TEAM APPAREL COMPETITION HEATS UP WITH DEBUT OF LIV GOLF’S ’23 FALL COLLECTION

It’s Saturday afternoon – moving day – at LIV Golf Chicago and the team competition is heating up. 4Aces GC, as usual, is in the mix. So are their young rivals, Torque GC. The rebranded RangeGoats GC, to no one’s surprise, is making big noise. And Crushers GC is climbing into contention thanks to a couple of hot hands. All the other teams also have their moments during LIV Golf’s non-stop action.

Did we mention this battle is going on inside the Merchandise Tent?

LIV Golf’s unique team component is not just a clash limited to inside the ropes. With teams providing design input on their own apparel, finding sponsors, and offering new merchandise with the debut of LIV Golf’s ’23 Fall Collection, they seek to attract new fans and embrace current ones with cutting-edge athleisure wear.

“It’s been super exciting,” said Rita Kim, LIV Golf Senior Vice President, Retail and Merchandising. “With this new assortment that’s arrived, the teams have been very involved with the design of their lines.

“Beyond the core apparel we offer at each event, we now see the personality of each team start to come out with the different levels of assortment – the accessories, polos and headwear. It’s been fun to see the teams raising their games at each event.”

Three teams have already announced apparel sponsorship deals this season – 4Aces with Extracurricular, Majesticks GC with Redvanly and Smash GC with Bald Head Blues. All the other teams are also exploring sponsorship options while also working with LIV Golf to offer distinctive items that reflect their specific initiatives and branding.

Depending on availability, fans of various teams can even look forward to buying their team’s “jersey” – golf polos of the same shirt that the players wear while in action, much like fans in other sports do to support their favorite teams or players.

“We’re really excited about the evolving brands of the teams,” Kim said. “You’re really starting to see how the 12 teams are owning their own brands, and our fans have responded beyond our expectations.”

At LIV Golf Greenbrier, players from each team engaged in photo shoots to display their Fall Collections. Chase Koepka was the model for the new Smash merchandise by Bald Head Blues.

“They’re the official new clothing partner for our team and they’ve been awesome,” Koepka said. “It’s really cool. The first week we actually wore the new stuff was in Australia when I made the hole-in-one. Made a big splash with the new clothing.”

In addition to the team apparel, LIV Golf also offers league-branded items that continue to be popular with fans – established golf fanatics as well as casual or new fans who may initially attend an event out of curiosity but leave satisfied and happy after a full day of world-class competition, fan activations, wide variety of food and beverage offerings and often a post-round concert by a global star.

“We’ve introduced many league items with unique and interesting designs this year,” Kim said. “It’s not just golf gear. It’s golf but not golf, and the response has been very positive.”

The tournament-specific T-shirts have been a particularly desirable item, and teams are even starting to develop their own unique T-shirts beyond the traditional logoed offerings.

“Event-specific T-shirts sell out pretty much at every tournament, usually in the first two days,” Kim said. “When the third day comes around, there are a lot of disappointed fans because they waited to purchase them.”

Overall, the 2023 season has seen a “double-digit increase” in sales over the 2022 beta-test debut season. And the feedback for those who have purchased items this year has been extremely positive. “They’re really impressed with the quality,” Kim said.

Now with the launch of the ’23 Fall Collection, fans can shop online and access the latest apparel from their favorite teams. Any purchase over $150 includes free shipping.

Meanwhile, the competition inside the merch tent continues, with staffers from various teams coming in to check out the apparel of their opponents.

“It’s fun to see teams looking around at all the assortments and the new ideas and offerings that are on display,” Kim said. “That kind of competitive environment will ultimately benefit all fans who want something unique to wear as they’re rooting for their favorite LIV Golf teams.”

The LIV Golf ’23 Fall Collection can be accessed on the LIV Golf online store, with new league and team apparel now available.