It’s something Mark and Lynn Cramer, longtime owners and operators of the Denver Golf Expo, wrestle with every year:

How to draw big crowds for their three-day consumer golf show, which takes place in mid-winter but helps whet the appetite for the golf season in Colorado.

From 2008 through 2012, the Expo attracted more than 10,000 people four times in five years, including an all-time best 11,202 in 2008.

But since 2013, the Expo has never again reached the five-figure mark. Last year, the total attendance was 8,781.

To be sure, the weather has a huge influence on attendance. If it’s too warm, many golfers go out to play rather than come to the show. But a lot of snow or extreme cold can also keep numbers down.

“The weather has not been cooperating with us,” Mark Cramer said this week.”It’s kind of like the game of golf — it’s weather-dependent. Four of the last five years, we have not had good Golf Expo weather. It’s either been too nice or it’s been too nasty for the Golf Expo.”

Obviously, there’s nothing Expo organizers can do to control the weather in Colorado in February. So it’s up to the Cramers to find things that are in their control that may move the needle upward.

With that in mind, the Cramers are doing a little tweaking with this year’s Denver Golf Expo, which runs Feb. 8-10 at the Denver Mart (I-25 and 58th Ave.).

In particular, they’re focused on trying to attract more young and middle-aged adults to the show.

“We did a lot of research and talking to people after last year’s show,” Cramer said. “There’s a lot of these street fairs popping up, and they’re really popular. There’s music, beer and food and there are food trucks. They’re neighborhood happenings. The Millennials like that sort of thing. We want to incorporate some of that into the show — and we’re starting this year. Music and stuff like that.”

While it may be a multi-year, evolving plan, this year there will a new area at the Expo, called “The Turn”, that will replace the beer garden in the center of the Pavilion, and two additional food options on the Pavilion floor besides the one returning in the Plaza area. Also, for the first time, the closest to the pin contest on a simulated par-3 will feature two TrackMan launch monitors.

“This is in an effort to get more of the Gen X and the Millennials,” Cramer said. “I think we’ve got enough different events going on down there. We’ve got to give Millennials, Gen Xers and Gen Zs a reason to come. What they’ve got to see is other Millennials and Zs (there). They’ve got to be drawn into the game and made to feel welcome. That’s kind of the direction we’re going to try to take it.”

Still, Cramer isn’t sure 10,000 attendance for the three-day show is a readily-attainable goal. Baby Boomers, largely responsible for driving the growth in the game that took place in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, are getting up in years a bit, which could be taking a toll.

“Is 10,000 still realistic? I don’t know,” Cramer said. “That used to be the gold standard — to get 10,000. Last year we had a pretty good advertising plan, and we ended up with 8,781. If we lost 600 (due to bitterly cold Saturday weather), we would have been in the neighborhood of 9,300 or 9,400. So maybe 9,500 is the new normal. We got used to the over-10,000 number. But things have changed in the industry.”

However, other numbers in the Denver Golf Expo have been on a positive trend. For instance, exhibitors at the show went from 112 in 2017 to 131 last year, and are expected to hit a similar number in 2019. As usual, there will be plenty of those exhibitors offering deals on green fees, equipment, golf travel etc. Also up are the number of sponsors at the show.

In something that won’t change from years past, many of Colorado’s top golf organizations will be on hand to promote the game and offer services. ColoradoGolf.org will have more on that front early next week. Among those at the Expo will be the CGA, Colorado PGA, Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

As usual, Colorado PGA and LPGA professionals will be providing free 10-minute lessons to attendees, The First Tee of Denver will handle a pitching area, and the JGAC will be overseeing a large Junior Golf Experience area (left) which will include Birdie Ball full swing and chipping — complete with large inflatable targets — and miniature golf.

Another mainstay that’s back is the large club demo area run by Lenny’s Golf.

Other Expo highlights:

— Free seminars will be held each day of the Expo, with former Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley taking a “celebrity lesson” from a Colorado PGA pro on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. That will be after Stokley wraps up his live broadcast from the Expo from noon-3 that day on The Fan radio (104.3 FM). Jerry Walters’ “In the Fairway” program, also on The Fan, will broacast from the Expo on Feb. 9.

Among the other seminars will be the CGA’s Robert Duke conducting sessions on the modernized Rules of Golf on Feb. 8 (11 a.m.), Feb. 9 (2 p.m.) and Feb. 10 (noon).

For a lineup of all the seminars — which also include a variety of instruction and fitness tips — CLICK HERE.

— The grand prize for the winner of the closest to the pin contest on Sunday will be a trip to Maui, Hawaii, with golf at Royal Kaanapali and lodging at the Hyatt Regency. And the winner of the long-putt challenge putt-off receives a stay-and-play package at the Tubac Resort & Spa south of Tucson, Ariz.

— Forty tickets to the July Web.com Tour event at TPC Colorado will be given out over the P.A. system throughout the show, with another 40 awarded to qualifiers who return for Sunday’s long-putt challenge putt-off. The TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes also will have a physical presence at the show in booth 531.

