Horsham Golf’s dedicated ladies’ apparel room is more than a smart new shop floor concept. It is a case study in listening to customers, creating a better experience and finding growth by serving an audience too many golf retailers still overlook, explains PGA Head Professional and General Manager Mike Yorke.
We all understand the pressure on retail space. Every square foot has to earn its place, every buying decision has to be justified and, in a market where online retailers and larger stores can compete aggressively on range and price, the pro shop has to offer something more meaningful than stock on a rail.
At Horsham Golf, that thinking has led to Edit, a dedicated ladies’ clothing space designed around appointment-led service, carefully chosen brands and a relaxed, social shopping experience.
Opened in May, it gives women the chance to browse, try on outfits and receive personal advice in an environment that feels considered rather than compromised.
The result is not simply a new department; it is a fresh approach to how golf retail can respond to an audience with clear expectations around choice, fit, fashion and service.
The Horsham story is especially useful because it is rooted in familiar challenges: limited space, tight margins, changing customer behaviour and the need to deliver a point of difference that cannot be replicated by a website.
PGA Head Professional and General Manager Mike Yorke is open about the fact that Horsham had not previously given ladies’ apparel the attention it deserved. What followed was a willingness to listen, invest and create an experience that matched the importance of that customer base.
Here, Mike explains how Edit came about, what has been learned in the early stages and why a more personal, experience-led approach to ladies’ retail could offer valuable lessons for many golf businesses.
Pictured: Edit, at Horsham Golf
Why Horsham stopped overlooking women’s retail
Throughout my career, developing ladies' coaching has been something that I've always been passionate about. Ladies have always been a really key pillar of what we do. At Horsham Golf we run regular ladies' weeks, regular free taster sessions and we've enjoyed a huge amount of success in doing that.
We've got a busy retail space but it would be commercially difficult to justify putting ladies' clothing in there because we're very strong in the men's market. Our retail has grown 86 per cent in the last eight years through a lot of hard work and planning. We always knew that the ladies were being overlooked and we were as guilty as anyone. While we had ladies' shoes, clubs, and accessories, we had no clothing presence in store.
And over the last couple of years there was a lot more verbal pushback and our ladies were starting to demand more. In 2025 we did bring in a small collection of ladies' clothing and there were more complaints about having a small collection than when we didn't do any at all.
We started working with some very supportive brands and took the plunge this year. We had this great room, which we revamped and redecorated, and added a changing room.
We've had lots of positive communication and dialogue, spoken with local lady golfers about what they wanted and so we thought, right, let's do it and we opened in May.
Winning on service, not square footage
The space is not your traditional pro shop where you browse and hope for the best. At Edit, service is everything. Ladies can book appointments individually or in groups of up to five and they have the space to themselves. There are also times we open to the public too.
We're really focusing on the experience that we can deliver with a warm, stylish welcome and an unhurried retail experience with Sophie, who heads up Edit.
We stock all price points, styles and fits, with leading brands such as Adidas, G/FORE, Rohnisch, J.Lindeberg, Glenmuir and Ping so we've got your real fashion high-end brands right through to your stalwarts of the golf industry.
We've not had any conflict on price with different brands covering a range of prices. For those who want something a little bit more exclusive, unique or a little bit more daring in colour, we've got all of that.
We provide refreshments, whether it might be a glass of Prosecco or soft drink, and we deliver a really great experience with music playing in the background. While we might not be able to compete with the superstores in our area in terms of sheer range of product, we can win on service and product knowledge.
That would be my message to any retailer. While you might not be able to always compete on price or range, why can't you deliver a better service, add greater value and a more personal service. That's the route we are going down.
Pictured: Edit, at Horsham Golf
What the first few months have taught us
We've learned just how much clothing the ladies like to try on which reflects how much they love the space. They can try items on properly in a calm, private space without other people walking around. It’s these details we shouldn't underestimate that. We talk about what makes a great golf lesson or a great golf course and so we've drilled down to the minutiae to build a positive experience for ladies.
If someone's going to visit and try some clothing on with the intent of purchase, what environment do we need to create? Edit is comfortable, relaxed and secure. Women feel safe and of course they can share it with their girlfriends who encourage and offer their thoughts on any potential purchase.
It has become clear that women like to buy outfits while men buy more solo products.
Moving beyond ‘pink it and shrink it’
'Pink it and shrink it' is a common phrase for ladies' golf clothing but now, rightly, ladies really are demanding more. Their voice in the marketplace is growing – you've only got to look at the stats as to how important they are to the golf industry.
We have a really good mix of products, styles, fits and materials – Edit is far more than just shopping. We're selling the experience and we firmly believe that this is what ladies golf deserves.
We also have footwear collections in Edit along with accessories such as G/FORE gloves, which are really bright and colourful. Visors, caps, belts and socks finish the collection and compliment the line up in store.
It’s an exciting project to be leading on and I know we've got a lot to learn still as I think we are way behind the curveball in the golf industry when it comes to ladies’ golf apparel and fashion. I do have sympathy with my PGA colleagues who are under tight budgets with a need for good margin on any investment – understandably they've got to look at what the best low-hanging fruit is for them.
We are fortunate to be in a more robust situation and we've got a bit more freedom to explore different areas of the market such as ladies.
“By focusing on the experience, our personal service and making the whole process social, we believe we will have a broader appeal” - Mike Yorke
Turning great service into local buzz
Members are key to golf clubs but what's really important for us is to draw in the audience that sit beneath that. Membership is not the destination for a lot of ladies. They love hitting balls, playing golf, experiencing different courses but it might not be about them joining a golf club.
By focusing on the experience, our personal service and making the whole process social we believe we will have a broader appeal.
Ladies are fantastic social creatures, far better than men at spreading their good experiences. We've got a large database and we've got our coaches who are instrumental in terms of relationships with the key lady personnel but word of mouth is also huge and that's proved to be the case already.
Ladies' fashion is a massive industry and to think that our lady golfers don't want to have that same excitement around buying their golf wear is madness. They're interested in the fashion, fit, material, functionality, sustainability of the material and we're able to tell all of those stories.
