Red-Hot Blues

What's happening in the golf world these days is hardly par for the course. Of course, it's not exactly news that golf is experiencing a tremendous upswing. What is worth noting is that a new generation of swingers is turning what used to be a stodgy game into a hip, happening sport. Prepare yourself, America, for a fairway attraction like no other: Generation Xers are playing golf.

According to the most recent estimates from the National Golf Foundation in Jupiter, Florida, golfers aged 29 and under account for nearly one-third of the entire golfing population. Even more impressive, that same age group accounted for more than half (55.6 percent) of beginning golfers in 1996.

"It's a really cool sport," raves J.C. Wynkoop, 32, co-founder of Venice, California-based golf apparel manufacturer Planet Golf. "You don't have to be a great player--you can just go out and have fun."

And having fun is exactly the name of the game for the Xer audience that Planet Golf targets. Inspired by the golf-playing members of hot rock bands like Hootie and the Blowfish, Stone Temple Pilots and R.E.M.--not to mention professional golf's newest sensation, Tiger Woods--today's young golfers are linking youthful energy with a genuine appreciation for the sport. The rules may not have changed, but the attire certainly has.

"There are legions [of players] who are starved for golf apparel that suits their personal style," says Wynkoop, whose 5-year-old company incorporates bold graphics and humorous tag lines in its trendy apparel. Something must be working: Planet Golf's account base increased by 300 percent last year.

"The time is now," enthuses Wynkoop. "Golf is changing--and we're trying to head up the apparel end of that." Darn. We're really going to miss those plaid polyester pants.

This article was originally published in the January 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Red-Hot Blues.