My Golf Source
Attention Golf Enthusiasts! Level up your golf game with hosts Darren Penquite and Noah Horstman, PGA as they keep you up to date on the latest trends, equipment, training aids and more. Learn tips and tricks from PGA Professionals to lower your score and grow your love for the game of golf.
My Golf Source
Golf is a Networking Powerhouse! Just ask Ruben Perez.
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Ever wondered how the golf course became the ultimate business boardroom? Ruben Perez, founder of RP Flooring, joins Darren and Noah to reveal how his leap from corporate life to entrepreneurship was fueled by relationships built on the golf course.
"Your network is your net worth," Ruben shares, explaining how an astonishing 70-80% of his business comes directly from golf connections. From someone who never imagined himself playing golf, he's transformed into a business owner who recognizes the game as a crucial component of his success strategy. The conversation explores how Golf Garage has democratized access to the networking opportunities traditionally locked behind country club gates and prohibitive membership fees.
Noah provides fascinating insights into his vision for Golf Garage as more than just a place to practice – it's where business happens. The facility offers country club-level service with a welcoming community atmosphere, breaking down the intimidation barriers that keep many potential golfers away. We hear about their successful one-year anniversary celebration that drew 200 attendees, showcasing the strength of the community they've built.
The hosts and Ruben delve into equipment tips, the value of proper instruction, and the psychological aspects of golf that parallel entrepreneurship – risk-taking, investment philosophy, and performance under pressure. Noah reveals plans for reciprocal relationships with golf courses nationwide, creating a network where members can practice, play, and connect regardless of location.
Whether you're a seasoned golfer looking to leverage the game for business growth or an entrepreneur curious about how golf might expand your network, this episode delivers actionable insights on building relationships that translate directly to business success. Come join our community where "service is free" and connections are invaluable.
Welcome to My Golf Source
Speaker 1Welcome to the my golf source podcast. Welcome to my golf source. I am Darren and I'm Noah. Welcome to another episode of Talk About Golf. Yeah, what else can we talk about?
Speaker 2Well, golf and whiskey go hand in hand. There's 18 shots in a bottle for 18 holes, right, yeah, whatever he just said? Well, that's what they claim. I don't know. It depends if Darren's drinking it or not. What's new in your world, man Dude? Lots is going on in here, I guess. Uh, we just had our one year anniversary, which you attended was off the chain yeah, 200 people showed up.
Speaker 2We expected 120. Um, it was an amazing night. We had so many good community partners that took place, um, and national partners. So golf brand stepped up, donated balls, donated gifts. We had some local partners RP Flooring, who's actually going to be here with us today on the cast, Ruben Perez and his wife, RP Design. We also had, you know, some other instructors. We donated a ton like tour putt experiences, lessons, club fittings man, I think. Out of that, I think we're on track to getting four or five new members just from that night. So pretty, yeah, I mean it was definitely a relief. When we got done with the night, a lot of stress building up, but I stepped away and man, the golf garage staff kicked major but like they ran it, they took it. There were no issues. I felt like it was the first time I didn't need to be on point and I was actually able to relax and go and just mingle with people and enjoy the birthday party.
Speaker 1That is the one thing that I've talked to you about. I've, I've even you've even brought it up and talked to your staff about it how it's so cool to have a place in town that offers true, genuine, great customer service, because you just don't see it anymore.
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, when we talk originally and we have a core staff with Matt Ryan, jessica, myself, obviously, my wife Kimberly with the Pilates side of it. But from the standpoint of golf garage, you know, those, those three and myself, and we, you know, I always stress that service is free, right, and the hard part is when you get someone new and you have to train something that we've already built, this collaboration, this unity, this family environment, over the last five years. So we know each other pretty well. We've gone through a lot of ups and downs in business together and they're the real deal. They care about people and I think that's number one.
Speaker 2I mean, why would you be in this industry if you didn't like people to begin with, right, right. So the idea of service is free is just a side note to everything else we we believe in here and, you know, I think the cool thing is they're all finding their own, they're all teaching a lot more golf and you can see that because of that it's fun, because people are starting to ask for them specifically now for golf lessons, because they're, you know, they're proving that they're making people better. And ultimately there's two sides of it. Yes, you can build a relationship and we strive ourselves on relationship and growth of that Cause. That's huge. That's like why we're here, but at the end of the day you still have to make someone better in golf to continue that relationship. If they're paying you to make them, better at golf.
Speaker 1They have to see improvement month over month, year over year.
Speaker 2Yeah, and I'd say that what we, what we differentiate ourselves on, is that we set an expectation with them. We, we find out what they want. When then we help them set attainable goals, and then our goal or our job as a coach after that is to keep them accountable, right. So if they say they want to get to X and then we're not seeing them do the right things to get there, then we have to call them out and tell them hey, you're not doing what you said you wanted to do, so maybe your goals need to change. And if they say no, then we can modify and say okay, fine, then I'm going to be the tough coach and this is what you need to do. Otherwise, you know, basically I'm giving you the same lesson I gave you last week or the week before. So what's the point? Why are you even coming?
Speaker 1So we played 18 holes together last week. Yes, we did. I shot a 90.
Speaker 2Yeah, going on 75.
Speaker 1Do my goals need to change. Can I still break 80?
Speaker 2No, I mean it's pretty easy.
Speaker 1No, that's the answer. It's pretty easy.
Speaker 2Your goal shouldn't change, and this was cool. I mean, this was was the whole thing was like attributed to my 90.
Speaker 2But we talked about that. I remember briefly, just you know, talking to you about you know what your intent was on those shots, and it didn't seem like there was intent. And so for me you have the athletic ability to shoot in the seventies and you just didn't understand how to play the golf course or you lost track of where you were at that point in time, and so because of that, that's a differentiator between a very good golfer. A lot of times they can still continue to persevere through and play under those. Maybe I'm I don't have my best stuff today, but I still know how to get the ball in the hole.
Speaker 1Well, all my major errors were on the tee box.
Speaker 2Yeah, I wouldn't disagree.
Speaker 1All my penalties came out of the tee box.
