It seems every day there’s a new golf brand. New golf apparel, new golf gear, new golf-focused protein bars and electrolyte packs, new blah blah blah. It makes sense — everyone wants to be in golf. Guys make some money in the corporate world, turn 35, and decide they want golf to be their life.
So they build a golf brand with dreams of a beautiful business that allows them to eat, sleep and breathe golf. They might even get to play some while they’re at it. Will it succeed?
Probably not. I’m kidding (kinda). It depends. Do three things right and you’ve got a shot.
A successful startup golf brand in 2026 will excel in three areas
- Product
- Creative
- Community
You shouldn’t be allowed to win with a bad product. You can’t capture the attention of new customers without good creative (socials, storytelling, design). And you can’t count on repeat customers unless they feel like they’re a part of something (community).
Bonus opinion: I believe the most successful of them will operate like media companies: creating content that reaches their desired audience, giving them something to buy while they’re at it.
Of course, there are nuances, but let’s dive in.
Blueprints to follow
Malbon is the obvious example. Their identity is creative-first: the designs, the collaborations, the style. They may not have been the first to blend streetwear and golf apparel but they’re the first to really scale it.
How?
Product—High-quality material, high-quality collabs, great style for the new-era golfer
Creative—Unreal social/production team, thoughtful influencer partnerships. They create content that draws you in.
Community—Collabs, events, activations, pop-ups. They are capturing a wide audience while making it feel very small, very niche.
This is a brand that can weave their way into your niche hobby and make you fall in love with golf. I really don’t know another brand doing it like this.
They’re dipping into high fashion, they hosted an art show for Werner Bronkhorst, they did a photoshoot in a river. WHY? Because Malbon is in the business of being unpredictable. That’s their creative advantage.
I wrote more about Malbon in my personal newsletter.
Brands must think like media companies
Brands treating content and storytelling as core parts of the business—these are the brands that will create raving fans. They’ll be the ones building loyalty early.
Take Manors Golf, for example. They’re just as much a media brand (in my opinion) as they are an apparel company. Their presence across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok—even LinkedIn—makes it so easy for a casual golfer and social media scroller to find them. If you want to win, make yourself easy to find.
For example: I once enjoyed an Instagram reel Manors put out and now I open every single one of their marketing emails because I’m expecting something unique. Paired with that “something unique” is an opportunity to buy a $150 pair of pants. After reading and watching their stuff for the past year six months, they can take my money!
NIKE, adidas, Peter Millar, etc.—these guys get so much exposure on the PGA Tour that they could drop a boring ad and people still buy. Scottie Scheffler wears a NIKE puffer vest on Sunday and suddenly everyone wants the NIKE puffer vest. These companies have distribution, athletes and decades of trust to lean on.
If you’re a startup golf company, you do not. You cannot play their game.
How to win in 2026
Get. People. Talking.
Your No. 1 goal next year is to get people saying, “have you seen the stuff from *your golf brand*?” to their friends.
If people aren’t talking about you, people aren’t buying from you. Win on the creative side of things to get people talking about you. Have a great product to get people to continue talking about you. Make people feel like they’re a part of something to build loyalty and repeat customers.
Bonus tip out of the Malbon playbook: Do the unexpected!
Build a great product, get creative, invite your customers into the story. Viola, success in 2026!
Hongman
5 months ago
As an old fart… I have been around long enough to recognize that old fashion adage “what goes around comes back around as new” ……. the second I saw Jason Day sporting those Malbon togs the name “Ashworth” flashed thru my mind, who circa 1990’s introduced retro looking, looser fitting polo’s and pleated pants, in premium 100% cotton… great for temps under say 72F… think Freddie Couples, Davis Love, and many other pro’s of that era… Ashworth became so popular they crossed over from golf to men’s general fashion apparel sold at Dillard’s, and their success led to being pursued and swallowed up by Taylormade/Addidas…. which of course led to dilution of their individual product “style” and descent into looking like Nike and every other golf apparel shirt manufacturer… sigh…. let’s hope Malbon can avoid that fate, but perhaps we need not worry about that cuz there’s no way pleated pant are gonna make a comeback….yet…!! My fav haberdasheries are Costco and TJ Maxx as there’s no way I will be ante’ing up over $100 for a pair of pants for golf.