The season-long ladies' golf community initiative was supported by the Emirates Golf Federation
sports9 hours ago
The latest hi-tech golf studio in Dubai, the first of its kind in the Emirate, prides itself on its high standards and personalized approach to teaching and remodelling a golfer’s game.
Located in Jumeirah Lake Towers CLUB LAB Golf is a speciality high-end golf club fitting and club building centre with ambitious global expansion plans.
Khaleej Times recently caught up with its co-founder Reg van Rooyen to learn about what goes on behind the scenes at the facility which was created together with Rohan Mehta and Marno Vorster, the Head of Instruction
Rooyen told Khaleej Times: “I arrived in Dubai in 2017 and after settling in for a few months as a Retail Manager in the golf business, I immediately recognized that there was not a high-end golf club fitting and club building centre in Dubai. It was always my dream to establish one as that is my background from South Africa.
“It took me four years to find a partner and get organized but here we are in January 2024 having been open for just over one year.
“Our philosophy at CLUB LAB Golf is to first assess a golfer’s existing equipment. It is all about fact-based statistics,” Rooyen added.
“We have a wider approach than most: we either fix the golf clubs and if not appropriate for the golfer. We build new ones and at the same time incorporate golf lessons.
“You need them both to properly improve.”
Rooyen also detailed the process and principles followed by the company to benefit the players and golf overall.
“We very much feed off each other in the CLUB LAB team,” he said.
“It is our own brand and we have two studios, a workshop and golf retail here in JLT. Data capture and technology is the way forward.
“These days in the golf business you have to be everything for everyone. The perception is we are just about elite golfers,” said Rooyen. “That is far from correct: we can help a 15 – 24 handicapper improve so quickly, much more than the Tour Pro. It is so satisfying for us to see a golfer’s handicap drop.”
Rooyen said he was proud of the way the facility has been set up, the golf vibe that it promotes and its plans for future development.
“We have a nice relaxed environment at CLUB LAB Golf,” he said. “We are not a lesson factory, a direction many in the industry have gone these days, in Dubai and around the world. We like to see ourselves as being more personal.
“The primary focus of our business lies in club fitting, constituting almost 90 per cent of our operations, complemented by a thriving training arm.
“We were the first of our kind in Dubai and have a start on others in the market,” Rooyen added.
“We have made huge strides in just over a year and we have developed a loyal customer base in Dubai. We will review our plans and perhaps take Club Lab Golf globally.
“Many local and international Pros come into CLUB LAB Golf and we look at their loft and lies on their golf clubs and they are frequently surprised, and shocked with the results,” he revealed. “The tolerance levels are often way out. Our advice is always to have them checked – from whomever.
“We are one of the few golf businesses in Dubai that charge for assessment sessions - because they deserve to be charged for - and doing so maintains a certain level of commitment from both parties.
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“We like to think of ourselves as the ‘Best in Breed’ in assessment and custom fitting. We are excited with where we are with the business at present and look forward to working closer with the UAE golf industry moving forward.” Rooyen concluded.
For further information Visit www.clublabgolf.com
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