It was the grand opening of the Pavilion, which is the biggest merchandise tent ever in the history of a woman’s golf event.
It was wall-to-wall golf gewgaws and golf-related clothing in the Pavilion — a stockpile of merchandise that has been two years in the planning, said Tish Preuss of the Bell Retail Group.
Bell Retail is based in Colorado Springs, and this is the first USGA event it has worked. However, Preuss said she and her three partners bring many decades of golf-playing experience to the table.
“Pine Needles hired us even though we’ve never done a golf event before,” Preuss said. “But we’ve been playing competitive golf all our lives, and we’ve been involved in the retail industry just as long, so it seemed like a natural fit.”
Preuss and her associates have filled the Merchandise Pavilion with such name-brand golf clothing as Tommy Hilfiger and Bobby Jones, as well as golf paraphernalia such as child-sized clubs and scores of baseball hats emblazoned with the “2001 U.S. Women’s Open” legend.
“We’ve tried to provide plenty of goods for men, women, and children,” Preuss said. “And since this is being held in North Carolina, we’ve also got a special section of North Carolina-related products. If it was in Michigan, we’d have a section for Michigan-themed items.
“Our hope is that we can break the record for merchandise sold at a women’s golf event. I’m not sure what that record is, but we hope to sell over $1 million in merchandise. And we think we’ve put together some fine merchandise that will definitely have folks opening their pocketbooks.”
Helping the customers navigate the maze of goods will be a staff of 35 greeters, supervised by Mary Wittpenn.
Wittpenn is a veteran of major golf events, having worked as a greeter at the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
“I love people and I love golf, so this is just wonderful for me,” Wittpenn said. “And I’ve got a great staff of greeters to make the customers feel welcome and answer all their questions. And there’s only one way in and one way out, so they’ll be sure to get a good view of everything that’s for sale.”
To help lighten the loads of the customers, the Pavilion staff has a separate “check tent” to house purchased goods loading down the golf spectators.
“If they buy too much to carry, we’ll take care of their stuff for them,” Wittpenn said. “It’s all about making this the best buying experience possible.”
Overseeing the bustling crowd like a proud father as they filled their bags with Open-related merchandise was Pine Needles CEO Kelly Miller.
Miller congratulated the Championship staff and made an unabashed plug for the USGA to bring the Open back to Pine Needles soon.
“I’m a little biased, but I don’t see how they could not bring it back here,” Miller said. “With everything we’ve put in place and the support of the community and the state, I think this is the perfect situation for the Open to return. You need that cooperation from the state and community, and I think the USGA is very pleased with the support that’s been associated with this championship.
“We’ve already sold more tickets than we did for the Women’s Open when it was here in 1996, so we’re hoping to break the all-time attendance record, and if the weather cooperates, I’m confident we will. And I’m just so pleased and confident with what the staff has done that I have no jitters at all. This is going to be a wonderful tournament.”
