With more than a dozen golf courses in Jackson and Josephine counties and the likes of Bandon Dunes and SunRiver within driving distance, there are plenty of places to play.

Most of the courses and clubs have pro shops. Large sporting goods shops such as Big 5 and the Sports Authority carry lots of gear, and Internet sellers are ready to ship overnight.

Still, Jim and Lorraine Zentgras see opportunity and they are poised to enter the golf equipment fray with a Golf Etc. shop at McAndrews Marketplace. The 3,019-square-foot store is expected to open in June.

Jim Zentgras says he took a look at other golf shop franchises, including Golf Galaxy and Golf USA — which came to the Rogue Valley in the late 1990s and since departed — and Nevada Bob's, before settling on Golf Etc., a Granbury, Texas, firm.

"All of them had some good and some bad things about them," he says. "I looked at some food industry franchises, too, and decided to stay away from food."

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He's a former general manager and vice president with Garrett Aviation (now Landmark Aviation) in Los Angeles and Wilmington, Del., and she was in the human resources field. He carries a 17.6 handicap and she has a 33. They bought property in Medford seven years ago and returned from the East Coast last year to be closer to their four children and grandkids.

Ultimately, Golf Etc. won out, partly because of its franchise concept and partly because it met a need Zentgras sees.

"There were favorable buy-in franchise fees tied to square footage, so there is a fixed budget that's not dependent on gross revenue," Jim Zentgras says. "It keeps the franchiser out of our books and there's no obligation to buy (merchandise) through the franchise."

Nonetheless, Golf Etc. helps set up the accounts with firms such as TaylorMade, Mizuno, MacGregor, Nike, Cobra, Cleveland and Calloway.

"We've taken some retail classes and we're not afraid of it because we can adapt from what we've learned in our past business," he says. "What will be important is finding the right (equipment) fit that makes for a better game. We won't be the kind of retail place where people come in, buy and go out the door; that's not where golf is today."

Zentgras says he checked out The Shoppes at Exit 24, and spaces off Biddle Road and behind the RRRink before settling on McAndrews Marketplace. The high traffic flow at the nearby intersection of McAndrews and Biddle roads creates a lot of exposure.

"With the restaurants around it will draw both foot and automobile traffic," he says. "I've been told that 90 percent of the Saturday appointments at David's Bridal (a couple doors away) come from 60 miles away. So that's a good thing. The one negative is that it's not an easy off and on for Interstate 5."

The Medford store is the third Golf Etc. store in Oregon, with the others in Bend and Lake Oswego.

"Typically they give stores a 5-mile territory radius," Zentgras says. "But I worked it out for a 20-mile radius and the first right of refusal for another 20 miles beyond that, so if someone wanted to go into Grants Pass, they'll have to contact me."

In addition to the owners, the business will begin with one full-time golf industry veteran and two part-timers.

"The valley is aging," Zentgras says. "Fortunately, that makes it a good market for us. Retirees, who have played historically, will double and triple the amount golf they play."

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or at business@mailtribune.com