Brett Thoss experienced his first golf show without his father, Thomas, last weekend in Tinley Park. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)
Palos Golf returns to Tinley Expo despite loss of longtime owner
By Jeff Vorva
The Tinley Park Golf Expo returned to the village’s convention center last weekend.
So did the Palos Golf Shop.
But there was someone very important missing.
Thomas Thoss, the longtime owner of the Palos Hills business along with his wife, Nancy, died in October after a battle with cancer.
His son, Brett, has also been a fixture at golf shows including the Tinley Park show. This was the first time Brett attended a show without his father.
“It’s therapy for me after he passed,” Brett said. “This is my first show without him. It’s a little melancholy but he was failing because of the cancer and he’s in a better place.”
Thomas logged nearly 40 years in the golf business. Tom and Nancy opened the Palos shop in 1976 and Brett joined up in 1993 after running Badger Golf in Madison, Wis.
The Tinley show started at the Tinley Convention Center in 2010. There was no show in 2019 and after a change in leadership running the event, it returned in 2020 weeks before COVID-19 shut most things down. The event was not held in 2021 because of the pandemic but returned this year.
“My father was here every year,” Thoss said. “He loved dealing with the public so he would have loved it here.”
The Palos Golf exhibit featured just about everything that could be found in their shop moved to Tinley Park for three days.
“Golfers are champing at the bit waiting for spring to arrive,” Thoss said. “This show comes at a perfect time for us. Customers want to find out what’s new.
“These manufactures no longer wait until March or April. Everyone wants to see what’s new. Plus, it’s a long winter in Chicago and it’s nice to be able to get out of the house and this is a good place to do it.”
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Thank you very much. I’ve had a tremendous response to the article from some older customers who hadn’t known my father passed due to Covid, etc.
Yes it is sad news of Tom’s passing but it is great to see Brett carry on this remarkable family business. Palos golf thrives in the age of the big box store. Their prices are extremely competitive but the service and expertise received by their customers is truly invaluable. They have earned the communities support.