Golfsmith, the nation's largest specialty golf retailer, is opening a high-tech 22,000-square-foot facility this week in Baltimore County, Md. The store will allow golfers to test equipment inside one of four indoor, high-tech hitting simulators, or on an indoor putting green, according to a company press release. Golfers of all levels can also sharpen their skills with a biometric, video-recorded golf lesson taught by a certified GolfTEC coach inside the new retail location.
The new Golfsmith store located at 130 West Ridgely Road in Timonium, Md., in the Lutherville Station shopping center is Golfsmith's 83rd store and comes on the heels of Golfsmith's expansion announcement of 10 new store openings and four relocations this year. Regionally, Golfsmith will open three additional new stores in the D.C. area this year (in Sterling, Fairfax and Potomac Town Center). More than 20 associates will be hired at the Baltimore store.
Golfsmith's expansion is bucking a major retail trend in the golf industry. In the last decade, almost half of all golf retail stores in America closed, according to the National Golf Foundation. By the end of 2012, Golfsmith International Holdings, Inc. will serve customers in 89 locations from coast to coast.
"Golfsmith's experiential concept will make most golfers' jaws drop as soon as they walk through our doors. Baltimore area customers can experience a concept not offered by other area golf retailers," Golfsmith CEO Marty Hanaka, said in the release.
The new Baltimore store will feature the latest custom-fitting technology that will help Golfsmith certified fitting specialists identify the right clubs for a golfer's individual abilities. Custom fitting is the process where a Golfsmith club-fitting specialist uses computerized swing and ball analysis systems to study every aspect of a player's swing and then recommends the best types of clubs and the set-up of those clubs, including shaft flex, loft and lie.
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