“There’s a lot of clubs on the market from three, four and five years ago that golfers are looking for and want to play,” says Simon Kallal, CEO of 2nd Swing.

That’s nothing new to the golf equipment industry, either. Kallal realized there was a market for used clubs – what he calls “pre-swung” equipment — nearly 20 years ago when he was still an undergrad at the University of Minnesota.

His motivation?

As a left-handed golfer (And a good one at that. Kallal played on the University of Minnesota Golf Team and still carries and better-than-scratch handicap.), there were limited opportunities for him to try new equipment.

When Kallal graduated, he passed over an accounting career to follow his passion for golf, opening the first 2nd Swing store in Minneapolis in 1997. The retailer, which specialized in buying, selling and trading golf equipment, grew to 50 stores in 2005. However, that’s also when things started to go wrong for the company.

Around that time, the vision of the company changed, putting 2nd Swing in direct competition with much larger national retailers, Kallal says. The board and some investors became focused on attempting to sell new clubs, along with “shorts, shoes and shirts,” he says.

“Those decisions got us away from the roots of the company,” said Kallal, who subsequently was fired from 2nd Swing. The company name went from 2nd Swing to 2GOLF, and as a result of the changes implemented, they needed new leadership, Kallal said.

“When you have different people with different visions, and you can’t get in line with a vision, you start changing the vision every year,” he says. “You get away from your core foundation of the business.”

Two years after Kallal left the company, the restructured 2nd Swing/2GOLF faced financial hardships in an increasingly difficult and competitive golf marketplace. It filed for bankruptcy (in 2007).

However, that gave Kallal the opportunity to buy back the company’s intellectual properties — including the original name, 2nd Swing — and start anew another two years later.

The new 2nd Swing now has two physical store locations in Minnesota – in Minneapolis and Minnetonka – as well as an enviable online store that offers roughly 30,000 used clubs. The company also has an impressive selection of “tour only” clubs and desirable difficult-to-find brands as well as most of the new models big box stores carry.

Our Zak Kozuchowski had a chance to speak with Kallal about 2nd Swing and what golfers should know before they consider a used equipment purchase.

ZK: OK, Simon. Let’s say I’m interested in a new driver, but I’m not able to visit one of 2nd Swing’s stores in Minnesota. How can your company help me? 

SK: I think the biggest way we help golfers is by investing heavily into the product, staff and technology of our stores and then mirror those high-quality and personalized services online.

We just do things other companies aren’t doing.

For instance, we take all of our own images of our actual clubs and products for sale, have an online clubfinder feature and re-create the fitting experience by giving customers the opportunity to speak with certified fitters on our online sales team. They’re right there for you and can answer questions and help you get a precise fit for your new or used club.

We’re really zeroed in on what you call an omni-channel approach. Whether you come into our stores or go online, we try to have that experience be very very similar in terms of who you can speak to and what you can do.

One thing that comes to mind is if you buy a club on 2ndswing.com, just like in the stores, you can add length. You can add weight. You can hot melt a driver, let’s say. If you want to change a grip, you can add an extra wrap under the right hand. Those are all just examples of the things that you can do through our website and in the stores, too.

Not only do we provide customers with thousands of club customizing options for each online checkout, but we also can have discussions online or over the phone — similar to what we do in the 2nd Swing Golf stores — with our certified, professional and award-winning clubfitters. You can set up a scheduled fitting appointment. And we’ll get your custom order to you within three days.

ZK: What’s the biggest mistake you’ve seen golfers make when they’re buying new clubs?

SK: Not having the right personalized fit for them. And that can be whether it’s length, lies or lofts for iron sets, wedges or putters. So making sure you know your specs — and get professional assistance in finding them — is really important.

ZK: Many of our readers are concerned with the trade-in value of the clubs they purchase, because they want to be able to try something new the next season. Are there certain brands or types of clubs that tend to hold their value better than other clubs? What can golfers do to make sure they get the most from their trade-in? 

