5 People Who Decided Golf Retail Was a Business Worth Learning

Golf retail runs on people who learned the job by doing it. Ask almost anyone behind a golf shop counter how they got there and you will hear some version of the same story. They started part time, or they came from another department, or they stepped in when somebody left and never stepped back out. They figured out buying, inventory, and visual merchandising in the middle of a season, with members waiting and product already on the floor.

That is a remarkable amount of talent to build on instinct alone. It is also why we sponsored five scholarships to the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM) Certified Retail Manager program.

The CRM program exists to put structure underneath that instinct. It covers merchandising, marketing, inventory management, financial performance, leadership, and customer experience, and graduates earn the AGM Certified Retail Manager designation. What makes it valuable is not the credential at the end. It is that the material is immediately usable on Monday morning in a real shop with real open to buy pressure.

"We built the Certified Retail Manager program because golf merchandisers deserve the same business education anyone else running a retail operation would get," said Justine Cook, Director of Membership and Education at the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM). "Seeing five professionals at completely different points in their careers come into this class together is exactly what we hoped for."

"Every one of these five learned this business by doing it, often without a manual and usually in the middle of a season," said Meghann Butcher, RepSpark Founder and CEO. "Funding their certification is the most direct thing we can do for an industry that has given us so much. The best investment in golf wholesale is the people behind it."

Golf has been our stronghold for years. The Association of Golf Merchandisers' own 2025 survey found that roughly 80% of golf retailers use RepSpark, and this year we deepened that commitment further as a Platinum Level AGM Vendor Partner and through our strategic alignment with the PGA of America. None of that means much if the people doing the work are left to figure it out alone.

We read every application that came in. They arrived from private clubs, TPC properties, resort courses, and one from across the Atlantic. Some were written by people two years into the industry and some by people past twenty. We chose against the four values we hold ourselves to at RepSpark, which are Bias for Action, We Deliver, Hungry to Grow, and Better Together, and we looked for applicants whose own words showed those values already at work rather than promised. Here are the five.

Alexis Passa is the Merchandise Coordinator at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, and she inherited a problem. Aged inventory, broken size runs, and merchandise that would not sell, none of it the result of decisions she made. Her application did not dwell on that. It went straight to what she intends to do about it.

“I am looking forward to deepening my understanding of the business side of golf retail and gaining the tools to make more confident, strategic decisions. I hope to take what I learn through the CRM program and apply it directly to my career as I continue growing in the golf industry.”

She wants open to buy, sell through, margin, and aged inventory management, and she wants them for a specific reason, which is to sit down with leadership and explain exactly where the buying dollars should go, where to pull back, and why. That is We Deliver in its truest form. Process driven, thorough, and taking pride in work that most people never see.

Emma Bermudez found retail before she found golf. Her first job was a local boutique in high school, where she spent four years learning the POS system, the inventory, the displays, and how to train the person hired after her. A part time job as a Golf Shop Attendant at Baton Rouge Country Club turned that into a career. She graduated from LSU in May and moved into a full time Merchandiser role in August.

“I’m really excited for the opportunity to be part of the CRM Program and to learn more about the different aspects of managing a successful golf retail operation. I’m looking forward to gaining new ideas and perspectives that I can put into practice in my own role, while also getting a better understanding of the industry as a whole. I’m very grateful to RepSpark for supporting me and making this opportunity possible.”

Along the way she asked Tracy Moffat for time, got an introduction to the buying process, and came away wanting more instead of feeling finished. Hungry to Grow is easy to claim in an application. Emma demonstrated it before anyone offered her anything.

Julie Jackson spent her entire career in finance and knew nothing about golf retail three years ago. The shop at Eagle Creek Golf and Country Club needed someone, she stepped in to help, and she learned the job by doing the job. She is now the Director of Golf Retail there. The line that decided it for us was not the story of how she arrived. It was that the person already running the operation wrote, in capital letters, that she always wants to learn more.

“I am both excited and grateful to be given the opportunity to invest in my own future by learning from the industry's best, deepening what I have already learned about retail strategy and inventory planning, along with learning new tools that I will no doubt be able to put to work in our golf shop and thereby, take things to the next level."

