Company aims to revolutionize antiquated women's golf apparel industry

More women are taking up golf, a sport historically dominated by men, than ever before. 

Even still, there remains a glaring lack of investment in these players, particularly in terms of their apparel, according to avid golfers and founders of March First Golf. 

"A lot of what we heard from women was the clothing just felt like men's clothes, frankly, resized for women," Chris Jones, co-founder of March First Golf, told FOX Business in an interview. 

He said women were being "ignored" in an industry that continuously poured money into developing and creating new styles for men. It was a revelation that astounded Jones and his co-founder, Prachi Mishra, especially considering the notable mark that women make on the sport. 

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According to the National Golf Foundation, there has never been greater female representation on the golf course. 

There are now 6.4 million female golfers, making up over one-quarter of all players. 

Between 2020 and 2022, there was a significant increase of 820,000 women taking part in the sport compared to 465,000 men. This is equivalent to a 15% growth in the female golf community, which far surpasses the 2% growth among men. 

Nicole Hage, a former Ladies Professional Golf Association (LGPA) player who started playing around 3 years old, knows all too well what it was like to don men's golfing clothes, recalling that "it was slim pickings" when it came to women's apparel. 

"It's always been an issue," Hage told FOX Business. 

"Every picture I had with my dad, I was wearing like a matching shirt of his, but it was obviously a men's shirt, but I was like 7 or 8, 9, 10 years old, like a little girl," said Hage, who reached the pinnacle of the industry playing in the LPGA from 2008 to 2013. "We got the sleeves rolled … there were no golf clothes."

During her last year on tour, Hage recalled "basically" giving up on finding good golf clothes.

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"I was buying Stella McCartney tennis. I was wearing Lululemon. I was wearing everything other than a golf brand because I just wanted … to look cute and feel good. And there were no golf clothes that made me feel that way," she added. 

This provided Jones and Mishra with an opportunity to revolutionize an outdated industry. Taking matters into their own hands, they founded March First Golf, which debuted its first collection in June, with the aim of designing fashionable and functional clothing specifically for female golfers.

"The challenge is just the sport hasn't always done the best job with welcoming newcomers and welcoming women," Jones said. "They haven't listened to the customer. They haven't engaged them in the process. It's been about what regulations and policies and standards make sense but not make sense for the modern customer of the 2020s." 

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Before designing the collection, the team conducted surveys with droves of women in the sport who shared similar complaints: the clothing was "frumpy" or "oversized," Mishra said.

The key was to create classic, elegant pieces that actually flatter a woman's shape, Mishra said. The pieces were also made to mix with any sort of style and any other brand. 

"It's basically your primary core collection," she said. 

Clothing can be seen as a superpower, given that it can improve a player's performance by providing comfort, mobility and confidence, according to Mishra. 

"I think confidence is the first and foremost superpower that any player needs," she added.

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But given all the distractions players have on the golf course in particular, "being comfortable in your clothes shouldn't even be a thought," Hage said. 

"There's so much going on playing golf to begin with," Hage said, adding that you can't worry "about your skirt running up … the shirt isn't staying tucked in, or the shirt is too big and the shirt's coming out … all of these things affect your golf game."

While golf will be the company's exclusive focus for the next few years, it's by no means where they are going to stop, Jones said.