2015 Marks the 40th Anniversary of the Haggin Oaks Golf Expo which has always been free to the public to attend. The dates for the 2015 Haggin Oaks Golf Expo are Friday, April 24 – Sunday, April 26 from 9 to 5 daily. Here is a brief history of the Golf Expo.
THEN – 1975
The story of the Haggin Oaks Golf Expo started in the early season of 1975. At that time, the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex had Co-Head Professionals that were operating Haggin Oaks. One of the Head Golf Professionals was Tom LoPresti, who was the original golf pro when Haggin Oaks opened in October of 1932. Mr. LoPresti ultimately spent 62 years at Haggin Oaks until he retired in 1994. The other Co-Head Professional was Ken Morton Sr., who was hired when the Arcade Golf Course was opened in 1958 and became his partner in 1971.
It was during the early spring of 1975 that LoPresti and Morton received word from their CPA that 1974 had been a good year financially and they had a sizeable tax bill due on April 15. Since the owners had a habit of leaving their profits in the business, they personally did not have the financial resources to pay their tax bills. Together, they decided to involve the manufacturerâs reps and had a large porch sale to generate enough cash to pay Uncle Sam. The Manufacturers Rep Show Sale was created and it was a huge success. It became an annual spring kickoff and over time it became a way to promote close-out merchandise as well as new products to the golfing public.
A few years later, Ken was at the International PGA Golf Show in Florida and an idea was born as he was walking the floor. He thought to himself, âWhy canât we create a FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC event in Sacramento that is on a mini-scale like the huge PGA Golf Show? What if there was a local show where customers could talk directly with the manufacturerâs reps and where they could make their purchases based on a much larger selection than what they could traditionally find out of the current 1,500 square foot golf shop?â The name Golf Expo was coined and each and every year since the original Spring Sale, the Golf Expo has become a one of a kind golf product show that continues to grow in popularity both by vendors and attendees.
TODAY â 2015
Forty years later, the Haggin Oaks Golf Expo has become âAmericaâs Largest Demo Daysâ. What was originally a weekend show has turned into a three day event that draws 180+ vendors and nearly 25,000 visitors. Its purpose has expanded but at its heart it is still the same â To bring to the golfing public merchandise, golf facilities, travel, associations, clinics, guest speakers and a variety of golf lifestyle choices. Many people plan on attending this event each year to see all the latest and greatest golf gear as well as to talk with manufacturerâs reps and people of influence throughout the golf industry. Each year we strive to improve the Golf Expo and to talk through what the golfing public might want to hear and know about that we havenât offered in the past. As the show has grown, the fear of rain for an outdoor show has caused us to push its dates back from early April to the last weekend in April each year.
We sincerely thank all the faithful and loyal 600,000+ visitors who have made our show a huge success over the past 40 years.
The 2015 Haggin Oaks Golf Expo, “America’s Largest Demo Days”, runs Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26 from 9am to 5pm daily. This event is FREE for the public and features all major golf vendors and a wide variety of lifestyle and travel destinations too. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit HagginOaksGolfExpo.com
The Haggin Oaks Golf Complex is located at 3645 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento, CA. Call 916-808-2526 for details.
