A Cranbrook golf franchiser has received North American-wide recognition for customer service by its parent company in Texas.

Golf Etc. at 1317 Cranbrook Street has been named “Club Fitter of the Year” along with another Golf Etc. franchise outlet in Amarillo, Texas.

Franchisee Jim Gotaas of Cranbrook along with the franchisee from Amarillo were recently flown to the annual PGA Merchandise show in Orlando Florida to collect their rewards. Both men were chosen for the number of fittings they completed in 2009 as well as their level of expertise and their demonstrated commitment to customer service.

“We take great pride in Golf ETC’s focus on performance club fitting and we are extremely proud of both of our winners,” said Jeremy Glanzer, president and CEO of Golf ETC. “Their distinguished fitting skills are what every golfer seeks and their work has no doubt improved the game of many golfers.”

Gotaas, who opened his franchise in Cranbrook in 2007, said he wasn’t expecting the award. “I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t expect to get an honour like this when you’re competing against California, Florida, Arizona and all of those places. It’s a feather in the cap.”

The fact that such an award would be given to a store far away from the major golf centres of the continent made it just that much more of a pleasure, he said. “We’re all happy here because we’re just in little old Cranbrook.”

Customer service is the key when you’re fitting someone with new clubs and Golf Etc is an independent which means it doesn’t favour one brand over another, Gotaas says. “We don’t push one brand or another. We just try to get them the best piece of equipment for their swing.”

The local Golf Etc has thousands of dollars worth of technology in the store to help “fit” customers with everything they need from equipment to clothing to play the best game they can. The store even does golf bag analysis!

“There’s a lot more to it (golf) than the average consumer knows,” says Gotaas, whose Cranbrook outlet is the first Golf ETC franchise store in Canada.

Golf ETC has close to 70 franchise stores in the U.S. and they all specialize in finding customers the right piece of equipment to improve their game and get more enjoyment out of playing gold.

Despite the economic slowdown the past year, Gotaas says the outlook for the 2010 season looks good with most operators talking about early openings this year because of the mild winter. Driving ranges are beginning to open already and a course in Creston is opening this week.

Another big inventive this year is the Mountains of Gold Tournament that’s running from May 14 to Sept. 14 at the St. Eugene, Shadow Mountain and Bootleg Gap courses and features the chance to win daily cash prizes culminating with a $1 million grand prize tournament at the end in mid-September.