It is 3 a.m. when Chris Cote rolls out of bed. The house is dark and the rest of his family – his wife, Donna, and three children – are asleep. A short time later he is on the road making the six-minute drive to the recently opened Chris Cote’s Golf Shop in Portland, Connecticut, about 20 minutes south of Hartford.

It is 2008 and Cote is hoping to get a jump start on his day. His thriving eBay golf club shop had recently moved from the two-car garage at Cote’s home in Portland to its new location on Main Street and Cote is determined to get an early start on club repairs and special orders.

Fast forward to 2025 and Chris Cote’s Golf Shop is a Connecticut golf mecca. With five locations in the towns of Portland, Southington and Hebron, Chris Cote’s Golf Shop offerings include a retail store, a performance center, Toptracer ranges, and mini golf. The former eBay company now boasts a roster of 18 full-time employees, including three members of the Cote family: Donna and two of their kids, Danielle and Bryce.

“I’d like to think we’ve grown the game of golf by getting junior golfers, women, and all different age groups from all different parts of the state involved,” Chris said. “I’m proud to play a role in growing the game and being part of its modernization.”

The story of Chris Cote’s Golf Shop begins in the early 1990s. After a short stint at Central Connecticut State University as a student and member of the golf team, Cote, originally from Rhode Island, opened CJ’s Golf on Stanley Street in New Britain in 1992. For two years Cote operated the small golf retail and custom club shop during the day and worked at Pizza Hut at night so he could make enough money to pay rent.

CJ’s Golf closed its doors in 1994, but looking back Cote said, “It was a great experience for me. CJ’s set up my foundation.”

However, following the closing of CJ’s Golf, the opening of Chris Cote’s Golf Shop was still more than a decade away. In between Cote married Donna, his wife of now 31 years, and had three children – Danielle, Courtney, who’s now an actuary at a local insurance company, and Bryce – while also working at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golfer’s Warehouse.

The next step on Cote’s career path is what led to the doors of Chris Cote’s Golf Shop opening. Daddy Day Care.

“Donna was working as a CPA and making the real money so I would get the kids on the bus,” Cote reminisced. “Then during the day, I would fill eBay orders. It was the early 2000s and the internet was dial up. I remember it would take 5-10 minutes just to download three photos for listing. But I made a couple thousand dollars a month so that was a lot of money.”

Since then Chris Cote’s Golf Shop has continued to grow, culminating with the opening of two Toptracer ranges, a performance center, and a mini golf course over the last few years.

As time went on the company grew. Eventually, Cote had clubs all over his two-car garage and was busy enough to employ part-time workers. However, once the clubs started to find their way into the dining room Donna thought it was time to find a new location.

“My wife said the kids are older now; why don’t you go find a place to rent?” he recalled.

With that, in 2008 Chris Cote’s Golf Shop was officially born. A short time later Cote opened the store to the public and from there everything snowballed. Gary Rencurrel, a former Central Connecticut State teammate and by then a TaylorMade rep, suggested Cote sell the brand and Callaway followed suit shortly after, turning the shop into a retail store.

Since then Chris Cote’s Golf Shop has continued to grow, culminating with the opening of two Toptracer ranges, a performance center, and a mini golf course over the last few years.

During that time expansion wasn’t limited to the business. It also meant a growing number of Cotes working for the shop. Donna had already joined as the company’s controller but as 2019 came to a close both Danielle and Bryce joined the family business.

“It really was not a part of my plan at least long term,” Danielle, who manages the Portland store, said. “When I went to college I was studying web design and public relations. I thought I would move to a big city and get an agency job. Then in 2019 I was interning for Ping and it was during the expansion and my parents called and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It ended up being a blessing because COVID hit three months later.”

With Danielle and Bryce, who works in club repair and sales, now on board, the present and future of Chris Cote’s Golf Shop was solidified.

“It took us 11-12 years of non-stop work to feel like we’ve made it,” Cote said. “It wasn’t until after COVID and Danielle took over the Portland shop that I felt freed up to walk away from the store to do something and know that things will run as they should.”

Running as they should in the world of Chris Cote’s Golf Shop means serving its Connecticut golf family and of course keeping the business in the family.

“We are going to keep the family business going,” Cote said. “Danielle and Bryce are going to be our second generation.”

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