Eastside Golf and Foray Golf Weigh In on the Sport’s Evolving Environment During Corona Premier Clubhouse Panel Discussion

During each tournament day of the U.S. Open Championship, Corona Premier launched a series of activations in Los Angeles, connecting sports fans to experience the tournament in a lighter format. Most recently, the beer brand teamed up with Hypegolf Invitational to host the Clubhouse experience at the Sand Canyon Country Club in Santa Clarita, California. Spirited skills challenges, like closest to the pin and chipping contests, offered attendees the opportunity to win custom prizes and tickets to the U.S. Open Championship. In tandem with this experience, Corona Premier also organized an on-site takeover of the U.S. Open Showcase at the Westfield Century City Plaza’s center atrium in LA.

On June 14, the Corona Premier Clubhouse hosted the anticipated return of Hypegolf Talks. The panel discussion was moderated by sports journalist Kira K. Dixon, including panelists Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl A. Cooper, founders of golf and lifestyle brand Eastside Golf, Senior Manager Business Development of Hypegolf, Ray Mate, founder and CEO of Foray Golf, Megan LaMothe and Jeehae Lee of Sportsbox.

The Clubhouse featured golf wear from various brands, including co-branded capsules developed in partnership with Foray Golf and Eastside Golf, celebrating the U.S. Open Championship. On-floor displays showcased a range of graphic polo knits, T-shirts, pullovers, bucket hats and golf-centric accessories for guests to browse. As the panel discussion kicked off, panelists began opening up about their views on the future of golf and what players and brands are doing to break the sport’s traditional barriers. From inviting more women to the sport, creating an inclusive environment for newcomers and subverting financial constraints limiting players’ access, the conversation unpacked how brands and players are transforming the sport’s cultural perception.

Following a similar sentiment, Ray Mate discussed the inception of Hypegolf and the importance of opening up cultural dialogues about golf to a younger audience.“Hypegolf focuses on apparel, shoes and fashion. You can tell by just the way people dress, where they’re playing — it’s just a totally different community. It’s young; it’s evolving,” Mate mentioned. With Hypegolf covering the latest in gear, hardware, footwear and fashion, Mate hopes to cultivate a space within the Hypebeast community where consumers can engage with golf as they would any other vertical.

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Hypebeast

For Eastside Golf, the brand aspires to show the sport in a new light and invite a diverse fanbase to partake in its culture. And with founders Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl A. Cooper at the helm, the goal is to have fun while doing it. “For everybody to appreciate the brand and everything me and Earl are trying to accomplish — and even our backstories — hopefully, people can see that you can start from nothing and create something that can change everything,” noted Ajanaku. Foray Golf, founded by Megan LaMothe in 2018, shares a similar ethos. LaMothe’s golf-inspired apparel aims squarely at modern women who golf. As the former Director of Design Operations at Victoria’s Secret, LaMothe’s contemporary approach to athleisure has paved a niche category for women in golf and athletes claiming a piece of the pie for themselves. LaMothe spoke about representation in sports for women and creating avenues of inclusion for all players, including her work as a Director of the Evans Scholar, known for aiding several First Tee students.

Jeehae Lee discussed the early stages of building a tech company in a male-dominated space. Lee is the CEO of Sportsbox, a 3D AI-enabled golf-swing analysis app that produces 3D golf swing models. Lee recounted her experience of taking her passion for golf and tech and creating something intended to elevate the game for players of all skill levels. Lee also championed how women in contemporary culture are charting new territory in the sports industry.  

Catch a glimpse of the panel discussion in the video above. Read more about Corona Premier’s activation during the U.S. Open here, and visit the brand’s website to learn more. 

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