Southern Indiana Business Report
FRENCH LICK – Members of the golf staff at the French Lick Resort received accolades and awards last month at the 2024 PGA of America annual awards in Florida.
Robert Koontz, PGA, was named the PGA of America Merchandiser of the Year in the resort category. Koontz is the head professional at the Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort and a member of the Indiana PGA Section.
Koontz is the French Lick Resort’s first PGA National award winner.
The Merchandiser of the Year recognizes PGA of America Golf Professionals who excel in business and merchandising for the promotion of golf. A two-time Indiana PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year – Resort (2017, 2023), Koontz has worked at French Lick Resort since 2016. He served as the head pro of the Donald Ross course until 2021, when he received his current position as head professional of the Pete Dye Course.
In addition to this role, Koontz is assistant director of golf at French Lick Resort and the director of golf merchandise at all three golf courses of the resort.
Dave Harner, director of golf operations at French Lick Resort, said the award was well deserved.
“Rob’s been a very loyal member of the staff,” Harner said. “He puts in the time and has a great interest in the merchandising aspect.”
The Resort also was an ING Industry Honors winner for a TV commercial (“Carved Into History” with the Pete Dye Course) and was a finalist in print advertising.
The commercial featured Scottish professional golfer Colin Montgomerie talking about the Pete Dye and also told the story of the course’s design, starting with a drawing on a napkin.
The Resort’s golf courses and staff have received several state level PGA awards, but to be recognized at the national level is a first.
“It shows we’re playing in a pretty big league when you start to go up against resorts like Greenbrier, Bandon Dunes and Whistling Straits and our guy comes out as the No. 1 guy,” Harner said. “It tells us we’re playing in that league. Years ago at best we were a regional destination and we’ve expanded far beyond that. Now we have people from the West Coast and other countries to play golf here.”
According to information about the award recipients from PGA of America, the merchandising philosophy that Koontz lives by is to create new opportunities through clean, neat displays filled with a well-planned variety of branded products while maintaining the business operations and margins required for a successful golf shop. To maintain a strong grasp on merchandising in the golf industry, Koontz is focused on studying the retail world, researching lifestyle trends, watching for social trends, building partnerships and learning from fellow PGA of America Golf Professionals. These actions, along with analyzing the sales data, create an on-hand supply of high demand product that produces Koontz’s successful golf shops.