These Are the Best Places to Buy Vintage Golf Gear
When fashion people list off their gripes with golf style, most of them tend to be directed towards trends of the 2010s. That is, stretchy polos, performance hats, tight fitting pants and those snap on belt buckles with oversized logos. But if you go a little further back, it’s undeniable that guys like Payne Stewart, Seve Ballesteros, Jesper Parnevick and even Tiger Woods had a ton of swag. We’ve all seen those moodboards on IG with the same three photos of Arnold Palmer in a cardigan, John Daly in a neon polo and Michael Jordan at the Ryder Cup. Naturally, that romanticization of a bygone era has led to a ton of demand for not just vintage apparel, but also equipment and gear.
And since there are more than a handful of brands playing in the golf vintage space these days, we decided to round up our favorite brands, stores and apps serving up used, and sometimes dead stock gems.
Pluto of St Andrews
As the golf market continues to become saturated with new brands, there’s a growing appetite among the public for pre-loved clothing and gear. In that context, Pluto of St Andrews is exactly the type of brand that people have been crying out for.
The brand is based in St Andrews, Scotland, leaving no question as to its golfing credentials, yet at the same time it’s able to position itself as a disruptor by curating items from streetwear and other categories not typically seen as appropriate for the sport. In addition to apparel from the likes of Palace and Supreme, you can also purchase used sets of irons, bags and headcovers from classic golf brands such as Titleist, TaylorMade, FootJoy, Jack Nicklaus and RAM.
Metalwood Studio
If you happen to have discovered Metalwood Studio in the last year, you may not even be aware that the brand started out as a vintage curator. But this passion project of a former college golfer-turned fashion nerd is heavily influenced by the golf style of the 90s and early 2000s.
Nowadays, Metalwood doesn’t sell as many vintage goods on its website, but its store in Los Angeles is like a candy shop for golf buffs. There’s a whole rack of clubs to choose from, and the coolest part is you can take them right into the back of the store to have them regripped or otherwise spruced up.
the Divot STORE
Anyone with even a passing interest in streetwear could tell you that Tokyo, and especially the neighborhood of Shibuya, is an epicenter for fashionable people in Japan. This is where Divot is located, a new store founded by ANTi COUNTRY CLUB TOKYO founders Yosuke Sasagawa and Shino Yanagisawa. The store houses a selection of products from the hottest up-and-coming brands in golf, their own ANTi COUNTRY CLUB TOKYO included, but it also represents an outlet for the vintage grail digger Sasagawa. Case in point, the Nike Air Max Edge golf shoes pictured above.
Mullie
Apps like Grailed, DePop and Poshmark have really democratized the second-hand clothing market, giving normal people a chance to turn their eye for hidden gems into a side hustle, all the while creating a more circular consumption of fashion. Mullie can be thought of as golf’s version of those aforementioned services.
The product categories in the app are divided into clubs, footwear, apparel and accessories, and just like Grailed, users can list their own items or bid and make offers for others. There’s also a community aspect to the app which makes it feel a bit like social media. As you begin using Mullie, you’ll start to see updates from people you follow, and therein lies the opportunity to become a tastemaker for vintage.
Muni Kids
In golf, the term muni is short for municipal, a city owned-golf course that offers a sharp contrast to the ritzy country clubs often associated with the sport. The brand Muni Kids was born out of a love for the people who grew up playing the local tracks, and who held onto that Nike polo long enough for it to be called vintage.
In addition to a store stocked with tee shirts, hoodies, and a smorgasbord of accessories, Muni Kids also has rotating drops of vintage that include brands like Callaway, PING, Nike, adidas and even collector items like books and home goods. You can also see them in person at their Neighborhood Golf Shop in Portland, Oregon which, similar to Metalwood, also offers club repair services and hosts community events.
Howl in One
“Sold!” exclaims @howlinone in the comments, normally within 30 minutes of listing an item on an Instagram page that functions as an online store. If you’re familiar with this account, you’re already pretty deep into the culture. The guy with the hats (that’s how we identify him) will typically post 1-3 lids a day, all vintage. So imagine a lot of high crown stuff, braided ropes, and popular brands of yesteryear like MacGregor, Maxfli and Hogan.
Recent favorites of ours include a crosshatch pattern, corduroy hat with a leather strap and 1999 US Open logo (the one Payne Stewart won), and a green and black cotton piece with a Nike Tour Championship patch. All hats are first come, first served at a set price with shipping included. As we mentioned, you have to act fast.
New Vintage Golf
An online store based in Japan, New Vintage Golf launched in 2020 and is inspired by the "Golden Age" of golf when Arnold Palmer was duking it out with a young Jack Nicklaus for supremacy. The impact of Palmer, Nicklaus and South African Gary Player was felt internationally during the 1980s, and coinciding with a thriving Japanese economy, led to the number of courses in Japan growing exponentially. New Vintage fosters a feeling of nostalgia for that era through fashion, while simultaneously asking people to consider how today's styles become the vintage of tomorrow through their own original apparel.
In addition to its online store, the brand recently wrapped up a pop-up at retailer EDIFICE in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and a collaboration with Mizuno is on the way.