“We’re getting a lot of feedback that the Denver show is one of the best consumer golf shows out there,” Cramer said. “We’re holding attendance (relatively steady, albeit under 10,000). There’s a lot of shows across the country that are not holding their attendance. That’s a credit to the Colorado Golf Association (and) the Colorado PGA Section that comes in so magnificently every year and supports us so we can do things like the Junior Golf Central, golf instruction, golf seminars, the First Tee of Denver doing the pitching lessons, Lenny’s getting all the manufacturers down for the club demo. A lot of people have embraced the show and gotten behind it.”

By the way, the Cramers, who have owned and operated the Denver Golf Expo since 2000, will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on June 2 at Denver Country Club.

“I can’t believe that happened,” Mark Cramer said. “Lynn and I are floored. But it’s the industry (in Colorado) that deserves it.”

Tickets for the Expo are available at DenverGolfExpo.com, at the Denver Mart during the show, and at participating Kings Soopers stores.

For more information about the Denver Golf Expo, CLICK HERE.
 

Saturday has historically been the busiest day at the Denver Golf Expo. Attendance that day often goes a long way toward determining how successful the three-day winter golf gathering will be.

This past Saturday, snow and bitter cold moved through the Denver metro area, which didn’t do the Expo any favors.

The result was an average attendance total by recent standards, rather than a number surpassing 10,000, like organizers had wanted.

The three-day show that ran Friday through Sunday drew 8,781 people to the Denver Mart. That’s down 3.9 percent from last year, but slightly surpasses the show’s five-year average from 2013-17 (8,744).

“I’m OK” with the total, said Mark Cramer, who along with his wife Lynn Cramer have owned and operated the Denver Golf Expo for the last 18 years. “I wanted more for exhibitors and for the industry. That’s all that about expectations. I set goals and expectations, and I want to meet those goals and expectations. But we had a hell of a storm and 15-degree weather. I know the weather hurt us. I can’t control that. The golf industry totally understands that. They’re a weather-dependent industry. They don’t have control of the weather at their golf courses. And I don’t have control of the weather during the Expo.”

A total of 3,142 people showed up on Saturday, a day when the number has reached 4,500 in the recent past.

The 8,781 total for the show was behind that of 2017 (9,136), but ahead of 2015 (7,195) and 2016 (8,130).

The record total for the show came in 2008, at 11,202. The Expo hit five figures four times from 2008-12, but hasn’t reached that milestone since.

While overall attendance dipped somewhat this year, other numbers were up. For instance, exhibitors jumped from 112 in 2017 to 131 this year. And the number of free 10-minute lessons Colorado PGA professionals provided went up from 306 last year to 344 over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the CGA’s two-day Rules of Golf Workshop, which returned to the Expo in 2017 after being away from the show for six years, sold out in advance for the second straight winter. This time, about 150 people attended. The CGA also conducted seminars at the Expo on USGA Tournament Management and GHIN certification.

“We were away from (the Expo for the Rules Workshop) for years,” said Ed Mate, executive director of the CGA. “Using this landmark date to do education (seminars and workshops) just makes sense.”

Also at the show, there was an area overseen by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado where kids could hit birdie balls and play games of putt-putt, and The First Tee of Denver ran a pitching area. The Colorado PGA organized a variety of seminars over the three days. And, with the Denver Golf Expo celebrating its 25th “birthday”, organizers periodically noted over the intercom things in golf that had taken place a quarter-century ago.

Walking through the show, Mark Cramer was struck by one thing this past weekend.

“One cool thing that I noticed was the diversity in ages, sex, race … I’ve never seen it this great. It was awesome,” he said.

As for the amount of business conducted at the show, “All the exhibitors I talked to did the same as last year or better,” Cramer said. “There were very few that were down. Almost all were telling me that it was up.”

Indeed, the attendance numbers didn’t lag for lack of advertising or marketing. There were local TV ads that aired during PGA Tour events, radio spots, an advertising supplement that ran in the Denver Post, and an ongoing presence on social media. Radio outlet 104.3 The Fan broadcast periodically at the show. “We knocked it out of park with promotion and advertising,” Cramer said.

Looking forward, there are some things the Cramers are looking to tweak.

One such item is the floor plan. Mark Cramer said he might return to the plan the show had several years ago and for roughly a decade before that.

“I want to have a different sense or feel when people come in,” Cramer noted. “I want them coming in and saying, ‘This is new.’ If you have all the exhibitors in the same booth spaces, some people just go to their favorites (and skip a lot of other areas). If we mix it up, people have to go through the whole thing and they have a different experience.”

Cramer said another priority is to beef up the show’s sponsorship.

“If we can get more money in, we can spend more with the production, advertising (and) make it easier for the exhibitors to exhibit,” he said. “Lynn and I have to get this part of the show working better.”

