At The 2024 PGA Show host Colin Weston recorded six conversations with golf industry innovators on the Show Floor Media Stage. Fifth up is Eddie Fadel, President of apparel brand Ashworth Golf.
Revered by passionate players since 1987, Ashworth is the original, authentic golf apparel brand – designed by golfers for golfers.
Visit https://www.ashworth-golf.com to check out their latest collection.
We are back with the mod call podcast at the PGA show 2024 my name is Colin Weston and if you don’t know what the mod call podcast we talk about entrepreneurship and Innovation and I definitely have an entrepreneur and innovator right next to me and that is
Eddie Fidel who is the president of Ashworth and the apparel brand I love it I love it and a lot to say any um I really don’t cover apparel too much cuz I don’t see there is some Innovation or a little small tweaks but
I will say with your brand not only do I love the aesthetic but also reading your backstory starting in 1987 I understand you’ve really innovated the last couple of years you’ve really kind of changed I don’t know if you changed the culture or let you kind of kind of enhance that
Let’s say from where where you were but why don’t you tell us a little bit about this I know you’ve been a b with Freddy Couples who in my mind is there’s no guy that’s cooler than Freddy and he’s back in the F now so so why don’t we start
Here Eddie why don’t you tell us give us a bit of the backstory I was of the entrepreneurial story tell us about the formation of Ashworth and uh the backstory and kind of lead up to all the good things you’re doing at the show this year yeah so Ash you know 19
1987 uh John Ashworth uh looked at the golf industry and said it’s froan the state of polyest Po no and it was so every John all about cotton and natural fibers and so uh and he was all about you know it’s funny before golf the say make golf inclusive John was trying to
Make golf inclusive saying we’re for all golf we don’t care we’re not the fancy company but we could sell daily feed public golf course if you had a lawn War we would sell you right so that was you know they might be a little n course it
Might be driving and then we also show best resorts the BBE was always about walking it was always about putting your bag on your back going out with and playing golf and you know and being comfortable in what you were not not necessarily you know we had a symbol which is Dolph man
Which is kind of an abstract symbol golf golf man was a cool a cool symbol it’s kind of one of the things attract tre’s naturally absolutely yeah but we were fortunate and that’s what helped that was part of the impas of the grand early had bre couples and and obviously that’s
Was enough that’s what you know that’s all you need yeah yeah so well it’s interesting you talk about golf band I’ve done a little research on this my background in in design architecture but also graphic design uh well there it is so you hold up for the camera there and
Also over here I know if you’re listening to the audio podcast you can’t see this but I’ll put some pictures in the show notes for you so tell me a little bit about the uh the the origin story or the birth story of uh of of of
Golf bad tell me tell me about that well was a gentleman named Barry Grim who sit just in a meeting had a John is describing what it’s like you got your bag on your shoulder walk down the faway very golf an abct golf kind of a badge
That you’re a golf a badge that you’re a golf and so the other side to that is uh guys tattooed it on their body we we we go to meetings all the time the iy got to show you something he lifs up his sleeve and 30 years ago he put the golf
P all on their legs I can’t even tell you how many guys did that it was just a cool tattoo it says I’m a golfer and uh that that was kind of the the brand so the brand went through this whole trilogy and in 20 2008 the brand was purchased by tayor
Call Adas which is the parent company decides to get out of the office in 2016 and that’s when the company was sold when they sold Taylor Made they sold as 2 in 2016 so we got it back in 2019 the First Co happened we all know about that
We do yeah but but here but here we are today and we’re really starting over again but we’re not letting go of the heritage of what we had in the past so we built the company on C before we still do cotton today for GU we cot
Shiny and um we we want to be par office again in that we want to be affordable whether you’re playing public course you’re playing private club so we kind of have a good better best strategy to make gol more affordable and more accessible to you know and so that’s
Kind of my brother and I we grew up as C we grew up in Ohio we didn’t BL we were C that’s how we got and and he played the T 79 he’s in the Ohio Golf Hall he was a much better player than me OB but that’s our heritage was always about
It’s always about being around and I saw as part of your culture You’ got the tagline unap unapologetically gone right you know why I did that because all these new big companies they want to say hey we’re not a golf right we’re a sports we’re a lifestyle yeah we’re a
Lifestyle you know what we’re golf company you know if you were to wear you can wear it anywhere you want to wear it but you know and listen depending on where you’re playing golf you might be able to wear a t-shirt or a hoodie or whatever we don’t care right it’s you
Can wear anywhere you want to that’s no I like that it sounds like you really know who you are and you kind of are consistent you’re stuck to that where yeah you try to be everything to everybody you just kind of dilute what you’re try to do when you got to lose
