Football Season in the Golf Shop: Displays, Promotions and Member Engagement Ideas

Fill the Field

Get ready for kickoff with these prop ideas:

• Artificial turf as a table runner or display base
• Goalposts made from PVC, wood, cardboard or display fixtures
• Football helmets
• Referee stripes
• Chalkboard scoreboards
• Megaphones
• Whistles
• Football cones
• Foam fingers
• Team-color pom-poms
• Football playbooks
• Stadium lights or marquee bulbs

Golf products can get in on the action too. Arrange boxes of golf balls into a football stadium, use tees as yard markers, or turn an existing putting area into a miniature football field for a short time.

Friendly Competition

If a popular local or regional team has a big matchup coming up, merchandise accordingly. Set up opposing displays highlighting each team and maybe throw a little friendly shade toward the competition. This can be done subtly through colorblocking or more blatantly with signage, score predictions and playful rivalry messaging.

This is especially effective with college football, where nearby schools and longstanding rivalries may already divide your membership.

Tailgate Party

For a less-typical football display (and also to promote your beverage containers), create a display inspired by a tailgate party. Set the scene with coolers, folding chairs, drinkware, popcorn containers filled with golf balls, blankets, and seat cushions. Add in a few fall apparel pieces and accessories, and you’ve created a complete “game-day essentials” assortment.

Local Team Spirit

College football gives shops an opportunity to make displays feel particularly local. Try incorporating pennants or decor representing nearby schools, or build a display around the colors of universities that are popular among your membership. Even without carrying officially licensed collegiate merchandise, color stories are often immediately recognizable and can bring school spirit into the shop.

Go Vintage 

Give your display an old-school football feel with vintage-style leather helmets, lockers, old play diagrams, pennants, varsity letters, retro megaphones, framed stadium photos or vintage-inspired signage. Paired with heritage-style apparel, sweaters, polos, and classic accessories, this display concept touches on the love of the game while being elevated enough for more conservative clubs. 

Starting Lineup

Turn featured merchandise into the shop’s starting lineup by assigning positions to products based on their roles in the assortment. Your bestselling polo might be the quarterback, reliable rainwear could anchor the defense, and accessories could take over special teams. New arrivals can also become draft picks with signs such as “First Round Pick,” “Top Prospect,” “Rookie of the Year Contender” or “Shop MVP.” You can also encourage staff members to select their own first-round picks and share why they chose them, giving customers another way to discover new merchandise.

Ask Members to Predict the Super Bowl

Kick off the season with a prediction contest members will have to wait months to finish.

During the first week or two of games, invite members to fill out a card predicting the Super Bowl matchup and eventual winner. Add additional categories like “final score” or “MVP” for a tiebreaker. 

Then, seal the predictions away until February. If someone gets it right, reward them with shop credit, a merchandise prize, complimentary personalization, or another incentive.

Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, GA

Lauren Blackburn - Corpus Christi Country Club - Corpus Christi, TX

College Pride

Do you know where your members and guests went to school? Football season is a perfect excuse to find out.

Create a Where Did You Go to College? board and invite members to add their alma mater. Schools that appear repeatedly might even inspire future displays or buying decisions.

Shops could also create a Who Does Our Club Root For? display where members cast votes using golf tees, tokens, or mini footballs.

You may discover that your membership is overwhelmingly loyal to one university, or that your club is sitting directly in the middle of a major rivalry. Either way, you’ve created a space for engagement and are better knowing your membership.

Halftime Huddle

Rather than offering a sale all day, consider a Halftime Huddle promotion during a specific window. Members could receive a small gift with purchase, complimentary personalization or an extra raffle entry. 

Touchdown Bonus

Set a purchase threshold and give customers who reach it a small “touchdown” bonus. That could mean a complimentary accessory, gift with purchase, personalization, or entry into a larger football-season giveaway.

Pick the Winner

Before a featured college or NFL game, let customers predict the winner at checkout. Everyone who correctly chooses the winning team is entered into a drawing for a shop prize after the game. For an added challenge, ask for the final score and award the prize to the closest prediction.

Rivalry Rewards

If two popular teams are playing one another, let customers choose a side at checkout. After the game, supporters of the winning team could receive a limited-time perk on their next visit, such as complimentary personalization or an additional entry into a shop giveaway.

Wear Your Colors

Designate a Saturday or Sunday as “Wear Your Colors Day” and encourage members to arrive in apparel representing their favorite college or NFL team. Anyone participating could receive a small perk, bonus raffle entry, or complimentary add-on with a purchase. It also creates an easy opportunity for photos and social media content.

Shop MVP

Feature several products throughout the month and invite members to vote for their favorite. At the end of the voting period, you can crown one the “Shop MVP” and create a featured display around the winner. This can highlight merchandise without relying on a discount and gives members a small role in what gets showcased.

Saturday-to-Sunday Special

Play off the transition from college football Saturday to NFL Sunday by creating a weekend promotion that spans both.

For example, feature collegiate-inspired color stories on Saturday and NFL-inspired combinations on Sunday, or offer a weekend-only gift with purchase tied to your football display.

Score and Save

Choose a featured local or regional team and connect a Monday promotion to how they performed.

While you can tie the discount directly to the points scored (34 points scored = 34% off), you can also keep it simple: if the team wins, members unlock a predetermined Monday perk. This creates anticipation without making the offer difficult for staff to manage.