This year marks the 10th anniversary of Turtleson’s Tournaments and Outings program – called Turtleshop – which allows golf facilities to provide a “premium experience for participants that ensures the event reflects the highest level of service and attention to detail,” says Liv Varner, Turtleson’s Sales and Marketing Operations Manager.
“This program is designed to make event merchandising seamless and stress-free for our partners,” Varner continues. “Whether it’s a member-guest, charity tournament, corporate outing, PGA Section event, tour-level staff uniform program, gifting program or any other type of gathering, we provide a turnkey experience tailored to the host’s needs.”
Turtleshop is all about making the process as easy as possible so PGA of America Professionals and tournament organizers can concentrate on other aspects of the event. Once a gifting budget is set, the Turtleson team helps with product curation, customization and delivery, with each microsite tailored to the event with imagery, copy and product selection.
“It offers a personalized, premium experience for every participant rather than a one-size-fits-all item,” Varner says. “Instead of receiving the same generic gift season after season, participants enjoy a robust selection of items to choose from.”
Turtleshop has shown consistent growth year over year, with 137 events on the books in 2025 as of early August. One of these was the men’s member-guest with 132 players at Purpoodock Club in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. This was the second Turtleson event organized by Director of Golf Tony Decker, PGA, who says the microsite has a very professional look and feel, is easy to navigate and offers a good variety of products, including polos, quarter-zips, crewnecks and hoodies.
“We had done a similar thing two years ago with Turtleson, and our member-guest committee voted unanimously for Turtleson again this year for the tournament microsite,” he says. “They offer so many items and have great size runs. The items are boxed, labeled and each box is sorted alphabetically, and they were able to accommodate two last-minute changes.”
Decker also liked the fact that participants receive the link to the microsite about six weeks prior to the event because “that first impression is an important one, and Turtleson creates that ‘wow’ factor before they step foot on the property.”
Transit Valley Country Club in East Amherst, New York, has also used the Turtleshop microsite for two member-guest events: the 2025 Ralph Haas Invitational with 144 players and 2025 Clete Fox Invitational with a field of 72. According to PGA of America Director of Golf Matt Ferrelli, two services relating to the microsite that stood out were having someone from Turtleson specifically working on the events, and having all products visible to the members and guests so they could choose what they wanted or needed.
“I believe what set this microsite apart from others was the Turtleson team building the site specifically for the event,” Ferrelli says. “The welcome/home page was a great touch, adding a nice welcoming to the event. Having pictures of our club on the page made it feel like we as a club created it. I had great feedback.”
For the Clete Fox Invitational, the amount to spend was $130 per player, while the budget for the Ralph Haas event was $400 each. Jeff DiBona, Transit Valley’s Turtleson representative, put together a great variety of products, Ferrelli says, with about 30 percent of the players going over their allotted amount.
“The participants loved the gifting experience,” Ferrelli adds. “We displayed the boxes in alphabetical order; their names were very present on the gift boxes. The organization on our end was the easiest I’ve dealt with, as all orders were pre-packaged in their own boxes.”
Decker and Ferrelli both say Turtleshop has given them a point of difference among clubs in their area and beyond, with Ferrelli adding, “Members play in a lot of member-guests, whether they are local or throughout the country. How do we stand out from the rest and raise the bar in the area for our tournament gifts? With Turtleson, we did that.”
