Three decades after opening in Wichita, this retail giant to move distribution center

Golf Warehouse, the online golf retailer that Wichitan Mark Marney started in the 1990s, is moving its distribution center from Wichita.

“We’re sad that part of our business is moving out of the Wichita area,” said Scott Williams, chief human resources officer for Sportsman’s Guide, the Minnesota company that owns Golf Warehouse.

The company sells golf equipment, apparel and accessories.

Last fall, employees were told that Sportsman’s Guide, Golf Warehouse and Baseball Savings, also in Wichita, were consolidating distribution operations in Greenfield, Ind.

That and Louisville, Ky., are popular distribution hubs in the United States, Williams said.

For these companies in particular, he said, 85% of their customers are in a two-day shipping window from Indiana.

Distribution center employees were given a choice of relocating to Indiana or taking a severance package.

“Most have opted for that,” Williams said. “They’ll still continue working through June.”

However, as that date approaches, he said some of the affected 45 employees are starting to look at possibly moving to Indiana.

Currently, the company has 185,000 square feet at 8908 E. 34th St. North.

Williams said the company likely will keep the space through September of 2026 for its 45 or so employees remaining who are not part of the distribution center.

“And then we would just have to find a space that’s more suitable for that number of people.”

He said that likely will be a space between 6,000 and 15,000 square feet.

There are marketing, merchandising and IT employees here.

Also, Williams said, “We’ll still have all of our customer experience reps. They actually work out of their homes.”

The company also will keep its performance center, which offers custom glove fittings.

“We’ll still be in the same location that we are.”

According to a 2000 Wichita Eagle article on Marney, he was inspired to start the Golf Warehouse after driving all over Wichita looking for a product for his son before finding it online. That experience was still new in the 1990s.

“It arrived the next day,” he said at the time. “And I asked myself, ‘Why did I spend all that time driving around town?’ ”

Williams said he was surprised how big Wichita is when he’s visited.

“I love the people,” he said. “It’s a great town.”

He said the employees have been great, too.

“It’s a really good workforce.”