Inside Dormie Network’s Golf Shops with Gabby Steiner
As Dormie Network members and their guests travel across the seven clubs within the membership, not only do they collect memories of the finest golf trips of their lives—they take them home, stitched into the finest products the game has to offer.
Each club offers a different insignia. Its own crest, identity, and story are translated through embroidery and design on products in the golf shop at each club. Dormie Club, the namesake of the Network, shares the same mark as the membership itself. Every other club carries a distinct logo, each one a symbol of place and personality. Together, they become a kind of passport: proof of a life well played.
For many members, gathering those logos becomes a ritual. A quiet record of rounds contested, late-night stories in the cottages, friendships strengthened, and destinations that felt, if only for a few unforgettable days, like home.
But behind every perfectly folded polo, every impeccably merchandised display, and every custom gift waiting on the corner of a cottage bed, there is a team making the experience feel effortless.
At Dormie Network, the onsite golf shops are far more than retail shops. They are an extension of hospitality. A finishing touch. A place where style, service, and storytelling meet.
Across Dormie Network, merchandise managers at each club bring a deep understanding of how hospitality, product, and experience come together. Continue reading for insights from Dormie Club Merchandise Manager Gabby Steiner.
Meet Gabby Steiner
At Dormie Club just outside of Pinehurst, North Carolina, Steiner serves as both Merchandise Manager and Lead Assistant Golf Professional.
A former collegiate golfer at James Madison University, Steiner began building her career in Pinehurst, where she met her husband, Tanner, in 2016 while interning at the Pinehurst Golf Academy. Tanner was then an assistant professional at The Country Club of North Carolina. Golf, as it often does, handled the introductions.
From there, Steiner’s career quickly ascended. As a dual PGA/LPGA Member at Pinehurst, she eventually became Head Professional—the first woman to hold that title at one of the most historic golf properties in the country. Today, she brings that same leadership and expertise to Dormie Club.
Her influence extends beyond the property gates. Recently, lifestyle brand STITCH invited Steiner to its headquarters in Apex, North Carolina, to refresh the company’s lobby display. “They have a very grand entrance and wanted to showcase more color options from their product line,” Steiner says. “STITCH is such a great partner of ours, and I had so much fun spending the day with their team and collaborating on what products they should feature at their front door.”
The Art (and Analytics) of Buying Great Merchandise
So, you might be wondering, what earns the right to adorn a Dormie Network logo in the golf shops?
Great golf shop buying is not guesswork. It is equal parts intuition and information. Taste and timing. Fashion and forecasting.
When merchandise managers build assortments, they think in balance, collections designed to appeal to a range of styles, ages, climates, and personalities.
A typical apparel buy might include a mix of polos in solids and patterns with pullovers, outerwear pieces, and a vest to match every polo.
And the apparel brands? Best in class. Dormie Network’s golf shops carry many of the most respected names in golf apparel and accessories, including:
Peter Millar
Summit Golf Brands (Zero Restriction, Fairway & Greene, B. Draddy)
STITCH
Acushnet (Titleist, FootJoy, KJUS, Club Glove)
Johnnie-O
Holderness & Bourne
Greyson (Steiner is a “Green Wolf” ambassador for Greyson)
“These companies are the best of the best in all of golf and we are proud to carry their products!” says Gabby.
Planning a Season in Advance
While members are enjoying their spring rounds, Dormie Network merchandise managers are planning for this fall’s merchandise. The spring buying season is typically June to December, and the fall buying season is January to June.
Buying appointments are scheduled around sample releases, vendor calendars, and major industry moments like the PGA Show each January. Steiner notes that being at Dormie Club in North Carolina offers a strategic advantage. “I feel fortunate in our area. Many brand reps come to visit this territory first in the season since it is such a saturated area of the Carolinas.”
How the Golf Shops Differ Across the Network
While members will recognize a shared standard across Dormie Network clubs, no two golf shops are exactly alike.
Each property carries core partner brands, but merchandise managers also have the flexibility to introduce approved additional labels based on their club's personality and clientele.
