NFL
By: Maya Reyes Brooks
Golf’s been a closed door for most of its American history. These days, the door’s getting kicked in, and it’s happening through fashion and equipment before it’s happening through membership rosters.
Eastside Golf: The Blueprint
Start with Eastside Golf, because everybody else in this space is working off the trail they blazed. Founded by two HBCU alumni, the Atlanta-based brand set out to open up a sport that has traditionally prided itself on exclusivity. Co-founder Olajuwon Ajanaku grew up on Atlanta’s Eastside surrounded by Black kids, parents, and coaches at his neighborhood’s public courses until his first tournament showed him how different the rest of the golf world looked.
Ajanaku describes the brand’s logo as himself, a Black man in jeans and a sweatshirt, mid-swing, Cuban link chain flying the other direction. That’s not a marketing gimmick, that’s a statement. And it’s working: the brand crossed $10 million in revenue in 2024, up from $1 million just four years earlier, with a roster of celebrity ambassadors, brand partnerships, and even a signed PGA Tour golfer in Joseph Bramlett. They’ve also collaborated on footwear with Jordan Brand, golf’s biggest sneakerhead crossover moment to date. Their gear allows you to be yourself and not feel like you have to fit into some fashion box when out on the links.
Malbon, Blackballed, and the Streetwear Wave
Malbon Golf, started in 2017 by Stephen and Erica Malbon, built its identity marketing to serious golfers and fashion heads alike, and its collab list reads like a streetwear rolodex: Nike, Adidas, TaylorMade, Tag Heuer. Blackballed Golf entered with a mission statement to match: revolutionizing golf apparel by infusing it with style, quality, and a genuine commitment to diversity and inclusion. Check all those boxes.
What ties them together, according to branding analysts watching the space, is that these brands were built from the community instead of building for it, which is why the representation reads as real instead of a marketing tactic. Legacy brands responding with limited diversity lines instead of real transformation are already losing market share to Malbon and Eastside because younger buyers can feel the difference. Deion Sanders once said, “If you look good, you play good.” Truer words have never been spoken.
Beyond the Menswear Rack
Eastside Golf recently expanded beyond menswear into womenswear after years of women buying the men’s line and asking when their turn was coming. I am one of those who asked WHEN, so thank you! Co-founder Ajanaku said they refused to just “shrink and pink” the existing catalog; they brought in designers with real women’s apparel expertise to build something authentic. That’s the difference between checking a box and actually building for who’s showing up. Amen.
The Bigger Picture
None of this is just about looking good on the back nine. Every hoodie, every Jordan collab, every womenswear drop is doing something municipal golf courses and country club membership committees have been slow to do, telling kids who look like Ajanaku’s Eastside Atlanta that they belong in this sport, not adjacent to it. The equipment and the swing mechanics will always matter, but culture moves through what you wear before it moves through who’s allowed to tee off. Golf’s not white anymore. It’s just taking the institutions a minute to catch up.
Also, I can’t forget my fellow Filipinos, who are also crashing the party. Make sure to check out these brands. PARÉ, founded by Matt Sakdalan, blends streetwear with golf while proudly wearing Filipino culture on its sleeve. The name itself is Tagalog slang for “friend” or “bro.” Sakdalan built the brand as a decade-plus passion project, fusing golf, streetwear, and sneaker culture into one identity, right down to a logo based on a childhood photo of him and his dad at Pebble Beach wearing Air Force 1s and Girbaud jean shorts, not golf shoes.
And ALYN was founded by a friend of our team, former professional golfer, creator, and cultural trailblazer Tisha Alyn. As stated on their website, “Designed from lived experience – not adapted from menswear – ALYN blends fierce functionality with streetwear energy. Every piece is made to move with purpose and built to fit women fully and confidently. It’s for those who lead unapologetically, play with grace, and live all in.”
As the game continues to change checkout these amazing brands for that perfect fit and also a statement on the course.
Maya, out — see you at the turn.