And, depending on how things play out in the interim, Cramer is considering the viability of bringing back the Used Club Sale, a longtime fixture at the show that has been absent the last two years.

“That’s one of my goals, but I’ve got to see if there’s a market,” he said.

“I said, ‘Nothing like this is going on in Colorado,'” he remembers — and wondering why not.

With that, Fenn decided to do something about this perceived void. That something was to help found the Denver Golf Expo.

That just happened to be 25 years ago, and though Fenn sold the show to Mark Cramer and his wife Lynn in 2000, it’s still going strong a quarter-century later. The 2018 show is scheduled for Feb. 9-11 at the Denver Mart (I-25 and 58th Ave.).

Fenn, who worked for AGT Sports at the time, established the Expo with some help from fellow Colorado PGA professional Danny Harvanek, who will be inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in May, and a little funding from a former Denver Broncos player.

That first show was held at the Colorado Convention Center, but it would take rose-colored glasses to say it was a success.

“It was way too expensive” for the revenue it produced, said Fenn, now a PGA director of instruction and co-founder of the Golf Academy of Northern Colorado, as well as a radio host of the Morning Cup of Golf show that airs on Saturday mornings during the golf season. “We lost quite a bit of money the first year.”

AGT Sports left the local scene not long thereafter, but not before Fenn acquired the rights to the Denver Golf Expo.

For seven consecutive years, Fenn spent about half his work time organizing and running the Expo, with the show being held at the Denver Mart from Year 2 on, normally in February, as now.

Fenn said attendance for the inaugural year at the Convention Center was about 3,500, with the number jumping to about 5,600 the first year at the Denver Mart. He said attendance came close to 10,000 one year, but the norm was in the 6,000-8,500 range.

“I started from scratch and did everything from the bottom up,” Fenn noted. “I had to find a (host facility), decorators … It was a big job for six months every year. The other half of the year I was teaching.

“But I brought in all the organizations — the CGA and the PGA. I wanted them to be at the event, and that helped us build.

“I wanted to bring in people and expose them to golf. The show has been a big part of golf in Colorado. People look forward to go to it. But it’s changed and evolved.”

When Fenn helped found the Golf Academy of Northern Colorado in Fort Collins, he decided to focus on that and sell the Expo. So in 2000, he agreed to terms with Mark and Lynn Cramer, who had introduced themselves a few years before and were no strangers to running trade shows. In 2001, the Cramers operated the show for the first time, and it’s continued to be a fixture on the winter calendar for many golf aficionados in the state.

“Mark and Lynn have done a great job,” Fenn said. “I just had one building at the Mart” for the Expo as opposed to the two the event occupies now.

One of the first things Mark Cramer did upon acquiring the Expo was to meet with leadership from the CGA and the Colorado PGA. It took some time, but the associations soon bought in fully, to the point where now they both play very large roles at the show — in the seminars, with the Junior Golf Central section, the PGA’s free 10-minute lesson area, the 2-day Rules of Golf workshop, and tournament management training and handicap certification.

Cramer said one major reason for the success of the Expo over the years has been the support of the CGA and Colorado PGA.

“Our original tagline was a ‘winter gathering of the Colorado golf industry,'” Cramer noted. “We wanted to round up the industry behind the show. We’ve tried to do that with all shows we’ve done.” The golf associations and other supportive organizations “are some incredible people to work with. They all come up underneath the show with meaningful support so it comes off every year. I don’t have the time to manage all (the different interactive things going on at the Expo). They’re the ones that operate those things.”

And Cramer has tried to reciprocate. For instance, he said the Expo has made donations totaling $85,000 over the years to the Colorado PGA’s charitable foundation, now known as Colorado PGA REACH.

Cramer, an enthusiastic golfer besides being an experienced trade show operator, said that Fenn “did a great job promoting” the Expo when he operated it, but the Cramers made some changes that helped take it to the next level.

The Cramers added more general golf retailers — not just those operating golf shops at courses — and encouraged the PGA professionals at the Expo to bring more products/services to the show to sell.

“Courses didn’t have to promote (to do a strong business) until the 2000s, and (many of them) didn’t know how to do it,” Cramer said. “Golf courses would hand out tees and scorecards (at the Expo). It was like, ‘OK, thanks.’ It was a process of educating them and getting them to sell things out of the booth. Fox Hollow led the way with four packs of rounds for $100. Everyone else would see people line up for that each year, and they’d be sold out of 1,000 of them by Saturday afternoon.

“I’m a passionate golfer and love everything about it. And we knew how to market to exhibitors. There’s a learning curve for public shows.”

In the last 10 years, attendance at the Denver Golf Expo has fluctuated from a low of 7,195 in 2015 to an all-time high of 11,202 in 2008, just prior to the Great Recession. Last year’s total for the three-day show was 9,136, the most since 2014.

Next week, we’ll preview details of the 2018 Denver Golf Expo. The hours for the show are:

Friday, Feb. 9 — 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 10 — 9 a.m.-5 p.m.”¨
Sunday, Feb. 11 — 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Tickets run $13 for adults, $11 for seniors (over 50) and military with ID, and $3 for kids 16 and under.

