Welcome to the first in our deep-dive series into the nuts and bolts of a brand that has caught our eye. Today, we are looking at the founders of Golfclubs4cash.co.uk, Murray Winton and Martin Lambert.
You may have never heard of Murray Winton and Martin Lambert but I bet you have heard of their super-influential industry brand, Golfclubs4cash.co.uk. Those in the business side of the golf industry certainly know of the duo. Word is also starting to spread amongst The City as they keep posting bigger and better financial results.
Their brand is a golfing power house and these two have masterminded its growth from a cold, self-funded launch in 2011. Whilst the large golf brands may get all the glory via the big -money tournament sponsorship deals on TV and online, Golfclubs4cash has something these brands can’t buy, golf-community love. I wanted to take a deep dive into the most loved brand in golf by actual amateur players.
What is GolfClubs4Cash.co.uk all about?
If you play golf, unless you have been living under a rock, you won’t have failed to hear of the brand. They are an ecommerce business, with two physical stores, where you can buy and sell second hand golf clubs. Simple. We at GolfTimes.co.uk have no commercial interest in the brand by the way and this is not a sponsored article. It is born out of fascination with how it is developing a cult brand following amongst the golf community.
I have personally used Golfclubs4cash several times now. First I bought a G400 hybrid/rescue for myself from there. I also purchased a Callaway driver for one of my kids who has got into golf. Finally, I bought a full set or Hogan irons and a Ping driver for my other lad.
Using the site is seamless, delivery is always spot on and the clubs arrive cleaned and ready to go. Oh, and, of course, the value is brilliant too. That is the sales pitch done!
How does Golfclubs4cash make its money?
I mean, I am no Alan Sugar but the business model is simple. They buy your clubs for a lower price than they go on to sell them for. As an example I just ran my current driver that is in need of an upgrade through the site. This was to get an idea of the price I could expect to receive if I sold it to them.
The valuation came back at £50.00. The purchase price for someone looking to buy the same club on the same site is between £85-£110.00. In crude terms that represents a profit for Golfclubs4cash of between £35 and £60.00. Yes, the “profit” I mention doesn’t factor in the business and operational costs of facilitating the purchase and sale. However, when you think that the business says it has sold 1m clubs to date, you can see why they are the current high-flying love of the golf business world.
The cult of Golfclubs4cash – winning over the hard to please golf community
This story idea came about because of the constant “chatter” about Golfclubs4cash.co.uk at the 19th hole of the golf club where I am a member. Unlike me, the club in question is quite well-to-do. I was surprised to hear so many people openly talking about the money they had saved by using the site.
One of the benefits of writing for GolfTimes.co.uk is that I get to play at lots of clubs all over the UK. I started to notice that Golfclubs4cash was being spoken about everywhere, all the time. They are very much seen as the golfers-friend.
Golf is an expensive hobby, but since the pandemic, it has experienced a boost in players like never seen before. It brings in players from every area of society. It is no longer an exclusive sport of the rich, and a big part of the reason why is down to the growth and work of Golfclubs4cash.
They have made it possible for someone to come along and buy a complete, second-hand, set of clubs for no more than the price of a swanky pair of new football or rugby boots and get started in a hugely addictive, and yet often very frustrating, sport.
This is yet another reason why they have such positive sentiment (check out their review scores); they enable people to affordably take up a new sport.
The cult feel of GolfClubs4Cash is supported by the brand tone and interaction
I don’t want this to read as though I experienced any issues when talking to the the company about researching this article. I didn’t at all. Everyone I spoke to was very polite, very nice and super quick to respond. There is definitely an air of mystery around the brand though.
Getting hold of the media team took a few weeks of no replies and I ended up going via the customer service route. I get that, why would they be interested in talking to a young, new, upstart golf news website? I thought it may carry some weight that in such a short period of time since we launched, we have had received both PGA and LIV Golf media accreditation. It was met with a polite online shrug.
I love brands like this, they are so focussed on growth, they see everything else as a distraction. It feels very early-Nike. It ads to their cult feel. The kind of “if you know, you know” feeling that we in the golf community love. They are not out there chasing media write ups, they really don’t need them, their customers do their shouting for them.
Murray Winton and Martin Lambert used their industry knowledge to win over golf shop pro’s
Go to your local pro-shop and 9/10 will also rave about Golfclubs4cash. This is where the savvy Winton and Lambert used their golf industry knowledge to spot another great opportunity. Prior to the pair starting their current business they both worked for American Golf in sales roles.
This gave them insight into the issues and opportunities that face the golfing business community. Clearing old stock has been an age old issue that golf course pro-shops have. The pair made it easy for pro-shops to quickly solve this problem and free up much need cashflow.
