DRIVING participation with Recreation Station

If you are the sort of golfer who likes to change things in your bag frequently, either because a certain club has ‘gone cold’ or if you just feel re-energised when you have something new in your hands, the game of golf that you love so dearly can be very expensive. The expression ‘a change is as good as a new one’ can be a handy phrase to keep in mind to keep the cost of this equipment fettish within the bounds of your budget. Changes in technology are becoming more and more slight as each year passes; each manufacturer struggling to keep squeezing out gains with every model, and so the argument is made stronger for the change to your bag to be made without splashing out for the current model.

A lot of kiwis are on board with this way of thinking and so the question becomes where to shop for this ‘new’ club. Deciding on an item of secondhand gear without actually getting your hands on it, I.e - buying online, can lead to disappointment and a greater chance of ending up with a club that just doesn’t suit your swing speed or handicap, or even worse, something that isn’t genuine. This is where Recreation Station is in a league of their own. With the largest selection of used golf clubs in the country, usually over 3,000 clubs in stock at any one time, they are sure to have what you need at any price point. As Clint, the owner, says “If someone comes in and says ‘I only have a hundred bucks to spend but I just need a driver so I don’t need to borrow anymore’ or someone comes in and says ‘I want something really modern but I don’t want to pay over a thousand just to have this years model’, in both cases we can show you a whole lot of options. It really is a place you can come in and YOU TELL US what you want to spend! We really want to maximise people’s enjoyment in the game; not necessarily maximise their spending, and we often talk people out of buying something they don’t need and focusing on what are the most important clubs in their bag to replace first”.

The team at Recreation Station have just moved into a huge new store in the heart of Riccarton’s sports and outdoor hub, in Clarence St (right opposite Torpedo 7’s new megastore). New in store is a full golf simulator, where you can try out the new club and get a multitude of data, and a large practice green for putting. Expert advice is available in store from Ashley, the in-store pro, and you can even trade-in the old gear that is no longer hitting the mark for you.

For so long the choice has been that you either go to the stores that sell all new gear (where you can get fitted for the right club on a simulator and get great advice) or you buy used gear and settle for pot-luck. We combine the two where you get all the benefits of buying from the flash stores but with racks full of clubs from well under a hundred dollars right up to the second newest model on the market. They even have new clubs that may be a few years old but have never been hit before.

The store also sells new and used gear for tennis and other racket sports, surfing, hiking, soccer and snow sports but it was golf that started the business back in 2019. The company is keen to give back to the community and has begun an initiative via their sponsorship of New Zealand Long Drive and Futures Canterbury whereby people can bring in old sports gear of any kind that they no longer use and, if that gear is sellable, they will do all the work to get this gear sold and pass on the majority of the profits to Futures Canterbury to help foster the sport of golf in young people throughout Canterbury (see below).