On The Tee: Ricky Gischer
Team Member Spotlight: Ricky Gischer - Golf Simulator Sales Representative
By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
If you’re in the market for an indoor golf simulator and you’re browsing our website, you can “send us a message” and request more information. When you do so, you’ll get a call back from one of our three Inside Sales Representatives – Ricky Gischer is one of them.
Now, in his second year with The Indoor Golf Shop, Ricky brings a wealth of golf knowledge to our sales and service team. His background in the game started when he first picked up a club as a high school junior. He chose engineering when entering college at Southern Illinois University before transferring to Campbell University and its professional golf management program. He graduated with his business degree and served in several golf internships within the program.
With the experience of those internships under his belt, Ricky knew the equipment side of the game was his passion. He started his own fitting and club repair business, but soon got a job in the research and development facility at Nike Golf.
“I was working with the Tour players and Nike’s Icon athletes, helping them with their equipment,” Ricky boasts. “I kind of skipped some steps after college and went straight to the big leagues, you can say. I was catering to the influencers.”
At the same time, he was working with the master craftsmen who were building the very clubs used by Tiger Woods to set the many records he was toppling during those years.
“As a 24-year-old starting at Nike, it was a special experience. I had so much contact with the greatest athletes in the world like Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson and the great professional golfers we had on staff at the time,” Ricky adds. “I got to meet and fit and build golf club for them, and as a sports fan, I was in heaven and felt so spoiled.”
In 2014, he left Nike after a decade for a rather unique and inspiring volunteer experience with the Christian Relief Fund. He and some colleagues from Nike went to an impoverished town in the north mountains of Mexico for a year to help build a learning center that would house after-school programs with classes that taught computer skills, art, and music.
“Before that we would fly or drive into Mexico to deliver food, clothing, school supplies, money and other resources to the people in this very poor neighborhood,” he explained.
When funds became available to build the learning center, he and some friends took the leap.
Afterward, Ricky got back into golf at Ben Hogan Golf, was a contestant on Wilson Golf’s Driver vs. Driver on the Golf Channel, and became a master fitter at PING Golf.
Today, he’s in his second year with us at The Indoor Golf Shop. His experience in golf and club fitting made his role at The Indoor Golf Shop come a little easier. After all, with the many options available to our clients, there’s a lot of information to disseminate. Ricky and the rest of our team make the experience seamless and fun.
Ricky builds trust and creates relationships with the golfers we serve. He provides exceptional service and shares his knowledge every day to help clients find the best answer for their budget and their needs. He says providing solutions is what makes his job rewarding, and he understands the vital role that technology plays in the game today, as it did when he was building clubs for Nike.
He appreciates the fact that technology is playing a huge role in introducing the game to new golfers of all demographics and knows that utilizing technology through non-traditional means will help grow the game at the green grass level.
Indoor golf simulators have made golf a year-round activity in all areas of the country. Whether visiting their local indoor golf center or putting a golf simulator one in their home, golfers are keeping their clubs close throughout the year, and Ricky and The Indoor Golf Shop team are creating a great experience helping our clients find the best indoor golf simulator solution for them.
