Location/phone: 338 Tilton Road, Northfield/609-377-8128 Hours of operation: Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Number of employees: 2 Known for: Golf club repair, new and used golfing equipment, and the largest selection of used clubs in South Jersey. Ron O’Toole has been in the golfing business most of his life, having spent 25 years as the caddie master at Linwood Country Club. Two years ago, he and wife Susan opened up Ronnie’s Golf Hospital & Pro Shop on Tilton Road in Northfield. The business features a full-service pro shop, driving range and miniature golf course. Glory Days Magazine publisher Dave O’Sullivan recently spoke to Ron about his business. Click here for more Glory Days Magazine high school sports coverage O’Toole on what he likes most about the business: I’ve been into golf all my life. I love it. It’s a great game. The great thing about golf is, you can be 3 years old or 103 and you can still play. I get to see beautiful golf courses in our area and get to play on some of them. You couldn’t ask for anything better.
Ron O’Toole works at putting a new grip on a golf club at his shop on Tilton Road in Northfield. Regripping clubs keeps Ron and wife Susan busy during the months leading up to the height of the golf season. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) On what a typical day is like: We do a lot of re-gripping because people need new grips every year, we do a lot of repair work on clubs. (Susan) is more of the gardener, so she’s outside a lot making the place look nice. We’re inside selling everything we can and doing what we can for people to help make the game a little easier. On the biggest challenge of starting a business: We’ve both been in business before. We had a book store many years ago. It was kind of a no-brainer coming back to golf again. Things run pretty smoothly. She covers me when I need to go fit somebody for clubs or give a lesson, so we work very well together. Of course, we are husband and wife, so we have our moments. But we enjoy it. I really enjoy the game of golf, so it’s great for me to see somebody come back to us after getting something and saying that they love the club. That gives me a thrill. On being in business with his wife: We butt heads on ideas sometimes, but we’re pretty good. When we get a day off, we go play golf and her big thing is to try to kick my butt on the course. That’s how she gets back at me. On what he likes most about supporting high school athletes: I think it’s great to get kids involved in the game, so we’re all for that, 100 percent. There are so many great things out there for kids to do. Glory Days is a great way to showcase everything because you guys have all the sports for the local kids. And it’s a great way for me to keep up with what is going on in the high schools because we have a lot of interest in that. And just to stay in touch with the community. We want to make this the ideal place to come to for golf where people can learn about the game, hit some shots, and just be the place to come to.
Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher
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