Golf Monthly UK – August 2019

Achangeofscene

Itallstemsfroma desiretoescape

thecorporateratraceandfinda
waytomakea livingingolf

clothinginitially.“I’vebeeninthe

golfindustryfor 12 years,”Hovey
tellsme.“BeforethisI rana golf

apparelcompanyforeightyears

calledUKKO.I workedata law

firmforabouttenyearsintheCity
andgotbored,soin 2008 I just

wentwithmypassion.I lovedgolf

andI loveclothing – it was as
simpleasthat.”

Inotetheuseoftheword“ran”

withregardtoUKKO,soquizhima
littlemoreaboutthatventure.“It

wasa stupidmove,”Hoveysmiles

ruefully.“Ihadnoexperiencein
eitherclothingorgolf.It wastough,

andinthefirstfewyearsI learneda

fewharshlessons,butyoulearnthe

hardway.”Despitethis,hisappetite
hadbeenwhetted.“Itwasalsofun,”

hegoeson.“Iwasdoingsomething

I waspassionateabout,andwhen
that’sthecaseyou’renotasworried

aboutmakingmistakes!”

Thewheelshadbeensetin
motionfora newcareeringolf,and

itwaswhenhesetaboutselling

thatpreviousbusinessthatthe
Mashieconceptbegantoevolve,as

oneoftheprospective buyers,who

didn’tactually

proceed,asked
Hoveytostarta golf

clothingcompanyfor

him.“IsaidI could
doit,”Hovey

explains,“butthatit wastough.

Unlessyou’vegotseriouslydeep
pockets,youcan’tcompetewith

UnderArmourandthoseguys,so

weneededtocomeupwitha USP.
I’dalwayshadthisvisionof

creatinga members’onlyclothing

brand,whereyouboughtintoa

brand and if you saw somebody else

inthatclothing,you’dknowthey

werepartofthatbrand.”Andso

MashieGolfapparelwasborn,and

a successfulinitiativeit hasproved,

too,withmanymembers buying

into the concept.

Differentbydesign

How,then,didMashieprogress

froma clothingbrandintoa

members’golfclubofferinga very

differentmodeltothetraditional

one?“Itswitchedwhenwehada

newinvestorcomein,”saysHovey.

“Hewasveryexperiencedin

multiplebusinessesandwantedto

bringina subscriptionmodelso

therewasregularcashflow.He

cameinwiththatconceptandwe

hadthisideaofa members’club,

andweputthetwotogether.”

Youmayhavereadaboutgolf’s

shiftingmembershipdynamicin

thispublicationandelsewhere,and

there’snodoubtthatthingsare

changing,withcostrelativeto

availabletimebeingone

deterrenttoa traditional

membership,alongwiththe

riseofthenomadicgolfers,

whofeelthey’renotgoingto

playenoughtojustifya

membershipfeeandlikethe

ideaofplayingdifferent

courses.MashieGolfkindof

addresses both, while also

treadingnewground,forHovey

firmlybelievesthatmoneyitself is

notalwaystheobstacle.

“Ibelievewe’recreatinga new

market,”hetellsme.“I’vegottwo

youngkids,I’vegota business,I

don’thavea lotoftime...butI do

loveplayinggoodgolfcourses.I

knewtherewerea lotofguysout

therelikemelivinginLondonor

othercities,whodon’thavea huge

amountoftimebutdohave

disposableincome.Whentheyplay

golf,theywanttoplaya nicecourse.

Ifyouplaytentimesa year,you

can’tjustifythecost

ofmembershipata

normalcourse,soI

wasthinking,can

wecreatea clubfor

thesepeople?”

Theanswerappearstobeyes,

withmanyMashieclothingclub

membersembracingthegolf

membershiptoo,andothersseeing

theappealofchoosingtospend

theirdisposableincomeonthis

styleofmembershipovera

traditionalmodel.Thatsaid,many

doboth,asI discoveredwhen

chattingtosomeRemedyOak

participants.I askHoveyif thatwas

howhe’dseenit panningout.“It

wasn’tourintention,”headmits.

“Wewerethinkingmorenomadic

golfersinitially,butabout 80 per

centofourmembersaremembers

ofclubstoo.They’remembersof

Mashiebecausetheywanttoplay

lotsofnicecourses,butthatdoesn’t

stopthembeinga memberofa

course local to them as well.”

“Therearealotofpeoplewho

don’thaveahugeamountoftime

but do have disposable income”

Morethan 30 mainevents

are staged each year

NickHovey

founded

Mashie Golf