Speaker 2Well, and ultimately, if you're-.
Speaker 1And again, it's hard to focus on your exact intent from the tee box other than let's knock the ball down.
Speaker 2You know, down the course as far as we can get it, not if you play the hole backwards, as we can get it, not if you play the hole backwards, of course, not right. So if you look at where the whole location is, it's on the right hand side and it's a dog leg right. You're literally saying I don't want to go to the right hand side, I got to play out to the left, so from there you then need to tee the ball up on the right hand side, potentially with your shot shape, so it will fade over there and blah, blah, blah. Right, the rest is history. But without knowing that or creating awareness to that's what you need to do. You're always going to make the same mistake.
Speaker 1My iron play was decent yeah, it was great, but yeah, the t-box shots were had a few great drives and a lot not so great you were.
Speaker 2You were 50 good on iron shots from like the standpoint of like, any scratch golfer would have been happy with the shot you hit 50 of the time and that's saying a lot for a guy. That's a you know. You were an 18 or 19 handicap on our scorecard that day. So our course handicap. So end of the day, had you kept the ball in play a few more times, maybe made a few putts that we thought could have went in, you helped the team a ton. It was just the idea of where you were in. Those big misses need to be managed Right. That's it. Simple, fun day though. Let's do it. Let's do it, man, all right. So we're going to do it Right. So let's, let's finish this, okay. So now we have to have a plan and, like I would say that my goal with this podcast is to now get you to break that 80 score.
Speaker 3Let's say by October 1st.
Speaker 2October 1st. You're doing it and I'm going to write up a game plan for you and I think we post the game plan and then Darren has to report back on our social media so man.
One Year Anniversary Celebration
Speaker 1I think we need to introduce our guest, we, we, my family and I. We leave to Santa Barbara, California, next weekend. Nothing's coming weekend but the following one. So I'll get plenty of golf play that week when I when I'm down there and then I leave my family down there and come back, and during those two, three weeks that I'm home alone without my family, it's grind time. Lots is happening during those two or three weeks, it's all going to be here at the golf garage.
Speaker 2That's right, baby, and we're going to get you on the course. It'd be like daily occurrences, using our reciprocals.
Speaker 1Absolutely Game on. Let's go up to running. Why?
Speaker 2Okay. Uh tomorrow I go to running. Why? We, we no we have a spot open. He's such a jerk, so it's been out. It was marketed, if you checked our email.
Speaker 1But we have a spot open. You want to play? I can't. I'm full tomorrow, did you notice?
Speaker 2that, ruben, you want to play? What time All right, 10.10 to 10.30 tee times.
Speaker 1We'll be back by 4.30, 4.45. Oh my gosh, I can't. Can you do all your? I could probably do that.
Speaker 2I think you guys need to have a putt off after this, and whoever wins a putt off gets to go.
Speaker 3I'll put money on my putt off. I'm sorry, I can leave Medford at 9.30.
Speaker 1Listen to this, I can leave Medford at 9.30. So we got one spot.
Speaker 3I won't buy appointments to make it.
Speaker 1We're playing spot Dude boys.
Speaker 3Welcome to the show man. Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir, Privileged.
Speaker 2I appreciate it guys, yeah, excited to have you on the show.
Speaker 3Ruben's a member at the Golf Garage. He's a league member Fantastic.
Speaker 1He's a fantastic flooring professional.
Speaker 3Thank you sir.
Speaker 1And you recently. We were just talking what it's been. Seven months, yes uh and it felt like two or three months. We were at the bar, you took the leap from the corporate world to being an entrepreneur wait, how long has it?
Speaker 3been uh, since the end of january is when it started, so we're close to the. Yeah, we're talking like how long has it been? I'm like two or three, like wait a second no, we're in the latter half of j now. Yeah, it doesn't feel like it's been that long. No Times fall by when you uh, when you're having fun, but honestly, it's a privilege to kind of trust in yourself, better yourself, entrepreneurship, life being surrounded by, surrounded by the right people.
Speaker 3Where did you find that man to start? Where do I start? Honestly, I would say, first off, being collaborated in events, right. So what kind of led to this podcast and being a part of this is the industry of golf. I mean, I grew up I don't want to say like for a humble means, but let's just you know from a different lifestyle that I'd never thought I'd be on the golf course. You're thinking, oh, country club. You know that's a whole different situation. But realizing how many collaborations and friendships you can make on the course, how often you can sit with a business owner or business partner or come to find out one of your best friends for two hours, four hours, nine holes, 18 holes, golf initially sounded fun but come to find out, became a part of life.
Speaker 1And.
Speaker 3I say that just in business relationships, but I mean Noah, how did we meet on?
Speaker 2a golf course. Yeah, we did.
Speaker 3Met on a golf course, met with friends who do the same thing and come to find out how important it can be in the industry of business, but also a way of life. I mean the golf garage here allows you to collaborate, to network, to practice, to get from a 90 down to the 70s.
Speaker 1I'm going to put you on the spot here real quick. What percentage of your business do you think comes from relationships you have built in the golf industry?
Speaker 3I wouldn't be where I'm at without it. Honestly, 50% at least, no even more than that, probably 70, 80. Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 2That's huge, you know, but the one thing that you do really well is you brand yourself really really well and you aren't afraid to spend money to make money. And I would be really curious obviously we know your wife's business is part of the branding side of it, but, like, even without that, like what are, what are some things that you would recommend to our listeners of like how to brand yourself properly? Because, again, spending money at an early stage of a business is scary.
Speaker 1You have a nice truck. Yeah, when you pull into the parking lot, you know Ruben's here. Oh, because he pulled up behind me and blocked me in, he's got the most badass looking truck in the parking lot. He's got the most killer looking truck in the parking lot. He's got the most killer looking truck in the parking lot.
Speaker 2His tailgate's about to get winged on dude by my truck as I back out every day.
Speaker 3It's a business expense.
Speaker 1There was somebody in a beater Dodge Ram that was parked next to me with a not so nice parking job. Hopefully he doesn't listen to this podcast. I have no idea who it is.
