I saw this press release this morning and it tugged at the heart strings a little bit. I have been fortunate enough to get to know some of the Club Champion guys over the years, and dare I say even call them friends, and it’s been a trip watching their machine grow. When I first went to the Willowbrook location, the build shop was a comfortable room for about five people to work in at peak times. To see the massive operation it has become today is really impressive. Anyway, check out their press release below.
Club Champion Expands Build Shop Space and Capabilities
Willowbrook, IL — The #1 club fitter, builder and retailer in the nation has massively upgraded its already-impressive build shop in the Chicagoland area.
Initially, the Club Champion’s build shop encompassed a cozy 1,000 square feet, split between build stations, PUREing stations, the shipping team and storage. Now, after a complete remodel and expansion, the shop covers over 10,000 square feet. Previously, employees operated between only six build stations; builders now have access to 15 stations.
“The demand for our custom-built clubs was overpowering our capabilities,” said Nick Sherburne, founder of Club Champion. “We had an opportunity to widen our footprint and make each build station even more efficient, so we took our chance.”
Efficiency is key; Club Champion quotes 7-10 business days from the moment the club order is placed to shipment of completed clubs. The additional space allows not only for more builders to work on clubs simultaneously, but for a better workflow throughout the shop. The newly mapped out process moves clubs much more quickly from station to station, cutting down on overall build time without sacrificing craftsmanship. At the time of writing, the average custom-built order was taking fewer than seven days to build, finish and ship.
“We were also concerned with accessibility,” said Sherburne of the decision to expand. “Each station now has everything our builders need within arm’s reach. We supercharged each build table and gave our builders literally every tool they need to be the best at their job.”
The Club Champion process has always included an expert build, to exacting tolerances and using perfectly calibrated loft, lie and swingweight machines in every store. Those machines are calibrated with the ones in the build shop to ensure that each customer takes home the exact same club they tested in the fitting bay. That precision, combined with the unsurpassed training each employee must undertake before building, makes for an impressive end to the Club Champion fitting process.
For more information on Club Champion fittings, please call (888) 340-7820 or visit clubchampiongolf.com.
