New golf apparel brand UNDRGRND GOLF launches in Denver

Creators hope to bring sneaker culture and streetwear style to golf

By Jim Bebbington

Three golf buddies who grew up in Aurora have launched the latest Mile High-based golf apparel brand UNDRGRND GOLF which hopes to capture enthusiasm from a new generation of players.

The brand UNDRGRND GOLF launched its online store this weekend and held its first public showing a week ago at Stick and Feather golf simulator tavern in the Clayton neighborhood of Denver.

The branch is launching with polo, tees, hats and socks through its site UNDRGRNDGOLF.Com.

It is the brainchild of three friends – Jordan Russell, Noe Magdaleno and Josh Williams.

Magdaleno grew up playing golf but Williams and Russell came to it later. All three were playing together on Denver-area courses the past few years and felt most golf apparel they could find didn’t quite fit the rest of their wardrobe.

All three say they grew up embracing sneaker culture and streetwear and wanted to wear on the golf course the kinds of styles they are comfortable in the rest of the day.

And so UNDRGRND GOLF was born.

“When I was younger and I didn’t have all the nice polos and gear and equipment I was just a kid going out in cargo shorts and tee-shirts with sneakers on,” Magdaleno said. “As footwear started to change a few years ago, I distinctively remember hearing people ask “Are those actual golf shoes?” I didn’t think nothing of it, this is just what I wear, this is what we wear.”

But they had a small problem: none had a deep background in the apparel industry, and none of them knew at first how to get designs from napkin sketches to real-life garments. They learned quickly, and are working with manufacturers in China to launch their summer lineup this month.

“When Covid hit I found my way to the golf course as 12 million other people in America did,” said Russell. “I found my competitive spirit again being on the course with friends and finding a sport that’s challenging as well.”

Many of the early designs are coming from the three, and a fall line is already in the works.

“We started at Homestead Golf Course, we were golfing and we just came up with this idea to start this brand,” said Williams. “It was something we all wanted to collaborate on.”

Their company is entering a golf apparel industry in the midst of change. New brands like Denver-based Pins and Aces and Bad Birdie launched post-COVID with bright, bold designs meant to interest the growing number of millennial golfers. Traditional brands like Nike, Adidas, Mizuno and others have fought back, launching an onslaught of patterns and colors onto the store shelves.

The worldwide golf apparel market is estimated to be between $2 and $4 billion a year.

For more information go to UNDRGRNDGOLF.com.

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.
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Jim Bebbington is the Director of Content at Colorado AvidGolfer. Contact him at [email protected]