Why Macklemore transformed a new love of golf into a golf lifestyle brand

It started in a fairway bunker in Hawaii.

It was the day after Thanksgiving Day in 2018 and rap artist Macklemore was enjoying some time with family, manager Ben Secord and some of his closest friends. Located behind the rented house was a golf course.

After a bit of a spill, Macklemore was finally pressured into playing his first round of golf. While not sharing his friend’s commitment, his plan was to get through the first nine holes before finding an operational excuse for leaving. After hitting a house at first sight, and making his way through a foreign course in Hawaii, he found himself in a sand trap.

Frozen and ready to go, he grabbed a 5-iron. He swam and made a real connection to the surprise of both himself and his friends. He remembers the croaking sound, the feeling and the flight of that bullet, because it gave him rest. All the frustrations that had been building up to that point were left in that bunker and he finally started to enjoy it. When they were done, he could not wait to play again.

That same picture sparked an interest that has now grown into a new commitment to golf.

“Everything I want to do is,” he says. “It’s just this dopamine star when you hit a good golf course. The sharpness of mind it takes, the current nature of one golf course at a time, not to get too far ahead of yourself, not to think about the score, but just to be present. It’s a whole, complete, mental and physical experience that I love. Golf has completely changed my life. ”

On a good week, he gets in four rounds. Although the pandemic put an end to a music project he started working on, it has allowed him to spend much more time at tea and quality at home with his wife and two daughters. Seattle’s gloomy bad weather doesn’t stop it either. The Golf Channel is often behind him when he’s home, so even when he’s not playing, he’s still eating the sport.

Through tours, he has had the opportunity to play on a number of courses around the world. As he became so obsessed with his time on the green, he begins to find a major component that frightened him even more than these first movements back on that course. in Hawaii. No matter where he was playing, he noticed that everyone was wearing the same clothes.

Growing up in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Macklemore’s first experience in fashion was shopping at second-hand stores due in part to his love of old-fashioned fashion. golf. From Chi Chi Rodriguez straw hats, weavers Payne Stewart fitted into his argyle socks, to Arnold Palmer cardigans; Macklemore was always looking at their personal style and found comfort in standing out.

How could he enjoy his new love if he wears the same clothes Public Joe on hole 9?

“I go into those pro-shopping and golf shops and it’s like everyone has this on the same polo and it’s so boring, basic and cookie-cutter,” he said. e. “I couldn’t stand it if I tried. ”

He knew there had to be golfers who felt the same way. Seeing that gap for loneliness, Macklemore wondered if he would put all his time, resources, and creative energy fully into the design process, whether he could produce high-quality clothing a result that would not only feel completely comfortable on the green, but could also throw a foot away from it?

The concept of Bogey Boys was born.

After a year and a half of sampling, designing, poring over every little detail such as sewing the uniform, down to the top of the pants, Season One of Bogey Boys golf brand and lifestyle released last week exclusively at bogeyboys .com.

With the general stigma of golf as a wealthy sport, an old white man, Macklemore struggled for some weird looks and snide remarks on the courses when he started wearing his early trials of the outfit. What he found instead was a number of questionable conversations and complimentary comments about his new threads, which let him know that there was a lot of room for growth in the game in terms of style and inclusion.

He hopes his efforts with Bogey Boys help bring new energy and more diverse partners to golf.

“Golf goes back in time to this long line of this special boys’ club,” says Macklemore. “This game is not about you. This game is about friendship, getting outside, spending hours with your friends or family, having fun, and getting out of that box in which the keep this game. It shouldn’t be such a strong sport.

“We hope to use this platform to open up the floods, to make it accessible to all. Of course, it’s an expensive sport but there are ways around that, ”he continued. “Local town courses are great across the country, and I think that’s something Bogey Boys will be focusing on in the coming months and years – how can we as a brand bring more people to get involved, involve more young people, and help ensure that anyone who wants to have the sport has the opportunity to do so? ”

While Season One has already had early success with a number of items selling out quickly and getting good feedback, Macklemore is proud and says he is even happier with it as Season Two is coming and looking forward to what ‘s on for Season Three. He would love to work with golfers coming up on the Korn Ferry Tour or someone not yet established on a PGA Tour that aligns with his vision for Bogey Boys. But for now, he enjoys making cool clothes that he also loves to wear.

When he talks about golf and all his creative ideas to help grow the sport, it’s easy to forget that he only played the game for a year or two. Macklemore thinks it’s surreal and a little silly that he’s already competing in PGA events. Whatever his score, the calmness and excitement that the game gives him replaces any nerves he has about having his pictures broadcast live on TV to millions.

It is that great passion that explains why it feels like this lifestyle brand is rising outside of the club houses and continues to help the sport reach new audiences. to reach.

“This is something that is not just a flash in the moment for me,” Macklemore says. “It’s not just letting me in for a year or two, and it’s certainly not money-driven. It’s driven by a real love for this game and where we can take it in style and that’s what Bogey Boys are going to do. ”