Michelle and James Malone have brought a "one stop shop" to Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley
Michelle and James Malone have brought a "one stop shop" to Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley
James and Michelle Malone are on a golfing mission - and they've moved into the Wanganui Golf Club at the Belmont Links to continue it.
Malone Golf is a "one-stop shop", with a wide range of products backed up by lessons and equipment repair.
James, a former touring professional player,and Michelle first opened the business at Te Ngutu Golf Club near Hāwera two years ago, and now the company has expanded to Whanganui.
The services they offered were "very different to the norm", James said.
"To put it bluntly, there hasn't been anything of significance here [at Belmont] for a substantial amount of time.
"He actually used to chip off his deck onto one of the greens," Michelle said.
He took up the game at the age of 18, after a football injury.
After a few weeks of being bedridden, he started walking to get his strength back.
James Malone says he wants to make sure people get the right advice and the right equipment. Photo / Bevan Conley
"I said to the physio, 'man, I'm bored, give me something to do while I'm walking'. He suggested golf and I immediately said 'no way, that's an old man's game'.
"I had my first-ever round here at Belmont and hit 81. I didn't know if that was good, bad or indifferent.
"The idea was just to hit the ball as hard as I could, go and find it, and hit again."
From that day on he has been a "golf addict".
"The game has literally taken me all over the world. I turned professional in 2004, went through the Euro Pro school, and played on the mini-tours in the UK," he said.
"I had a couple of niggly injuries and thought 'bugger it, I'll go home and see Mum and Dad in South Taranaki'. I was meant to be back for a couple of months before heading off to the US.
"Next thing you know I meet my lovely wife and we now have a wonderful son."
That golfing addiction has remained, and the couple are confident the success they've had at Te Ngutu will be replicated at Belmont.
Golf wasn't a cheap sport, Michelle said.
"We are here to look after everyone, and make it possible.
"It's about providing a range of stock that starts from the basic 'trying this for the first time', right through to elite amateur and professional levels. Sometimes it's a matter of people working with what they've got.
"It's not necessarily going out and spending $5,000 on a new set of clubs. It could be a quick tweak in a lesson or a five-minute conversation that fixes things."
James said service was more important than sales.
"Whether it's in six months or a year's time, if you sell someone a club that's not right for them, somebody with a little bit of knowledge will say 'who the hell sold you that?'.
"If you just focus on money and business, you might miss what's really important - the people out on the course having a good time."
Malone Golf can be found below the clubhouse at the Wanganui Golf Club in Clarkson Ave.
