A Day On The Links

The Open Championship

2010-07-16T09:48:00.000-04:00

This week, we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the open championship more formally known as the British Open. With the completion of Thursdays round one some notables on top of the leader board include Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and John Daily. Yes, for the first time in over 15 years, John Daily made it into the leader board and into the press room with an impressive six under par finish to the first round. With round two beginning at 4:30 local time the days forecast looks gloomy. With temperatures in the low 60’s and wind at a steady 26 mph, golfing is no easy task. Play is likely to be suspended until conditions become more favorable. After today’s round finishes, the cut looks to be around even par.

Available Three Wheel Golf Cart Models

2010-07-12T10:47:00.003-04:00

Three Wheel Golf Cart Models & Features

Linksman golf has recently added some new models to its' inventory. The new X12 Outback also includes a seat for those sometimes long waits in the fairway. Checkout the introductory video below:

Exciting Finish at the 2010 Travelers Championship

2010-06-29T12:36:00.004-04:00

The 2010 travelers championship came to a close with a dramatic finish. Bubba Watson overcame a six stroke deficit on Sunday to force a playoff with Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank, then beat Scott Verplank with a par on the second playoff hole. Bubba Watsons comeback was the largest comeback on the tour since Padraig Harrington also came from six back to win the 2007 British Open.

New Golf Equipment for 2010

2010-06-25T09:39:00.002-04:00

The 2010 season is underway and it’s time to check out some new drivers offered from the top name manufacturers. Receintaly, I got a chance to demo some new drivers including the Taylor Made R9 tp. This club feels firm and has a nice sound off the face. It has the ability to change to a draw, neutral and a fade to tune your shot. Another new club that I was able to hit is the 2010 Cleveland Launcher. This club is super forgiving and has a huge sweet spot. The only downside is that the club head is a bit silly and misshapen. I was also able to try out the Titleist 909 D2. This club is most traditional in the 909. The D2 offers a 460cc, high performance titanium driver that produces mid launch with low to mid spin. This was one of the nicest drivers I have hit in a while. I would recommend going to your local clubs demo days and take advantage of hitting the new golf technology.

Travelers Championship

2010-06-24T12:33:00.000-04:00

It’s mid June and that means one thing for us nutmeggers. The Travelers Championship returns to Hartford for their annual stop on the PGA tour. The field this year is full of some notables including John Daily, Padraig Harrington and Bubba Watson. The tournament runs today all the way through to Sunday. A fan section is new for the 2010 season including putting contests, give-always and even a concert series. Fox 61 news out of Hartford is offering free admission for Friday afternoon. For other days admission will cost you around 30 dollars so defiantly take advantage of the free admission Friday.

Can you get a golf lesson via the Internet?

2009-01-15T23:16:00.013-05:00

Can you get a golf lesson via the Internet?... You can.In the past 6 months I have been really committed to running this golf company in such a way that my customers don’t’ just use our website to buy a golf item (But I won’t stop you) but the goal is really to provide other good information for golfers who crave it.

As I look outside to 10 inches of snow with sub zero temperatures this goal is still a work in progress. But I don’t do it all myself. We have a good team of folks that share in our passion for this crazy game. Check out some of the team...

To the point though. Can you go on the Internet and receive good instruction about the game of golf? The answer is yes, at least yes on our website you can. 4 months ago I got hooked on the game of tennis. I didn’t think anybody played tennis anymore until my wife decided to join an indoor tennis club for the winter to maintain our sanity during a long New England winter season (she is from Alabama so it feels even longer to her)

I have become addicted to the game and couldn’t get enough information so I discovered video lessons on the web. I found them very helpful. Personally I think tennis is a much easier sport to play than golf (sorry if that offends anyone) but golf has too many moving parts making it a challenge for even the most talented athlete.

So a few months ago we introduced a series of video clips on various topics of the golf swing. I am sure if you have become hooked on golf you will enjoy our complimentary instructional videos.

Check’em out and let us know what you think.

We have created several golf lesson videos for your review:

Retail Golf stores on the decline (Etail taking over)

2009-01-03T14:15:00.002-05:00

Written by Mike Blair: (Owner of Linksmangolf.com and Gripgolf.com)

The holiday shopping season has come and gone for 2008 and it was an interesting one to say the least. If you happened to turn the news on you can't help but notice that the stock market has gone just a bit, people are losing their savings (albeit on paper for now), and retail stores are having sales advertising 50% off and many of them are closing their doors.

