Besides dandelions and sprinklers, something that pops up around golfers early in the year is an event known as the demo day.

This is the opportunity for golfers to try out the club manufacturers’ new equipment.

Some company representatives travel around their sales area giving solo demonstrations at various clubs and, occasionally, retail outlets.

In other cases, such as the one held Saturday by Joseph’s Clothing and Sporting Goods of Fairfield, several reps are invited to bring their merchandise for potential customers to try out.

“We had thought of doing it in the past, but we didn’t do it until last year,” said Paula Eustis, daughter of store owner Harold Joseph. “Last year, we did it at the end of the year instead of the beginning. According to one of the reps, it was the best they had all year.”

Joseph said, “We wanted to do it this way because it would give people a chance to compare clubs.”

Joseph’s session had reps from Ping, Titleist, Callaway, and Cleveland.

“We had others who were interested,” he said. “They were kind of disappointed they weren’t approached.

“I didn’t want to confuse people by having too many. People get tired of swinging after a while.”

Joseph said he’ll do it again.

“We’ll do it every year, you can depend on that,” he said.

Chris Lander said XL Golf in Hermon has a similar group session scheduled for June 10.

“We prefer to [put] them all together,” said Lander. “Ping, Callaway, Titleist, and Taylor-Made will all be here, guaranteed. I think we’ll see some of the smaller ones, too.”

The first big one they ran two years ago was well-attended, he said.

“It was four hours, and we figured 400-500 people came through,” said Lander. “We had 20 stations, and every station was 3-4 people deep the whole time.”

At Bangor Municipal Golf Course, they have one day scheduled with the Taylor-Made rep, 2-6 p.m. on June 9. Others may be scheduled during the season.

“Some [reps] like it, some don’t,” said Bangor assistant pro Mike Baker of the demo days.

“A lot of times,” said Joseph, “when [the reps] go to these [by themselves], they don’t get anybody.”

Baker said, “When Titleist was here, we had a good response.”

Colin Gillies, head pro at Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono, said the club has had “so-so turnout [in the past]. It’s rare that they coincide with someone’s needs.”

The alternative is to have demo clubs on hand that people can borrow.

“Some send demo sets or demo clubs that you can use,” said Baker. “Instead of one day, you’ll be able to use them for a while.”

Gillies, who will still have reps come up for days on occasion, has gone one step farther.

“I bought five sets on my own,” he said. There is one each from Titleist, Callaway, Ping, Cleveland, and Taylor-Made. “We’ll be able to demo the [clubs] all year.”

Golfers can try the clubs on the driving range or actually play a round with them.

Gillies said, “It’s been very well received. People appreciate the opportunity to try them without the pressure [of a sales rep nearby].”

Times still available

The ninth Bar Harbor Banking and Trust Open, set for June 3-4, still has tee times available.

Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth is the beneficiary of the tournament. Last year, more than $20,000 was raised for the hospital through the tournament.

Proceeds from this year’s event will go toward purchasing vision screening equipment for infants, cardiac rehab Phase III scholarships, and lymphedema treatment at the Mary Dow Cancer Center, according to Ray Huntley, the regional vice president of the bank.

The field of up to 424 golfers is split into two groups. One group will play Bar Harbor Golf Course in Trenton on June 3 and Northeast Harbor Golf Course the next day. The other group will play Northeast Harbor the first day and Bar Harbor Golf Course the second.

The prize fund is approximately $5,000, and the tournament is open to both men and women.

The fee is $55 per person. To reserve a tee time, call the Maine Coast Memorial Hospital development office at 664-5337.