“It’s pretty cool that we’ve been here for 50 years. Seriously, how many businessesin <strong>Arizona</strong> have come and gone in <strong>the</strong> past 50 years?” – Rick Levy, Van’s <strong>Golf</strong> Shops VP............................................................Get ACCESS AZgolf for only $49.95!This year's ACCESS AZgolf membership includes both <strong>the</strong>basic ACCESS Global AND <strong>the</strong> Avid <strong>Golf</strong>er PassbookAvid <strong>Golf</strong>er Passbook - 250 rounds, 35 courses!This year we have more courses, more deals and morereasons to get <strong>the</strong> AG Passbook!Basic Guest membership to ACCESS Globalwhich comes with $100 in Savings Credits!If you plan to play golf, stay in a hotel, rent a car, take a cruiseor y somewhere, ACCESS Global is <strong>the</strong> membership for you.Sign up and instantly receive $100 in Savings Credits.BUt wait, THERE’s MORE!If you join online by December 31, 2013, you will receive a voucher for 2 bonusrounds - one at <strong>the</strong> Wigwam in Litchheld Park and one at Vista Verde in Rio Verde........ .......Head to azgolf.org and click “AG Passbook”(located at <strong>the</strong> center <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> homepage)............................................................(ticked <strong>of</strong>f) at us,” Bocchini recalled. “Then again, our customersloved it and that made him happy.“He wasn’t an easy guy to work for, ei<strong>the</strong>r — he fired me sixtimes in six years, and I also quit six o<strong>the</strong>r times — but that’show he did it. And in those days, we owned <strong>the</strong> market. Wewere <strong>the</strong> only game in town.”Levy said that was one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> main reasons Worldwide <strong>Golf</strong>Shops kept <strong>the</strong> name Van’s <strong>Golf</strong> Shops when it took over 16years ago.“We’ve always been a company that builds on relationshipswith our customers and our vendors, and Van’s had a lot <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>malready established when we took over,” said Levy, pointing outthat Worldwide <strong>Golf</strong> Shops also owns 13 Roger Dunn <strong>Golf</strong> Shopsin Hawaii and Sou<strong>the</strong>rn California, 10 <strong>Golf</strong> Marts in California,and five <strong>Golf</strong>ers Warehouses in New England, with more than500 employees, including 60 to 70 at Van’s <strong>Golf</strong> Shops.“Today, Van’s is <strong>the</strong> complete golf shop with club fitting,<strong>the</strong> latest technology and <strong>the</strong> largest selection <strong>of</strong> products. Wealso think our 90-day satisfaction guarantee is <strong>the</strong> best in <strong>the</strong>business. And it’s pretty cool that we’ve been in business herefor 50 years. Seriously, how many businesses in <strong>Arizona</strong> havecome and gone in <strong>the</strong> past 50 years?”Jack Ingram, who was one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> original Van’s employeesKINDLY REFRAIN FROM OOHINGAND AAHING AT THE SCENERYWHILE YOUR OPPONENT IS PUTTING.With breathtaking views and a thrilling design crafted by Tom Lehmanand John Fought, The Raven <strong>Golf</strong> Club at Verrado combines <strong>the</strong> finestelements <strong>of</strong> <strong>Arizona</strong> golf with <strong>the</strong> legendary Raven standards for service.along with Rick Amsberry, Dave Sutton and Mija Young, saideverything has continued to get better at Van’s <strong>Golf</strong> Shops over<strong>the</strong> years.“When I think <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> days with Van Bocchini, those were<strong>the</strong> best <strong>of</strong> times and <strong>the</strong> worst <strong>of</strong> times,” Ingram said with achuckle. “Van had a heart <strong>of</strong> gold, but he was tough as nails,too. And you never knew which guy was going to show up.“But when Worldwide decided to keep <strong>the</strong> name Van’s, thatwas smart. We were a very well-established name back in <strong>the</strong>early days, and it helped us go forward and get bigger, kind <strong>of</strong>like <strong>the</strong> transition from persimmon to metal.’’Frank Bocchini, who retired to <strong>the</strong> quiet confines <strong>of</strong> Pine,Ariz., where he attends his garden full time and occasionallyhits <strong>the</strong> local links, concurred.“My dad had <strong>the</strong> audacity to mess with <strong>the</strong> green-grassprinciple and eventually build <strong>of</strong>f-course retail,” he said. “Hewas a bit <strong>of</strong> a pioneer who understood what his customerswanted.“I give him a lot <strong>of</strong> credit, and I give Worldwide a lot <strong>of</strong>credit for making it even better for its customers today. Nobodyelse is doing that 90-day satisfaction guarantee, which is abeautiful thing.“I know my dad would be proud.” nSee for yourself why golf here defines golf everywhere.www.ravenatverrado.com4242 North <strong>Golf</strong> Drive, Buckeye, AZ 85396 | 623.388.3000www.azgolf.org ANNUAL 2013 | AZ GOLF Insider | 23
