There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.
What We Tried: Red Rooster “Subscribe and Save” Service
Who Tried It: Chris Nickel – Director of Business Development for MyGolfSpy and constant critical consumer of information. I’m always up for anything that legitimately can save me time and money.
Another Subscription? Really?
“Monthly subscription” might as well be a four-letter word. Typically, we think of a subscription-based product or service like a timeshare in Boca Raton: the pitch sounded too good to be true (it was) and the deeper you get in, the harder it is to get out … early termination fees, minimum contract lengths and enough red tape to wrap the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
Well, Red Rooster’s “Subscribe and Save” is the antithesis of the timeshare trap. In fact, maybe we should replace “subscription” with something else—how about “a flexible plan with recurring shipments that saves you time and money”? Let’s call it “Rooster Flex.”
Red Rooster Subscribe and Save Basics
The purpose of Red Rooster’s Subscribe and Save option is just that: to give golfers a variety of opportunities to buy a Red Rooster glove … or several. And at its core, it’s probably a lot like what you’re thinking it is: a model which allows you to save a couple of bucks on every glove by agreeing to scheduled deliveries.
It’s easy to see how this would be beneficial for Red Rooster. It’s good business to service customers at their location and make it easy for them to complete a transaction. So far, the subscription option is more popular than Red Rooster anticipated. Also, once you can establish a reasonable baseline, recurring revenue can make predicting future revenue a bit easier.
For the consumer, it’s a single path that doesn’t eliminate other avenues.
The mechanics are drive-through-Starbucks easy. Set up an account, select a quantity and frequency. That’s it. Set it and forget it.
In exchange, you save a bit of cash and should be avoid the two most common golf glove pitfalls:
- Showing up to the coursewithout a glove and buying whatever the pro shop has available.
- Resuscitating an old, crusty, hole-y glove with a mixture of saliva and hope because “it’s got at least one more round in it.”
Red Rooster Subscribe and Save Process
Step 1: Set up your account.
Step 2: Select your glove model, quantity and frequency.
Step 3: Watch your email for shipping updates.
Step 4: Even with the reminders, you’ll still be pleasantly surprised when the package shows up in the mail.
I’d suggest trying out a couple of different gloves on your first order to figure out exactly what works best for you. And because buying blind isn’t without risk, you can click the “Chat with us” button to get answers to commonly asked questions before placing your order.
My hunch is most golfers don’t know what size oof glove to purchase. So, if you’re between sizes, go with the smaller one. Red Rooster provides an online guide here. Another less formal method is “if you can get the glove on, it’s not too small.”
In my period of golf glove sizing ignorance, I defaulted to an XL glove. I wear XL shirts, have large feet and can palm a basketball. So why wouldn’t my golf glove be the same? Well, dummy, because its function is different. Ski boots and running shoes both go on your feet but that doesn’t mean that you should wear the same size in both.
Even after you receive your glove and something isn’t right (size, color, style, model), Red Rooster allows for free returns/exchanges. Just be sure to keep your receipt and the original packaging. Happy customers are repeat customers. And when you’re a challenger brand trying to breed a loyal following, it’s imperative to provide buyers with performance and/or service that competitive brands lack.
Red Rooster Results
I enrolled in Red Rooster’s Subscribe and Save platform for several months. Each month, my Red Rooster gloves showed up on time and exactly as ordered. I even threw a curveball by changing the style, sizing and color on one order. It didn’t fool anyone.
Zero mistakes and a nice monthly “thank-you card” from co-owner Brad Fritsch—that’s what I received. Considering how often a take-out order misses the side of fried won-tons or includes a medium drink instead of the extra-large, kudos to Red Rooster. This doesn’t mean mistakes don’t happen or that any reasonable consumer should expect perfection. But, based on my experience, consumers should be confident they’ll receive what they order.
My $0.05
We’re all busy and I’m always willing to listen to a pitch that addresses two constantly strained resources: time and money. I’m not suggesting you’ll save enough money with Red Rooster to fund a new boat but if you can spend less, why wouldn’t you?
Additionally, I take satisfaction when eliminating anything from my ever-expanding “to-do” list. Whether Red Rooster saves me five minutes or two hours is secondary to the fact that it saves me time that I will happily re-allocate to another pint of ice cream or something less indulgent like scrolling TikTok.
What do you think? Is this a “subscription” that appeals to you?