Speaker 3I know Damien drives a Tundra so it can't be him.
Speaker 1Needless to say, I'm parked up close and personal because I parked in the center of my parking spot. You have a small truck too.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's tiny, right, it's like 30 feet long, it's like a boat and a truck together.
Speaker 3It's a heavy duty truck, diesel truck with a long bed and the big cab. Uh, excuse me if you haven't met this guy. He is heavy duty diesel.
Speaker 2Yes, he's the man himself the pusher, yeah, yeah. So going back to that question, like where do you think you know you would put some of your eggs, as far as branding and whatnot, because obviously, going to golf courses, like you said, it's expensive to rent a hole oh, it's expensive to play golf in general. Sure. So what do you? What do you see that and like? What do you think are some of the things that that branding's helped you and how it's helped you build relationships?
Speaker 3Yeah, man, even if I could go back and talk to myself five years ago, 10 years ago, whatever it may be, I would try to convince myself to do this, if not sooner. But I don't take back what I've been through because it made me who I am. So with the marketing side of it, it's like you have to. Everyone knows that saying scared money don't make money, but you have to have money to spend it right.
Speaker 3So I look at it, I went to a 10X conference last year with a couple of friends and invested into that, right. So you spend the money, the time, the energy. But when I walked away from that I was like you know what? The best that you can have for yourself is an idea in who you are and your reputation. So, thankfully, I try to live by decent principles, decent morals and doing so, built relationships. What led to the next thing was how do I cultivate them, keep them and make them know that they're important to me?
Breaking 80: A Golf Challenge
Speaker 3So, going back to your point is you invest. It's scary out front, right. I mean, you see Shark Tank and it's like how much do you spend on marketing, how much are you paying and what is your overhead? And my mindset was like do not skip a beat going from corporate to an entrepreneur, because you want everybody to realize that you are just as well as qualified. Your knowledge, your skills, your expertise, your timeliness, all that is going to go to your new business. So when I get offered, hey, you want to sponsor a hole for $1,000. Hey, you want to be a part of this for another $500. Hey, we have an anniversary opening. You want to donate some material. I'm all in, not only just because I want to get the brand, the name out there, but in return. Who's the owner of the golf garage? My good friend Noah Horseman. So if I'm investing into him in return, it's coming back as a community and a network.
Speaker 3So if we're, if we're sponsoring with the glasses, if we're giving away raffles, the whole idea is like you help, I help, you, help me in this network and family is going to pay off the next five, 10 to 15 years.
Speaker 1I mean, I knew you when you were, you know, repping for a corporate job, the last company, the last company. Right, I knew you when you were out pounding the pavement, repping for them.
Speaker 3We were at an event.
Speaker 1YPN.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1And I had a great deal of respect for you then. But where my respect and, frankly, admiration increased was when, just out of the blue, it's not like you tried to transition, it's like you thought about it for a minute and then you jumped in both feet.
Speaker 3Yeah, yeah, I'm like dude you have this guy's a force.
Speaker 2Well, yeah, he's, he's making he's making splashes, right, it's not absolutely don't do anything halfway.
Speaker 1You do it all the way or not, not at all.
Speaker 3Yeah, well, I think part of that is you have to have that sense of confidence, but also the risk reward, you know it. What? What if I did do it and it didn't fall through as I saw fit? Well, you turn a different avenue, you make another investment, you make some moves, but you have to start off by trusting yourself and those around you. So the relationship I think we started at that event, we played a, a cornhole game, we took first place, like you built we won, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3But then it goes to guess what he's actually a good friend of my friend Noah knows a good friend of my friend Eli, and so on and so forth. That when you build your network, a good friend tells me that your network is your net worth. You have to invest in your people and vice versa. You carry the community by doing it together.
Speaker 3So we were talking about this before we started recording the podcast and noah came in here, and sorry if I'm bringing this up, if you don't want it to be public, but that's what we do. Let's go wait. Was it the way I handled the mic?
Speaker 2is that what we're going to talk about?
Speaker 1very gently, but you said you know you could hold your own in the business realm, but when you go out with your business partners onto the golf course, it's like you're like I don't deserve a seat at this table because they're shooting in the 70s and 80s and I'm barely breaking 100, you know. And it's like you can hold your own in one realm but not in this realm. How did you overcome that? You know, because that's got to be kind of crushing your ego when you're trying to, you know, be elbow to elbow with these guys in business relationships but you can't you, can't you know?
Speaker 1yeah, play up to par, no pun intended yeah, yeah, no.
Speaker 3Well, let me bring in the golf garage in that same conversation. Because when you're shaking hands with people who give an introduction at an event, or you're going to the country club, or you go into, you know, whatever meetings you may have, what's the point of one meeting unless you have another right? So meeting can be a handshake, the next one can be a conversation, next one can be a golf course. Well, the reason I bring the golf garage into this is, like I noticed that when I was on the golf course, I because we're friends like oh, hit another one, oh, don't worry about it, yeah, yeah. And I felt like the wait a second. I'm sitting at a business table with you, but I'm getting the handicap in regards to my game.
Speaker 2So that's when you bring out the drive. I don't want handouts Like we got to earn pity.
Speaker 3Yeah, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no, we got to earn ice stripes, and what I mean by that is anybody can do it if you put the time. So that's where I think you cut out. You're cut from a different cloth. When you wake up early, right, you sleep late. No one. I would be texting at four in the morning, sometimes talking business, or like, hey, you're doing this, you're doing that.
Speaker 3The idea is like are you willing to go the extra mile to perform? Are you just settling for the mediocre, right? So when I looked at golf, I'm like you know what? What's it going to take the time? The sick thing about the golf garage is you can put out 18 holes an hour and a half. Money, right. You get as many driver swings, iron swings, whatever it may be. They will culture your game to where you need to perform in, in your, your weak spots, right. Another thing you can be on the golf courses outside, but sure, that's two hours for nine holes, four hours for 18 holes. So the sweet thing about the golf garage and investing into that is one your game is going to get better. So you feel more confident. But when you're more confident, you have a two hour meeting with a business owner, business partner and you can play golf. Wait a second. Now we have a couple of beers and we're on the same table as every other person.
Speaker 1Absolutely.
Speaker 3So it gives you opportunity, but in order to get that opportunity you have to earn it. You got to put in the time. Amen, that's what I would say.
Speaker 1I have nothing to say after that. That's like the mic drop moment. I literally was just like man. I was like shivering while I was saying that. While I was saying that, I was like hey, I'm going to hire you as my marketing guy now too. What's going on here, man, I'm going to speak after that. He's not really a salesman.
Speaker 2He's a CEO now.
Speaker 2No, that's awesome and I think, like Golf Garage in general we've talked about this even prior to us having this podcast was just like bringing the community together to build stronger relationships with one another, to help each other persevere and grow and and ultimately, to be able to sit next to your friend who's in the Bay, next to you playing Cypress point and you're playing some like game with your kids and you can still look over and be like sweet man. We're still doing this together and we just signed a deal together. We just helped each other out the next day and you can still talk biz if you want, but it's just like there's a cool, unique feeling of that. It's different than going to a bowling alley where you're just so hyper-focused on knocking the pins down, like you're still waiting for someone else. You're still relaxing, you're treating it like the game. You can learn everything you need to learn in here that you need to know on the golf course. We can teach you etiquette in here.
Speaker 2You know, and I think like like you felt where you're on the golf course, they're saying, hey, hit again. You don't feel that way in the golf garage. You laugh when you hit a shot that's funny into the wall. You know you don't lose any golf balls there's no expectation and I think that helps you build that relationship more too, and the fact is is like it just gets you to want to play the game more and go on the golf course more when you have the time, like right now. We're in the middle of our marketing strategy for golf garage over the next year, because we've had a year under a belt, we've learned a lot. We're starting to understand, like, what our culture is, what the community wants around us, and I'm looking at, like how do I build 50 more of these and all these other demographics that are going to be more successful right, because there's more people, so you can afford to make a mistake.
Speaker 2Oh yeah you can't make a mistake. In this small Valley there's not enough people.
Speaker 3I would just tell them that forgiveness.
Speaker 2There's no forgiveness.
Speaker 3One of the girls up front. We were just talking business and they know one of my sisters that came through and they're like oh, yeah, so, and so I saw them on Facebook. Blah, blah, blah. I was like you know what's funny is this valley is so small that everybody knows everybody. But the advantage is that is your name, your reputation, your work ethic. It can spread like wildfire.
Speaker 1It's a blessing and a curse.
Speaker 3Yeah, well, you can blow up with success, yeah.
Speaker 1And then be crushed equally as fast, yeah.
Speaker 3But again, if you have if you have the right foundation, the right people right and you're performing at a scale that is, you know, respectable right it's hard to shut that down, but you know I and but then let's, let's loop this back.
Speaker 1take that same equation you can blow up with success, and then you can crash and burn equally as fast.
Speaker 2That's golf, oh so if we go, into the golf side of this too, Ruben, for you, like you've had some instruction from our coaches.
Speaker 2Yeah From Ryan our director of instruction and, like I remember, after your first session with him, you were ecstatic at just being able to hit a golf ball in a different direction and you were hitting it so much farther and more solid on the face, you know, and it just shows you like there are so many instructors out there and I love that people want to grow the game of golf. But I will tell you right now that I would bet that we are in the top 1%, if not the best in the country, at teaching golf here at the golf garage, because we can tell you why you're doing what you're doing and our goal is that we build a relationship with you to get the head trash out of your system so that way you trust what we're teaching you and you get better way faster. Because golf, as much as Darren loves to say, golf's hard, it's not, it's not easy but it's a lot easier.
Speaker 3You're right, it's a.
Ruben's Entrepreneurial Journey
Speaker 1It's a lot right, it's a lot easier though, when you understand why something's happening, because you'll buy in and then you'll work harder and the cool thing about having four kind of you know top notch coaches is you guys can all be on the same level in your coaching ability but with so many different personality types, you're going to find the right coach for you within the walls of this building, because you, ryan Matt, jessica Logan.
Speaker 1You know so different in personality types and approaches to the game that you're going to find the right match for you. It's kind of like dating.
Speaker 2Yo, you hit the nail on the head. So this was really crazy. But a year ago I wanted to give most of the new student assessments because I knew how to match up personality traits. What I'm so proud of my coaches for now is that they know how to teach any personality trait at some level. But you have to enjoy who you're working with, and so what I'm starting to see them do is they're not afraid to pass that student to someone else in fear of losing revenue or whatever.
Speaker 2Yes, so that's what's also a big game changer for us is the maturity of the coaching staff to say it's okay for Jessica to teach this, or Matt or Ryan instead of myself, because they're going to be a better fit, they're going to build a relationship that person's going to get better 10 times faster because of it. Where I'm not really enjoying my time here working with the student Cause we just don't match.
Speaker 2That way we could have a glass of wine together and love each other's company, but teaching golf to that person could be really tough, and so there's relationships I've had where I have fired my student because of that.
Speaker 1Just think back to when you were in grade school of the teachers you loved and the teachers you hated. We all had them, mrs.
Speaker 2Polowski was the best man.
Speaker 1That was my first grade teacher. Dude, that is such an 80s teacher name.
Speaker 3I have some teachers I crossed paths with 92. Oh yeah, that's a long time ago.
Speaker 1In second grade I had Miss Bacon all the second graders thought it was.
Speaker 2I don't remember.
Speaker 1That was a long time ago that was a long time ago and all the little second graders just thought it was so funny to call her Miss Bacon and Eggs every morning if I could one up you on that.
Speaker 3I compliment to what I see here at the garage and even spending time with you. Gentlemen, I mean the privilege of being on the podcast here. I respect everything that we're doing, but what I like about here is I joke with my wife. I'm like it's a second home. I mean I'll, I'll swing by and, uh, notice that I see trucks or cars in the driveway. I'm like, oh, I'm going to pull up because so-and-so's here, just because my boys are around the Valley.
