Stafford, VA – The MAPGA is proud to announce its 2015 Merchandisers of the Year: Bob Wampler, PGA of Cattail Creek Country Club in Glenwood, Maryland (Private Category), Billy Fritz, PGA of Renditions Golf Course in Davidsonville, Maryland (Public Category); and John Mlynarski, PGA of Harbourtowne Resort in St. Michaels, Maryland (Resort Category). This award is bestowed on those MAPGA Professionals who have demonstrated superior skills as merchandisers in the promotion of golf. The following winners will be honored in front of their family, friends, and peers at the annual MAPGA Hall of Fame and Awards banquet on Saturday March 14, 2015 at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland
Robert J. Wampler IV, PGA – Cattail Creek Country Club
Bob Wampler has achieved the 2015 Merchandiser of the Year for the Private category by understanding the needs of his customers and not being afraid to try new promotions and programs to help increase revenue and build the Club’s brand. He believes that the customers/members/guests are the most important part of the operation, and that service is the cornerstone of business.
When Bob was 10, his father introduced him to the game of golf when the family moved from Mentor, Ohio to West Chester, Pennsylvania and joined West Chester Golf and Country Club. It didn’t take long for Bob to fall in love with the game through the Club’s Junior Golf Program. Bob’s dad taught him more about the values and the etiquette of golf, rather than the actual golf swing.
Bob attended Penn State University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation & Park Management and a minor in Business/Liberal Arts as part of the Professional Golf Management program. In 2001, Bob became a PGA Apprentice and, for the several years, worked as an Apprentice at several different clubs. In February 2007, while in his second year working as an Assistant Professional at Stock Farm Club in Hamilton, Montana, Bob was elected as a Class A Member of the PGA. Bob accepted his current position as PGA Head Professional at Cattail Creek Country Club in Glenwood, Maryland in 2012.
During Bob’s first two years at Cattail Creek, the golf shop has grown exponentially in terms of gross sales, profit margin and foot traffic. Bob is constantly coming up with innovative, low cost ways of generating sales. Two of those ideas include an online special order program on the club’s website and a “Trade in Trade up” program using eBay. The new online order program has been very successful thus far, as it allows members to browse catalogs and/or websites of all of Cattail Creek’s vendor partners. There is now a total of 53 different brands represented and available to shop on the club’s website. In 2013, Bob came up with a new initiative with his own “Trade in Trade up” program using eBay. It takes a little bit more time and effort, but using eBay as an alternative to the PGA Trade-In program can generate a significantly greater return.
Bob attributes most of his success to hard work as he believes that “If you want to be successful, you have to be committed to the process and put the time and effort in.” His personal business philosophy is to remember the “5 P’s”: be Professional, Personable, Prompt, Polite, and Proud. In 2014 and 2015, Bob and his team also earned the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM) Platinum Award for “Top 100 Golf Shops.”
William Fritz, PGA – Renditions Golf Course
As the Head PGA Professional at such a unique facility like that of Renditions Golf Course, William “Billy” Fritz, the 2015 Merchandiser of the Year – Public category, has a niche in the revenue stream unlike many courses. Billy understands what his customers want, and this allows him to develop a merchandising philosophy that best fits his facility and sales goals.
Growing up, Billy was very athletic as he participated in soccer, windsurfing and rock climbing. His obsession with the game of golf started when he tried to learn how to hit a golf ball straight while working at the local golf course. As frustrating as it was to hit the ball straight, the interaction between the ball, club, and body fascinated Billy and created a feeling of wanting perfection all the time. Billy played golf throughout high school and into college.
Billy accepted a position at Renditions Golf Club in 2009 and was elected to PGA Membership in April of 2012. In only five years of serving as the merchandiser at Renditions Golf Course, Billy has significantly increased merchandise sales. Billy’s philosophy on proper merchandising is to gain the basic knowledge and know how to merchandise properly based on location, demographics, etc. Not only does the merchandiser have to purchase the right product that will sell, they must also know their sales reps and how they work. In 2013, Billy won the company’s award for best margin percentage in the Landscapes Golf Group Company. This is a true testament to the hard work and passion Billy has for the game of golf and merchandising in particular.
Renditions Golf Course is a course unlike any other as they have replicated holes from major championship courses and duplicate the experience from the moment someone pulls onto the property to the moment they leave. Billy uses this aspect to his advantage to create Demo Days and other special events. When the five majors play throughout the year, Billy uses Demo Days that allows vendors to come out and promote their newest line of products. Billy also created a facility “Tournament Added Services” catalog for tournament coordinators. This catalog highlights everything Renditions can offer a tournament from tournament merchandise, bagpipers, bunker stamping, big break events, GPS advertising, hole in one packages etc. This added services packet has become such a success for making events successful all while adding to the bottom line.
The desire to continue to learn and succeed motivates Billy to become a better professional and person each and every day.
John Mlynarski, PGA – Harbourtowne Resort
John J. Mlynarski III has been named the MAPGA Resort Merchandiser of the Year an astonishing four times as he won this award in 2001, 2007, 2010 and now 2015. His parents, John and Rita Mlynarski (deceased), introduced him to the game of golf when the family moved to State College, Pennsylvania when John was nine years old. John’s passion for golf grew after Peter Duffy, PGA, who was the Head PGA Professional at Toftrees Resort and Country Club in State College, hired John as a bag boy.
After earning his PGA Membership in 1989, John moved to his current position as Head PGA professional at Harbourtowne Resort. John’s merchandise philosophy is “to provide a quality product, at a reasonable price, and include outstanding service.” The combination of these three factors has brought repeat business to his operation. John’s shop is relatively small, only 552 square feet, and it takes a lot of imagination to keep merchandise fresh and attractive to customers. Since John took over in May of 1991, shop sales jumped an incredible 222%, including his record high of gross sales in 2013.
Since he recognizes that some customers expect to receive attention from the Head PGA Professional, John spends a great deal of time on the sales floor making himself available to customers. He also devotes a considerable amount of time shopping the market to ensure the shop has product balance. John listens closely to customers, reads trade publications, and consults with sales representatives to gain personal product knowledge and determine demand. Along with his great success at Harbourtowne, John was also named the Callaway National Clubfitter of the Year in 2004 and 2010, and Regional winner in 2009.
Even with his busy schedule, John finds time to be very active in his community, he is Vice-President of the Talbot Optimist Club and has been on the Board of Directors since 2007. In 2006, John coordinated a golf marathon supporting his two sons to raise more than $10,000 for the Susan G. Komen Rally for the Cure foundation funding breast cancer research and education. He participates in Play Golf America with 50 local golfers taking advantage of his free fittings and trade-up programs, and over 100 local golfers taking part in John’s free lesson/clinic month. John was inducted into the PGA Quarter Century Club in July 2014, and the Eastern Shore Golf Magazine Hall of Fame Class of 2015. John is also on the MAPGA Junior Golf Committee and the Northern Chapter Eastern Director.
About the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America
The Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA (MAPGA), located in Stafford, Virginia, is one of 41 Sections of The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. As a part of The PGA since 1925, the MAPGA consists of over 1,100 members and apprentices in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and small portions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Together, the MAPGA golf professionals, volunteers and staff support the mission of The PGA to promote enjoyment and involvement in the game of golf and to contribute to the game’s growth by providing services to PGA Professionals and the golf industry.
Contact:
Eric Southard
esouthard@pgahq.com
(540) 720-7420 ext. 101