Bias for Action means accountable, committed, and tenacious. You do not get to choose when the moment arrives. You only choose whether you step into it.

Carter Maiden works at a club with no full time merchandiser and no dedicated buyer, so he became one. He is an Assistant Golf Professional at The Club at Strawberry Creek, 13 years into a career that started with caddying in high school, and alongside the traditional responsibilities of a golf professional he took on receiving, inventory control, visual displays, and the daily retail experience.

“I’m excited to expand my knowledge of golf retail and merchandising at a higher level and apply what I learn directly to our operation at The Club at Strawberry Creek. Taking on a role within our merchandising operation without a full-time merchandiser or buyer has already been an incredibly valuable experience, and I look forward to continuing to elevate the retail experience for our membership.”

Somewhere in that work he arrived at a conclusion worth repeating. Merchandising done well is an extension of the club's identity and of how members experience the place. That is Bias for Action and Better Together in the same person, and it is a useful reminder that the merchandising path and the PGA Professional path were never separate careers.

Monica Castro has 21+ years in golf retail and still describes herself as someone who never stops learning. She is the Golf Shop Merchandiser at Bear Lakes Country Club, and earning her AGM certification has been a goal of hers for a long time. What moved her to the top of the list was not what she wanted to learn. It was what she plans to do with it. She wrote that she wants to use the program to mentor and teach her staff so they can grow and succeed in the industry.

“I truly believe we never stop learning and look forward to gaining new knowledge and perspectives that will make me a better professional allowing me to share what I learn and mentor others in the industry."

Better Together is the value we reach for when we want to say that the best people in this business make the people around them better. Monica said it herself, without being asked.

Read those five together and a pattern shows up. Two years in the industry or twenty one, the ambition is the same, which is to understand the business behind the shop rather than only the tasks inside it. That instinct is what will carry golf retail forward, and it deserves to be funded.

Thank you to the Association of Golf Merchandisers for building a program worth investing in and for a partnership we are proud to continue. Congratulations to Alexis, Emma, Julie, Carter, and Monica. We will be following your year!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the AGM Certified Retail Manager program?

The Certified Retail Manager program is an education track from the Association of Golf Merchandisers covering merchandising, marketing, inventory management, financial performance, leadership, and customer experience. Graduates earn the AGM Certified Retail Manager designation. The coursework is built for people already running a shop, so the material applies to real open to buy pressure rather than staying theoretical.

How many scholarships did RepSpark sponsor?

Five, funding the certification cost for five golf retail professionals in the current CRM class.

Who received the scholarships?

Alexis Passa, Merchandise Coordinator at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Emma Bermudez, Merchandiser at Baton Rouge Country Club. Julie Jackson, Director of Golf Retail at Eagle Creek Golf and Country Club. Carter Maiden, Assistant Golf Professional at The Club at Strawberry Creek. Monica Castro, Golf Shop Merchandiser at Bear Lakes Country Club.

How were the five selected?

RepSpark read every application and evaluated each one against the four values the company holds itself to, which are Bias for Action, We Deliver, Hungry to Grow, and Better Together. The deciding factor was evidence in an applicant's own words that those values were already at work, not a promise to show them later. Experience level was not a filter. The group ranges from two years in the industry to more than twenty.

What kinds of facilities did applicants come from?

Private clubs, TPC properties, resort courses, and one application from across the Atlantic.

Why does RepSpark invest in golf retail education?

Golf is where RepSpark has spent years building, and the platform is widely used across the channel. In the 2025 AGM Membership Study conducted by Circana, 80 percent of AGM member shops surveyed use RepSpark, the most used technology platform in the study, n=274. RepSpark is also a Platinum Level AGM Vendor Partner and holds a strategic alignment with the PGA of America. Adoption that broad carries an obligation to the people doing the work, and the fastest way to meet it is to fund their education.

What is RepSpark?

RepSpark is a B2B wholesale commerce platform connecting 250 brands and 100,000 retailers, processing roughly $1 billion in wholesale transactions a year. Brands use it for digital ordering, live inventory visibility, branded microsites, and retailer discovery through Community. RepSpark has been named to the Inc. 5000 for five consecutive years and maintains SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliance. Flow is the current version of the software, available now to existing and new customers.