Setting <strong>the</strong>PACEOURTESY OF USGAARIZONA’S GOLF COURSESARE GETTING BIG JUMP ON‘WHILE WE’RE YOUNG’ CAMPAIGNBy John DavisThe USGA has relied on golf heavyweights like Arnold Palmer(top), Clint Eastwood (above) and Tiger Woods (right) to spread<strong>the</strong> word through television commercials about <strong>the</strong> “While We’reYoung” campaign. It’s all about staying on <strong>the</strong> clock, like <strong>the</strong> bigRolex rendition at Torrey Pines (top right).OURTESY OF USGATWO YEARS BEFORE THE U.S. GOLF<strong>Association</strong> launched its “WhileWe’re Young” initiative, Troon<strong>Golf</strong> was refining ways to increase pace <strong>of</strong> play at coursesmanaged by <strong>the</strong> Scottsdale-based company.When <strong>the</strong> USGA introduced TV ads in June, using <strong>the</strong> phrasehumorously uttered by Rodney Dangerfield in <strong>the</strong> movieCaddyshack, Troon was quick to seize <strong>the</strong> moment, rollingout its program at its courses, including 19 in <strong>Arizona</strong>.That program, called “Troon Values Your Time,”features several elements, such as setting andemphasizing a “time par” for each course and reservingtee times for faster players.While <strong>the</strong> Troon program might be <strong>the</strong> most extensive,o<strong>the</strong>r courses in <strong>Arizona</strong> also have come up with creativeways to address <strong>the</strong> issue, such as family tees and <strong>of</strong>feringup pros to hit tee shots for golfers on longer holes. The adsalso are inspiring <strong>the</strong> AGA and o<strong>the</strong>r parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> industryto tackle pace <strong>of</strong> play collectively.OURTESY OF USGA“What we’resaying with‘While We’reYoung’ is that<strong>the</strong> golfer isn’t<strong>the</strong> wholeproblem. It’s <strong>the</strong>industry workingtoge<strong>the</strong>r.”– Rand Jerris USGASr. Managing Director<strong>of</strong> Public Service“We’re making a change in how we communicate with ourcustomers,” said Ryan Walls, who is <strong>the</strong> point man on Troon’sproject. “It’s a long-term commitment and it goes beyond <strong>the</strong>longtime practice <strong>of</strong> adding ano<strong>the</strong>r ranger.“Any program that <strong>the</strong> industry collectively can do to bringpace <strong>of</strong> play to <strong>the</strong> surface is important, but it has to be donein a way that has meat to it. It can’t be just a promotional thingthat fades away in six months.”Troon started by calculating a time par for each <strong>of</strong> its coursesand communicates it to customers when <strong>the</strong>y book a tee timevia phone or <strong>the</strong> Internet. It is repeated in <strong>the</strong>ir confirmatione-mail and with creative logos in <strong>the</strong> golf shop, on staff uniforms,scorecards, yardage books and signs throughout <strong>the</strong> property.Troon’s stable <strong>of</strong> nearly 200 courses worldwide includes <strong>the</strong>likes <strong>of</strong> Troon North, Quintero, Talking Stick, Pine Canyon Club,The Gallery, Phoenician, Westin La Paloma and Whirlwind. Atthose and its o<strong>the</strong>r courses, staffers wear shirts that prominentlydisplay <strong>the</strong> time par inside a clock face. <strong>Golf</strong>ers also get a printoutthat shows <strong>the</strong> starting time and expected finish time.Rand Jerris, senior managing director <strong>of</strong> public services for<strong>the</strong> USGA, said that in order for any program to succeed, it isessential that courses take responsibility and find ways thatwork for <strong>the</strong>m. USGA research shows that only 5 percent <strong>of</strong>public courses have established a pace-<strong>of</strong>-play plan.While courses have modestly addressed pace <strong>of</strong> play over <strong>the</strong>years, such as cart reminders to play “ready golf,” <strong>the</strong> USGAhopes that TV ads featuring <strong>the</strong> likes <strong>of</strong> Arnold Palmer, TigerWoods and Clint Eastwood will resonate more effectively.“We hope that is <strong>the</strong> case, and not only with golfers butwith facilities,” Jerris said. “We looked at what <strong>the</strong> industryhas done in <strong>the</strong> past and what we found is that <strong>the</strong> industryessentially blamed <strong>the</strong> golfer. It has become known as slowplay because <strong>the</strong> industry basically said, ‘You, <strong>the</strong> golfer, areplaying too slowly.’“What we’re saying with ‘While We’re Young’ is that <strong>the</strong> golferisn’t <strong>the</strong> whole problem. It’s <strong>the</strong> industry working toge<strong>the</strong>r.”One popular <strong>of</strong>fering at Ventana Canyon in Tucson: On par-5 and long par-4 holes, less-experienced golfers can requestan assistant pro to meet <strong>the</strong>m on <strong>the</strong> tee and hit a shot that allplayers can use. <strong>Golf</strong> director Bob O’Brian said that practicesaves a group three to five minutes.“<strong>Golf</strong>ers are much more receptive to that than making <strong>the</strong>mskip a hole because <strong>the</strong>y have fallen behind, which is going to<strong>of</strong>fend a lot <strong>of</strong> people,” O’Brian said. “They still get to play <strong>the</strong> holeand pros interact with those groups in a friendly, light-heartedmanner so that it’s not a negative experience for anyone.”Raven <strong>Golf</strong> Club in Phoenix has introduced family tees,creating a 4,000-yard course within a course that is provingpopular with juniors, seniors, women and family groups.Scorecards for that short course don’t list par scores.“We have a lot <strong>of</strong> golfers who love it,” general manager DerekCrawford said. “They don’t feel like <strong>the</strong>y’re holding anybody upand <strong>the</strong>y’re still having a great golf experience.“To me, golf is hard enough. What we’re trying to achievealong with improved pace <strong>of</strong> play is to get people excited aboutplaying golf and not worry about <strong>the</strong> numbers. The more24 | AZ GOLF Insider | ANNUAL 2013 www.azgolf.org www.azgolf.org ANNUAL 2013 | AZ GOLF Insider | 25
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