I personally do not like to shop in a retail store or mall environment (unless I am really in the mood and I can spend someone else's money). I was however gifted by my in laws a gift certificate at a local mall which I could use at any one of the stores. Did you ever notice how malls are really not made for men? Did you ever notice how malls really sell mainly clothing? And also what happened to Abercrombie & Fitch? (All their clothes are ripped and the store smells like cologne) Well anyways I was able to spend most of the certificate in no time flat acquiring clothing and shoes I really do not need (they need more golf stores at malls) but I am sure I will look more presentable with the new threads which will make my wife happy.

This leads me to my original thought. Retail is really in trouble. I run a golf business that is primarily run online but at the same time I work closely with many retail golf stores across the country through our sister company called SwingemAgain Golf where we buy used, new, and demo golf equipment from retail golf shops that have excess inventory. My family started one of the original retail golf stores in the country (and expanding to 7 locations before they sold the business) at a time when the concept was new but the times sure have changed for this channel of sales. Retail golf stores are really having an identity crisis where they can’t compete on price versus the internet and they are struggling to understand what will attract their customers through the store and once in the store to make a purchase. The online world has simply become too attractive for most shoppers as the pricing is substantially lower, the convenience factor is an asset, and the experience of online shopping continues to become more enjoyable as the internet matures and websites have new selling tools.

Photo of our home page on www.Linksmangolf.com

My wife, Virginia, who is not an avid golfer but a good shopper has also embraced the online shopping experience in exchange for the time consuming shopping retail experience. Since the shopping experience online is so much easier this actually has become a small problem as she finds more stuff to buy than I do in the world. With 2 small children she seems to somehow have a UPS package arrive at the door once a day (quite a challenge for most)

Ironically with all the above said our business which is solely online has just opened a retail store. Our store experience though is not very traditional in the retail sense as we are in a 10,000 sq ft. warehouse that is not clean and has poor lighting but golfers just love it.

Check out the photo of our shop:

We have a few sister companies that work under our umbrella of golf businesses which makes this little golf shop a must stop/shop for all golfers as we offer pricing that is not seen in traditional retail, no pressure sales, and a true warehouse experience. Check out our recent on FOX61 news: The photos is of me with the Rick (The Fox News Guy)

Happy shopping to all.

2009 Linksmangolf Professional Resolution

2009-01-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

The New Year is here.
Our LinksmanGolf.com website is a key focus in the following 365 days. We have hired a new business developer (who we call the Rock) who shares our vision of providing not just an online channel to purchase our golf products but also an experience for our customers. We are working hard to add more golf products to our site as well as valuable content including golf lessons, golf tips, golf etiquette, golf videos, jokes, favorite golf spots and more. As the owner of the company and an avid golfer I am a little embarrassed to admit I have just become hooked on Tennis. This new passion I have been introduced to has opened my eyes to my current business of golf. As a new tennis player I crave and seek information about the sport and want to learn so many of the basics (skills first off and other basic tidbits of info). On our website www.linksmangolf.com I want my customers to be able to find content relevant to their passion for the game of golf whether they are new to golf or have played for years. Keep a lookout for a lot of changes in 2009 to our website (Podcast about playing golf, RSS feeds, New Golf videos, More products added to the site)
Happy New Year

2009 Golf Resolution

2009-01-01T12:12:00.000-05:00

The New Year is here. A time to reflect what was accomplished in 2008 and what improvements and changes need to be made in 2009.
As the owner of this company and a father of 2 small children I find that is increasingly more difficult to find the time to play the game of golf and when played I find my skills slowly deteriorating. In 2009 my personal golf goal is to enjoy what is played and the time spent getting fresh air with friends and family and not so much how many over par (not often under par) I am.
Happy New Year
-Mike

In the beginning...

2008-10-07T14:05:00.001-04:00

The Linksman Golf brand began nearly 5 years ago as a start-up Ebay business. The goal of my company was to create great quality products and sell them at a reasonable price through online channels. Ebay naturally was a platform to establish our business and create a loyal customer base and spread the word about our products. We started selling Junior Golf Sets, Men’s and ladies complete sets and after seeing success we have grown our product line to Three Wheel push golf cart, custom fit irons and Drivers, Golf bags, Golf travel bags, and more.

