Why Golf Needs More Attitude and Less Khaki - GRIPIT Manifesto

By Tony Golden, Co-Founder  |  Golf Culture  |  6 min read  |  Keywords: golf apparel, golf culture, golf lifestyle brand, modern golf style, golf fashion

I want to talk about khaki for a second.

Specifically, I want to talk about why golf has been drowning in it for the better part of five decades and why it’s time for something different.

I’ve been playing golf my whole life. I love this game with everything I have. And for years I watched the culture around it calcify into something that felt less like a sport and more like a dress code violation waiting to happen. Collared shirts only. No jeans. Soft spikes. Dress pants. The unspoken but very loudly communicated message that golf was for a certain kind of person, wearing a certain kind of thing, behaving in a certain kind of way.

That’s not the game I fell in love with. And I don’t think it’s the game most golfers actually play.

The Real Game of Golf

The real game of golf is played at municipal courses on Saturday mornings by people who showed up in whatever they grabbed off the chair by the bed. It’s played by guys who sneak out after telling their wives they’ll be back by noon and roll in at 7pm with stories that don’t quite add up. It’s played by women who are genuinely better than the men they get paired with and are tired of pretending otherwise. It’s played by beginners who duff their first tee shot in front of a full tee box and decide they’re coming back next week anyway.

That’s golf. Real golf. And those golfers deserve a brand built for them.

What We Built and Why

GRIPIT Golf Society was born out of a simple frustration: the golf apparel market was full of brands that looked like they were designed by committee for people who were afraid of their own reflection. Safe colors. Inoffensive logos. Gear that disappears into the background.

We wanted bold. We wanted personality. We wanted gear that said something about the person wearing it — that they play because they love it, that they don’t take themselves too seriously, and that they’d rather buy a round at the 19th hole than obsess over their handicap index.

And yes, we wanted a tagline that would make people do a double take. Smooth Stroke. Long Shaft. You’re welcome.

The Shift That’s Already Happening

Golf is changing and it’s changing fast. Brands like Malbon and Eastside Golf have proven that the game’s cultural moment is happening right now. TopGolf brought in people who never thought the sport was for them. The PGA Tour’s relaxed dress codes have finally given tour players permission to look like actual human beings. And a generation of golfers who grew up wearing streetwear is now bringing that aesthetic to the first tee.

GRIPIT is part of that shift. We’re not trying to replace the traditions of the game — we love this sport too much for that. We’re trying to make sure there’s room at the table for everyone who loves it the way we do. Loudly. Unapologetically. In gear that doesn’t make you look like you’re about to chair a board meeting.

What GRIPIT Actually Stands For

It’s not just a brand name. Grip it is what you do on the first tee when everything else falls away and it’s just you, the club, and the shot. It’s the moment every golfer lives for — the one that brings you back every single week regardless of what happened on the last hole.

The Society part is just as important. Golf has always been a social game at its core. The friendships built over 18 holes. The stories that come out at the 19th. The group chat that blows up every Thursday trying to lock down a Saturday tee time. That’s the society. That’s what we’re building.

And the gear? The gear is just the membership badge.

Come As You Are

If you play golf in khaki and you love it — genuinely, no judgment. But if you’ve ever stood in a pro shop and thought “I don’t see anything here that looks like me” — that’s what GRIPIT is for.

We built this for the everyday golfer. The muni regular. The Saturday morning warrior. The person who plays for the love of the game and wants to look as good doing it as they feel when the ball flies perfectly off the face and they know — before they even look up — that it’s exactly where they wanted it.

That’s the shot. That’s the feeling. That’s GRIPIT.

GRIPIT Golf Society. Bold Gear for the Everyday Golfer. Grip It. Live It. — GRIPIT.GOLF