For more information about the Expo, CLICK HERE.

But some years have more change than others. And 2017 figures to be one of those “more change than usual” years for the Denver Golf Expo, which will be held for the 24th time.

Let’s hit upon some of the significant alterations for this winter’s show, which will be held Feb. 10-12 at the Denver Mart (58th and I-25):

— After two years of the Expo being held in the second half of February, the show will be moved up 10 days or so, to its more traditional dates. And with no conflict with the Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day, Expo owner and operator Mark Cramer hopes a boost in attendance is in the works — assuming the weather cooperates.

“We’re expecting a huge year on attendance — fingers crossed,” he said last week. “We had two brutal years (due to a snowstorm in 2015 and unseasonably warm temperatures last year). And we’re back to the week after the Super Bowl. Traditionally, that’s been good dates for us — and good Expo weather. Hopefully, there’s pent-up demand.”

The last two years, the three-day show has attracted 7,195 (2015) and 8,130 people (2016). That’s not up to the Expo’s traditional norm. The show has hit five figures, attendance-wise, on several occasions, with the all-time high being 11,202 in 2008.

— As far as activities at the Denver Golf Expo, some of the biggest changes fall under the purview of the CGA. A two-day Rules of Golf Workshop was a fixture at the Expo for years, but was discontinued after 2010. However, it’s back this year, on Feb. 11-12, and as of last week the event was virtually a sellout via pre-registration. Among those scheduled to speak at the Rules Workshop are Mark Passey from the USGA, CWGA and USGA rules official Karla Harding, and various CGA officials.

“The (workshop) has been a complete home run. It’s big for us to bring that back,” said Dustin Jensen, managing director of operations for the CGA.

Also during the Expo, the CGA is helping member clubs transition to the USGA’s new Tournament Management software.

Meanwhile, gone this year from the Expo is the CGA Used Club Sale, which had proven to be quite a labor-intensive endeavor. Instead, the CGA will focus on the Rules Workshop and engagement with members and potential members at the Expo. Filling the Used Club Sale’s usual spot at the Denver Mart will be a minature golf area, adjacent to Junior Golf Central. The CGA and the Colorado PGA, founding partners of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, will team up for junior golf-related efforts at the Expo, most notably Junior Golf Central, which will have a “Drive Chip & Putt” theme again this year.

— The Colorado PGA’s free 10-minute lesson area, which had long been a fixture near the back of the Expo area, will move much close to the entrance this year for the first time, between the seminar stage and Junior Golf Central. Taking the space the PGA instruction area/Junior Golf Central formerly occupied will be the First Tee of Denver’s pitching contest.

The list of seminars that will be conducted by Colorado PGA members, CGA officials and others are listed below.

— Among the new exhibitors at the Expo this year will be the 2018 U.S. Senior Open, set for The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs. The Senior Open will mark the first USGA championship held in Colorado since the 2012 U.S. Amateur.

Meanwhile, here’s what’s planned at the CGA and CWGA booths, both located near the front entrance of the Expo:

CGA: With the CGA launching a new-look website with additional features during Expo week, the association will be informing Expo visitors about its new online “Member Zone”, which will go live with the new website. The Member Zone will give members access to discounts and special offers related to golf, travel, and business products and services. Among the businesses participating in the Member Zone will be Office Depot, Avis and Budget, Wyndham Hotels and Imperial, which will offer CGA headwear.

CGA members who stop by the association’s Expo booth will receive a goodie bag. Those who join the CGA for the first time during the Expo can spin a prize wheel for larger gifts, including complimentary golf at the associaton-owned CommonGround Golf Course.

CWGA: The CWGA, which launched a new website of its own at the very end of 2016, will roll out an expanded lineup of CWGA Experience events at the Expo. Experience events, which debuted in 2010, provide female golfers with high-quality group instruction from LPGA and/or PGA professionals in a friendly and welcoming environment. Featured are separate sessions on full swing, chipping, putting, and basic of the Rules of Golf, along with lunch.

This year, for the first time, five CWGA Experience events are planned: May 13 at Overland Golf Course in Denver, May 20 at Pelican Lakes in Windsor, June 3 at Tiara Rado in Grand Junction, July 8 at City Park in Denver, and Aug. 6 at Fossil Trace in Golden.

“The feedback from all the Experiences has been wonderful,” said CWGA executive director Laura Robinson. “We’re trying to broaden our reach to new golfers, and the Experience is a great way to do that.”

At the Expo, the CWGA will be holding a raffle in which the winner and a friend can attend a CWGA Experience event for free.

The CWGA is also kicking off fundraising — through the sale of its centennial water bottles — for the 2018 Girls Junior America’s Cup, which the association will host at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen.

Generally speaking at the Expo, “We’re looking to have a large presence to encourage more women to play golf,” Robinson said.