After nearly a half decade invested into our business we are proud to have expanded our business into a 10,000 sq ft warehouse fulfillment center in Hartford, CT and employee 7 to create a strong team. If we add one more we have 2 foursomes.

Our efforts are now focused on creating a family of customers who use our brand to help them play better golf and enjoy the game. Not only will we provide golf equipment at a tremendous value through www.linksmangolf.com and other online channels, but we are committed to providing rich content for golfers of all levels through our new podcast and our blog.

Our employees and family have a combined 100+ years in the golf industry and will share our experience to help golfers that are either beginning the game or are at an intermediate level. We will be providing advice through our Linksman Golf podcast on basic golf tips, helpful non-intimidating swing thoughts, golf etiquette, and an insight on operating a golf business and some of the fun challenges we face which can be entertaining.

The family: I have seen the golf industry evolve in 20+ years from the days of small wooden drivers and iron sets without a cavity in the back of the head (i.e. Little blades that are impossible to hit) My father started as a local PGA pro in Farmington, CT (Farmington Woods CC) which was a golf course built around many condominiums which was not common in the late 70’s. Pops (Mark) was the head pro at the Woods for 15 years and my mother assisted in the buying for his shop.

The First Golf Retail Shops in the country is born: One day in the early 80’s my father came up with a concept to create a golf store that wasn’t located in a country club at a golf course. He was and still is a little tight with his money so of course the business was located in the most remote area of the city of Hartford that one could find. I remember walking into a dark dingy warehouse (before we moved in of course) and asking him if golfers will really travel to this area and find this store. He figured that if he built it they would come. Well I guess he was correct. He invested about $5000 of his limited savings (Local PGA Pros don’t get paid too much despite their fancy cars and nice clothing) in the business and brought in several members to back his business plan.

The concept worked and customers waited in line to get into his store to view all the latest golf equipment and the largest selection ever seen in one shop. Callaway and Taylor Made were just little start up business about to boom and there were tons of brands to choose from compated to today where there are fewer and fewer choices as the bigger manufactures gobble up the small ones and there are fewer places which sell the products (but the ones that do are large)

This store became the largest golf retail location in the country at about 30,000 sq. ft (which ironically is now a very common business model of a larger golf retail store)

We work hard, and play harder!

2008-09-10T13:02:00.001-04:00

2008 has been a busy year for Linksman Golf. Growth is all apart of the game and boy have we been playin'! Not only have we added many new employees, but we have also merged with GRIP Golf (our sister company). 2009 is looking to be our busiest year yet. Working hard is all we know here at Linksman Golf except when we play, which we also do hard in case you were wondering. So all and all id say we work hard and play hard. I guess you can say we live hard. The point being we do work hard for you. We have been working diligently to endow our customers with the lowest prices possible while providing the highest quality equipment that all golfers are looking for. Plus, we now have live customer service representatives for customer convenience just incase you want to ask a "pro" before purchasing. That’s "Live" people, not like those machines that answer your calls elsewhere. How sweet is that?

We here at Linksman Golf have added many new custom clone iron sets which are still available for men and women in all flexes and shaft types. Cause when you think knock off's, you should think Linksman! These additions have allowed us to keep up with the new technology that is offered by the name brand companies such as, Callaway, Taylor Made, Nike, Cleveland, etc but at a fraction of the price. You cant beat paying a portion of the price for the same quality product.

The merger with G.R.I.P. Golf (Golf Research in Play) has been an exciting one to say the least. Adding GRIP to our product line allows us to provide a larger variety for the golfer that is looking for a premium line of golf equipment.

We have a lot of fun here at Linkman Golf, but we do take our work very seriously. We work everyday to make our customers happy and satisfied. Thanks for tuning in to the Blog and be sure to look back for more updates and blogs to come.

Written by Linksman Golf’s devoted employees, Paul and Eric

Finally live with a new Website!

2008-06-12T11:00:00.000-04:00

After months of hard work we have finally developed a website we are proud of. My name is Mike. This is my company. Our company blog will give you a view of what running a golf company is like behind the scenes as well as keep customers abreast of new trends, products and projects we are working on to make golfing more enjoyable for our customers.

Thank you for your business and support over the years.

Hit'em Straight!!
-Mike