NEWS
Reigning Masters champion Zach Johnson will showcase Dunning Golf's 2008 spring collection at this year's first major.
FootJoy introduces its new MyJoys, which allow consumers to customize their shoes with 40 college or 30 Major League Baseball team logos in numerous color combinations and shoe styles.
Fairway & Greene, a luxury golf apparel brand, launches a direct-to-consumer e-commerce Website, "F&G Direct" at www.shopfandg.com.
Gogie Girl, manufacturer of golf headwear designed specifically for women, enters into a distribution partnership with G&G Golf, a leading distributor covering all of Canada.
SunBuster reports that a top-five finisher at the Zurich Classic wore its Sport Enhancement Eyewear.
FEATURE
Tattoo Golf's indelible mark
By Megan Jones
GPA Correspondent
Bill Anderson did not see any golf wear at the pro shops that appealed to a guy like him.
Anderson, who sports multiple tattoos, isn’t drawn to shirts sporting a preppie alligator or polo horse, said his business partner, Greg Shaw. That’s just not his style.
So Anderson designed his own. The result was Tattoo Golf, with its one-of-kind Skull and Crossclubs design.
Along the way, he found other golfers were drawn to his more aggressive clothing style, Shaw said.
“There’s a huge demand for nontraditional golf clothing,” Shaw said. “People who are buying the Tattoo Golf line are looking for something to let them stand out from the crowd.”
The line appeals to more golfers than people might think, Shaw said. Initially, they had younger males, say in their teens to 30s, as their target demographic. The young guys are well represented in the customer base, true, but older men and women are keeping them busy, too. The company is actually working to expand its women’s wear now, adding more polo shirts, tees and tanks, and accessories such as pink driver covers.
Anderson initially sold the clothing only via the Web (www.tattoogolf.com). Sales have taken off, Shaw said — “It’s unlimited, what you can do online,” — but the partners are working on the wholesale side of the business, too. Tattoo Golf is in five golf shops now, one in the Midwest, the rest on the West Coast (the company has its headquarters in Burbank, Calif.).
Getting in the door of those shops is the most challenging aspect of the business, Shaw said.
“There’s been a reluctance from some of the shops to take it in, because of how aggressive it looks,” he said. “They think it won’t work, but it does.
“I think [the look] does scare some people. You go into the pro shops, and if there’s an older guy who does the buying, they don’t get it. But when you look at the golfer on their golf courses, they’re wearing stuff off the street, because there isn’t golf apparel they will wear.”
Enter Tattoo Golf. The company sees good sales once the clothing is on the shelves, Shaw said.
“Every place who has put an order in with us so far has reordered from us,” he said.
Tattoo Golf recently took a leap forward through a deal with the Hard Rock Park, a theme park in Myrtle Beach, S.C., scheduled to open this spring. One of the shops in the park will have a tattoo theme, and management approached Tattoo Golf about selling its clothing there. The partners are now waiting for their first order.
Currently, their top seller is a relatively new argyle design, which they have expanded into a high performance fabric (originally it was available only in a jersey knit). It is available in three colors. Hats also sell well.
The Skull and Crossclubs design is incorporated into all of the products, but not always in the same way. Some shirts feature a large, splashy logo; others are subtler. It’s a way to let customers order their own level of attitude, Shaw said.
Of course, there’s attitude, and then there’s attitude.
“We have five people we know of who have gotten a Skull and Crossclubs logo tattoo,” Shaw said.
For information on Tattoo Golf, including its product line and catalog, go to www.tattoogolf.com.
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