Cramer loves that the major golf associations in the state buy into the Denver Golf Expo so wholeheartedly.

“We’re so blessed to have the people that we have here, with the (PGA) Section, the CGA, the Junior Golf Alliance and the CWGA,” Cramer said.

This year’s Expo will feature a grand prize — valued at $9,000 — of a trip for four to Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Attendees that register will be automatically entered in the grand prize drawing.

Denver Golf Expo
Highlights, Essentials for 2017 Show

What: 24th annual Denver Golf Expo.

When: Feb. 10-12.
 Open Friday, Feb. 10, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
 Saturday, Feb. 11, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
 Sunday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Where: Denver Mart (58th Ave., just east of I-25).

Tickets:
Adults, $13; Seniors, $11; Military/Vets with I.D., $11; Kids 16 and Under, $3.
Available at King Soopers and by CLICKING HERE, or the Denver Mart during Expo days.

Scheduled Educational Seminars:
— Using your Wedge the Way It Was Designed (Nathan Morris, GolfTEC), Friday 10:15-10:45 a.m.
— Taking Your Game the Extra Degree (Ty Walker, GolfTEC), Friday 11-11:30 a.m.
— Rules of Golf Explained (CGA), Friday noon-12:30 p.m.
— Swing TRU Motion Study: The Most Comprehensive Fact-Based Swing Study Ever Conducted (Nick Clearwater, GolfTEC), Friday 1-1:30 p.m.
— Ground Force, For More Speed (Jason Witczak, Green Valley Ranch GC), Friday 2-2:30 p.m.
— Ground Force, For More Speed (Jason Witczak, Green Valley Ranch GC), Saturday 10:15-10:45 a.m.
— Rules of Golf Explained (CGA), Saturday noon-12:30 p.m.
— Plan, Think and Work Your Way to Better Golf (Doug Wherry, Jake’s Academy), Saturday, 1-1:30 p.m.
— Live Lesson with Audience Member (Trent Wearner, Trent Wearner Golf Academy), Saturday, 2-2:30 p.m.
— Why Your Ball Curves and What You Need to Do to Fix It (Trent Wearner, Trent Wearner Golf Academy), Sunday 10:15-10:45 a.m.
— Ground Force, For More Speed (Jason Witczak, Green Valley Ranch GC), Sunday 11-11:30 a.m.
— Swing Like a Girl — How to Get More Distance Off the Tee (Alex Phillips), Sunday, noon-12:30 p.m.
— How Does Your Body Really Work for Golf (Doug Wherry, Jake’s Academy), Sunday 1-1:30 p.m.

Major Colorado Golf Organization Booths: CGA #1215; CWGA #1218; Colorado Golf Hall of Fame #1306-1308; the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado #1330.

Junior Golf Central, including the Drive Chip & Putt activities, will be located immediately to the right upon descending the stairs from the main entrance to the Expo. The area where Colorado PGA professionals will give free 10-minute lessons to all interested Expo attendees is adjacent to Junior Golf Central.

For a full list of exhibitors, CLICK HERE. 

Expo floorplan: CLICK HERE. 

For more information: CLICK HERE.  

When: Friday through Sunday (Feb. 19-21).
 Open Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
 Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
 Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Where: Denver Mart (58th Ave., just east of I-25).

Tickets:
Adults, $13; Seniors, $11; Military/Vets with I.D., $11; Kids 16 and Under, $3.
Available by CLICKING HERE, or at King Soopers or the Denver Mart during Expo days.

Sutton Appearance: Hal Sutton, winner of 14 PGA Tour events, is scheduled to participate in an Expo Q&A on Friday from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. For more information, CLICK HERE.

Scheduled Educational Seminars:
— 30 Days to Break Your Personal Par (Andy Hilts), Friday 10:15-10:45 a.m.
— Hal Sutton Q&A (Jerry Walters), Friday 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
— 30, 30, 3 Recipe to Score Better (Ty Walker, GolfTEC), Friday, 1-1:30 p.m.
— Two Swing Keys to Hitting the Ball Farther and Lowering Your Scores (Patrick Nuber, GolfTEC), Friday 2-2:30 p.m.
— Target-Proof Your Wedges 80 Yards and In (Stan Sayers, Colorado GC), Saturday 10-10:30 a.m.
— Key Changes in 2016 Rules of Golf (Alex Crall, CGA), Saturday noon-12:30 p.m.
— Move Well, Play Well (Dee Tidwell, Colorado Golf Fitness Club), Saturday 1-1:30 p.m.
— Unlocking the Secrets to Successful Putting (Jerry Walters, Trent Wearner Golf Academy), Saturday 2-2:30 p.m.
— Key Changes in 2016 Rules of Golf (Alex Crall, CGA), Sunday 10:15-10:45 a.m.
— Unlocking the Secrets to Successful Putting (Jerry Walters, Trent Wearner Golf Academy), Sunday 11-11:30 a.m.
— Target-Proof Your Wedges 80 Yards and In (Stan Sayers, Colorado GC), Sunday noon-12:30 p.m.
— How to Hit It Farther (Kelly Plaisier, Trent Wearner Golf Academy, Sunday 1-1:30 p.m.