Speaker 3But on top of that, not only just your coaches, but your staff, uh, your bartenders, everybody is super hospital and they're all kind of like family. I walk up and I have most of the numbers of everybody that works here. But the idea is that, like, no matter who you talk, talk to, they'll take good care of you. Yes, and no matter, uh, what coach you have, they'll make sure they build a relationship with you rather than just look at you as like a number of coaching. You know you go to golf courses, like, oh, I want to learn how to play golf. They see a check, a price. This is what's going to cost to get so many lessons. But here you build a relationship ryan with matt, with jess. To be fair, you got some up-and-comers too. That might be another coach or another contribution to the family.
Speaker 1Adam Rutledge just walked through. Hey, did you have your lemon drop? I don't want to talk about it.
Speaker 3You got to pay it forward, baby. I gave it to my six-year-old Darren Hi.
Speaker 1PewDiePie. She enjoyed the lemon drop. I'm I'm sure she did. Oh, look at her new golf clubs.
Speaker 2There we go, they're just your size us kids.
Speaker 1Just amazing what custom fit clubs will do for you. Love it ladies soft.
Speaker 3Adam rutland, gentlemen adam rutland, and we don't edit hey, you know what's yeah you know what's yeah, you know what's unique about what you just said?
Speaker 2it's the same thing, like that's what's fun about the podcast. We just let and we had another member walk through the door we're super successful person, right but, but you're, it's a family, bro, we did, but yeah, so that's it right. So the family culture dynamic is what we're all about. There's. The only rule I created when I started this business was to be nice Yep.
Speaker 3So, if and there's no, do it.
Speaker 2There you go, and what we always talk about is like there's 48 pages of how to be nice on our terms and conditions, but what I love about this is it's it's the relationships with all of the other people that we're dealing with. And thanks, adam, I appreciate that you know. So that's how you're also going to build that network slash net worth that you're talking about is. It was fun, right? We talked about the one year anniversary. How is this? How is this success? And I said how we had 200 people and we were expecting one 20. It's only a success if those people show up, right?
Speaker 2What I thought was even cooler than the one year anniversary was I promoted that we had rogues game, medford rogues small team, um, all college kids, minor league baseball. We have it here. Their seating is 3000 max occupancy and they usually get somewhere between 900 and 1100 people in a game. So we had the balcony seating sponsored by golf garage, which was awesome. I didn't promote that to our members until the day before the game and he's like hey, you can have like around a hundred people. We got 80 people on the balcony and a hundred degree weather with one one.
Speaker 3I was seeing that. I was like hey, babe, yeah.
Speaker 2With one day notice, though, yeah, that's a huge thing. That actually meant more to me than the one year knowing that those people cared that much and show up.
Speaker 3That was incredible. Yeah, so Golf, clap, golf clap, let's go.
Speaker 1People come here because it's convenient for their schedule to practice their game and they pay the money and invest the money because this is benefiting me. I get something out of this, I get 24 seven access, whatever that is for you.
Speaker 3You can swipe in and come in anytime.
Speaker 1There's. There's a lot in it for me, but when they're doing something, for us to drop what we're doing in the middle of our day, to come and show support for that and have those kind of numbers is a big deal.
Speaker 2I'm going to swing this as an owner for a second of any business. I don't care if it's Golf Garage or not. I'm in a bit of a conundrum, if you will right. So, like the brand of Golf Garage is growing and I'm starting to bring in better brands of apparel and things that our members are definitely going to want, because they can't get them in Medford. Yeah, so I'm bringing in Johnny O's and the Lululemons and the things that people want to have.
Building Relationships Through Golf
Speaker 2That differentiate us, and I think that's a benefit. And at what point? Because, ruben, you kind of put the country club on a pedestal and you're like oh, we're at the country club because we're the that's the only country club in town, right, and it's just that mentality of a country club. Well, country clubs also at some level make you feel like you are not relevant to be able to come in. There's that feeling and that's what I'm trying to change here. Everyone is welcome at the golf garage. And again, a country club everyone's welcome at that country club. You still have to get vetted, right, we still do a background check, like, but at the end of the day, when you're here, you are family and I think that's important. But, like, how do you change the mindset of that? I shouldn't be marketing value added anymore at golf garage. I should be saying we are the place that you do business.
Speaker 2This is the culture and that's what I'm trying to actually prove from year one to year two, you do all your business at Golf Garage. You go play golf with your friends and enjoy that time. You do your business here, so you can enjoy your time on the course.
Speaker 1There's not one entrepreneur in the Rogue Valley that should not be a member here. Yeah, no 100%.
Speaker 3Well, and to that perspective, you're asking me earlier why invest into the game? How do you get from this table to that table? Well, initially, in the business industry, they would have meetings at the country club, or they have these you know dinners and so forth, and they're great, right, they have the forum. I'm a huge supporter of the chamber, good friends with eli and it's great. But it's a different flavor and, honestly, like I'll put on my sport coat and my my three-piece suit if I need to go and show up, which is nice, but you do have to feel like you got to kind of be something to show up.
Speaker 1You walk around with that big of a statement without wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
Speaker 2Yeah, your presence is known when you walk into a room. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3Yeah, I know, that guy Wait wait.
Speaker 2I know him Look at that hat Look at.
Speaker 3Yeah, I know that guy.
Speaker 1Wait wait, I know him. Look at that hat. Look at that, you know, two-inch wide gold chain around his neck. That's three, dude. That's three.
Speaker 3I wear it on purpose, like not as a flex but as almost like a pat on the back to myself. Even when I built the logo. My wife helped me build the logo and I wanted the old English R so it represented my roots. I wanted the old English R so it represented my roots. I wanted the gold P so it stood out a little bit.
Speaker 3But going back to what you said, noah, is like it is a little intimidating thinking, oh well, I can't afford a country club membership. Like I got to be in a different caliber. It's like you know what? I can sit at the same table as every one of these dudes if you put in the work. The sick thing about the golf garage is like I come down here almost to breathe. I come here to be with my boys, I can have a beer, I can play 18 holes and, trust me, when you're here golfing you can spend a lot more time playing your shots than just walking the course. So I might be playing. You know what they're showing on TV at the Masters and coming to find out. I got to work on my irons more than the drive on that course, or my short game on that course. So course or my short game on that course. So yes, one is you're perfecting your game, but two is just, it's such a a welcoming environment that I don't think twice by pulling up here I don't have to dress.
