(PHOENIX) – Club-fitting pioneer and leader PING named Carolyn Echols and her staff at The Eagle Zone Golf Center in Greenville, S.C., the 2012 PING National Fitter of the Year.
First given in 1997, the award recognizes the Authorized PING Fitter who has demonstrated the highest commitment to custom fitting and the promotion of its benefits to golfers of all abilities.
“Carolyn and her team are exceptional ambassadors for the PING custom-fitting philosophy,” said John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. “They combine technical expertise and first-rate customer service, qualities that build a loyal customer base while also growing the game with new golfers. She and her staff are consummate professionals. It’s no wonder The Eagle Zone has had so much success. Plus, they have a very impressive facility that’s ideal for promoting and conducting custom fittings. We’re proud to recognize their success, and they are highly deserving of being PING’s National Fitter of the Year.”
Echols, the General Manager and Head Professional, said she has seen how PING’s custom club-fitting can transform a golfer’s outlook. Recently she helped a man whose clubs showed a wear pattern on the toe. She adjusted his lie angle, with instant results. “He was amazed. He said, ‘I can’t believe I’ve been hitting it off the toe all this time. What a difference it makes to hit the ball on the center of the clubface. Golf is so much more enjoyable now.’ Sometimes all it takes is putting the right club in a person’s hands.”
The Eagle Zone has won multiple Regional Fitter of the Year honors. Echols attributes the operation’s continuing success to having the right mix of product and people. “Having PING’s clubs and fitting systems has helped us so much,” she said. “Some of our success is the product selling itself. But we also have a core group of people who work really well together. We listen. We take notes and find out what’s important to the customer.”
Being able to watch ball flights on The Eagle Zone’s expansive outdoor range is essential to her teaching and demonstrates the effectiveness of a proper fitting, Echols said. During fittings, she and her staff of three fitters are able to make adjustments on the fly. “A lot of times customers will come in to be fit for one club and they’ll walk out with an entire set. And because we’ve built their trust they know we didn’t up-sell them. They simply see that it works.”
She and her staff rely heavily on PING’s Advanced Fitting System (AFS) Interchangeable Fitting Cart. Fitters also have an iPING putter app they use to measure stroke type and match customers with a corresponding putter model. They also stock a large variety of current-model demo drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and wedges.
“We like the cart the best, the ease of it, its versatility,” Echols said. “Even PING’s lie tape is better than anyone’s. We use it for all of our fittings. It’s a tiny thing but it means a lot to us.” Echols said the structural integrity of PING’s fitting hardware gives them confidence. “The tip sleeve between the head and shaft is solid, it never comes loose, never breaks. It’s all extremely well made.”
One way that Echols promotes and grows her fitting business is by extending the golf season. Even though prime season is March to November, 25 covered hitting stations are equipped with overhead heaters to ward off the chill and allow for year-round fittings. The Eagle Zone’s 22-acre campus includes a large full-service pro shop, practice greens and bunkers, and a two-level range offering some 100 hitting stations on grass and mats. In addition to a loyal following of regular customers, The Eagle Zone has some 300 members who pay monthly dues. The clientele also includes golfers who are members elsewhere.
“We have quite a few local people who belong to private country clubs who come here a lot because they love the facility,” Echols said.
Echols is an LPGA Class A Member and is entering her 20th year of professional teaching. She has been with The Eagle Zone since April 2010. Previously, she was the head professional for 11 years at The Cliffs at Glassy in Landrum, S.C., and an assistant professional and a full-time instructor at San Ramon Royal Vista Golf Course in San Ramon, Calif., for five years. She went through the PING Custom Fitting training in Phoenix and is a PING staff member. At The Eagle Zone she oversees five instructors: PGA of America members Jamie Michala and Bob Bell, LPGA Member Sandy Halkett, Mike Carter, and John Gerring, who recently celebrated his 50th year in teaching and is a member of the PGA of America Hall of Fame.
In addition to Echols, The Eagle Zone’s fitters include Golf Shop Manager Tony Littlejohn, and Golf Shop Assistants Daniel Clemmons and Jarrod McWatters.
Nearly 2,000 authorized PING Club Fitters were eligible for the award. Among the criteria considered by the selection committee are length of time in the program, commitment to on-going training, sustained sales growth, and support of the entire PING product line.
Nominating Carolyn Echols and her staff was Michael Hopey, PING Field Representative for the area.
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