Headshot
Shade Headwear was launched in May of 2021 by previous golf headwear industry executives Tate Miller and James Thompson, who had entered the craft brewery space. Miller (Shade’s co-owner and Chief Operating Officer) and Thompson (co-owner and Chief Marketing Officer), who in the 2000s and 2010s were part of the team that helped Pukka become a major player in golf headwear, soon decided to go back to their roots in the green grass market, introducing Shade to the golf industry at the 2024 PGA Show as the “only truly custom private label headwear supplier in the market.”
A year later, the company is gaining a following for its modern lifestyle appeal, attention to detail, updated technology and commitment to letting the golf shop’s “brand” shine through on every piece of headwear delivered.
1 What made Shade Headwear launch into the golf market, which many would say is already a crowded category?
James Thompson: The industry is ready again for something different, and we saw an opportunity as being the industry’s only real custom private-label headwear source. Until we recognized it, it went unnoticed.
Look around: Golf is taking on a new personality. There are tour players rocking full beards, tattoos and high-crown, flat-brim hats. Demographics are shifting to the younger side, and people want to wear hats that represent their lifestyle, including golfers.
Tate and I had a pretty successful run in the headwear industry prior to launching Shade. It’s what we know, what we had fun doing, and we are not ready to quit having fun. We are outdoors guys at heart, and the outdoors includes golf. If you look at our products, you will see our personality and influence in our styling. Golf is letting its guard down and accepting influence from craft beer and spirits, the outdoors, music, surf culture, fishing and let’s not forget fashion. You name it, and it’s there. It’s only going to become more prevalent as the industry gets younger.
2 What separates Shade Headwear from the other suppliers in the golf market?
Thompson: We identified a niche in the marketplace: private label. We recently coined our No Free Ride’s commitment to the market. Golf shops and resorts are brands, and it’s our belief that every brand deserves all the hat’s available real estate. They should not have to share space with supplier graphics. They are capitalizing on your brand’s space.
We have paid attention to product details that others haven’t. For example, we line the inside front panels of every hat in our offering. Our hats are a fully finished product. The inside liner improves comfort as it protects the forehead from buckram rash. It hides the unsightliness of the back stitching from the embroidery process and goes as far as reducing sweat transfer to the front panels. To top it off, you can custom print the inside liner just like you can the rest of the hat. It all plays into our quality statement.
Something else worth mentioning is our art turn time. We have designers strategically located in multiple time zones. You might laugh, but that noticeably extends our design day.
3 How did you come up with the idea to do quilted hats?
Thompson: We saw success earlier in our careers by being at the forefront of trends. Our quilted patterns are an example of how we can lead the category. It all started with our Rhombus diamond pattern. It was featured in our booth at the 2024 PGA Show and attendees gravitated to it. They liked the rich appearance, texture and overall presentation. We have since added two more patterns called the Brenton and Gingham. All three are available on most of our popular fits.
4 How receptive has the golf market been to Shade Headwear?
Thompson: It’s been everything we expected. By the time we hit this year’s PGA Show floor, we were in 100-plus doors. Considering we arrived at the 2024 Show in maybe 20 doors and had no sales reps, we are stoked at our progress. As the new supplier in a mature category, we must keep proving ourselves and gain the trust of the market.
It will be our first run with a sales rep force covering about 35 states. The sales reps have the relationships with the PGA Club Professionals and buyers. We’ve put together a rep force made up of some well-known, successful industry veterans and new, up-and-coming industry professionals to pioneer Shade. Based on their efforts, our spring pre-book season indicates we are in a great position coming into 2025.
As with anything new, there are early adopters, and the rest will come because of the sales team. When we back it up with marketing, promotion and social media content, we expect a significant amount of growth to follow.
5 What’s on the horizon for Shade Headwear in the golf market?
Thompson: As the awareness of our program capabilities and overall product quality moves from the early adopter stage to more of the industry, extending the opportunity to us to earn shelf space and, ultimately, their trust, we aim to stay true to our objective to take care of PGA of America Professionals and buyers.
Our goal is not to be the biggest. We can grow at our own pace and ultimately be mentioned as the best: the best product, the best service, the best turn times. So often, we’ve seen companies abandon the “customer first” commitment as they grow.
From a product standpoint, it’s continued development. Whether it’s coming up with new fits like our Reset Fit, which is being introduced as the industry’s first pickleball hat; reinvigorating/fixing old cap styles that used to be popular; or deep diving into more functional fabrics and pairing them up with technology/treatments more commonly associated with performance apparel — like antimicrobial treatments or cooling agents to help reduce head surface temperatures — our goal is to keep evolving our offering and being the “something different” the golf market wants. It’s yet another way to separate us from the competition. We are constantly researching different markets and verticals outside of golf to see what we can surprise the market with.
