Picture this. You and your buddies spend months planning a vacation to a premier golf destination you’ve never played, like Bandon Dunes. Your excitement is at a fever pitch as you check in your 50-pound travel bag at the airport. But when you touch down in Oregon, your bag doesn’t because it got lost in transit. So now what? Jonathan Marsico and Nick Coleman, co-founders of the company Ship Sticks, had a thought.
“There has to be another way,” said Marsico, executive chairman at Ship & Play. “Can we travel more efficiently and spend less time waiting at the baggage carousel?”
In 2011, Marsico and Coleman founded Ship Sticks with the mission to “make golf travel simpler, easier, and more affordable.” Now, any golfer can easily ship their golf bags directly from their door to one of more than 3,500 partnered golf clubs or nearby hotels across the world at a cost that’s competitive with airline fees without the hassle.
“Nick and I started the company because it was a solution for the way we traveled and the type of golf we played,” Marsico said. “We both had families. We were both working. We both loved buddies’ trips. We both played a bit of competitive amateur golf and we were trying to do everything as efficiently as possible.”
In 2009, Marsico was an alternate in the British Amateur. On Saturday, just two days before the tournament started, he was notified he had a spot in the field. He flew overseas, but when he touched down at the airport his clubs did not.
“My clubs weren’t there and I’m teeing off in 24 hours for my first and only British Amateur,” Marsico said. “I spent the next eight or 10 hours that day sitting in the airport hoping they would come.”
His clubs arrived in time, but that’s not always the case. Marsico thought there had to be a better way, and a year later, he and Coleman found it.
In 2010, Coleman planned to visit Marsico in Scottsdale, Arizona, to play golf. However, the Florida resident had to go to New York first on business and didn’t want to lug his golf bag the whole way. Instead, Coleman used a local logistics provider and shipped his clubs straight from Florida to Scottsdale. He loved it and told Marsico all about the positive experience. Ship Sticks was born.
“Can we create the convenience and the experience that traveling without your golf clubs enables us to do?” Marsico asked. “At the same time, can we be competitive with the airline checked baggage fees?”
Marsico and Coleman spent the next six months pursuing the idea, reaching out to potential partners and making connections in the golf industry before officially founding Ship Sticks in 2011. They started with places they’d played golf before and branched out from there.
“We went out and really knocked on doors,” Marsico said. “We called our network to make introductions if they were members or pros at different facilities.”
“Some of our guests travel thousands of miles to get here only to see their clubs sitting on the tarmac as they pull away from the terminal. Need I say more? Ship your clubs.” — Bob “Shoe” Gaspar, Bandon Dunes
They explained how the relationship between Ship Sticks and clubs would be mutually beneficial. Ship Sticks gets customers. Golf destinations like Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst and Disney World get convenience perks for their players at no cost to them.
“I don’t support or stand behind many things but Ship Sticks is the exception,” said Bob “Shoe” Gaspar, director of outside happiness at Bandon Dunes. “They combined with FedEx to do an amazing job of getting the clubs here on time. I can’t tell you how many guests arrive without their clubs. This, I guess, is due to overweight concerns with the airlines. Some of our guests travel thousands of miles to get here only to see their clubs sitting on the tarmac as they pull away from the terminal. Need I say more? Ship your clubs.”
Ship Sticks also partnered with logistics companies UPS, FedEx and DHL to provide door-to-door service to the customer and avoid the checked-bag experience.
“We’re enabling the logistics providers to do what they do best, which is pick up and deliver golf bags and luggage,” Marsico said.
As the company grew, Ship Sticks added to their repertoire, starting with Ship Skis in 2014. Customers can now ship skis, camping gear, luggage and more. Marsico says it’s all based on customer demand.
“What do golfers do?” Marsico asked. “They ski, they travel on vacation with their family and check luggage. They send their kids to camp and they send their kids to college.”
While Marsico says Ship Sticks still makes up the biggest part of the pie chart, the other sections are growing.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a pivotal moment for Ship Sticks. Marsico says that the pandemic was a struggle for the company, as many people stopped traveling to play golf, but it provided longer-term opportunities.
“The traveling golfer didn’t exist during COVID but golf also exploded in a new audience,” Marsico said. “New people that never played golf before were exposed to it.”
During the pandemic, many people started playing golf because it was something to do outside. According to a recent U.S. Golfer Insights study by Troon International, the game is still growing. There’s a trend of younger golfers joining the sport. There are also more Hispanic, Black and Asian golfers than in the past.
“The business has benefited from the game’s exposure to a broader audience,” Marsico said.
“If you’re going on a buddies’ trip now you don’t need the large XL SUV that you’re renting. You don’t need a larger Uber because your golf bags are waiting for you at your destination.” — Jonathan Marsico
Earlier this year, Ship Sticks became the official golf club shipping partner of the PGA of America, solidifying the company’s long-term relationship with golf professionals, without whom it wouldn’t exist.
“They are the lifeblood of what our company is really about,” Marsico said.
At first glance, it might seem like using Ship Sticks is more expensive than the $70 to $100 each way to check your bag in at the airport. For example, shipping a standard-sized golf bag from Chicago to Bandon Dunes is about $80 each way. However, Marsico says there are other thoughts to consider.
“If you’re going on a buddies’ trip now you don’t need the large XL SUV that you’re renting,” Marsico said. “You don’t need a larger Uber because your golf bags are waiting for you at your destination.”
According to its website, Ship Sticks has shipped more than 3.5 million bags in excess of 277 million miles since its founding. Ship & Play chief marketing officer Stephanie Retcho says Ship Sticks now ships more than 500,000 bags a year, a number she expects the company to exceed this year. Marsico believes the company can keep growing.
“I think the customer experience is the most important part,” he said.