Golf and sustainability have always been, and will forever be, deeply intertwined. The sport isn’t just played outdoors, the outdoors are intrinsically part of it. What I’m getting at is this: you can’t love golf without loving the outdoor spaces you actually inhabit while playing. Wouldn’t it make sense that the golf world takes a big swing when it comes to sustainability? That’s what Scott Morrison and Bob Conrad were thinking when they started Radmor Golf, the first golf brand to avoid the use of “virgin,” aka non-recycled, polyester in any of their apparel.
The duo met as student athletes at the University of Washington in 1993. Both members of the golf team with a keen eye for fashion, they decided that the golf apparel offerings at the time weren’t up to snuff — they even went as far as creating a business plan for an apparel brand of their own. (Hold that thought.)
After graduation, however, the pair went their separate ways: Morrison went to New York City to pursue a career in fashion while Conrad tried his hand at becoming a PGA professional. While Conrad was working on his game back home, Morrison rounded out the 90s by starting the first of his many ventures into the fashion world, Paper Denim and Cloth, which specialized, as you may have guessed, in high-quality denim. Conrad never quite made it to the Tour, but after six years of hard work he started a family and found a ton of success in commercial real estate.
Fast forward to the early 2020s. Morrison was wrapping up operations on his third successful denim brand and wanted to make the move back home to the West Coast. Older and wiser, he and Conrad reconnected, deciding that this was the perfect time to get back into the golf apparel game — who says you can’t go home again? Morrison had seen, ahem, how the sausage was made in the world of fashion and knew something had to be done to improve the industry’s sustainability efforts. They went back to the drawing board, revisiting their youthful vision of golf style and pairing it with the insights gained from decades in the fashion industry. The resulting plan was Radmor, a 100% sustainable golf brand that was focused on designing clothes they actually wanted to wear on and off the course — a perfect amalgamation of style sensibilities for today’s golf landscape.
Earlier we mentioned that they use no virgin polyester, but Morrison and Conrad wanted to take it further. Even recycled polyester can find its way into our air, soil, and food. Instead, by focusing on regenerative and biodegradable materials like cotton, lyocell, modal, and bamboo, Radmor has committed to using materials that break down over time and return to the earth, unlike the oil-based poly materials commonly seen in today’s fashion.
You may be thinking, “Sustainability is cool and all, but does it translate to performance?” The answer is a resounding “YES.” Sure, your run-of-the-mill performance polyester gear may seem like the platonic ideal of comfort, but nothing beats natural fibers. When sourced and woven properly, you’ll find that cotton, wool, bamboo and other natural materials can be just as stretchy, moisture-wicking, and temperature-regulating as the poly blends you’ll find from many of the brands out there today.
Speaking of other brands, it’s becoming more and more common to see sustainability initiatives in golf, from apparel mainstays and emerging brands, alike. Whether they’re following in Radmor’s ultra-responsible footsteps or not, it’s safe to say that Radmor is leading the charge to a more sustainable, eco-friendly game of golf, something we’re sure that Mother Nature is thankful for. Golf may never be a fully-sustainable sport, but for the sake of its longevity, Conrad and Morrison have one thing to say: Go Green. Wear Radmor.
Thomas A
2 years ago
Don’t sleep on modal material (beech tree fiber). I bought some shirts from a company called Romeo NYC. They are about $30 and are softer than anything I’ve tried. They also perform well on the course and don’t have that shiny golf shirt look.