Exclusive Interview with Rob Blumberg From The Savvy Golfer
What possessed you to create two golf companies -- The Savvy Golfer and G.R.I.P -- and when did you start them?
My intent was to start one golf company, Golf Research In Play (G.R.I.P.). The Savvy Golfer, was originally a direct mail piece that we were going to use to promote G.R.I.P.. We were going to send it to 180,000 golfing homes in the US we were also going to sell ad space to other non-competitive golf companies that wanted to sell directly. The costs and risks were high. However, in the process of developing The Savvy Golfer we met a lot of great golf companies that we had never heard of before trying to sell space in The Savvy Golfer. We ultimately decided to start savvygolfer.com and work our way up to the direct mail. Eventually, G.R.I.P. and Savvy will enjoy a much closer marriage.
How do you decide which products to sell on The Savvy Golfer?
Our first criterion is overall quality. We will not sell everything and anything we find. Products must either be the best value in their class (e.g. Linksman Golf packaged sets) or it must be truly unique (e.g. Blossoms Golf and Green Friendly Golf Belts). We will never be the place where customers come for major brands or a box of standard golf balls. Everything on the site is carefully selected and we put a tremendous amount of detail into our product descriptions for the customers.
How often do you play golf and what is your favorite course to play?
I don’t play enough golf anymore. I have a wife, and two young daughters and two new businesses. Free time is hard to find. I really like Tumblebrook Country Club in Bloomfield, CT. I learned to play golf on that course and it is still a very impressive 27 holes. I also like Putterham Meadows in Brookline, MA. It is the polar opposite of Tumblebrook, it is a municipal, it has a lot of damage spots and it is not particularly attractive. It is most famous for being the parking lot for The Ryder Cup held at The Country Club in Brookline. I have great memories of playing the course during college and it is really convenient to Boston. I still try and play it once a year.
If I went through your golf bag right now, what clubs would I find and which is your favorite?
I have 2 G.R.I.P. Wedges, a 56 and a 60. G.R.I.P. Sweetness Putter, and a G.R.I.P. 4H Hybrid. I use a Hogan CS53 Driver and a Hogan 4-Wood. My irons are Cleveland TA-4 Gunmetal. I am a big fan of the G.R.I.P. Wedges. I get a lot of comments on the amount of spin I produce and I hit them well. This cobbler wears his own shoes!
What was the biggest obstacle you ran into when starting up both golf companies?
Everything is about 1000 times harder to do than I anticipated. In 10 years I will sit down and read the original business plan and laugh. However, we continue to learn as we go. We have some great people on the team and we have overcome most obstacles.
You've been sending out products for bloggers to test and review, what impact has that had on your business?
The Blogger reviews have worked well. We can actually see that the Bloggers send traffic to www.savvygolfer.com and www.gogrip.com it has helped to generate sales and create awareness about our sites and products.
What's one thing you want to tell everyone about starting up a golf business?
Don’t expect to play golf.
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