For whatever reason this hasn’t always translated well to the women’s golf apparel space. The problem there is a perception that women remain relegated to unflattering boxy cuts and generic bottoms or that the game forces them to wear garish apparel that labels them a golfer.

Either one, in fairness, would qualify as a non-starter for the vast majority of women if it were true. It’s not. The 2019 adidas Golf women’s catalogue alone features 120 product options, including 53 shirts, 28 jackets, 13 shorts, 11 sweatshirts and track tops, nine pant options, six skirts and dresses to go along with 77 new arrivals too numerous to mention.

Fact is, women have a more diverse selection of golf apparel options to choose from than ever — equal to, and in some cases superior, to men in cut, performance attributes, comfort, and style. Why that message is not reaching, or properly resonating, with its target audience in some cases continues to be a mystery.

This was one of my first talking points with Hawkins, someone I consider a women’s golf advocate of repute in Canada as well as a qualified expert on the subject of women’s golf apparel.

“What frustrates me is the number of people who wave the white flag when it comes to the women’s business,” Hawkins admitted when we sat down to chat. “It’s hard, no question. We all have our own style; we all have our own opinion; and one of the biggest problems we have from my vantage point is how fragmented the women’s business is. There are a lot of brands.”

Hawkins’ point is well considered. This year’s PGA Show directory listed 162 womenswear companies in attendance with who knows how many more choosing not to showcase their wares at the industry trade gathering. While that helps to affirm my point in that January blog post, Hawkins says the bigger issue is how it muddies the waters for green grass and off-course retailers trying to implement and/or maintain a meaningful women’s strategy.

“What’s happened in the past 10 years, with more and more brands coming in, is this feeling of not really knowing how to attack the women’s business, so what they do is overload on choice and give them all kinds of brands,” she explained. “It’s not a good strategy. They wind up with more broken inventory, more mis-sizing, more of a jambalaya to deal with at the end of the season.”

That conjured up an interesting question: why don’t retailers or pro shops simply follow the blueprint already established for men’s apparel?

According to Hawkins, the lack of cornerstone brands is the key. While adidas, Nike, PUMA, Under Armour, FootJoy and Peter Millar arguably comprise the six pillars of men’s golf fashion, the women’s segment, even with a couple of leaders, including adidas, lacks that handful of dominant brands retailers can lean on.

“It’s not uncommon to see 15 different women’s brands in a pro shop. You might only have six to seven men’s and it’s because they know their core men’s golfer and their likes and dislikes,” she emphasized.

Before I could even mention the obvious — the high percentage of male PGA professionals or off-course retailers trying to cater to women’s taste in golf fashion — Hawkins broached the aspect of continued education. She called the need for a better understanding of the female core golfer as “vital” to unlocking increased bottomline potential, but, more importantly, to help engage newcomers into joining and remaining in the game long term.

“That’s the code we’re trying to crack,” she pointed out.

The question remains: who drives that bus? An organization like the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM) teaches the finer points of retailing and retailing to female consumers each year during the PGA Merchandise Show. Similar seminars not affiliated with the AGM are also routinely on the schedule in Orlando as they are each August at the PGA Expo in Las Vegas.

At adidas’ annual sales meeting the week prior to the show, Hawkins herself made a presentation to her peers on retail merchandising and what goes into creating an exciting immersive in-shop or in-store environment. The use of modern digital assets and an expanded variety of display techniques can be beneficial for customers — especially women — for what she calls the “aha” moment.

“Merchandising is way beyond how you fold a shirt,” she said. “It’s about setting the experience, making it engaging and fun. How women buy is obviously not the same as how men buy. Women read the tag, they understand the technology side, the care aspects. They spend a lot of time on fit and they’ll ask questions or do research. Guys generally don’t.”

That said one could argue men have been spotted a 2-up lead over women in the fashion game. Today, guy’s golf apparel has morphed into typical day-to-day business casual attire. If your preference is adidas it would be a pair of the company’s Ultimate pants, an Ultimate 360 Polo and, if required, a blazer to dress it up.

Regrettably, women are not benefactors of this same lifestyle-enhanced, multi-purposing.

“But we’re working on that,” Hawkins claims. “In the past five years we’ve done a really good job building out our women’s apparel line, expanding the range of it, adding to the technologies and performance aspects. Your reaction to our 2019 catalogue a few minutes ago is exactly the same as mine. There isn’t a female I know that couldn’t find something in there.”

Admittedly, there was a time years ago when the golf industry maintained a ‘think it, shrink it’ philosophy for women’s golf apparel. Not anymore. Today, the category is a significant one for the industry and for apparel manufacturers like adidas Golf, who see it not only as a growth opportunity but one that can be influential on participation numbers.

But a great deal of due diligence remains in prospect. Finding conduits to keep driving messaging specific to women consumer’s remains integral to growth expansion of the game and every key stakeholder knows it. Apparel? Its role in that is pivotal.

“Everywhere you look there are people trying to come up with creative ideas to attract more women to golf,” said Hawkins. “Thing’s like Women’s Golf Day, Invite Her all help but once we get them in the game you have to keep them in it. Golf for women needs to be as many holes as you want. It needs to be walk, ride, use a cart, turn on your music, go into the clubhouse for a glass of wine and lunch with your friends before or after you play. As an industry, we’ve come a long way. As a business, our (adidas) product is right. Now we need to put our foot on the gas pedal. We need to help our green grass professionals unlock their women’s potential and at the same time tell the bigger story, not just about women wearing adidas product and being comfortable in it when they play, but what this game can offer to women who come out. That’s the top of the pyramid.”