Sometimes an idea is so good it takes on a life of its own.
That’s what happened to Joe Maretti, Kyle Herzog and Scott Biely, who started the apparel business Old Fashioned Golf.
The three high school friends had finished up a round of golf at Thornberry Creek in Oneida in July 2020, taking advantage of the pandemic-friendly outdoor social opportunity. Someone walked in wearing a “Wisconsin” hat, and they wondered why there was no golf apparel that featured the state.
Herzog says golf apparel is fun and comfortable, so why not add some Wisconsin themes to it?
“None of us have apparel backgrounds, none of us have business startup backgrounds, none of us have small business backgrounds, but we just went from there,” Herzog says. “It was July 2020 and we had a lot of time on our hands. We never found a reason to stop.”
They started by contributing $1,000 each, which was sourced creatively so they didn’t draw from the budgets of their young families.
Over the next 10 months they learned how to build a business from the ground up. It took them months to find a source for making the shirts. Determining the materials and sizing was one of the hardest aspects. They recruited friends and family to wear samples before settling on a vendor.
The first sale was May 20, 2021. They started by offering limited time orders for a handful of designs on their website. They had sales of $30,000 to $40,000 the first year, but business has skyrocketed since then. Herzog says they get single orders now that top what the sales were in the first year.
Word of mouth has been the primary marketing tool.
“Anyone wearing one of our shirts is our best billboard,” Herzog says.
A case in point is that after they wore Old Fashioned shirts to a golf outing at Thornberry, the course manager asked to carry some of their shirts. It was the first of more than 50 retail outlets where Old Fashioned Golf Apparel is now sold, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison Bookstore and Scheels.
“As opportunities have come our way, we’ve taken advantage of [them],” Herzog says.
In addition to retailing the shirts, they also have a growing custom-order line from schools and businesses. Herzog estimates that they work with close to 60 schools providing custom apparel and have filled orders for businesses holding golf events or just building company pride.
In April 2023, Old Fashioned Golf won Project Pitch It, a UW-Milwaukee sponsored program that gives startups a chance to receive business advice as well as win cash. The $10,000 prize allowed Old Fashioned to build inventory, fueling even further growth.
Despite the rapid growth, Herzog says the three owners are still very hands-on, allowing them to be responsive to customers.
“A lot of the fun of it is that it is a side business,” he says. “There’s no stress.”
The limits for growth may be just how much time the trio want to dedicate to Old Fashioned Golf.
“The last thing we want to do is commit to more than we can do and let our customers down,” Herzog says.
