About Recreation Station Golf
Where It All Began
Recreation Station got started in Christchurch in July 2019 when owners Clint & Haruka realised that, particularly with golf, people had a very limited choice in shopping unless they were happy to buy the latest models brand new. There was nowhere people could go to browse a big range of used gear in one place. Looking through (and asking questions about) one item at a time via online auction sites was time consuming and frustrating and people worried about whether or not they might end up buying a product that was not right for them (or worse, ending up with a product that was not authentic) when buying from a private seller. Thus, Recreation Station was born.
They began operating from the garage of their St Albans home as a husband and wife team and sold their range of imported pre-owned golf clubs and equipment almost exclusively via online trading platform Trademe. After two years of operating from the garage, Clint took a year off from his full-time job as a pilot and they moved into their first retail store in a new building at the end of their street and employed some more staff. “It was the busiest year of my life” Clint says on reflection. “We had to learn how to become employers, manage staff, and find more suppliers. We needed a website, more advertising, a marketing strategy and a whole lot more stock! We began selling new and used ski, snowboard and tennis gear as well. It was a very expensive time and we needed to max out our mortgage as well as take out some business loans to make it happen.”
Luckily business boomed as pandemic-grounded kiwis flocked to the country’s golf courses and social-distancing while enjoying sport made golf the perfect pastime. Within 18 months they outgrew their small store and were on the hunt for something bigger. They took a big step and signed a long lease on a building five times the size and in amongst the ‘big boys’ of sports retail in Clarence Street at the top of Tower Junction in central Christchurch. This store demanded a huge amount of stock and more staff and they expanded their offering further into used hiking and biking gear and began carrying a range of surfboards and all sorts of racket sports as well as their massive selection of golf clubs. They now had the largest selection of second hand golf clubs and used golf gear in the country (by far) and had a putting green and full golf simulator in store. They now had a staff of 9 in New Zealand as well as part-timers in Japan and the USA.
Giving Back To The Community
One of the the most important things Haruka & Clint aimed for from the beginning was the ability to give back to the community that supported their business. Over the years they have strived to give back by sponsoring or donating to schools, sports clubs and junior golf initiatives such as the Futures golf initiative. They will be looking to do the same in Queensland. Those we have supported include:
With Your Help We Can Give More
Recreation Station has an ongoing donation drive where those who’d rather give away the proceeds of
the sale of sports gear they no longer use, rather than to sell to us, can help us support Futures
Canterbury.
The Future
2025 saw increased growth, new business in the form of wholesaling used golf clubs to other businesses and driving ranges and becoming the Australasian distributors for the amazing No1 grip (popular around the world but not available down-under before). They began looking further afield and settled on Australia as the next step in the journey, noting that the used golf club market was under-done in Australia and was missing the quantity the market was demanding.
In New Zealand they continue to specialise in offering a mix of new, used, ex-demo and clearance sports gear of all kinds but the Australian branch will be solely golf (hence the name) with a distribution centre and retail shop in Coolum Beach, Queensland. They will have more used clubs than any other Australian retailer from their first day of operating (January 2026) and look forward to giving Aussies' better choice and prices on both clubs and the shipping than they have previously had available.
“We love it when someone comes in and is amazed that they can choose a golf driver from $50 to $850" says Clint. "It’s so cool that people can tell us what they want to spend and we can show them a whole range at that price”. “Often people realise they can get a whole lot more for what they have to spend than they initially thought”. "Our staff are very knowledgeable (because they eat, sleep and breathe golf) and have been all over the world playing the sport they love but are unpretentious and just as happy to help 'weekend hacks' as they are to solve issues for low handicappers" explains Clint. "They happily spend time ensuring you get the right gear no matter how much your budget is. You can even trade-in your old gear at the same time saving yourself the hassle of selling it on your own". With thousands of clubs available across the two countries they hope they will quickly gain a reputation as the place to go when shopping for golf. They are constantly listing new products and most are one-off so it pays to check back often. And golfers, if you don’t see the item that exactly aligns with what you want, let them know. They offer a service no one else does, USED GOLF CLUB SOURCING TO ORDER! You can give them the details of the exact club you would like and they can try to source it for you from their massive overseas suppliers. And best of all, there’s no charge for this extra service!
Thanks for visiting Recreation Station Golf - Australia's largest selection of used golf clubs.