Billy Draddy is recognized as one of the most important apparel designers in the golf industry. An executive with Hickey Freeman and then Polo Ralph Lauren in the 2000s, Draddy became Creative Director at Summit Golf Brands in 2011, leading design direction for Fairway & Greene, Zero Restriction and beginning in 2013, B. Draddy.
Coming up on his 25th anniversary in golf, Draddy reflects on the changes he has seen in the business. He examines some of the current trends in golf apparel and gives us a peek into what we can expect to see from Summit Brands in the new year.
Draddy: From my standpoint, we’ve been on such a nice solid roll since COVID. Golf has been on a long, extended honeymoon, and it’s nice to see we haven’t had any drastic dips. Change never happens overnight, but it really feels like we’re in a new industry right now where all the products we were killing it with 10 years ago aren’t the same products we’re killing it with right now.
Draddy: I think what we’re seeing is that the sport-tech business isn’t slowing down. It’s incorporating tech into new classifications. In all our brands, particularly in the layers, we’ve combined man-made fibers with natural fibers to enhance the performance that already exists, while also creating more sportswear-type items within the performance category, which by the way, continues to be the fastest-growing classification within all of our men’s brands.
Draddy: In the last 10 to 15 years, a lot of what has happened has been driven by the athletic side of the business and people’s desire to be in shape for golf. Golf fitness is becoming its own subcategory for golfers in the off-season as they work out at their clubs to stay in shape for golf. I was watching Full Swing (a documentary series produced by Netflix and the PGA Tour) yesterday, and every player talked about (or showed) what they’re doing in fitness. So, it’s definitely a big part of it, and we’ve moved our assortment in that direction because people want to wear our brands not only on the golf course or to the office, but to work out as well.
Draddy: Any of the Draddy Sport or ZR products can be worn to the gym, and they perform in that way. At the same time, they’re also designed to transition from the gym into normal life without looking like, “He just left the YMCA and is going to dinner in the same thing.” Everything has to serve multiple purposes. And I think that’s why there are a plethora of athletic brands that are competing with Nike and Under Armour. If you asked me 10 years ago if anyone could take athletic business from Nike or Under Armour, I’d have said you were out of your mind. But there are brands out there that are doing just that.
Draddy: I think that’s the reason we’ve been able to sell so many down-insulated garments. We have this new stretch-down vest that we can’t keep in stock in the Northeastern clubs. We just keep getting reorders upon reorders. I know people have been playing all winter here in the Northeast for the last two years, and I anticipate the trend continuing. While we’ve had some cold weather, I don’t think people are afraid of the 50-degree or 40-degree temperatures, as long as there’s no snow on the ground.
Draddy: I believe it only works if the clubs have made a commitment to the fitness side of the business, and there are plenty of clubs that have. In terms of clubhouse renovations, you continue to hear that clubs are adding fitness facilities. They’re realizing the more time they have members walking through their club, the more their revenues go up. If members are going to the club to work out, they’re going to stop at the golf shop or grab lunch. I think it makes complete sense.
Draddy: We’re excited about the ZR Future vest that sold so well this fall and is going to continue for next year. For spring, we did a hybrid version of it where the down portion is only on the top half of the body with a knit portion on the bottom so it transitions from being a true thermal piece to something you put on at the beginning of the round or as you warm up to keep yourself warm.
Also, in the past year, we launched this new cool fabrication for Draddy Sport. It’s a textured knit that has almost a wave-type texture, which means there’s less surface area against your skin so that air can pass through. When you think about it, when you’re cold and want to get warmer, you pull a blanket closer to you. When you want to be cool, you want to have less of whatever it is up against your skin, and that’s what this fabric does. The yarn also has a ceramic coating – if you put your face up against a ceramic tile it’s instantly cool, and that’s the same thing that happens with this yarn. You put it on and instantly feel cooler. That’s something I’m really excited about because I think it’s going to be the new paradigm in polo shirts for golf.
Lisa Goulian Twiste is a Senior Apparel Writer at PGA Magazine.