks, then going straight to eBay is poor. At the very least you should be upfront about your buying intentions and give him a chance to get close-ish on price. I paid a bit over the odds for a 2nd hand driver, but the pro took me out with a bunch of different clubs and we worked out which one was giving me the best launch as well as correcting a few swing faults as well. Money well spent because I got the right club, and later he did me a great deal on a new putter, basically identical to eBay once you take into account postage – without all the hassle of bidding emailing rating etc.

I’m not stoopid though… My R580 3 wood I bought on eBay – a superceded item, it wasn’t available in stores and was $200 cheaper than the more recent models. No doubts whatsoever as to authenticity. I hope to buy my next set of irons there as well, as it will save me probably $500. I will pay a clubfitter to get the right specs and then buy a custom set.

alot of them do sell the genuine stuff but you try and get a warranty on it you have to send it back to usa , also a point that has been overlooked is we are about 7 months behind the usa on release of clubs so what is current here can be superseeded there and thats when it is cheaper but it evens out in the end . example i bought a taylormade r360 when they were current for $250 us they were $699 here but this was because the r500 drivers had just come out in usa about 4 months after i bought driver they were retailing here in australia for $299 if the same club is the current model in both usa and here at the same time there is pretty much no difference in price

And the point you make about the model supply lag and price difference is exactly what club manufacturers in the US of A need to address.

TM Adidas Salomon or whover the parent company is are probably the worst here..Cally, I don’t know about too much, but PING I believe are quite good.

A mate of mine bought a set of the new i10’s literally days after the launch, from here through a local shop.. price oint was a couple of hundred more, no more, and he had the clubs in three days..

AS for clubs being dealt online, Cally USAs’ statement about having no one allwed to trade online is flying a bit thin, after all they like a lot of other major brands do dump surplus stock/ and supereceded models onto the market big time,.. don’t believe me? well how do online traders like 3balls/ rockbottom and golf etail manage to trade so well and in massive numbers? the major OEM brands that they sell must have all been sourced direct with the volume that they trade in. And to reiterate, having seen countless chinese traders get closed down by eBay after listings are reported to them as being fake items, why are the three traders mentioned above allowed to continue unabetted?...’cause they aren’t selling fakes. and the manufacturers who dump product with them know it..

I’d like to note too from my experience the amount of clubs I see being sold by them that are branded “No Warranty” suggest that the manufacturers are well aware that they are being traded online and are complicit about it..

Not sure milhouse – unfortunately we can’t sell a full range of golf clubs because of the OEM online laws. Crazy situation indeed – meanwhile the people importing and selling the same gear from the US happily go on their way.

alot of them do sell the genuine stuff but you try and get a warranty on it you have to send it back to usa , also a point that has been overlooked is we are about 7 months behind the usa on release of clubs so what is current here can be superseeded there and thats when it is cheaper but it evens out in the end . example i bought a taylormade r360 when they were current for $250 us they were $699 here but this was because the r500 drivers had just come out in usa about 4 months after i bought driver they were retailing here in australia for $299 if the same club is the current model in both usa and here at the same time there is pretty much no difference in price

We are not always 7 months behind the US. In some examples we are actually ahead of the US. Callaway have been know to release clubs to the Australian market early so that they can get valuable sales over our summer before the US release in our winter (their summer golf season)