Custom club fitter sees growth in corporate and retail environments to remain nation’s best
(Willowbrook, IL) — The game of golf requires a certain optimism — players keep coming back regardless of the challenges. The golf industry has seen the perseverance of that optimism in recent years, with 2021 being the biggest year on record for many golf brands. Club Champion, the nation’s top custom club fitter and builder, was no exception.
The fitter’s dynamic vision has led Golf Digest to include them in the bi-annual Top 100 Clubfitters ranking since the inception of the list. The company’s thorough processes and attention to detail have gained a strong recognition among golfers, leading to an overall revenue growth of 58% year-over-year and over 90,000 fittings in 2021.
“The world has changed but golf has never been more of a constant,” said Club Champion founder, Nick Sherburne. “We have more new golfers than ever and more people returning to the sport since you can safely participate. Because of all that, the demand for the game is through the roof and we’ve done everything we can to meet that demand.”
Two of the many tactics to meet the demand were rapid brick-and-mortar growth domestically and strategic international acquisitions. In 2021, Club Champion opened 14 new stores and relocated three key studios to better service the golfers in those markets. The store count as of publishing is 90 studios, all fully equipped with TrackMan, SAM PuttLab, and over 50,000 hittable head and shaft combinations. Late in the year, the company also acquired top Canadian fitter Tour Experience Golf (TXG) as the first stepping stone toward an international presence.
In addition to a wider footprint, Club Champion also saw incredible team growth — in 2021 alone, the employee roster increased by 35%. At the head of the new hires, Club Champion brought in CEO Adam Levy, a proven executive charged with navigating the new retail landscape and the unprecedented call for all things golf.
“Joining Club Champion was like jumping on a moving train that’s headed for an unknown destination,” Levy said. “In my first year, we’ve exceeded expectations and the plan now is direct that driving force toward 2022 to see how we can continue to evolve and grow as a brand that puts service above all else.”
Club Champion’s external support also expanded, with a revamped roster of brand ambassadors. Major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Lexi Thompson are at the head of the pack, along with PGA Tour legend Jim Furyk, unequaled social influencer Paige Spiranac, instructing great Michael Breed, and LPGA rising star Louise Ridderström.
Behind the scenes, the fitter’s Chicagoland build shop was a rising star in its own right, producing more than 360,000 hand-built golf clubs during the year. Those impeccably built clubs contribute directly to the company’s on-course claims, including the fact that Club Champion custom-fit golfers add an average of 21 yards off the tee. That statistic was proven by a Golf Digest study, along with a metric showing an average six-stroke improvement per round with custom fitted and built clubs.
To round out an incredible year of firsts and record-breaking results, Club Champion also reported the following:
• 78% of all fittings were first-time customers, further supporting the growth in beginner and returning golfer segments
• Over 4,000 pieces of content were created by the Club Champion team, including video content on their YouTube channel and episodes of their podcast, Fits with the Founder
• Roughly 9.83 million golf balls were hit in fittings in 2021
• Over 197,000 hours were spent in fitting bays — that’s over 8,000 full days
Looking ahead, Club Champion has plans to continue growth in North America and beyond in 2022, along with the addition of a flagship studio in NYC. Content expansion is top of mind as well, with plans to loop the TXG team into video production and industry-leading guests into the podcast.
“We’re just scratching the surface,” said Levy. “With fittings, with content, with what we can offer. 2021 was an incredible year and now we’re stepping up to the tee in 2022 to set the next set of records.”
For more information about Club Champion, visit clubchampiongolf.com.
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