Focus yeah so yeah no exactly people love the Simplicity of the brand you know like I said it’s it’s easy for us to say we’re all about do we want to make stuff that guys want to wear when playing offl just hanging out yeah practicing or whatever so that’s a you
Know cuz that’s what we think all this kind of fraternity they come from all walks alike but we all play offl together we don’t care how much money you make we don’t care where you came from and and I think that there’s things happening today like we’re we’re
Involved in natural links process my brother we think golf should be more interest you know and you know it’s uh it’s a fun game so it’s our game our game fun game it certainly is yeah so as you got to reimagine yourself now and
Even in the in the future as far as that in that inclusivity piece and there a lot of a lot of talk or a lot of companies now are are are what they call their their ESG commiting so between environmental uh sustainability and also governance as far as like how you’re the
Social impact you’re also making or what you’re doing or even though you’re a poor proper company the things that you’re doing it sounds like you’ve already got that blueprint in place there as far as to give back a bit and also to be as inclusive as possible with
What you’re doing as your pressive we want to we want to give back to Young golers who don’t have the opportunity and and and so that’s one thing we want to do you know as far as environment goes You Know listen we want to go back
To day like we’re doing some things in G and you know G has always been known really you don’t call it organic because but they use less chemicals it’s more natural the whole processing process that’s all better for the we want to less the footprint synthetics because synthetics they are what they
Are and so we want to but it’s a slow you know not everybody’s ready for that yet but we’re slowly getting that people don’t want to hire you we might put a little like we make a shirt that we put it’s 78% pacot we said 28% poly so it’s
A micro denar poly that we put on the back of it so guess what it it will be easier care people care about it might a little bit with the technology and it’s never been it’s all right yeah you got some samples here so why you show show a couple
Things this is plated and you feel this fabric I know we’re not going to really see it but you feel the back of this fabric is actually plated with poly a light layer poly inside right but what do you have on Cotton water TOS you got
Fe cotton on the outside you got a sof comfortable and this own schol kind of just simple solid DOL shirt you everything prints now and but it’s just it’s it comes basic colors and it’s just what I know it’s what I want to wear because it’s c yeah well I I still
Trying to put my finger on as how I Define your brand of seene i as you know it’s always what people say about your brand not what you thinking in a boardroom and I you have this nice combination of really traditional type of styles either colors but it’s also
Very modern and clean I think you’ve really found this in my mind to found this nice little kind of Tipping Point of of it it can be for everybody it’s not old and stuffy it’s not something that if you’re over 25 years old you’re going to look ridiculous in uh well
Right the way I’m trying to give you a longwinded compliment here is I I love what you’re doing here that you balance that traditional and modern with with what you’re doing as you’re moving the brand forward the and the aesthetic of the design no doubt about it and you
Know we want to be golf friendly so the good is you know we’re not oversized by any means but we’re not slim and you know a lot of the young guys that want to wear the brand they go Eddie you know medium going too big on me go think P me
Perfect CU they want to wear it tighter it’s all about how you want to wear it abely you know like in my body at my age you know not so good I’m I’m joining on that one there like find that strike that balance strike that balance we we bringing like we’ll bring like
We’ll make we’ll make hoodies and we’ll bring back the old Vibe of the as California VI let’s hold that one up like this one here is like not traditional Ash I think of Ash that’s not so yeah so we’re bring because you know this is what guys are wearing today
This is what especially younger guys this is how they want to dress on the I’m all I said why not you want to wear we make it but also 100% C Mak through so it doesn’t always have polyester doesn’t always you know so we’re we’re just
Saying hey we have yeah and I and and with hood too I remember I I just kind of laugh you see a lot of the the golf traditional controversy I it was 2 years ago I don’t know was some guy wore a hoodie of all God forbid of all things
During the tournament and it was hoodie gate for like the next month that’s all they were talk about it’s like don’t you have anything else to talk about um now all of us wear hoodies in all ages we’re all wearing hoodies I know right I know
So hey to finish up here Eddie for people that don’t know your brand with ashor what’s the easiest way that they can actually find out more the show order there’s this thing called the internet now we have a website like everybody else is ash.com it’s all you
So I’m not the most te Tey guy but ash.com there we go and you can see the new line for spring and what we’re doing but you know we’re having fun and we’re glad to be back well I love this well Eddie pel president of Ashworth well
Thanks so much for joining me today taking the up and to come down bringing some some samples to show off here I like what you’re doing I love you’re doing much thank you very much all right
