A post-lockdown surge in interest in the sport should help diversify the clientele both on the greens and in golf shops, says the retail veteran

For most chief executives, a round on the golf course is a quiet Friday afternoon treat after the business of the day is done. For Nigel Oddy, the fairways and bunkers of Britain are his second office as he meets with suppliers to his American Golf stores.

The retail veteran has run Europe’s biggest golf retailer since April 2023, reviving a childhood love for the sport and making him now intent on improving his handicap. American Golf is a British company, which started life in a garden shed in Warrington in 1978 and was given its name after its founders were inspired by the vast courses across the pond.