Speaker 1I beat scotty scheffler on this hole, on the hole. There you go, yeah, yeah the six putt from.
Speaker 2Uh, you know the guys on number one, augusta. You know what's cool, too is like you've spent some early mornings here with your friend victor and. I thought that's so cool that you guys get a come in before work where he's out there busting his butt. You're busting your butt, but you guys are working out then you hit some balls.
Speaker 3It's like and, to be fair, two new entrepreneurs like mine started in January. He started a couple months after that and when you're running your own business, sometimes you don't have time in the middle of the day to clock out. So if we can pop in here and play 18 holes in an hour from 6 to 7 30 and get on the grind shoot, where can you do that elsewhere?
Speaker 2well, you know what's also cool is you brought in. You know one of your co-workers.
Speaker 2She's now a member as well, and I mean I think the kids involved I mean that's just so cool to be able to see that families and then hopefully the future families and future families become members too, and it's just kind of like it's the starting point. You're a founding member and thank you for being that, and obviously I'm just so excited about where Ruben's career is going and the fact that you took this, this leap of faith, and again we've had conversation about it but, like dude, you are like nowhere near where you're going to be. I'm just like, so I can't even imagine where it's going to blow up.
Speaker 2It's exciting to where you're going to be, and I know that you're at a point where you're like dude, I need to get more contractors, I need more subs, I need, like these people. It's like dude. You need to like, get those people to come up and just work for our like RP floor and they're not about that dude, scaling it within the like.
Speaker 3we just hired a couple of new guys as installers, you know. I hired the new assistant.
Speaker 1And you're not hiring 1099 employees anymore, you're hiring W2 employees. You're not hiring contractors anymore.
Speaker 3Well, the idea is like I built a relationship with a lot of people in the Valley, so as work comes in, I have to have a trustworthy crew. Right, people know who I am, they know who they're working with, but on top of that, I'm trying to build within.
Speaker 2Quality still has to get done and has to get done the right way.
Speaker 3Yeah, 100%. Take care of your people.
Speaker 1Before we let you go, let's talk about golf. What are you struggling with, man? Oof it's that stupid slice.
Speaker 3Well, to be fair, fair, let's go back to ryan a little bit. I walked into the coaching session with him and I pulled out a seven iron, you know 130, easy all the time, right a little left to right, fade. And he's like, before the end of the day, you're gonna hit it 180. I'm like, yeah, all right, yeah, yeah, whatever he's flexing on me, I'm not kidding. Like he taught me this little technique, turn my hips like literally facing an awkward position, rotated my hand and I punched it 180, two, three times.
Speaker 1And it feels easier, doesn't it? Well, it felt less of my strength and more of the club.
Speaker 2He's like let the club do the work.
Speaker 3You're over here trying to flex on how strong you are. What are these clubs meant for? So going to that, I mean I still got to work on that drive a little bit. But going to that, I mean, I still got to work on that drive a little bit. But it's come leaps and bounds since I've been coming here more often.
Speaker 1What's your favorite club in the back? My?
Speaker 3short game my 60 flop shot or a little, a little chip and putt. Yeah, short games where I'm at, I like. What club do you hate? Uh, my foreign hybrid.
Speaker 2We're selling him a hybrid after this.
Speaker 1I have a new refound love and I've got a little fling with my four iron. I love that club now really until next week. Until next week I did take it out of my bag yeah, because I carry 16 gloves in my bag, so I took my four iron.
Speaker 3I took my four iron and my I got 16 pairs of golf shoes, but not clothes. But no, I like my four iron my five foot out.
Speaker 1I got 60 pairs of golf shoes, but not clothes. But no, I like my forearm now actually.
Speaker 3Let me ask this, talking to the man himself what's your favorite club and your weakest one?
Speaker 2I love them all.
Speaker 1He's lying. No, I'm not. I love them all. You've got to have a club. If somebody comes up to you and says I don't care the distance, I don't care the distance, I don't care anything, I just want you to hit me an impressive golf shot with perfect shape.
Speaker 2Yeah. I would literally tell him to tell me what to hit, and I would do it.
Speaker 1So look there's a big difference, so I just.
Speaker 2I just had a playing lesson this morning for iron it's comfortable.
Speaker 1As you hit your nine iron, the pause Awkward, so I'll tell you this which towel do you love the most in your bag?
Speaker 2Yeah, right, I used to not like the four iron at all and I was fortunate enough to be asked to be on the National Fitting Council for TaylorMade Golf and I always wanted to educate myself more, right? So there's 50 of us that go down to Carl's bad. They fly us down every other year and we're in a room together and just literally telling Taylor made all the things we know, um, about what our members and our guests and our fittings are needing, and it's like they already have all the information they need to know of where people are hitting it on the club face because of the type of technology. I have a golf garage. It tells them, right, Some of the best.
The Golf Garage Advantage
Speaker 2It is, yeah, but they still want to know what the coaches are seeing and what we're teaching and how how to make it better for them to be able to sell better products and make them inferior, if you will. So during this process, not only are we meeting with all the execs, we're meeting with the engineers, we're getting a tour of the facility. We know what's coming out before it's coming out. We get to see it all. I get stuff to test. I have a prototype driver right now. This is the coolest thing I've ever been part of in the golf industry.
Speaker 3I got a chance to hit the 35 before.
Speaker 2Yeah, you did, you, did, you got to hit it and it said five on it only.
Speaker 2So, what's unique? What's unique about this, um, you know, is like I actually always step up and I'm the guy that wants to be the Guinea pig because there's, there's, you know, 20 of us in a class and not everybody can hit. So I always step up and I'm the guy that wants to be the guinea pig because there's, you know, 20 of us in a class and not everybody can hit. So I always jump up right away. And one of the things I told them was I'm not happy with the height. I'm hitting my four iron. I don't like what it visually looks like, right?
