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| TEED OFF: PGA Tour Superstores offer golf balls and wedges and sand traps. (Oh my.) photography courtesy of PGA Tour Superstore |
Fairway faithful, heaven might be closer than you think.
With last month’s grand opening of PGA Tour Superstores in Frisco and Plano, no longer will you have to wonder where you can pick up a new driver, a dozen balls, a golf-themed toothbrush holder, and a caddy-shaped wine bottle holder. Both locations, 65,000 and 70,000 square feet in size, respectively, offer every tip and toy any golf lover could dream of.
Professional-level in-store services include expert swing analysis, custom clubmaking and repair, and clubfitting to ensure the sticks you’re swinging are the correct length, grip size, lie angle, and shaft material and flex. Indoor practice greens, simulators, and hitting nets are the perfect places to try out one of the 15,000 clubs for sale—the largest in-store selection of any golf retailer nationwide. The stores carry everything else you could need on or off the links—from balls and carts to golf-related board games and furniture—as well as tennis gear. Paid lessons and free clinics are also offered.
The PGA store concept originated in South Carolina in 2004 and has since expanded to four locations in Atlanta, Ga., where parent company Golf & Tennis Pro Shop, Inc. is headquartered. The Dallas locations are the first of their kind in the Southwest.
“We’re thrilled about our PGA TOUR Superstores opening in Dallas,” says Bill Hamlin, president and CEO of GTPS. “Our stores are the only in the area that offer expert assistance coupled with access to state-of-the-art technology and an extraordinary inventory of products. Our goal is to give recreational players access to the kind of resources that are available to the pros on tour.”
So if your prayers for a better back nine have gone unanswered, let the golf gods at a PGA Tour Superstore show you the way to salvation.
Game On
Tee times just got technological with TopGolf.
Change can be good, even when it comes to the country’s oldest, and most traditional, game. If you were disappointed to see the Hank Haney driving range at Park Lane and Abrams Road close down, get ready to adapt: TOPGOLF is bringing the driving range into the 21st century. Here’s how it works: You and up to four other players aim microchip-embedded Dunlop balls at one of the 11 green-sized targets, as sensors track where your balls land on the turf. Higher scores are awarded for hitting further targets and proximity to the bull’s-eye flagpins. Electronic monitors immediately update with your distance and scores. (Think target practice meets bowling.) Meanwhile, your companions watch from tables situated at each hitting bay while servers take food and drink orders. Up until now, the sole TopGolf location has been in Kingstowne, Va., but executives expect the Dallas location to be open by late May. Those who have played say it’s a fun and exciting update to the game you know and love, and Golf Range Magazine included the Virginia location in its Top 100 Golf Ranges in America in 2006. After a few rounds, you, too, might be convinced the grass is greener when it’s synthetic. — ANNALISE GHIZ
