Golf Headquarters is somewhat hidden behind more visible storefronts on Greenbrier Boulevard, but its location hasn't stopped golfers from finding it.
And it doesn't hurt that the local golf retailer just got added exposure in a recent issue of Golf Digest.
The magazine recognized the Chesapeake store as one of "America's 100 Best Clubfitters."
It was the only store in Hampton Roads and one of eight in Virginia to make the list, which was published in May.
Dave Pierce and his staff at Golf Headquarters also made the Top 100 rankings for PING and Mizuno - two companies that specialize in custom-fitted clubs.
Pierce was pleased with the recognition in a field that has become crowded with online competitors and larger stores.
"I'm a little guy," he said of his place in the world of golf merchandise.
Brent Kendall, a Virginia PING sales representative, wasn't surprised.
Kendall ranks the store at the top of his accounts in the state.
It's a smaller independent store, but it's about more than annual sales, Kendall said. He sees the Chesapeake retailer as a model of personal customer service.
"When people come in, he wants them to be a customer for life," Kendall said.
Pierce said he draws the golfer who is getting more serious about the game and wants to improve his score.
He wants that for customers, too.
"When they play better, they play more and when they play more, they buy more," he said. "It's a snowball."
Pierce, 57, was more a tennis player than a golfer in his younger years.
Then not long after college graduation, he took a job at a small golf store in Virginia Beach.
He's had 31 years to build on his expertise and knowledge of the golf industry.
He watched as Tiger Woods' feats fanned the popularity of golf, and he saw more women and young people flock to the sport.
The store he worked for changed names over the years and was part of the Nevada Bob's chain when it expanded to two other locations in Newport News and Chesapeake, he said.
Pierce said the golf craze leveled out and the business dropped down to one store in Chesapeake.
Pierce was general manager there for years before he and a partner, Scott Nisbet, bought it about four years ago.
It's independently owned and operated, but an affiliate of the Golf Headquarters national golf buying association.
The store is about 3,800 square feet, filled with anything a golfer could need from clothing and clubs to indoor putting greens.
Fitting a customer for clubs has evolved over the years, Pierce said.
In the old days, it was less about a golfer's swing and more about measurements, he said.
It's more technical now and his store uses the technological tools provided by golf club manufacturers.
Pierce said a club fitting takes 30 minutes to an hour and factors in about 20 different measurements and variables, from a player's height and build to his swing.
There's an in-depth discussion that includes any issues or problems the customer is having on the golf course.
Customers spend a good while in a simulator room where Pierce and staff members can observe their swings. As shots fly at the image of a golf range, the simulator provides information on the speed and height and spin of the ball.
DeShaun Melton, a state trooper who wandered into the store two years ago, remembers he was skeptical about club fitting at that time.
The Suffolk resident had purchased a used set of golf clubs and had been trying to learn to play because many of his friends and co-workers were getting into the sport.
By the time Melton walked into Golf Headquarters, he had almost decided golf wasn't his game.
"I've always been athletic, so not to be able to do this golf thing was kind of frustrating," he said.
He liked the atmosphere of the store. The staff was friendly but not pushy, he said.
He and Pierce got to talking about ways to improve his swing.
A couple of days later he decided to go back and be fitted for clubs.
Between the new golf clubs and the tips he got from Pierce, Melton dropped 10 shots his next game, he said.
He and Pierce are friends now, and Melton has sent many others to the store because of his positive experience, he said.
Melton golfs three or four times a week and watches it on TV when he's not on the links.
"I'm a golf fanatic now," he said.
Janie Bryant, jbryant5050@icloud.com
Golf Headquarters
Towne Place, 741 Eden Way N. #312
548-3211; hours