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Mike Andrusin on Coaching: Hold Combined Wedge Fittings and Clinics

Mike Andrusin, the 2017 PGA New Jersey Section Youth Player Development Award Recipient, is a PGA Teaching Professional with the four Morris County (NJ) Park Commission Golf Courses and Core Golf Performance, in Oakland, New Jersey.

Mike Andrusin on the importance of holding combined wedge fittings and clinics:

As 2020 began, we had our usual slate of clinics, camps, and other events all set to go for the season. But COVID-19 ended that and in turn, left us with a lot of unsold equipment inventory. While having a discussion over the summer with fellow PGA member Bill Flood (who happens to also be a rep for a wedge company), we hatched an idea: Why don’t we hold a combined wedge fitting and clinic day at a Morris County course with a practice range/short game area big enough to properly social distance.

Mike Andrusin on the business impact of holding combined wedge fittings and clinics:

We set the price at $149 per golfer, made up of a 90-minute clinic (how to hit different shots, what the bounce is and how to use it, etc.), a free wedge and fitting for that wedge, and a couple quick tips along the way. We announced the first one at Pinch Brook in late August, and within days we were sold out. (The max was 10 per COVID-19 protocols). Consequently, we added a second session following it to respond to demand. Bill and I split each of the groups into two, and we sold 23 wedges from the Morris County wedge inventory (participants had a chance to purchase a second wedge at a discounted rate). The day was so successful that we added another one in late September at one of the other Morris County courses, Flanders Valley. There we did a 12-person session, and when that filled up, we added a second session that afternoon with 11 participants. That day, we sold 25 wedges. Additionally, I was able to add all those who were not previously on my mailing list onto teaching rolodex, giving me an additional potential student base as we enter 2021. Overall, it was two great days of teaching, selling inventory, bringing in revenue, and giving players better tools to add to their arsenal to improve their short game. As a result, we think we found the right formula to help golfers while also helping our bottom line. I look forward to bringing these events to the other Morris County courses during the 2021 season.

To email the author of this best practice, please email mandrusin @ berkshirevalleygc.com or you can visit his bio to learn more about Mike Andrusin.

Article as originally seen on March 22, 2021 as part of the PGA Professionals’ Best Practice: Coaching Series; a weekly e-communication deployed by PGA Magazine, an official licensee of the PGA of America.