SK: There are brands that hold their value much better than others. That’s mostly due to the life cycle of the products, which tend to be 18 to 24 months. Those brands with the longer life cycles — PING, Titleist, Bettinardi, Miura — will tend to hold their value longer than other brands that have shorter life cycles.

Oh, also keep your headcover on, and trade-in your clubs with us at 2nd Swing.

ZK: Dick’s Sporting Goods recently fired more than 500 of its PGA Professionals, citing smaller margins from markdowns of new products as a leading cause. Has this been an issue for 2nd Swing?

SK: We’ve been hiring PGA pros over the last 12 months… Having markdowns on new products and smaller margins always affects how we manage our sell prices on the used side. It does become problematic when there’s instability in the market. When new pricing comes down very fast, you have to watch your sell price on the used side.

You have to keep an eye on your sell prices and make sure you buy at the right price because, you know, we are a consumer-vendor concept, so there’s no price protection. We can’t go back to an individual customer and say, “Hey, I want my $20 back.” We bought it, and we own it.

Whereas if there’s a markdown in the industry, on the retail side, you can go to the vendor and get some net-downs. So for us, we always have to be very very cognizant of what’s going on from a product-pricing standpoint.

ZK: How would you describe your typical 2nd Swing customer?

SK: The avid golfer loves our concept. I mean you can customize your clubs, stamp ‘em, paint ‘em. It’s cool.

For instance, with the 3M Championship in town (at TPC Twin Cities) there must have been four or five Tour pros coming in looking for unique and specialized items. We have PGA pros who visit our stores, shop online and use our other services, like Mark Brooks, Tom Kite, Rocco Mediate, Tim Herron and Tom Lehman. Vijay Singh bought seven drivers while he was in. Seven drivers. That’s cool.

Hey, if they know this is a fun place to shop, we want all other golfers to know that, too.

ZK: What’s the difference between you, as a small business, and your big box competitors? How can you compete and what advantages do you have over them?

SK: Yes, we’re a small business. But we are active in our community and in growing the game here — and overall — through youth and other initiatives.

We also are doing advanced things online that no one else is doing. We have a new version of our website that we just launched last month. You gotta check that out. We also have our own brand-new dedicated fittings website for extra assistance and an independent golf blog with club reviews, swing tips and other news.

We have a lot going on because we’re passionate about the game. This is stuff we care about. We want to see, too. We are a company of golfers, and we want to make the game more enjoyable as well as grow the game of golf — for everyone’s benefit.

For example, on our Board of Advisors, we have two PGA Professionals that were named PGA Golf Professional of the Year, with Mike Schultz (Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minneapolis) and Jock Olson (Interlachen Country Club in Minneapolis). I think that personal connection to the game and PGA Tour sets us apart as well.

ZK: What’s next for your company?  

SK: We’re always trying to find the best thing for our customers. We’re doing a lot, as you can see.

Recently that meant adding PING nFlight fitting bays and a Bettinardi Studio B putting fitting center. But the big launch for us right now, in summer 2014, is Tour Van. This is high-end, state-of-the-art, in-store studio fitting with the best technology in the world. We’re providing our customers with the same level of service that a pro would receive on Tour.

At the 2nd Swing store in Minneapolis and our Tour Van studio next door, you can do it all. I really mean that you can do anything to your club or any type of swing testing available today. We have the most-advanced equipment, parts and tools, along with the personnel who know how to wield them.

At Tour Van, you can cure a shaft in 15 minutes. You can digitally loft and lie a head. We have TRACKMAN and GEARS 3-D imaging and swing-analysis equipment. It’s as cool as it gets. If you’re anywhere around Minnesota, you’re going to want to come see it in person. It’s a golf destination. Just look at Tour Van online and take a virtual tour at our Google+ page.

It’s awesome.

We here at 2nd Swing try to set a vision for golf and keep in tune with the game. This matters to us. A lot of the big box guys are thinking, let’s sell golf clubs and they end up re-investing in soccer. That’s not good for golf. What’s good for golf is to sell golf and re-invest those dollars back into the game.