CGA Used Club Sale: The CGA will hold its annual Used Club Sale (located just to the right of the entry area), with all the proceeds benefiting youth golf programs and initiatives in Colorado. The Used Club Sale has netted almost $60,000 for junior golf over the last four years combined.

Major Colorado Golf Organization Booths: CGA #1215; CWGA #1218; Colorado Golf Hall of Fame #1308; the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado #1330.

Junior Golf Central, including the Drive Chip & Putt activities, will be located at the west end of the Expo. The area where Colorado PGA professionals will give free 10-minute lessons to all interested Expo attendees is adjacent to Junior Golf Central.

For a full list of exhibitors, CLICK HERE. 

For more information: CLICK HERE. 

The Denver Golf Expo has undergone plenty of tweaking over its 21-year run. There’s always something that gets changed from year to year in attempts to make the show better or to attract more attendees.

This winter’s 22nd annual Expo will be no different in that respect. And for the first time in recent years, one of those alterations will involve a small but notable change of dates.

In recent years, the Expo has been a fixture at the Denver Mart (58th Ave. and I-25) during the first two weeks of February — usually the second weekend of the month. In the past half-dozen years, it’s always been held sometime between Feb. 6-14. But this year, the 10,000 or so regular attendees of the show will mark a different set of dates on their calendar.

With show organizers especially aware of not wanting to compete against the Super Bowl (Feb. 1 this year) or Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), the Expo will have some of its latest dates ever, Feb. 20-22 — two weeks later than last year.

“We never want to be up against the Super Bowl, and Valentine’s Day is historically not good for us,” said Mark Cramer, who owns and operates the Denver Golf Expo along with his wife, Lynn. “Couples are doing couples’ things that day — understandably so — and attendance drops off.”

Attendance for the Expo has fallen each of the last three years, so perhaps a date change might help in that regard. As always, much will depend on the weather that weekend. But Cramer is taking some proactive steps to attract more visitors to the show.

Most notably, in order reach more people who might attend, Cramer hired a Boulder-based internet marketing firm to rebuild the Expo web site (denvergolfexpo.com) and help with search-engine optimization. That search-engine work is designed to give the show an even higher profile among golf fans, particularly in the weeks and days leading up to the Expo.

“Everything is going mobile and internet regarding marketing and advertising; newspaper, TV and radio and not pulling like they used to,” Cramer said. “All the years I’ve done this (since July of 2000), every year I hear ‘I forgot about it or didn’t see any advertising’. It drives me nuts because we always spend a lot of money on advertising in order to get as many people in as we can. So I hope what we’re doing will pop up in attendance.”

And, as in recent years, the Expo will run ads locally during telecasts of tour events as the show approaches.

During the Expo itself, Cramer is planning more interactive activities, as attendees have requested through surveys.

As has regularly been the case since the Cramers began running the Denver Golf Expo, the CGA, CWGA, CJGA and Colorado PGA will have a major presence at the show, hoping to grow the game by reaching out to attendees.

Among their efforts will be the Used Club Sale (pictured above), which benefits junior developmental programs; the newly renamed “Junior Golf Central” for kids; the Colorado PGA’s free 10-minute golf lessons; and educational seminars that will take place throughout the Expo, including the USGA Handicap Seminar that CGA and CWGA staffers will conduct.

In addition, as part of the CGA’s centennial year celebration in 2015, the association will publicly launch its new logo and branding at the Expo. Both the CGA and CWGA, with adjacent booths at the Denver Mart, will be promoting their core programming and the many and varied services that they provide. CWGA members who show their GHIN membership card — or the smart-phone equivalent — will receive a memento.

The CGA and CJGA continue to accept donations for the Used Club Sale both at their office (5990 Greenwood Plaza Blvd., Suite #102, in Greenwood Village) and at the PGA Tour Superstore (9451 E. Arapahoe Road, just east of I-25) during normal business hours. For those who can’t travel to donate clubs, the CGA/CJGA can pick up donations in the metro area. To arrange for that, call 303-366-4653. Reminder: The associations no longer accept clubs on consignment for the Used Club Sale — just straight donations.

Junior Golf Central, which evolved out of the Junior Golf Experience (left), will have a “Drive, Chip and Putt” theme this year, playing off the championship of the same name that was launched in 2013 by the Masters Tournament Foundation, the USGA and the PGA of America. The DC&P Championship is a free nationwide junior skills competition — designed to promote interest and participation in golf — that culminates each year on the Sunday before the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

Drive, Chip and Putt holds local and regional qualifiers throughout the U.S. for boys and girls age 7-15. This year, local qualifiers will be conducted in June and July in Colorado (CLICK HERE for sites), with winners advancing to the sub-regional Aug. 30 at CommonGround Golf Course. From there, the top players go to Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., for the regionals on Sept. 19.

