Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

Founder of local golf store dies at 78

Smith's venture was geared toward family

Golf Dimensions, one of the two golf retail giants founded on the Grand Strand, has lost its patriarch.

Robert Smith Sr., co-founder, co-owner and Chairman of the Board of Golf Dimensions, died Sunday night at 78. He had been battling Pulmonary Fibrosis for three years that required constant oxygen assistance.

The first 6,300-square-foot Golf Dimensions store opened in Atlantic Beach in 1989, and the two current Grand Strand locations have a combined 75,000 square feet of merchandise. Smith's son, Bobby, is the company's president.

Bob Smith Sr. was a senior financial officer with a manufacturing firm in Virginia in 1988 when he surprised his son and accepted an early retirement package. He initially intended to relax and fish, but Bobby, then a store manager for Circuit City, proposed getting into the golf business.

"He retired from a very successful business career 21 years ago, only to be willing to bankroll a sizeable portion of his pension against a dream of mine for our family to own and operate golf retail stores in Myrtle Beach," Bobby Smith said in an e-mail. "Never in our wildest dreams could we have envisioned our success to date."

The first store opened after both zoning and lease hurdles, and within a few months endured devastating Hurricane Hugo and a storm that dropped 16 inches of snow - both quashing business.

Golf Dimensions persevered and flourished featuring evening sales. It was solely a family operation for three years, with Bob Sr. and his wife, Barbara, working one shift and Bob Jr. and his wife, Mary, working the other. Several members of the Smith family remain heavily involved in the operation.

"We are committed to working tirelessly to continue the legacy and success that he leaves behind," Bobby Smith said.

Golf Dimensions annually supports numerous charity events and has sponsored several amateur and pro tournaments in the area, including the Senior Tour Championship all seven years it was on the Strand.

Golf Dimensions' main competitor has always been Martin's PGA Tour Superstore, which got its start in the 1960s and was Martin's Golf & Tennis before owner Martin Barrier sold to Atlanta-based PGA Tour Superstore in 2004. The competitors have large stores across U.S. 17 from each other in North Myrtle Beach.

The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at McMillan-Small Funeral Home in Myrtle Beach. Funeral services are 1 p.m. Thursday at McMillan-Small, and interment will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery.