Haywood Golf: Disrupting the Golf Club Industry with Customization and Quality
This episode features an interview with Josh Haywood, founder of Haywood Golf, on the Golf Unfiltered Podcast. Haywood Golf is a direct-to-consumer golf club company that prides itself on quality, customization, and a unique business model.
Key takeaways:
Haywood Golf started from a desire for better wedges at a reasonable price. Haywood was frustrated with the high cost of wedges and the lack of innovation in the market. This led him to design and manufacture his own wedges, initially with illegal grooves (which they later stopped due to regulations).
Direct-to-consumer model with a focus on word-of-mouth marketing. Haywood Golf has found success by cutting out the middleman and selling directly to consumers. They prioritize word-of-mouth marketing and referrals over expensive advertising campaigns.
Focus on customization beyond just basic options. While Haywood Golf offers the standard customization options like lie angle and shaft selection, they take it a step further. They design and engineer their own clubs (as opposed to using open-source tooling), allowing for more control over the look, feel, and performance of each club.
Value of player feedback in product development. Haywood Golf prioritizes customer feedback and uses it to inform new product development. This includes requests for new club types (like 5-woods and 7-woods) and design elements (like finishes).
Focus on quality over constant product churn. Haywood Golf emphasizes quality and meaningful improvements over a rapid release cycle. They believe in taking the time to develop clubs that offer real benefits to golfers, not just minor tweaks for marketing purposes.