Speaker 2So they picked out the club that I have back home and we hit it. And at the time they had obviously the iron. Then they had a more game improvement iron. Then they had a mini type of a hybrid driving iron and the UDI, right. So they have all these different names for what those are. And then they had the hybrid blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 2And I'm thinking to myself I'm not hitting a four hybrid ever Like I don't want that, I don't need that. So I get. Well, right, I know, but I'm just cocky at the time, I'm like I don't want it, I just want to hit my four iron, I want to be able to figure out how to hit it better. So during this process I educated myself to understand how the technology really worked in ball flight, and it's sad to think that I've been teaching golf since 2006 professionally and it took me until 2020 to really understand what a golf club is meant to do to a golf ball. And I mean, I know a lot but at the same time learning more and more. So short end of the story was they put me through a full fitting with four iron and I'm swinging good, which was nice. So I hit four iron, hit it, it hit it. It's like 192, carry goes to 210, roll out. It's these weird low tumblers, right? I'm not happy with that. You can't play golf with that unless you're abandoned. Even I carry my four iron.
Speaker 2Yeah, 210, right my five iron carries almost as far as the four iron which people say that to me and always laugh, but it's true, so. So then I get the driving iron. Okay, it's carrying further, but it's just got too much spin. It feels terrible, blah, blah, blah, go to the next thing. So finally they gave me the hybrid and I hit it a few times. I'm like, yeah, I just don't like the way it feels. So I don't.
Speaker 2I have extra stiff in my irons, but they're not. They're kind of in between stiff and extra. If it's a project X, stiff 5.5 is kind of a soft stiff. So I'm like, right in that intermediate. So they're like, okay, that's fine, let me put this shaft in there. They put an 85 gram extra stiff shaft in and I'm like this feels like my irons now. So because they were able to create a feeling that felt like my five iron, I was able to rip on that thing and I could hit it, because what I was afraid of was just leaking it, you know long right, or snapping it. Just leaking it, you know long right, or snapping it left because I didn't know where the club was. So the fact that that fitter was able to get me something that felt very similar to what it is. It opened up my eyes dramatically and I could hit it high, low, cut, draw whatever I wanted, and immediately I'm like I don't care, this is a hybrid. I'm hitting exactly where I want it to go.
Speaker 1What percentage of golfers should have a four iron in?
Speaker 2their bag. Recreational golfers yeah, recreational golfers. This is what I would say to that recreational golfer. What I get more than anything is when I ask so why do you have a four iron in your bag? Oh, it's to keep it low under a tree.
Speaker 1I say right, I'll say no.
Speaker 2I'll teach you how to hit a seven iron lower than your four iron.
Speaker 1Well, you told me I'll teach you how to hit a nine iron lower than your four iron, Because I can right.
Speaker 2Yeah, and that's the thing is like, because I got a four iron and a four hybrid Number one. It's like hilarious when somebody says that I'm punching out under a tree, which means you're not going for the green, or in your mind you think you are, and then you try to hit this crazy shot. That's never going to get airborne anyway so like a stroke with your yeah it's, it's bad, yeah, so I would just say that you know, you just hit your putter under that and here's the other thing.
Speaker 2Let's go back to like investing in golf and investing in general, because it's not just golf garage. I'm a proponent of golf, I'm a proponent of golfers I want.
Speaker 3That's why I have reciprocal golf courses is so we can get on the course and play golf still right earlier.
Speaker 2Yeah, we have so we have six going on 20. I will have 20 reciprocals by the end of next year. Mind that I have two more that are just about to be done.
Speaker 3That's eight, right, so we're gonna get to 20, and then every explain the details of that like so the reciprocal, the reciprocal right we're talking about running wide.
Speaker 2Yeah, dude, stone age.
Speaker 3Like give a little detail, Because what I like that you're alluding to this point, because, trust me, on a nice fall day or not too hot a day, I'd rather be out there golfing any day of the week. I mean, golf Garage is great for the morning, for the practice sessions. Thank you, heather. Thank you, heather. Heather, at the golf garage, she'll take good care of you. Don't ever hesitate to ask.
Speaker 2She just got promoted to manager too. That's kind of cool. Golf, clap golf, clap, golf, clap golf clap.
Speaker 1That promotion sure made her step it up, though no, I'm kidding, she was great all the time.
Speaker 3No, what I was going back to with the Super Bowls is it's good to get out and play, because I was playing with a friend the other day and we went just shot nine and he's killer at the garage right, get on the course a little rough little, you know, under a tree, and I mean I beat him by a few strokes, let's just say that. But the idea is like this don't think that this is exactly like playing outside, but this is great reps. You think about Steph Curry. How many shots did he take before a game? Right, hundreds. How many shots take at the three point line? Thousands. So homeboy doesn't play, shoot a good, good basketball, just cause, out of coincidence, he puts in the reps. Put in the reps here, then next to it, as Noah was saying. Now, all of a sudden we get a discount at a bunch of local courses around. Why stone ridge, all these places? That it's like.
Speaker 1Put your reps to the test and get out and play well, now your swing has been developed and been made more consistent, then you can take that to the course and then figure out how you need to adapt that yeah and still be able to do that more consistently yeah yeah, please elaborate I would?
Equipment Tips and Course Reciprocals
Speaker 2I would definitely. I appreciate that, first and foremost because you hit the nail on the head. We're not growing indoor golfers, we're growing golfers or people to get on the golf course, which is why we're putting together golf trips, which is why we're trying to get people out there, because it's the golf industry, and if the golf industry is successful, we all are. And then we go back to relationship building. I want a relationship with every golf course locally. I want relationships nationally as we grow. So my big secret sauce there would be that we're going to have 20 relationships here and then the next one we open. There's 20 relationships and when there's 50 and all of a thousand, all of a sudden there's, you know, maybe a thousand golf courses that you're reciprocal of, just like a 24 hour fitness.
