Dive Brief:
- As an acknowledgment to the rapid growth of professional and recreational golf, DTC apparel brand Mizzen+Main announced the signing of five current PGA golfers to endorsement deals, per a press release.
- Among the group of PGA golfers signed to sponsorships with the brand are Mackenzie Hughes – beginning his second season with the company – plus Sepp Straka, Austin Cook, Max McGreevy and Harrison Endycott.
- Mizzen+Main has sponsored PGA Tour players in the past, including six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, who partnered with the brand from 2018-21 and became a part-owner, according to a representative.
Dive Insight:
Although no longer sponsored by Mizzen+Main, Mickelson remains “a part owner and friend of the brand” according to the company. Mickelson was suspended for two years by the PGA tour in 2022 for allegedly recruiting other players to the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Tour that competes with the PGA.
Mizzen+Main is deepening its ties with professional golf as the sport continues to pick up steam and grow in popularity. After declining for several years, golf participation picked up again during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as people found it to be a distance-oriented, outdoor game they could play and feel safe doing. Some 25.6 million people played on a golf course in 2022 and another 15.5 million participated in off-course golf activities like driving ranges and other golf entertainment venues, according to the National Golf Foundation.
Mizzen+Main is not alone in seeking to grow its stable of professional athletes to endorse their products. A number of sports-related DTC brands, including footwear brand On, are competing with established brands through such ambassador signings.
“We want to do anything we can to help these golfers look and feel their best,” Bethany Muths, chief marketing officer of Mizzen+Main, said in a statement. “These partnerships are an opportunity for any golfer, regardless of skill or experience, to see that Mizzen+Main is who the pros choose when they want to wear something comfortable, and we can work for you too.”
In addition to signing touring professionals, Mizzen+Main has been beefing up its physical presence through its six brick-and-mortar locations located in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida. The brand’s Dallas flagship location has been redesigned with an aesthetic that its architecture firm described in a release as “promoting discovery and encouraging engagement, achieved through a sequence of touchpoints that connects, inspires and encourages interaction.”
Launched in 2012 and known for its comfort fabric dress shirts, Mizzen+Main soon expanded into pants, outerwear, and golf apparel. The company’s first golf polo shirt was introduced in 2015.
Mizzen+Main has been sponsoring professional golfers for several years and currently has additional deals with several players on the developmental Korn Ferry Tour, including Clay Feagler, Quade Cummins and Grant Hirschman.