At the Denver Golf Expo, each of the three skills (drive, chip and putt) will be part of Junior Golf Central. The Colorado PGA, which hosts the local and sub-regional DC&P qualifiers in the state, will have a running leaderboard throughout the weekend. And the long drives for kids will be announced over the public-address system.

All in all, Cramer hopes the efforts of event organizers and participants make for a better show than ever.

“We always try to hit all the right bases,” he said.

For a list of exhibitors who plan to participate in the Denver Golf Expo, CLICK HERE.
 

Attendance at the Denver Golf Expo has dipped slightly each of the last two years, but you wouldn’t know it by the results of the CGA and CWGA’s Used Club Sale conducted at the event.

The 12th annual sale, which raises money for the associations’ youth developmental programs, has set records each of the last two years at the Expo, which this year is set for Friday through Sunday (Feb. 7-9) at The Denver Mart, located at I-25 and 58th Ave.

In 2012, the Used Club Sale doubled its intake from the previous year by netting about $16,000 for youth programs. And last year, that figure increased to $17,500.

“The generosity of the golf community has been awesome,” said Eric Wilkinson, the CGA’s director of junior competitions and the point man in the Used Club Sale. “We had a lady come into the PGA Tour Superstore and said she wanted to make sure her donation was going to the Used Club Sale. So it’s starting to have a snowball effect with a lot of word of mouth.”

Wilkinson said between donations collected at the Tour Superstore and elsewhere, there’s a storage unit completely full of clubs and other equipment.

“It’s comparable or we have more than last year,” he said. “We have a ton of sets, more than what we had last year. It’s been another great year of receiving donations.”

Said Mark Cramer, who owns and operates the Expo along with his wife, Lynn: “The CJGA has that (Used Club Sale) running like a machine.”

One variable this year is that consignments are no longer being accepted, so all clubs and equipment involved in the Used Club Sale will be donations. Donations for the sale can be made this week at the north side main entrance of the Denver Mart, from noon to 3 p.m. on Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday.

“We’re obviously going to try to exceed what we’ve done in the year before (in raising money), but if we hit last year’s mark, that would be great,” Wilkinson said.

Meanwhile, another major youth-oriented exhibit, the Junior Golf Experience activity center, will remain a popular mainstay of the Expo, but it won’t be found in its usual spot. It’s been moved to the Pavilion, adjacent to the area where the Colorado PGA conducts its free 10-minute lessons.

“With that one huge area, hopefully it will be an added attraction,” said Eddie Ainsworth, executive director for the Colorado PGA. “We’re looking forward to doing that.”

And Ainsworth said the Colorado PGA plans to advertise its new tee time network, which is scheduled to go live in the first week of April. And at their exhibit area, the CGA and CWGA will be trying to attract new members. Existing CGA and CWGA members can receive a free gift by stopping by the associations’ exhibit — a free bucket of practice balls at CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA.

With all that, plus a lot of great golf deals, a club demo area, free education seminars and a lot more, it should certainly be enough to whet the appetite of golfers looking forward to the 2014 season.

“We’re glad the season is right around the corner,” Ainsworth said.

21st Annual Denver Golf Expo: Just the Essentials


What: 21st Denver Golf Expo.
   


When: Feb. 7-9 (Friday through Sunday).

Where: The Denver Mart (I-25 and 58th Ave.)



Show Hours: Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
 

Ticket Prices: adults, $13; seniors (50 and over) and military with ID, $11; kids 16 and under, $3.


Tickets Available: At the door at the Denver Mart or at TicketsWest at King Soopers.
 


Parking: Free.

Show Features: The Junior Golf Experience activity center (now located in the Pavilion, near the Colorado PGA instruction area), free swing seminars from Colorado PGA professionals, Used Club Sale to benefit CGA and CWGA junior golf developmental programs, free educational seminars beginning at 10 a.m. each day, club demo area.
 


Donations for Used Club Sale Accepted: Drop off at the north side main entrance of the Denver Mart Thursday, noon to 3 p.m.; and Friday, 8 a.m.-noon. (Note: There are no consignments accepted this years; all clubs dropped off are simply donations.)

