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Club Girl Golf

🎬 Behind the Scenes

  • Founder Katie Calderon is taking charge with a few interns & mentors with along with an advisory board of ~5 industry leaders 
  • Launched in Houston TX in September of 2022 
  • Has around a half a million followers over multiple social media accounts
  • 5+ years of industry experience including multiple internships with Calloway 
  • Recieved funding through various pitch competitions and grants

🌍 Problem

TLDR: Gender-based golf club design mismatches user needs in the sales process 

When it comes to producing womens clubs, big brands typically went with the “shrink it and pink it” strategy which is not sutiable for most players due to various factors that make womens golf swings different from mens.

Remember when your ex insisted, ‘I’m not like other girls’? Well, that may be debatable — but in the world of golf clubs that is pretty accurate — one club design doesn’t fit all and that’s where large manufactures have fallen short. 

Some argue that there shouldn’t even be a distinction between mens and womens clubs since some women are better off playing mens clubs and vice versa. 

Overall, labeling the clubs male or female doesn’t change the difference between a particular flex and weight that is optimal for someone’s swing.

🏌️‍♀️ Solution

That’s where Club Girl Golf comes into the scene, or should I say course.

Katie has been designing putters for the last few years while documenting her story on Tik Tok and Instagram which lead to a very sizable audience. 

Her company is planning on starting off with a putter that incorporates proprietary technology and manufacturing processes, over the next few years.

Currently, there is a patent pending on her club design which means the specifics of the club itself have to stay on the low. (will be giving an update to this as soon as it can be acknowledged publicly)

📈 Catalysts for Club Girl Golf

Some of key drivers in Club Girl Golf revolve around Katies engineering background and experience working at Calloway with club design, the personal brand she has leveraged for marketing, and the overall trends in womens golf…

  • Since 2019, the number of female golfers have increased by 800k, a 14% jump
  • There has been a rise of 900k junior golfers over the past 3 years

Overlall, Katie has a lot of things going for her especially through college and social media, many professionals and experts in the industry have reached out to help.

🚧 The Road Ahead

The golf club production industry is quite different than most due to the higher barrier to entry in the manufacturing process.

In total, there are ~50 different golf club manufacturers, four of them being bigger than most…

  • Calloway (Innovative, diverse range, ideal for beginners, intermediates)
  • Titliest (Superior craftsmanship, precision, for experienced golfers)
  • Ping (Ergonomic, customizable, comfort-focused design)
  • Taylormade (Leading in driver innovation, advanced technology)

There are other independent manufacturers that are better known for their focus on womens clubs, these include…

  • Cobra 
  • Adams Golf 
  • Tour Edge 
  • Wilson  

Regardless, Katies advantage lies in her first hand experience designing golf clubs and time playing golf, along with her personal brand on Tik Tok and Instagram which will come in handy once her clubs hit the market 

📈 Path Moving Forward

Club Girl Golf is still in the R&D stage of things with local players testing out her clubs. With this phase of testing almost complete, Katie is ramping up for national, possibly global, testing period before their desired launch in November of 2024.

Starting with putters was the best move for her as it is the only club that players use on every hole and on average accounts for 40% of a golfer’s game. From there, plans are being thought up about releasing a full set of clubs over the next few years  

💡Studentpreneuer Insights

“Engineering has helped make me a better golfer, and golfing has made me a better engineer.” – Katie Calderon

As a student, you have access to a wealth of resources. These include University offered programs, mentorship, and funding opportunities.

📸 In The Media 

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