Anne Moon could teach a college class on how to operate a business – “the art of it,” Kim Evans says.
Evans, the former head women’s golf coach at Auburn, ticks off Moon’s qualifications: she’s disciplined, cordial and excels at customer service. Hardly anyone meets Moon, Evans says, who doesn’t ask the former Tigers coach about her.
“What’s the girl’s name from Birmingham? Anne Hutto?” they ask.
Evans responds: “It’s Anne Moon now. She lives in Auburn. She’s back!”
Moon and her husband, Dan, are the co-founders of Moon Golf, a golf retail store that debuted in Melbourne, Florida, in 2015 and has since expanded to Vero Beach, Palm Beach and most recently – to much acclaim – Auburn, Alabama. That move brought the Moons back to their home state.
Anne and Dan have lived their lives in the golf industry, with stops at Edwin Watts and Callaway before launching their own business together in 2015. It’s a regional footprint with a national reach as Anne has poured her resources into a top-tier women’s college golf tournament, the Moon Golf Invitational. She also backs former teammate and friend Courtney Trimble’s “Fore Hire” initiative, which seeks to bring more females into the golf industry – similar to Anne’s path as a female business owner.
If anything, Anne Moon, 43, thinks that her perspective as a female helps bring a softer, more connected side to the business. She doesn’t view it as an obstacle that she is a woman in a male-dominated industry, especially as her career progresses.
Anne started out conducting Callaway demo days and later worked as a regional rep for the club company before launching the store. She said those days felt like more of an uphill climb. Not every customer was thrilled to work with a female fitter or rep.
“After those first couple of years and when I got to know my customers and more importantly, they got to know me and my background, it all goes back to college golf,” she said. “Had I not been able to say I played for Kim Evans at Auburn University, that climb would have taken a lot longer. But that kind of paused it a little or slowed it down because then they knew I was a good player, and I really feel like that’s how you’re judged in this business. If you can play, then you’re a little bit more accepted, in my opinion.”
More than 20 years after she arrived on Evans’ roster, Moon still has the energy and unshakeable love for the game that drew her coach’s attention to her as a recruit. Moon being from nearby Birmingham made her a perfect fit. Evans, like many coaches, made it a priority to bring home the best in-state talent.
Moon was at Auburn from 1999 to 2003, during which time the Tigers won the SEC Championship twice (2000 and 2003) and finished sixth, fourth, second and ninth, respectively, at the NCAA Women’s Championship.
Evans remembers how difficult it was to make the lineup, but Moon was always ready to step in when she was needed. She was a golf nut even then. Evans has a telling memory of Moon gushing over a new pair of team-issued golf shoes. She loved them so much that she walked right out of Evans’ office wearing them, straight to class and on to the golf course. She was grateful, Evans remembers, for everything she got.
It’s that feeling that drives Moon to pour goodwill back into the game. Two years ago, the Moons donated more than 250 logoed golf bags to area high school golf teams. Moon Golf also began sponsoring an American Junior Golf Association tournament, and she now hosts two women’s NCAA Division I college events, helping bring as many eyes to women’s golf as possible.
“A lot of that,” Dan said, “is where Anne wants to give back and give others that opportunity.”
Dan calls Anne the “idea person” – the visionary who is thinking about the big-picture ideas while he is often building relationships on a store level.
It takes both skill sets. As Dan notes, “I don’t think it’s possible for two visionaries to be married, because nothing would ever get done.”
Dan Moon didn’t play on the varsity team while at Auburn, but he met Anne on a small golf course he joined called Auburn Lakes. A lot of days, Anne would leave team practice only to turn right around and keep playing with her friends. One evening, during an emergency nine at Auburn Lakes, Dan and his friends joined up with Anne and her group on the third hole.
“She took $10 off me that day,” he said. “I asked her out that night.”
Working together fell into place just as easily, but their complementary skills – and their support of what each person brings to the table – is a key component. At different times, each one has technically worked for the other, but they’ve always viewed it as working hand-in-hand. Dan jokes that while Anne can do everything for the business that he can do, he can do only 10 percent of what she can do. He’s been a staunch supporter of her career, pausing his when necessary so that hers could gain traction.
“Obviously there have been some times when it’s a little more challenging because we never planned on having multiple locations. … We do a really, really good job of still making sure we don’t miss out on things that matter.” — Anne Moon
Dan, for example, was a manager at Edwin Watts when a Callaway rep asked if he had anyone who would like to do demo days. He didn’t hesitate in volunteering his wife for the role.
“And she was a rock star,” Dan said. “She made his life so easy.”
By the time Dan was managing an up-and-coming Edwin Watts store in Savannah, Georgia, Anne got shortlisted by Callaway to take over a territory in Melbourne, Florida. Dan stood behind his wife again, insisting she take the interview. When she got the job, which led them to the town in which they’d eventually open the first Moon Golf store, he resigned with Edwin Watts and began doing demo days for Anne.
“I think she was kind of hand-picked a little bit on that one because she was so good at what she did,” he said. “She skipped two or three steps that a lot of the reps have to go through to get there. That just shows you her ability and her excellence.”
When the Moons, who have two children, decided to launch the store, they also decided that they wouldn’t bring it home with them.
“We’ve stuck to that, for the most part,” Anne said. “Obviously there have been some times when it’s a little more challenging because we never planned on having multiple locations. … We do a really, really good job of still making sure we don’t miss out on things that matter.”
They’ve also encouraged work-life balance for their more than 40 employees across four stores, making it a priority to create a team of individuals who feel valued and, as a result, want to take care of the business.
Anne believes Moon Golf has to differentiate itself from competitors and big-box retailers through the experience they create. A big part of that is to get customers talking – about golf or anything else – as soon as they come through the door.
“I dare one of you guys to get a review for us that says we talk too much,” Anne tells her employees, “because I would love to respond to that.”
After all, when it comes to the business of golf, engagement is the first thing Anne Moon would teach.