Maybe you’ve already discovered Morton’s Golf Shop in Sacramento, California, or its internet counterpart, Morton Golf Sales. If you haven’t, and you’re a GolfWRXer, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. From hard goods with custom options galore to apparel and shoes, Morton’s is a full-service golf retailer, dedicated to being responsive to its customers. In doing so, many of its loyal customers would argue that Morton’s has truly done the work to differentiate itself from competition in order to stand out as a leader in golf retail.

In that spirit of evolution, Morton’s has introduced a couple of new, but not necessarily original concepts into its Haggin Oaks Golf Super Shop over the past three years. The first concept is the addition of concept stores within the larger context of the Super Shop dedicated to lifestyle brands: Under Armor, Puma and Travis Mathew. Those were added to the existing stable of concept stores developed for Nike, Adidas and Jamie Sadock. The second concept is the use of “style bar,” where at no cost to the customer (i.e., you), Morton’s offers the use of a personal shopper to help develop your style.

The Concept Stores

While it may seem obvious, the benefit of the concept store for the consumer is it concentrates your favorite brand in a single, dedicated area. So instead of maneuvering around the store trying to throw together an outfit for Saturday’s club championship or your upcoming golf trip, if you love Under Armour it’s all right there for you to check out.

For those of you wondering about the metrics, generally they suggest that players (of all kinds) are increasingly becoming dedicated to a single brand of apparel and accessories. Again, the concept store in that sense simply assists customers in finding what they really want and need before going to play golf.

With respect to Morton’s in particular, its offerings within the concept brands are thoughtful and typically the product of the talented people behind the scenes at the Super Shop. As much as anything else, however, the concept brands are a by-product of the idea that “clothing is equipment for the body.”

Whether it’s the actual concept brands, or the new window cut in the side of the Super Shop where a genuine half of a Volkswagen bus acts as a billboard on the outside of the building and modified to be a fixture on the inside for Travis Mathew, the stores at their core are designed entirely to serve the customer. And for those not dedicated to a particular brand, but remain nonetheless curious about what Puma may have to offer, it’s easy to locate and explore, as well as makes the brand approachable.

If you are not in the Sacramento area or intending to visit any time soon, Morton Golf Sales is truly the Internet arm of the Super Shop. Online orders are fulfilled by Super Shop inventory and as a corollary, the electronic experience is pretty darn good, too.

The Style Bar

Common to many high-end department stores for years, if not decades, is the idea of a personal shopper and so-called “style bar.” Morton’s has 18 club fitters on staff and is known as an industry leader in that arena, so the natural next step was to take that expertise into its soft goods business. Part of that result is Morton’s new Style Bar, a concept likely to be available in many other brick-and-mortar operations soon.

Staffed by six expert personal shoppers, and complimentary for customers, the Style Bar involves setting an appointment (over the phone, in-person or even electronically) with one of those shoppers to discuss favorite brands, styles, colors, sizes and needs. The product of that appointment is a second interaction where Morton’s new display room is populated with multiple golf outfits from head-to-toe, which are stylishly laid out for your consideration. Further, upon arrival, customers are served with a complimentary glass of Chardonnay in a Style Bar wine glass for you to take home.

There’s no pressure to buy and Morton’s promises a fun, zero-stress experience, whether you are intending to buy or just browsing. And to that point, as part of the original booking appointment, your personal shoppers will also cover broader concepts such as your budget and overall goals for the process.

The Style Bar was introduced in March 2016, but Morton’s has already had a wide array of customers take advantage, from a high school golf team trying to coordinate new uniforms to golfers prepping for their next vacation to regular customers excited at the one-on-one attention. Whether you need to update your wardrobe for the summer season or have an invite to Augusta National Golf Club and need qualified advice on proper attire, the Style Bar offers the chance to get things just right.

Again, for those of you unable to make it to the Super Shop in person, don’t be discouraged. Morton’s has successfully used alternative methods (email and video-conference) to get pictures of outfits based on telephone appointments to interested customers without significant hassle. The result in both instances was a satisfied customer with several new golf outfits to fit their budget and need.