Speaker 2If you're a member here, you're a member at every other golf garage. Go in key fob, in easy game, right? So you go anywhere to travel, do business. Come to my golf garage with me and let's go hang out and let's do business at golf garage. Oh, and you want to go play golf? Sweet, there's a reciprocal up the road. Let's go do that too. So there are some big things to come. I don't mind if anybody knows that, because you still have to know how to run it. So ultimately, when it comes down to what we're doing, is you know the six courses we have? They're community partners number one.
Speaker 1They get you a discount on the course and even one or two of the courses are private clubs that the public can't get out on, so it's mutual.
Speaker 2Yes, 100%. So we're a private club from the standpoint of recurring revenue. Right, we want our members here.
Speaker 3We want our members here.
Speaker 2We want our members to be happy. They get a bunch more benefits than the public does. The public can't use the big putting green unless we allow it at the time. I mean they can't use that. They have to be with a member to use it. And I mean, look, you're paying for a lot more than just sim bay time here, and so what?
Speaker 1happens. And if if somebody comes in and they spend one or two hours a week paying the hourly rate for a bay, that's a membership, you should be a member. You should be a member because you're losing money.
Speaker 2Well, if you play golf with our community partners and you play three to four times a month, depending on which course it is and what the discount is you've paid for your golf garage membership and the money you would have spent if you paid the rack rate.
Speaker 1So we have a country club level service, mind you.
Speaker 3Oh yeah, that's what people need to hear. Man, it's like sometimes you look at it With the bar, with the quality of the staff the people who know you by your name when you walk through the door.
Speaker 1They know exactly what you want to drink when you walk in and to be fair, like to give props to Noah.
Speaker 3He's always the one in the front right Shaking hands, welcoming, thanking you on your way out. Like this is a genuine dude.
Speaker 1And your team reflects that.
Speaker 3He's an owner operator, not just an operator. Yeah, and that's what I mean a little bit of entrepreneurship with that too is like you're not just paying for a job, like and I'm not going to try to get myself attention, but everybody needs a little bit of floors. But you get me, you contact me, you get my phone, you give me the same thing with no. It's like you can go to any, any membership club, and it's almost like you can be a nobody, but no, we'll shake your hand as you walk in and thank you for your visit and we connect you with other people, right.
Speaker 2So my I've worked at private clubs for a very long time, super high-end privates. So we talk about our country club. That's great. The initiations that I was at were quadruple or more and the monthly fees were double to triple of what this club is Right and it's not. I've played golf at, you know $250,000 initiation clubs in the service and you learn from that of what you like and what you don't like, and at the end of the day, they're all shaking hands with each other anyway and those ones do a really good job of collaborating.
Country Club Culture vs Community
Speaker 2And the clubs that don't make it are the ones that don't actually help you get better. They're about themselves. How many members can I get in? It's not about the members. The members are going to come. What happens is I need to say man huh, this guy needs a flooring guy. Okay, cool, who do I know? Oh, ruben. Ruben's the guy right. Immediately. I might have two or three, but ultimately, based on your personality trait, you're going to need Ruben because of he's going to hook you up with. What your need is Darren Darren's the best real estate photographer in the Valley. I hands down. There's a. There's a few people that try to do it, but ultimately, if you want the best, what are you willing to pay for? If you can make another $30,000 on your house, versus $10,000 more, who are you going to pick?
Speaker 3For a $300 investment For another? No right exactly so.
Speaker 2it's the same thing with golf garage. Are you willing to spend $300 to $400 a month in order to make another $10,000 that year? Right, I mean, that's the whole thing.
Speaker 1It's not hard to look at it from that way business side for golf fanatics, for avid recreational golfers. Are you willing to spend three to four hundred dollars a month to take 10 strokes off your game?
Speaker 2oh man. So I ask that question all the time to to ceos and to to my friends. I'm like when they say, hey, how much do you cost? I'm like I'm 225 an hour, but I don't ever charge that and they spit the whiskey right right, so mouth Right and again in Arizona, game on two 25 an hour easy. But but instead it's like here's what I'm going to do for you. And then I said instead what are you willing to pay to get to your goal?
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 2Put it back on them.
Speaker 3You're the people.
Speaker 2I've only had two people that actually took me up on the old deal to where it's like hey, yeah, I'll give you five grand If you get me to my goal by then. I'm like, okay, what if I get you better than that? Get the bonus dude.
Speaker 3I got the bonus both times.
Speaker 2It was the best thing ever, oh yeah, exactly, we got to do what I say All right, sounds good. Ruben Perez, everybody how do we, how do we get ahold of you, Ruben, if we're in need of some much-needed flooring and anything else?
Speaker 3Well, you come down to the golf garage.
Speaker 2Well, your name is on every glass, every pint glass. It's your home away from home.
Speaker 3It's my home away from home, but no, no real talk. Yeah, 458-220-9202. That's the number. Call me Retail multifamily property management. I'm your guy. Hey say that number one more time 458-220-9202.
Speaker 2RP Flooring baby.
Speaker 3RP Flooring yeah.
Speaker 2Yep.
Speaker 3RPFlooringLLCcom.
Speaker 2Can we do a shout out to your wife real quick too, before we get out RP?
Speaker 3Design Respect get out rp design, rp design. I'm telling you, bro, this. This woman has stepped up for sure. We're collaborating with no one all the boys around here doing gear. She makes all my swag and, honestly, it's a. It's nice to see we did rp design to carry the same name, but she's the one running the business man, ep design rp.
Speaker 1You know what?
Speaker 2shout out happy wife, happy life by the way, your wife is super professional. A lot of the stickers, um and vinyl that we have at golf garage are done by emily and our birdie sign. I mean dude, the stuff that she did. She came out on her own and measured it you guys are hanging it together and I mean it's perfectly level.
Speaker 1You know what your wife's initials are the same as my wife's initials.
Speaker 3There you go. They're both named Emily. Good name, baby. Well thanks, gentlemen, I appreciate you guys. Cheers again.
Speaker 1Cheers. Let's really do this thing. All right. Any advice for recreational golfers who are scared to get coaching?
Speaker 3Get your ass down here. Come to the golf garage. Baby, Perfect your game.
Speaker 1See you next week.
