The Nation’s Biggest Demo Days Celebration Returns to Sacramento’s Haggin Oaks for the 34th Time

The phrase “spring break’ takes on a whole new meaning toward the end of each April at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, whose awardwinning Super Shop is the largest green-grass retail facility in creation. It’s about taking a break from work, or life in general, to forge a mini golf vacation of sorts — to beat balls, swing the latest and greatest gear, get properly fitted by the same guys who tweak touring pros’ sticks and nail down your dream set for the best prices around.

That’s the Haggin Oaks Golf Expo in a nutshell: value, service and everything great about golf under the sun — plenty of springin’ Northern California sunshine, that is. With free admission to more than 150 outdoor booths and an expansive two-sided practice range populated by representatives from equipment companies large and small, this is, in its 34th year, ground zero for scoring a spanking-new golf arsenal for a summer’s worth of play ... and more.

According to Ken Morton Jr., who runs Morton Golf’s retail operations, this year is shaping up as one of the best in the event’s 31-decade run, thanks to some innovative new products, plenty of economy-driven bargains and an even bigger and better area for custom fitting — one of the Haggin complex’s most popular programs year-round, but especially hot during the Expo.

“On the back side of the driving range, we’ve moved all of the Tour fitting vans back there. We’ve mowed out a grass tee so you can make a one-hour fitting appointment to be fit by one of the same people who fit PGA Tour pros. We’ll have seven vendors back there, and they’ll have the truck there so if you decide to make a purchase, they can build your club right on the spot.”

The show as a whole is pretty much following last year’s setup, with a “Golf Course Alley” area reserved for golf courses who can set up shop for no site fee, as long as they contribute rounds of golf to Sacramento’s chapter of The First Tee. And vendor registrations overall were strong from the start — solid testimonial that this is the place to be in any economic climate.

“We’re moving forward exactly as last year,” Morton says. “We’re ahead of where we were at this time last year in terms of number of booths, so we’re feeling really good about that. We’ve got 25 courses lined up for Golf Course Alley, which is what we had last year, so I think we’ll be ahead there. That was a welcome addition to the show. We get courses from down in the Bay Area like TPC San Francisco to all the courses up in Reno, and up and down the valley. They’ll be on hand providing discounts, information and brochures.” The Expo also attracts travel groups, health-and-fitness professionals and many other golf-related services. There’s plenty of food and drink for purchase as well.

And, as always, Fairways + Greens will be on hand with copies of your favorite magazine, special offers from advertisers, free gifts and drawings for prizes.

As far as the real star of the show — the equipment we all crave — popular manufacturers from such biggies as TaylorMade and Callaway to mid-level companies like Nickent have already kicked aggressive retail pricing strategies into gear, and Morton says the Super Shop is doing brisk business in the run-up to the Expo, while a lot of buyers are waiting for the event to pull the trigger.

“People like new stuff, and there’s no shortage of new products in the marketplace,” he adds. “From nearly every single manufacturer we’ve got a new line of woods this spring, like the TaylorMade r9, Cobra S91 and Cleveland Monster. And all of those same manufacturers are holding over last year’s versions and making them available at a reduced rate. For instance, the new Cleveland XLS driver is $299, but we have the 2008 version on sale for $149. We’re seeing lots of customers take advantage of that lower-priced merchandise that might be seasonal but is still a great improvement over what they have in their bags. The beauty of our expo is we have everybody there from Honma at the high end to Wilson’s recreation line and everything in between. You can walk out with a set fit just or you.”

This year, some manufacturers are sweetening the custom-fitting pot even more, employing an extrapersonal touch.

“In some case, such as with Titleist, they’re going to provide a few customer-service advantages that we can’t even get from Titleist on a day-to-day basis. If you buy a Vokey wedge, they’ll actually hand-stamp your name or initials on it and build it to your specs. The fittings are by appointment and we sold out last year, so I urge people to call our lesson office. It’s $25 for the fitting but refundable with purchase.”

In other words, there’s no excuse for going home without the weaponry of your dreams, from driver through putter, at the price you’re looking for. And with a 7,000-square-foot tent of rock-bottom value-priced merchandise right next to the range and main Super Shop, it’s the best shopping opportunity of the year.

“We’re projecting to have about 150 manufacturers available,” Morton says. “The front side of our shop will have lots of apparel deals. At this point we have six clothing vendors, and they’ll have season-ending sales. We also have GPS companies, shaft companies — we’ll offer re-gripping services, and as always we’ll have the PGA trading value folks here, and we’ll be taking trade-ins over the weekend as well.”

Get that? They’ll even give you money for your over-loved old clubs. That should be the clincher: It’s time to make a “break” for the 2009 Haggin Oaks Golf Expo.

Published in FG Magazine, April 2009

LITTLE BIT COUNTRY AT HAGGIN OAKS
How about some twang with that tweet-tweet birdie? On May 15, some of the brightest stars and biggest legends in country music take part in the annual Golf & Guitars celebrity pro-am tournament and concert at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex. Performers include John Michael Montgomery, Jamie O’Neal, One Flew South, Love & Theft and Marcel Trent Tomlinson. The event raises funds for children’s charities including Hope Productions Foundation and new non-profit Morton Golf Foundation, which benefits charities such as The First Tee of Greater Sacramento and inner-city youth programs. www.golfandguitars.com