Dick's Sporting Goods Purchases Golfsmith Out Of Bankruptcy Auction

Golfsmith was one of the most popular golf stores on the planet, but after going bankrupt, it seemed like there was no hope, until now.

Golfsmith has been a hot topic in the golf community for a while now, due to its fall from grace. After filing for bankruptcy, it didn’t take too long for a company to grab the golf superstore though.

Dick’s Sporting Goods, which also owns Golf Galaxy, was the winning bidder for Golfsmith according to Golf Digest. Ironically, Dick’s Sporting Goods is the same company that laid off around 500 PGA professionals just a couple of years ago.

Understandably, that makes you kind of question where the mindset is with Dick’s in regards to golf. One moment, it’s doom and gloom, the next thing you know, they’re buying Golfsmith and now will have over 100 golf stores around the country (72 Golf Galaxy stores and 30 Golfsmith stores).

It’s quite a head scratcher, but nonetheless, it’s good to see that someone jumped on the opportunity to grab Golfsmith. To be able to rejuvenate the store to major popularity again, bodes well for golfers and the employees of the store.

In fact, Dick’s plans on retaining 500 Golfsmith employees. However, although they plan on keeping 30 of the stores, the rest of the 109 Golfsmith locations will go through liquidators from Hilco Global and Tiger Capitol Group.

The bid was for $70 million which is actually less than what it was purchased for in 2012. There’s no information yet on what exactly Dick’s plans to do with Golfsmith.

Some may suggest that they will turn those 30 stores into Golf Galaxy stores, which have done quite well over the years. Despite Golfsmith’s downfall as a retail store, it’s website has done very well, as it is the most popular online golf store on the web.

It’s possible that Golfsmith can become an online based golf store, with the few actual stores that golfers can visit. That wouldn’t be a bad idea, considering the rate at which people buy golf items online now.

If you look at a place like Rock Bottom Golf, they became a hit online for their “rock bottom” prices. So, this idea is something to keep in mind moving forward.

Of course, the major possibility as mentioned would be to turn those 30 Golfsmith stores into Golf Galaxies. But, let this be a lesson for Dick’s Sporting Goods that people still do love their golf, and this move proves that they understand this because otherwise, why would you even bother? Right?

So, what are your thoughts on Dick’s Sporting Goods’ big purchase of Golfsmith? Let us know in the comments section or you can follow me on Twitter @ChiGolfRadio. Also, be sure to keep it locked here for all of the latest golf news.