McLains find their niché in making golf clubs

CHERAW —Jim and Vicky McLain are thankful for many things in their lives.

Twenty-first century technology is likely at or near the top of the list.

Because of that technology, they can live the life they want — a relatively simple country life — in what many people would no doubt describe as the middle of nowhere between Cheraw and Chesterfield.

Down a dirt road, among some fields, trees and open air, where one might see a red-tailed hawk keeping a watchful eye out for a meal, sits a little workshop beside the big, white house where two dogs run and play in the fenced-in yard.

It’s in that workshop where the McLains work their craft, taking the parts and fashioning custom-made golf clubs for customers, most of whom know of and buy from the husband-and-wife team through the Internet.

“What I think is most unique is that we are down a dirt road, in a rural community, but we’ve reached the world because of 21st century technology,” Vicky said.

Jim, 64, describes his business as pretty successful. And someone must think they’re doing a pretty good job, since they keep winning awards for the quality of work they do.

The McLains recently collected the honor of being named the South Carolina Clubmakers of the Year and were also honored with a Top 10 Worldwide Clubmakers of the Year award by the Golf Clubmakers Association.

Of course, it’s not like the news is unusual for the McLains. It’s the sixth straight year they’ve won the state award, and they won another worldwide top 10 honor for 2006-07.

Winning awards is not why Jim McClain decided to become an accredited club maker. But it certainly serves its purpose.

“Credibility,” Jim said. “It doesn’t make the price of coffee any cheaper when we go down to the Wal-Mart. Because we’re on the internet, we need to provide something that makes people buy from us instead of the other people there. … By being able to provide credentials, we give people a reason to buy from us.”

The McLains get some local walk-in business, and Jim is more than happy to look at a golfer’s swing to help decide what types of clubs would be best.

But by far, most of the McLains’ business is through Internet sales. And that started, of course, on eBay, the popular Web-based sales and auction company.

Jim estimates that now up to 30 percent of the McLains’ business is through eBay. The rest is through their own Web site, mclaingolf.com, or from referrals.

The business started as not much more than a hobby. After Jim retired from the Army, he and Vicky married and went to work for an insurance company in Virginia. He had taken up golf only after getting out of the military and said he grew tired of “people wanting to charge me so much money just to grip the clubs.”

Jim said he gripped his own set of clubs and enjoyed it.

The next logical step was to make his own club, in this case, a putter.

“I used it one time and threw it away,” Jim said, chuckling. “It was the worst putter I ever saw in my life.”

But it was a start.

The McLains had lived in Texas and knew about Golfsmith, the Austin, Texas, based golf equipment sales company.

Golfsmith also offers clubmaking courses. Jim was the first to take the courses, and Vicky soon followed. At first, Jim sold a few putters he made to friends. The McLains started listing clubs on eBay in 2000. They won their first statewide award three years later.

“We’ve been really blessed,” Jim said. “God’s really watched over us. We’ve gone through a pretty unique business and been able to do some good at it. When we see the people who show up at the clubmaking convention, we’re just amazed that we’re in the midst of them.”

For example, one of the photos that adorns the workshop wall is of the McLains with Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ swing coach.

Not bad for a self-described country boy like Jim, who started his life in Bennettsville and didn’t even start playing the game until he was 45, some 19 years ago. The house he and Vicky now live in once belonged to his aunt and uncle, and Jim later bought it from a cousin.

“This was always my favorite place to be,” Jim said. “When I lived with my parents in Columbia, I’d come here and live with my aunt and uncle in the summers, raise peanuts, boil them and sell them in town.

“Those are the happiest memories of my life.“

Although the ones the McLains are creating for themselves now aren’t bad.