This year, FootJoy is celebrating its’ 100-year anniversary. From the beginning, the brand has sought to address the performance needs of the golfer but from the early days of adding spikes to shoes specifically for the purpose of playing golf to today’s fully fleshed-out ranges, this has changed drastically.
In this exclusive interview Neil Tappin speaks to those at the top at FootJoy about the past but more important, where they intend to take the company in the future. The video and article below, provide a candid insight into the workings of one of golf’s most ubiquitous brands.
How does it feel to be leading the brand into the next 100 years?
Chris Lindner, President (centre in photo)
We always want to move the brand forward but in a way that’s relevant to players around the world. Perley Flint, one of the lead innovators for FootJoy in the 1920s, had a great passion for the game and an entrepreneurial spirit. He was trying to design the world’s best golf shoes and to propel the game forward. We’re doing that in different ways now, but we’re staying true to what FootJoy stands for.
Who were some of the first players to wear FootJoy?
CL: Walter Hagan selected FootJoy to be the shoe of choice for the first Ryder Cup team. Johnny Farrell was a key player on that team who fell in love with the brand; he went on to win the 1928 US Open in a playoff against Bobby Jones. That’s a pretty cool story.
How do you set about updating a well-loved shoe?
Ken LaRose, SVP Brand Consumer Experience (left in photo)
There’s a certain level of expectation that if you’re going to come up with the next great model of shoe, it’s got to be better than the one golfers have loved for so long. So, there’s always a bit of fear when we update our iconic franchises because our consumers are so loyal. However, the depths that we go to are insane.
Chris Tobias, VP Global Footwear (right in photo)
Performance needs to be evolved season in, season out. This is something we work on two to five years in advance. Golf is changing, consumers are changing and swing speeds are getting faster.
Are your Tour ambassadors quite demanding?
CT: We hear a lot of, ‘It’s great,…
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