Afrigather A participant admires his tee shot after bombing a Renegade Golf Mbu down the green.
For Renegade Golf CEO Kenneth Duncan, growing-up with mother and father residing in distinction states created some challenges splitting his time between the Midwest and Southeast, however one stable plus was attending to expertise a few the nation’s peachiest golf locales. He realized the basics on the First Tee at Atlanta’s famed John A. White Park golf course and would go on to play highschool golf at Nicolet, a college in Milwaukee’s north-shore suburbs whose alums embody PGA Tour professional Skip Kendall and hedge fund heavy hitter David Einhorn.
Duncan arrived on the College of Georgia simply as future tour execs Harris English and Hudson Swafford had been leaving. Regardless of the pedigree of the group, the finance main had the audacity to achieve out to Bulldogs golf coach Chris Haack about attempting out for the squad.
“I assumed that as a single digit handicap golfer I would be capable of probably entertain the thought of walking-on,” Duncan says.
Haack politely responded, asking if Duncan had a report taking part in in American Junior Golf Affiliation tournaments which he didn’t. He followed-up asking about USGA occasion finishes earlier than recommending he maybe elect to affix the College’s membership group as an alternative.
The identical degree of gumption and fearlessness would serve him nicely in his concurrent roles as a administration advisor for Accenture
ACN
Bootstrapped by himself and enterprise associate Drew McLeod, a fellow Bulldog, and fueled by a need to make golf extra inclusive of all demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, Renegade Golf burst onto the scene in 2019. Renegade began as a D2C golf bag play, providing cart and stand luggage in customized coloration schemes and embroidery.
Duncan is huge on shopping for used golf equipment and wouldn’t suggest new golfers go shell out $600 for a brand new driver or $2000 iron set, however luggage are important to lug your sticks round course whereas additionally offering a big canvas to showcase your persona.
“A bag can actually showcase your identification and who you’re—like an artwork piece. Nearly all our luggage are personalized as a result of that’s how the PGA Tour gamers do it. You’ve got your identify, a brand and one thing that represents you,” he says.
They constructed a grassroots following with Black Greek Organizations and Traditionally Black Schools and Universities, fast to embrace the power to symbolize their fraternity affiliation amongst the early adopters. In fact, no product launch is all easy crusing. Renegade suffered an costly early hiccup on a presale of their now bestselling black and gold cart luggage heading into Christmas of 2020 when a container ship carrying $20,000 price of stock (half of that presold), that may have taken them cash-flow constructive, misplaced its cargo at sea in a tropical storm.
“That was terrible. It was one of many largest studying classes we’ve had in entrepreneurship. At the moment, we weren’t conscious or abreast of freight insurance coverage and it’s not costly in any respect. We simply didn’t learn about it,” Duncan admits of the massive setback. They took the hit in stride and finally had been in a position to fill that order and get again on observe.
Baggage And Balls
Following a yr of design, growth and compliance grind, Renegade Golf’s three-piece Mbu golf ball, named after the Nigerian phrase “first of its line,” is now able to roll in competitors after being added to the USGA and R&A’s conforming ball record earlier this month. Renegade is the primary black-owned tools firm to fabricate tools that conforms with golf’s governing our bodies inflexible guidelines.
The corporate may have forgone leaping via all of the requisite hoops to convey a brand new conforming ball to market by white-labeling an current ball and simply slapping their brand on it. Renegade contemplated the quick go route, fielding a proposal from a producer early on, however in the end determined in opposition to it.
“That will have been engaging, however for us we’ve all the time tried to supply high quality first. We really feel you solely get one shot on this recreation,” Duncan says, including that they needed to verify they did every part proper as a result of on this business second probabilities don’t come too usually.
A Renegade Mbu golf ball and one of many model’s ball markers
“It took just a little longer to do it however we ended up with a golf ball that compares favorably to different 3-piece balls in the marketplace and provides us a stamp of credibility for those that buy our product initially due to our story and who we’re and now they will say outdoors of the story of Renegade it is a high quality ball and that has given us a variety of extra factors,” he says.
Retailing at $33 per dozen, Mbu’s are purposely priced significantly decrease than different mid-to-high compression spheres to provide amateurs and aspiring execs alike a compelling motive to take them out for a spin.
“The balls that we get in comparison with most by our clients are Bridgestone Tour B RX, Callaway Chrome Tender and your Titlelist Professional V1—all premium degree balls that every of the highest producers produce, however our value is extra in-line with Vice or Minimize,” Duncan says.
Whereas gaining a toe-hold on the golf ball leaderboard may take years, they aren’t ready to begin giving again to the group. Philanthropy has been a part of Renegade’s mannequin from the second the model teed-up. They supply customized luggage to golf applications within the Atlanta public college system and earlier this yr kickstarted a junior golf scholarship program to equip promising youth in want of help, additionally supplying them with quarterly teaching credit and entry charges help.
Looking forward to 2023, Renegade Golf is happy to see how model partnerships within the works with NBC Sports activities and Invited (previously Clubcorp) pan out. Whereas widespread professional store distribution is actually the aim, for Duncan seeing his balls behind the counter on the UGA golf course for the primary time might be a watershed second.
“That’s a full circle second the place you’re an alumni at a college, you’ve performed the course that so many PGA legends have performed so many instances and now you’ve got your pink and black Mbu golf ball on the professional store sitting there for all alumni to see, really feel and play,” Duncan says.
