Stephen Malbon Is Combating Golf’s 'Old White Man' Problem

Malbon Golf’s founder talks about the future of the sport ahead of this week’s Masters Tournament. HYPEBEAST Features - Go in-depth and learn more about the culture. [HYPEBEAST]( [Features]( April 12, 2019 [Stephen Malbon Is Combating Golf’s 'Old White Man' Problem]( Malbon Golf’s founder talks about the future of the sport ahead of this week’s Masters Tournament. [sacai & Beats by Dre Announce BeatsX Collaboration]( AARON MILLER / HYPEBEAST For most of those already with a stake in golf, the future of the sport appears promising and, more importantly, lucrative. For professional golfers, the purse sizes, endorsement deals and accommodations haven’t been better; for fanatics and casual fans, the mixed field of young and veterans players–including Tiger’s magnificent return to form–has made pro-golf as exciting as ever. And for the big corporate sponsors, clubs and tours, revenue and participation are on a slow but steady rise since America’s last economic recession. It’s the last metric, participation, that has many insiders across the board worried about golf’s future, with its fate lying in the hands of one demographic: millennials. The growth within this group has remained steady, but for many of them, golf is still time consuming, inaccessible and expensive, especially when compared to fast-paced sports like basketball and soccer. As a result, the golf world is doing whatever it can to balance these shortcomings and drive excitement to the sport, from off-court facilities like Topgolf, to last November’s head-to-head match between Woods and Mickelson. [Golf is] deprived of the soul, and [pro-golfers] don’t notice it because they grew up only in that world, so they can’t help a kid who’s into sneakers and skateboarding. [Priya Ahluwalia Adidas Originals]( AARON MILLER / HYPEBEAST The biggest deterrent with this group however is golf’s “cool” factor, or rather lack thereof. Golf’s widely-known ‘old white man’ problem is deeply ingrained in the sport — Augusta National, where this weekend’s Masters will be held, only admitted its first black member in 1990, and its first ever female member in 2012. With its ridiculously-expensive and exclusionary clubs clubs, often in the affluent part of town, and draconian rules, such as dress codes, golf is a leisure activity tied to the privileged. Millennials see this and, being the most conscious consumers in the market, as Anya Alvarez states in her 2017 Vice Sports piece, it’s hard to imagine them getting past these factors. So what’s golf to do, when it’s seemingly doing all that it can, and yet its surrounding culture is still considered old, stiff and entitled? For Malbon Golf founder Stephen Malbon–the Stephen Malbon behind streetwear’s favorite book, Frank151–the answer starts with fashion. “The fashion side has always been in golf, it’s always been heavy,” says Malbon. “You use to see JFK wearing Ray-Ban locs with a popped-collar polo, Gucci loafers and some motherfucking khaki shorts; like he’s doing it.” [READ FULL ARTICLE ON HYPEBEAST →](   [More HYPEBEAST Features]( [[FASHION]( [8 Drops You Don't Want to Miss This Week]( [[FOOTWEAR]( [8 A Closer Look at the Nike Air VaporMax Plus "Work in Progress"]( [Get The App Free on iOS and Android]( Follow --------------------------------------------------------------- 2019 HYPEBEAST Limited. All Rights Reserved [Manage Subscriptions]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to HYPEBEAST's marketing emails. You can unsubscribe from us any time by clicking [here](3D--353198ff7f51f50a376c6c4dae2ba7f4bd3c3a12e80e4d1b499f31d3ea896098?utm_source=hbfeatures&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=apr12_19). It may take 48 hours to complete the unsubscribe process. Contact subscription@hypebeast.com for assistance on any enquiries. Our Mailing Address: HYPEBEAST, 10F, KC 100, 100 Kwai Cheong Road, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong