On this week ten years ago Clubs to Hire opened its first shop in Faro Airport, Portugal. It was the build up of a busy six-month period that saw the idea move from concept to reality.
They say adversity is the mother of invention and that was pretty much the case here. Founder Tony Judge saw his previous business crash and burn in the wake of the 2007 financial crash.
Judge said: ‘Part of my previous business was flying too and from the Algarve and included golfing with clients. This meant I had to drag my clubs with me each time. When that business closed, I then turned my attention to researching ways you could rent clubs when flying into a foreign location. It quickly became apparent that the market was not being catered for and I then started to develop a website and business to look after this void in the market.
“Like any new business it had many ups and downs, but on that beautiful sunny day in June 2010 we managed to open our first shop at Faro Airport. Our first clients to collect a set were a lovely couple from the UK and I remember it was so exciting to see people come to the shop with a big smile and pick up brand new sets of clubs.
“In those early days we got fantastic support from TaylorMade, Callaway and the airports and we have built up an amazing relationship with them and other key suppliers. Paul McGinley was a big supporter of the business in the early days and in 2016 PGA professional David Howell became the face and friend of the business’.
Since then the business has rented over 500,000 sets of clubs and currently operates in 25 worldwide locations.
Judge: “My focus has always been to supply the best golf sets in the market at a very reasonable price. The convenience of renting and trying out new equipment has become extremely popular and we have had tremendous support from a base of over 100,000 loyal clients from all over the world.”
Clubs to Hire handles more than 300,000 annual visits to its website and more than 60,000 bookings for rental clubs at 25 locations worldwide, including popular golfing regions in the USA, Thailand, South Africa and five countries across the Mediterranean, offering the latest clubs on the market, from leading brands such as TaylorMade, Titleist, Callaway, PXG, PING, Cobra, Wilson and Mizuno – for men and women, left- or right-handed – from just €40 per week, a potential saving of up to €160, with none of the hassle.