This relationship flourished and has reached the point where many of the top golf clubs now invite GolfClubs4Cash to come and host trade-in days for members. As many brands will tell you, having a presence at a golf course is tough unless you are one of the major brands. Having a presence that is also then championed by the pro’s is practically unheard of.
Adding to the air of mystery, and very rare for two successful entrepreneurs, there is very little written about Lambert and Winton online. A few national media business scoops, the odd company promo YouTube video and regional award wins is about it. Nothing about their history other than having both worked for American Golf and certainly no Wikipedia page trumpeting their success which entrpreneurs usually crave. They seem two really down to earth guys who spotted an opportunity, had the knowledge, drive and skills to seize that opportunity and really landed it.
This is in stark contrast to the typical venture capital backed, self-proclaimed entrepreneurs, that we see plastered over the business pages of the global media. They have quietly gone about their business and I firmly believe they are on the way to revolutionising the ease at which people can take up our sport.
The pandemic boost solidified their elite status with the golf course pro shops
Along came the pandemic and similar to every other online business, Golfclubs4cash flourished. The brand saw the bigger opportunity to solidify their strong relationships with the pro-shops and helped them to free up cash using their service, offering a life-line during a really hard time for the wider golf industry.
Golf clubs won’t forget this and it is one of the reasons why they are loved by the industry. That love flows down to the end users and is why club members are encouraged to use the brand.
Who doesn’t love GolfClubs4Cash? Maybe some of the bigger brands that make clubs?
My day job is working in marketing and I have done so for some of the largest brands in the world in FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and a few other high profile sectors. I have no insider knowledge or information but if I was one of the big golf club brands I would be nervous about Golfclubs4cash reducing my overall, new club, sales.
They have sold 1m clubs to date, probably more when you think I took this figure from a dated press release. The site has a very strong eco and society message. They are encouraging the longevity of golf club life, they are reducing land fill and they are reminding people that consumer items can last for ever, rather than dashing out to buy something new.
This makes it hard for any big golf brand to challenge what Murray Winton and Martin Lambert are doing and it is what many, including myself, love this about their brand.
What next for Murray Winton and Martin Lambert & Golfclubs4cash.co.uk?
This is only speculation, and none of this has come direct from the brand or anyone close to the brand. In fact, my questions around the following suggestions were met with a kind but robust “we don’t wish to comment on these points”. This makes me think I was very wide of the mark and could well be wrong in my “what next” star-gazing.
Thinking back to the day job, if I was in their position I would be looking at two key growth areas.
Pushing into the USA?
The brand has a more than solid position in the UK and Europe. They are the number one brand in what they do over here. They don’t have a large presence in the USA yet. I say “large” meaning a physical presence. They do sell to customers in America via the likes of their super successful E-bay store, but nothing on the scale of what they have here.
Would they launch the same brand and site in America or would they need to launch a more US focussed and worded site? Or, would an acquisition not be far easier. Who knows, but it is definitely the market to go after.
Statista says that the US golf industry is currently worth around $100bn dollars and the UK market represents under 3% of that value at $2.6bn. What a market for the duo to go after. I have zero doubt they would quickly win over the American market as they have done in Europe. Albeit at a much larger scale operation.
Launching their own budget range?
Thinking back to what I said about how the two guys have done so much to help new players enter the sport, alongside what they are doing to support golf course pro shops, the next potential move would be a no-brainer in my mind.
Launch their own range of budget clubs. Let’s work this though, everything fires with this idea. They could solidify their eco-credentials by taking in broken or end-of-life clubs that can’t be sold on, melting them down and recycling them into new clubs in their own brand name.
Now, I know this is not as straight forward as I make it sound, but it is a potential PR story, and businesses usually start with that and work back from there. Winton and Lambert have the knowledge on how to launch a brand via their American Golf days. They have the distribution network via their own ecommerce site, their strong, global, E-bay presence and all the good-will that they have built up with golf club pro-shops. It seems a strong natural evolution of the business.
Potential acquisition on the cards? We hope not but can see why a big brand would love them
Potential for being acquired: Golfclubs4cash represent a great acquisition. I would be sad to see this though. I imagine a big golf club brand could snap them up in an instant. Rival brands would not like this as it would give the new owner an insight into what features customers most search for.
This is an issue that Carwow faced (different sector I know) when Mercedes took a stake in their multi-brand car sales online platform. The likes of BMW and Audi were never going to be happy that Mercedes could, in theory, somehow see what features potential car buyers most liked about other brands.
I can’t see an acquisition happening if I am honest, whilst their is still so much market-growth for Lambert and Winton to go after.
There we have it, Golfclubs4cash.co.uk are a brand the golfing community loves and needs. I certainly will never hesitate to to recommend them and look forward to seeing what the owners do next. Whatever they do, it will no doubt be a success.