For More Information: CLICK HERE
 

Educational Seminars Scheduled for Expo

Friday, Feb. 7, 10-10:30 a.m. — Building business on and off the course (CWGA)

Friday, Feb. 7, 11-11:30 a.m. — Impact drills for better ball-striking (Kevin Cubbage, PGA)

Friday, Feb. 7, noon-12:30 p.m. — Golf training aids (Rick Timm, PGA)

Friday, Feb. 7, 1-1:30 p.m. — Great wedge play and utilizing bounce (Nathan Morris, PGA)

Friday, Feb. 7, 2-2:30 p.m. — Dispelling golf’s common myths and misconceptions (Patrick Nuber, PGA)

Friday, Feb. 7, 3-3:30 p.m. — How to improve your game by 5 shots this year (Ed Oldham, PGA)

Friday, Feb. 7, 4-4:30 p.m. — Rules of Golf (Alex Crall, CGA)

Saturday, Feb. 8, 10-10:30 a.m. — Building business on and off the course (CWGA)

Saturday, Feb. 8, 11-11:30 a.m. — Is your game painful? Three ways to reduce the pain in your game (Dee Tidwell)

Saturday, Feb. 8, noon-12:30 p.m. — How to take a successful golf lesson (Rick Timm, PGA)

Saturday, Feb. 8, 1-1:30 p.m. — The elements of playing better (Trent Wearner, PGA)

Saturday, Feb. 8, 2-2:30 p.m. — Aimpoint green reading: Stop guessing (Scott Hofer, PGA)

Saturday, Feb. 8, 3-3:30 p.m. — Innovative mobile golf instruction & entertainment fore everyone (Casey Schiel, PGA)

Saturday, Feb. 8, 4-4:30 p.m. — Rules of Golf (Alex Crall, CGA)

Sunday, Feb. 9, 10-10:30 a.m. — Innovative mobile golf instruction & entertainment fore everyone (Casey Schiel, PGA)

Sunday, Feb. 9, 11-11:30 a.m. — Building business on and off the course (CWGA)

Sunday, Feb. 9, noon-12:30 p.m. — P3: Plan, practice, perform (Steve Patterson, PGA)

Sunday, Feb. 9, 1-1:30 p.m. — Junior golf opportunities (Rick Timm, PGA)

Sunday, Feb. 9, 2-2:30 p.m. — Rules of Golf (Alex Crall, CGA)
 

But one event that makes spring golf seem not quite so far off is the Denver Golf Expo, which uses the catch phrase, “Your Season Starts Here.”

The 2014 Expo will take place a month from now, Feb. 7-9, at the Denver Mart (I-25 and 58th Ave.).

The 21st annual Expo will be familiar in many respects, but several notable changes await those who plan to attend:

— The decision by officials of the Denver Mart to require compensation for parking during the Denver Golf Expo has had some repercussions.

In response to the requirement, those running the Expo surveyed many of its customers about the parking situation. More than 1,600 responded, roughly 1,500 left comments, and 85 percent were unhappy with the prospect of paying for parking when it’s been free in the past.

Subsequently, Mark Cramer, who owns and operates the Expo along with his wife Lynn, decided to buy out the Denver Mart parking lots for $8,000. That will keep the parking free for the 2014 Expo, though it’s also led to small admission cost increases.

Adult attendees will pay $13, and seniors and military with I.D. will be charged $11 — in both cases $1 more than last year. In addition, where kids 12 and under used to be admitted for free, now attendees 16 and under will pay $3. Exhibitor pricing has also increased after the Expo’s rent went up.

“We have to recover the $8,000 (parking buyout) somewhere,” Mark Cramer said. “Some people (in the survey) don’t differentiate between us and the Mart, but we’re not the Mart. But the new owners (of the Mart) are putting a lot of money into the place, and you can’t blame them for trying to recover those costs. It is what it is.”

— The Southern Colorado Golf and Travel Expo, run by the same organizers as the Denver Golf Expo, has been discontinued, apparently for good.

The Southern Colorado show was held in Colorado Springs in 2010 and 2013, but it won’t return this year, Cramer said.

A major spring snowstorm led to attendance of just 1,600 for the two-day show last year — a little more than half of the 2010 total — but in general Cramer said the Southern Colorado Expo didn’t have the support it needed to be financially viable.

Beyond that, Cramer said that Denver Golf Expo attendance dipped both of the years there was also a show in Colorado Springs.

Cramer had signed a three-year deal — starting in 2013 — to hold the Southern Colorado Expo, but he had an escape clause in case the show wasn’t financially viable.

— Unlike recent years, the Season Tee-Off Luncheon, hosted by the Allied Golf Associations of Colorado (including the CGA, CWGA and Colorado PGA) won’t be held at the Golf Expo this year.

The establishment of a “G-4 Summit” — a day-long series of events involving the top golf associations in Colorado, along with other key individuals — led to the change. The G-4 Summit, designed to promote collaborative efforts to work on problems golf faces, will be held Feb. 11 at the Inverness Hotel & Golf Club.

— The Junior Golf Experience, one of the popular mainstays of the Denver Golf Expo in recent years, will return this year but it’s moving out of its traditional spot at the Denver Mart. Instead of being situated not far from the Expo entrance, it’ll be placed adjacent to the area where the Colorado PGA conducts its free 10-minute golf lessons for attendees.

Meanwhile, other major mainstays of the Expo — the CGA/CWGA Used Club Sale, a golf demo area, and swing and topical seminars — will remain where they’ve been in past years.

Speaking of the Used Club Sale, no consignment items will be accepted this year, unlike in previous years. All clubs and equipment that will be sold will come from donations.