There’s often snow on the ground and plenty of chill in the air during its run, but the Denver Golf Expo has been a prominent fixture on the Colorado golf scene for many years. In fact, next month will mark the 17th time it’s been held.
But while the Expo has gained traction with golf fans in the Denver metro area and northern Colorado, it has never claimed much of a foothold among residents of southern Colorado.
However, if Mark and Lynn Cramer, the owners and managers of the Golf Expo, have their way, that will soon change. To that end, the Cramers will hold two Golf Expos this year, one in Denver and another in Colorado Springs. The Denver event will take place Feb. 12-14 at the Denver Merchandise Mart, while the inaugural Southern Colorado Expo is set for March 13-14 at the Phil Long Expo Center just off I-25 in northern Colorado Springs.
“We aren’t getting people up (to the Denver Expo) from Pueblo and Colorado Springs,” Mark Cramer said. “We have a healthy participation from northern Colorado, but Colorado Springs is kind of self-contained. They look down on anything in Denver, figuratively and otherwise. It’s like, “˜If we don’t have it, we don’t need it and we’re definitely not going to Denver to get it.’
“But it’s a huge market down there, and we definitely want to support the local community. There’s a lot of people in Colorado Springs and Pueblo and the surrounding areas, and to do a show for that many people makes great sense.”
While the Southern Colorado Golf Expo will have a similar look as its counterpart in Denver — featuring a showcase of the golf industry, plenty of exhibitors, all sorts of golf deals, seminars, free individualized golf instruction, a club demo, junior golf opportunities, etc. — Cramer has made it a point to give the Colorado Springs show a local flavor.
CGA’s Golf (equipment) Swapat the Phil Long Center will strictly benefit junior golf in southern Colorado. In addition, there will be a discount for military personnel at the Southern Colorado Golf Expo.
“I want it to be for the southern Colorado market, with southern Colorado people,” Cramer said. “If you just bring Denver down there, it would be rejected. We want to support local people.”
Many of the allied golf associations in the state, including the CGA, CWGA and Colorado PGA, will be represented at both Golf Expos.
For instance, the participatory exhibit known as the Colorado Junior Golf Experience, which debuted last year at the Denver Golf Expo, will be at both sites, and all the proceeds from the two Golf Swaps will go straight to junior golf developmental programs. The Golf Swaps take donated and consigned clubs and equipment and sell them to benefit junior programs. About $9,000 was raised last year at the Denver Golf Expo.
The aim of the Junior Golf Experience is to expose as many youngsters as possible to the game, as well as to the many junior programs that are available. To that end, youngsters 16 and under will be admitted free to both Expos, and they can take swings at the BirdieBalls that are ever-present.
“The main thing we want is getting BirdieBalls bouncing all over the place,” Dustin Jensen, director of youth programs for the CGA, said with a slight laugh.
About 600 kids went through the Junior Golf Experience in 2009, and Jensen hopes that with a Colorado Springs site added, a combined 1,000 youngsters will participate in 2010. As part of the Junior Golf Experience at the Expos, the CJGA and the Colorado PGA will be relaunching the web site coloradojuniorgolf.org, a one-stop, consolidated resource for junior programs in the state.
More than 10,100 people attended the three-day Denver Golf Expo in 2009. That was down a little less than 10 percent from the record figure of the previous year. The drop was likely attributable to the recession, and with the economy still tight, Cramer knows starting a new Golf Expo will be challenging. But he thinks it will pay off in the long run.
“We wanted to establish the show before anyone else does,” he said. “We’re all familiar with what has been happening in the industry; people are not buying (as much) retail. They’re going without or buying at a discount. That’s what the golf show is — where people can get discount golf. It fits in perfectly with the trend of people watching a buck.
“No one has control over the economy. There are going to be ups and downs. But you’ve got to be smart and provide a good product. Everybody has tightened their budget, and the easy place to cut is marketing. It’s not always wise, but it’s easy. I think both shows will be affected by that, but a lot of people will still be there that want to offer deals.”
The CGA will holds its annual Season Tee-Off Luncheon at the Denver Golf Expo on Feb. 13, and PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka will be the keynote speaker. The PGA of America will be a prominent player on the Colorado golf scene leading up to one of its flagship tournaments, the Senior PGA Championship, being held at Colorado Golf Club in Parker May 27-30.
