Is golf capable of being trendy?, argued this high-end fashion label.
The analogy is being drawn by the co-founder of Whim Golf, a high-end clothing brand and design studio, who encourages individuals with no interest in the game to give golf a try.
"People don't try golf the same way they don't try broccoli, because they don't think they'll enjoy it," co-founder Colin Heaberg told CNN.
"How do you get people to try something they think they don't like?"
"A little different"
Addressing this question has been Whim's main objective since Heaberg and business partner Will Gesel founded the company, which started as a boutique fashion brand, in July 2019.
Clothing has been the primary response, with a pop-up shop in Chicago marking the company's launch. Potential customers could browse a range of "classic American sportswear," including button-down shirts, polos, shorts, and more.
None of the items on the racks would have looked out of place on the fairway, yet the intention was not to reinvent the wheel. Instead, Whim was targeting a specifically broad market: "People who like X, Y, Z – and golf."
"There's a lot of people for whom golf is their whole personality, but for a lot of people who are interested in our brand, they have a whole other set of interests," Heaberg explained.
"There's plenty of people who buy our stuff who are never going to play golf, but they just like how we do it. A lot of the clothes that we're making are pretty approachable – we're not making the wildest Rick Owens polo or something like that. We're making good, clean stuff – just a little different."
Just how different Whim can be while working within a sporting style that even the most dedicated golfer will likely admit has a reputation for rigid monotony is a challenge that its founders grapple with frequently.
Outliers exist and seem to be emerging with increasing regularity: golf-obsessed rapper Macklemore launched the clothing line Bogey Boys in 2021 to cater to players who "want to stand out," and Australia's Jason Day made a statement at this year's Masters, in April, by teeing up at Augusta National in an eye-catching sleeveless jumper designed by lifestyle brand Malbon Golf.
Even so, Heaberg remains uninterested in the sartorial choices of the game's top players. He uses another analogy, this time comparing fashion outside of golf. "If you're looking at the best style, you're not going to just be looking at movie stars – Ryan Gosling – those people, they just don't have it," he said.
The fact that Day was subsequently asked to remove his flamboyant top by Masters officials is evidence of Heaberg's belief that much of golf continues to operate according to a strict dress code.
"I think it's hard to make actual market change because the rest of the market thinks that there's nothing wrong with what they're currently doing, and are not comfortable with change," he reflected.
"We've always tried to be really constructive about it and not tell people like, ‘We hate your pink striped polo. ‘We're like, ‘That's cool, but this stuff also works.’"
"Free Golf"
What sets Whim apart from other brands, however, is what lies beneath the feet of the seven pop-up stores it has opened throughout its five-year history.
Each store is fitted with fully playable putting greens made from artificial turf, which are free for passers-by to use in major cities like New York and Los Angeles. Over 15,000 people have tried their hand at golf at the company's installations.
Whim has also expanded to an online shop, produced "countless" art pieces, sold directly to country clubs, and recently announced a sneaker collaboration with sportswear giant Reebok – "a dream come true" for Heaberg. Yet clothing is merely the "carrot" to get people, especially urban dwellers, to pick up a club and attempt their first putt.
"Everybody jumps like a kid when they finally do the thing that they've been trying to do and it works. That's why we're doing it – just to expose people," Heaberg said.
"A little girl gets on the bus and sees a soccer field or a basketball court and sees people doing that, and they tell their parents, 'I wanna do that.' If you don't see golf, it's hard to know you want to do it.
"Just let people see the thing, and the more you see it, the more you can see yourself within it."
The putting green installations, dubbed the "Free Golf Initiative," are part of the brand's mission to "democratize" a sport that it says has "been held hostage by the general public's misconceptions about who belongs in the game."
The ultimate goal: convert as many golfers as possible between the ages of 18 and 34 so that, in a decade's time, their children can lead a "youth movement" in the sport.
"You'd hear all this stuff about 'grow the game' and all these insider golf people would kind of have this lip service about how they're trying to make it a more diverse and welcoming place," Heaberg said.
"And we would always just be like, ‘You guys are just not doing anything, though.You've got to do the work.’ We can't just hire some diversity on the business and be like, ‘Alright, we did it!’ You've got to really get out there and put clubs in people's hands.
"That's the only metric there is – how many people are touching clubs?"
"Golf is often perceived as an exclusive sport, but Whim Golf aims to change that by making it more approachable through their clothing line and 'Free Golf' initiative."
"The 'Free Golf' initiative involves setting up fully playable putting greens at Whim's pop-up stores, encouraging urban dwellers to try golf and potentially fall in love with the sport."
