Columnist Victoria Sun: Golf name of the game at new store in the Venetian

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Oct. 13, 1999 | 12:36 p.m.

Victoria Sun is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Her golf notebook appears on Wednesday. Reach her at 259-4078 or victoria@vegas.com

The tools, dust covers and ladders still scattered throughout the massive store appropriately named In Celebration of Golf didn't detract from its splendor and beauty.

Quite frankly, probably nothing could.

The 15,500 square-foot store filled with golf-related merchandise is the second brainchild of golf enthusiast and PGA member Roger Maxwell.

It's scheduled to open Saturday at the Grand Canal Shoppes inside the Venetian Hotel.

For fans and professionals still in town for the $2.5 million Las Vegas Invitational golf tournament this weekend, the store is definitely a must-see.

It's modeled after the store of the same name that Maxwell opened at the Scottsdale Seville mall in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1995.

But the two-story Las Vegas version offers the same amenities and is about 3,000 square-feet larger.

The bottom floor is known as the "Front Nine" and the top floor the "Back Nine."

When you first enter the store you will be greeted by a caddie dressed in the same coveralls worn by caddies at The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. The "caddies" will then hand you a scorecard to help you navigate through the store's 14 distinct rooms, starting with "The First Tee" which serves as the welcome area.

Each room is decorated differently from the wall paper (with a golf theme, of course) to the golf paintings on the wall to the plaid carpet or hardwood floors.

"Every retail area is meant to be another part of the celebration of the sport," Maxwell said. "The store is meant to embellish and embrace every aspect of the game."

There are statues, talking dummies in the likeness of Scottish golfers and antiques throughout the store, making it feel more like a museum.

At the store's "Golf Concierge" spot, guests of the hotel and walk-in customers can book tee times for various Las Vegas courses.

In "Ye Old Golf Shoppe" on the bottom floor there are unique gift items including collector's plates adorned with golf scenes, cookie jars in the shape of a golf cart, crystal clocks with mounted clubs, golf birdhouses, chip and dip holders and bronze statues.

Along with an expansive collection of men's and women's golf apparel, the store houses a great deal of artwork from celebrated golf artists Linda Hartough, Bill Waugh and Mark King as well as a stunning collection of memorabilia and golf furniture.

There is even a "Library of Golf" where visitors can browse an extensive collection of golf books and publications.

Customers are encouraged to browse as long as they like. In the "Spike Shop," you can watch the Golf Channel as you sit on furniture covered with fabric in the pattern of different golf scenes and enjoy free cookies, soda or coffee.

"No one had ever taken the sport and relished all of the things the sport has created in terms of items and put them together," Maxwell said. "But if you think about golf, there's so much tradition to the game and so much romance to the game and so many people who embrace this game so passionately.

"We want to create a unique environment for people to enjoy themselves."

After serving as the vice president of golf operations and development for the Marriott Corporation for 23 years, Maxwell left the company in 1993 to open the store of his dreams.

He says it took one month to design the flagship store in Scottsdale and four months to build.

It wasn't easy making his dream a reality.

Five different banks turned Maxwell down when he sought the capital to open his first store. So he invested $1 million, his entire net worth, at the time.

His friends and family thought it was a foolish thing to do, but Maxwell stood firm.

"I said the worst thing that can happen is we'll live in a small town in Arizona and in a trailer," Maxwell said.

After the Scottsdale store was a hit, Las Vegas developer Bill Walters decided to invest in the newest store and become Maxwell's partner.

Not only is Maxwell far from living in a trailer, he has his own private collection of golf collectibles that he keeps in a 1,200 square-foot room that he converted into a golf mecca.

"I hope it's just absolutely a hole in one," he said of the Las Vegas store. "It should be, but there's also a degree of risk.

"You never really know until you open it up."

* LVI MOVES: PGA Tour professional Steve Elkington withdrew from the LVI on Monday. He will be replaced by Deane Pappas.

* LVI PARTY: On Saturday, the Founders' Fifty-Fives will present the 6th annual "Party on the Range," featuring the Southern Nevada band Love Shack. The concert, starting at 6 p.m., will be held at the Cox Communications Too Pavilion. It is open to the public and admission is $10 at the door.

* REBELS UPDATE: The fourth-ranked UNLV men's golf team tied for third with the University of New Mexico recently at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate tournament. Rebel Jeremy Anderson's three-round total of 210 was 6-under and good for second place individually. The Rebels will play at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate at Old Overton Golf Club in Birmingham, Ala. on Sunday.

* STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: It's no wonder that Mi Hyun Kim won the 1999 Rolex Rookie of the Year. Kim shot a final-round, 2-under-par 70 for a four-day total of 8-under par 280 to win her second LPGA career title of the year at the First Union Betsy King Classic on Sunday. Kim ranks first in sand saves at .573, seventh in percentage of rounds under par at .602, seventh in top-10 finishes (11 of 28) and fifth in birdies at 324.