5 minute read
Get In The Groove
▶ head start (above) eGolf Megastore has introduced a SST PURE Shaft Alignment machine at its expanded outlet in Al Quoz, Dubai. (right) eGolf boss Dean Cheesley with J.Lindeberg CEO Hans-Christian Meyer at The Dubai Mall store he uae is now at the forefront of the global golfing scene, and more and more players — from pros to beginners — are coming to the region to enhance their game. ▶ Of course, this is not possible without the right equipment, and eGolf Megastore has always been on hand to guide golfers in the right direction, from picking up your first set of clubs to a bespoke bag, just right for you. ▶ With a new-look store in Al Quoz, Dubai, we caught up with Dean Cheesley, the man behind the whole operation at eGolf to explain how everyone can get involved.
It has been quite a journey for you and the company. Can you sum up how we arrived
where we are? It has been a journey indeed! We are largely where we are today due to our loyal customers and the decisive leadership from our department heads and store managers. In retail terms, although it seems longer to many that we have been operating stores, eGolf is still a young company with only six years since opening our first physical retail store in Dubai.
This month in particular commemorates the anniversary of 10 years since eGolf’s first customer, an online sale which took place when eGolf was a start-up from home. A lot has changed since then, for sure, and we are very thankful for our customers and their ongoing support towards the eGolf Megastore brand, we’ve been fortunate and caught a few lucky breaks in between.
You have recently expanded your Al Quoz flagship store. What was the thinking, demand
and vision behind this? Customer feedback over the past couple of years was that our club-fitting area had gotten too busy and the lack of physical space was having an impact on their overall experience in the store. It became clear that our once subscribed notion of making the area ‘cosy’ for our customers had since become too ‘cosy’ to continue to offer a first-class fitting experience. So with that in mind, the decision to increase the number of club fitting bays from two to four and modernise the area allowed us to keep pace with the growing demand and offer a premium fitting experience that our customers were looking for.
The technology you now have in store is cutting edge. Tell us a bit about your latest arrivals and how your team help cater to each
golfer’s individual needs and playing style. Our latest arrival is a SST PURE Shaft Alignment machine which is a rare piece of technology present at every Tour event and is the company’s largest capital investment into its club fitting technol-
▶ bigger and better The eGolf flagship store has expanded to help cater to demands
ogy to date. SST ‘Pureing’ is a process which is used by more than 75 per cent of players on the PGA Tour including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland for greater consistency, accuracy and distance from the golf clubs and has seen over $2 billion made by players on the PGA Tour using the technology. In its simplest terms, all golf shafts have imperfections caused by the manufacturing process and these imperfections are known to cause off-line twisting and bending during the golf swing. When a shaft is analysed by the SST PURE machine, its most stable or ‘Pure’ position is identified and marked before it is installed into the clubhead. Anyone who plays golf can benefit consistency and accuracy gains from the SST process, not just the elite and tour players who use SST ‘Pureing’ on their own clubs each year.
What other changes and technologies have
you introduced to the new extension area? We have also introduced the first Accredited Quintic Ball Roll Putting Lab in the UAE to offer advancedlevel putter fittings. Quintic Ball Roll System is often referred to as the ‘Trackman for Putting’ and utilises a high-speed camera which tracks an significant amount of club and ball roll data the first 20 inches. Quintic is the preferred putting analysis software used by the major club manufacturers including TaylorMade, Callaway, Bettinardi, SIK and Ping during product development and Tour-player putter fitting. The addition of our new Quintic Putting Lab is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that golfers in the region have access to the very best Tour-level technology which is available in other markets around the world.
You recently opened the J.Lindeberg store at Dubai Mall, which their CEO referred to as the new global flagship store during his recent visit to Dubai. What was the thinking here and why open a single brand only store?
J.Lindeberg has been one of the top selling golf apparel brands in the Middle East over the past couple of years. Its popularity continues to rise following the injection of new executive management, design and production teams under the direction of new Chief Executive Officer, Hans-Christian Meyer. Coupled with this, rising stars such as Viktor Hovland and Nelly Korda have brought additional focus and attention to the brand with their ascension into the top five and world No. 1 rankings respectively. As one of the world’s most desirable fashion-forward brands, our decision to open a new global flagship store at the Dubai Mall allows us to introduce J.Lindeberg’s luxury fashion, athleisure, ski and racquet lines to the Middle East and the high-volume of tourists that visit the Dubai Mall each year, and we’re very excited about the new store.
What has been your biggest learning about the UAE golf retail landscape over the past
decade? Today the consumer is far more astute than they have ever been. Before coming into our stores, customers are well read up about the latest products and brand offerings and have high expectations around product knowledge, service levels and in-store experience. This bodes well for the continued evolution of the golf retail space in the UAE, as eGolf Megastore will continue to elevate its standards to meet and exceed our customer demands.
