Man with a Van
Bill Kinsey Has Golf Shop on Wheels

By STEVE HUFFMAN

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A few years ago, Bill Kinsey was working as a salesman for a pretty major company, traveling much of the country and knocking down the kind of bucks most of us only dream about.

He had a nice house, nice wife and nice kids.

So, what'd he do? He gave up the steady job to build himself a work van and take a shot at traveling the Triad to build, repair and sell golf clubs.

It's a work in progress, Kinsey is the first to admit, with the long-term fate of Kinsey Golf Services still very much up in the air.

"Everybody I talk to says, 'I don't know what you can do with it, but it sounds like a great idea,' " Kinsey said of his endeavor.

Whether that translates into enough dollars to keep the dream afloat remains to be seen.

A native of a small town outside of Canton, Ohio, Kinsey, now 44, graduated from the University of Wisconsin, then headed south for a job. He's lived in North Carolina for 22 years.

Kinsey is something of a jack-of-all-trades, a guy who loves restoring and showing old Oldsmobiles. He's also an avid golfer, possessing a handicap of about seven.

Kinsey said his first venture into building and repairing golf clubs came when he was still working as a salesman. He'd fix clubs and also sell new ones out of the trunk of his car.

It was a sideline that Kinsey – largely because of his attention to detail – found he was good at.

"I make a valiant effort to get to know my customer," Kinsey said. "The more I know, the more I can help and the better I can fit him with the clubs he needs."

He's a big believer in custom-made clubs, abiding by the theory that: "Your swing didn't come off an assembly line. Why should your clubs?"

Kinsey said that whereas most club builders fit a set of clubs based on how the five iron fits the customer, he fits every club in the bag to the individual. The effort takes a bit more time, Kinsey said, but it translates into a better-fitting set of clubs and, hopefully, lower scores.

"I listen to the customer, but I don't always do the first thing they tell me to do," he said. "It's like a guy going to the dentist and telling the dentist to pull a tooth. Well X-rays might show that tooth doesn't need to be pulled. The dentist should do what's right for his patient. I should do what's right for my customers."

About two years ago, Kinsey decided to take the plunge, quitting his sales job and investing in a self-contained Ford Econoline 350 van. He completely customized it to suit his needs. What he ended up with is a workshop on wheels, a place where he can do just about anything to a club that needs to be done.

The rolling workshop looks like something that Bob Vila would be proud of, featuring everything from a vise and a sander to a drill and a blow torch. Almost all of Kinsey's work is done by hand. He estimates that his mobile repair shop is one of only two or three like it in the country.

Kinsey is also certified as a Class A club maker by the Professional Clubmaker Society of Louisville, Ky. By being so certified, Kinsey joins an elite group who have undergone extensive training and testing to prove their competence in building golf clubs.

Now, Kinsey said, if he can just stir up enough customers to make his operation float.

He said what he'd like to do with his van is travel to companies throughout the Triad, setting up in their parking lots on weekdays so the employees could drop off clubs for ready repairs. Kinsey said the operation would offer a savings in time for those employees who wouldn't have to travel after work to a club shop for the repairs.

Kinsey said he'd also like to set up and work at tournaments throughout the area, repairing and selling clubs and accessories as needed.

Already, he's taken some major steps toward getting his business off the ground. Kinsey does extensive work for the golf team at Wake Forest University and also does repair work for Golf USA and a number of golf clubs such as The Cardinal in Greensboro. He has worked for a number of top amateur and professional golfers.

His work isn't cheap, Kinsey admitted, but it's not out of line, either. He sells complete sets of custom-fit clubs for anywhere from $165 to $600. A new set of shafts will set the customer back between $75 and $85. Kinsey is also a local retailer for Fujikura, which is a leading shaft used by players on the PGA Tour.

"My problem right now is getting the phone to ring," Kinsey said. "Whenever I do work for someone, inevitably, they're happy. They always come back with three or four of their friends. But it's getting my name out there that's been the problem."

He’s slowly gaining awareness among area golfers.

"Bill does excellent work, I haven't heard anyone complain about anything he's done," said David Thore, the head professional at Reidsville's Wolf Creek Golf Course who is a Kinsey customer. "I had a guy break a club today and I called Bill and he's going to get it fixed right up. His equipment is as good as it gets."

"I'm not likely to get super rich doing what I'm doing, but I've never been happier than I've been the past two years," Kinsey said.