By Rich Katz
Everyone loves mysteries. Here’s one for the ages in the golf space.
Let’s set the stage: Whiskers is America’s foremost designer and manufacturer of men’s and women’s premium shoelaces sold a la carte. Laces represent an accessory that adds just the right amount of color pop and patterns to wardrobes. One of the company’s largest verticals is golf.
Now check this out: Cleveland ranks top 10 of all markets nationwide in sales of Whiskers’ golf-specific shoelaces. The most popular colors and patterns are navy and light blue, orange and white, berry and black, green and blue, and purple and pink.
It’s not like Cleveland competes with New York, Los Angeles and Milan as the fashion capital of the world.
“We don’t know why the land of the Guardians, Browns and Cavs has taken to Whiskers in droves,” says Kyle Groth, Co-Founder and CEO of Whiskers. “Our order system counts golfers from Firestone Country Club, Shaker Heights Country Club and area daily-fee courses – they’re collecting dozens of Whiskers colors and patterns.”
A parallel mystery is Groth himself. An entrepreneur in the spirits business, he stepped into (pun intended) the laces business as a fluke of sorts. Four years ago, while readying for a wedding, he snapped a shoelace. The only replacement he could find was the cheap, inferior variety carried in a local drugstore.
Like LeBron James slashing through defenses for a thunderous dunk, Groth saw an open lane to create a business that “upscaled” the lace offering. He studied the category with a proxy to the growing popularity of premium-made, colorful socks. Teaming with Mike Gossett, a veteran product creator for Nike and Crocs was the next step and, voila, Whiskers was born.
While the company is big in dress and casual shoes, sneakers and boots categories, its push in golf is masterful. Anchored by a “do as the pros do” theme, Whiskers boasts more than 100 PGA and LPGA Tour players and caddies noticeably wearing its laces. This includes major winners and perennial Ryder Cup and President’s Cup stars weaving Whiskers into their FootJoy, adidas, Nike and ECCO kicks.
Whiskers laces are also darling gifts for golfers in tournaments and outings in Ohio and nationally. No one expects laces when they open their swag bags. Lacing up takes approximately three minutes and the resulting splash of color injects personality to even the dullest of footwear. Match lace color with your shirt and perhaps Milan runways are in your future.
Better yet, unlike buying the latest-and-greatest driver with technology likely rendered antiquated six months post-purchase, Whiskers’ fabrications mean the laces are built to last. They’re affordable, too, at $15 for one pair and $45 and $60 for three- and five-packs, respectively.
“There are more than 70 colors of golf-specific Whiskers laces,” Groth says. “Therefore, the odds are Ohio golfers won’t don the same colors as their playing partners.”
That’s no mystery.
Check out Whiskers full line of colorful golf shoe laces at: https://whiskersgolf.com/
