Equipment
Sunfish shines with fast, affordable custom head covers and leather goods
One of the reasons many golfers spend so much time perfecting everything about their bag? It says a lot about their game, as well as who they are off the course.
Nashville-based Sunfish is known for its wool head covers, but in recent years the company has expanded into leather head covers, cash covers and scorebook/yardage book holders. We spoke with Sunfish Co-Founder Alonzo Guess and Minister of Marketing Nathan Stiteler about the company’s growth, and what it’s doing to help golfers get the perfect gear for their game.
WRX: Custom golf clubs have increased in popularity in recent years. Is the same true for custom golf accessories?
Alonzo: We are definitely seeing a trend toward more customized accessories, for on and off the course. It’s been great working with our customers to expand our range of custom options in response to this demand. We take feedback very seriously when considering new product offerings. Many of our design decisions are made based on feedback we see on the GolfWRX forums.
WRX: What can be customized from Sunfish? What can’t be?
Nathan: We like to keep an open-door policy with custom requests. A lot of our greatest product ideas have come from our customers requesting something out of the norm. Right now, our website allows our customers to completely design their own knit and leather headcovers, scorecard and yardage book holders, and cash covers. There are a few new products that are in the works to add to that list. We always encourage people to let us know if there are options that they’d like to see, so we can add them to our custom builders. So really, the sky is the limit. If you can dream it up, chances are we can make it happen.
WRX: Tell us more about your “greatest product ideas” that have come from customers.
Nathan: My personal favorite item created by a customer is the infamous Ric Flair headcover. We’ve gotten so many calls about this headcover that we had to add it to our store permanently, and have started to pursue character items a bit more. The Ric Flair has also made for a pretty entertaining GolfWRX thread as well. This item is a sure way to make your friends jealous on the course.
Another great idea and recent addition is our laser engraving option. This option gives us the ability to turn around leather items with personalized images and text extremely quickly and with high precision, which is definitely a life saver for customers who find themselves in a time pinch. Having this full range of custom options has also paved the way for big tournament orders as well. A lot of customers who have built out their own personal items with us have gone on to order for tournaments, charities, and other events.
WRX: Are your sales primarily to individuals or groups? For both groups, what is most popular right now?
Alonzo: We consistently work with individuals and groups, and the most popular category for both are our custom options. Designing your next custom order is a fun process, and one thing our customers find helpful is seeing examples of our work. To make this process easier and more fun, we’ve recently created a brand new image gallery. It’s a great way to have fun looking at our work, while generating ideas for your next order. For individuals who already know what they want, they can use our custom product builder on our website. If someone is looking to customize some products for their golf shop, or is wanting something special for an upcoming event or tournament, they can reach us directly at [email protected] or complete a wholesale contact on our site. In all cases, we’re happy to work with those looking to create something unique at a great price.
WRX: Thanks guys.
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Whats in the Bag
Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)
- Chesson Hadley what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.
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Whats in the Bag
Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)
Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5
- The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!
3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype
7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype
Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X
Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron
As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)
What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!
View this post on Instagram
I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…
To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”
On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.
Here’s what he had to say:
You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?
MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.
And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.
When did it come back in the bag?
MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.
What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?
MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?
Do you remember how much you paid for it?
MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.
The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?
MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.
It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?
MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.
What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?
MT: Like high 170’s.
Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.
MT: Yeah. The butter knife.
Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons?
MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.
How far do you carry that?
MT: Like 235.
A good little wind club, I’m sure.
MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.
I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man.
MT: Absolutely.
To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.
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Randy
Jul 11, 2016 at 10:04 am
I’ve dealt with these guys in the past. They seem like real straight shooters. Would highly recommend.
Ben
Jul 11, 2016 at 8:46 am
I think the website needs updating. Tried building a custom leather headcover, but decided not to order because there is no preview function. If I’m going to drop $60+ on a single headcover I should be able to see what it looks like before I order.
RAT
Jul 12, 2016 at 2:23 pm
I AGREE with you! They need a way to see how yours will look when finished..
steve
Jul 10, 2016 at 6:29 pm
Problem with knits is if you carry a 3w,5w and hybrid. the 3w and 5w have the same headcover, so many times hitting 3 wood off the tee, take the headcover off on the teebox and it is the 5w. have to walk back and get the 3w. now i use a different color knit for the 5w.
Adam
Jul 10, 2016 at 8:17 pm
There’s a simple solution. Order them customized and match the number of stripes to the club. I was playing a 3W, 3H, and 4H last year. I had my hybrid headcovers white with yellow stripes, three stripes on the 3H and four stripes on the 4H. The 3W was yellow with three white stripes so I knew the difference. The mis-match looked great.
As for Sunfish, I wouldn’t recommend. I’m careful with my headcovers but the stitches keep breaking.