“It is our choice at Dormie Club to carry the following additional brands: Greyson, G/FORE, RLX, Dunning, Sun Day Red (coming Fall 2026),” says Steiner. Other clubs may or may not carry those brands.
Then there are hyper-local touches; the products members can only find at one destination. “We specifically carry custom items like plushies, headcovers, cups, t-shirts, hats, that have our famous little ‘Ain’t 7’ sign, our friend Snickers the Duck, and our local fox squirrels,” says Steiner.
How the Golf Shops Always Feel Fresh
One of the advantages of a destination club model is that members do not walk into the same golf shop every week. That allows Dormie Club and the Network to keep the experience dynamic.
Some brands release new deliveries every two weeks. Others drop monthly or every other month. Merchandise managers track performance closely, resulting in a shop that evolves constantly.
“When someone comes back in the fall versus the spring, or even a month or two later, the shop will look different,” Steiner says.
That freshness matters. It turns a quick browse into a discovery.
Before big events like Dormie Network member events or campus takeovers, merchandise managers make sure the shop is well-stocked. For example, Dormie Club recently hosted back-to-back campus takeovers, with up to 60 guests on property at a time. Knowing demand would spike, she proactively contacted Peter Millar and Holderness & Bourne, two top-performing brands, to accelerate shipments. That gave her team enough time to receive product, tag merchandise, build displays, and prepare for the next wave of arrivals.
Custom Gifting That Elevates the Trip
If the golf shop is where style lives, corporate gifting is where hospitality shines. Dormie Network golf clubs regularly help members and corporate hosts create custom welcome experiences for guests—items thoughtfully arranged in cottages before arrival, complete with personalized notes.
“Corporate gifting adds such a nice touch to a stay at any of our clubs in the Network,” says Steiner.
For best results, she recommends placing co-branded orders three to six weeks prior to check-in, depending on the item. When guests check-in, gifts will be laid out nicely on the corner of their bed in their private master suite with a welcome note that can be customized with any specific verbiage you like.
Steiner shares one of the coolest cottage or corporate gifting experiences she has helped with. One recent standout involved a corporate campus takeover.
Steiner helped coordinate a gifting experience centered around custom wedges selected with the onsite Titleist team. Once guests chose their club, artisan engraver, 11 Under, personalized each wedge with the company logo and guests’ initials in their preferred font.
“This was such a great touch, and everyone really enjoyed it,” says Steiner. That evening, guests were surprised with a custom scorecard holder, co-branded golf balls, a poker chip, and a welcome note in their private cottage room.
Another favorite gifting experience of Steiner’s to coordinate is the annual Big Sky Bravery event, where each player receives a complete custom outfit, including a hat, polo, belt, shorts, and accessories.
What Members Can Look Forward to
Across the Network golf shops, new products are always arriving. Many member favorites revolve around club mascots and local personalities—from the longhorns at Briggs Ranch to the goats at Ballyhack and even Maxwell, the gray bull plushie at GrayBull.
"My favorite items that are hitting the floor are the Snickers the duck merchandise,” says Steiner. If you have visited Dormie Club in the past year, you have likely met the now-famous duck who resides near the fifth hole. Between the agronomy team, caddies, and staff, Snickers has become part of the Dormie family—and a merchandising phenomenon.
Steiner says she has reordered Snickers-themed T-shirts, plushies, hats, and other items multiple times already. “The designs keep getting better,” she says. “Stay tuned for some cool Johnnie-O T-shirts and L2 hats hitting the floor soon.”
More Than a Golf Shop
Dormie Network’s golf shop experience is not about buying another polo. It is about taking home something that reminds you where you have been, who you were with, and how well you spent your time.
Behind every display, every cottage gift, and every logo collected across the Network, Steiner and her fellow merchandise managers are thoughtfully shaping how each detail elevates a stay.
Members are encouraged to reach out to merchandise managers, who will be delighted to help curate a custom gifting package for an upcoming trip. Whether you have specific requests in mind or are starting with a blank slate, the team can craft thoughtful recommendations tailored to your group and designed around a preferred per-person budget.
