Achi news desk-
A little rain wasn’t enough to keep 14-year-old Chase Strang from hitting the golf course on Tuesday.
The Airdrie teenager has loved the game since he was a toddler, but says he was hooked when he started watching a program about kids trying to qualify to play Pinehurst Golf Course in North Carolina.
For Strang, that dream came true when he was nine years old.
“I told my mother one time, I said, ‘Mum, I’m going to go there.’ She was like, ‘Okay, I believe in you,’ but she said, ‘I don’t know, it’s a bit of a step.’
“Then I showed her and I qualified and got to play Pinehurst, and it was great.”
Being colorful on the course
When he’s out on the golf course, Strang says he likes to be colorful.
His saying is “when you look good, you play good.”
However, finding colorful golf clothes is not easy for youngsters.
“I was always (colorful) as a kid,” Strang said. “I had funky socks with donuts and penguins and all that, and I thought that would be cool on golf shirts, so I asked my mom, I said I wanted a flamingo on my golf shirt.”
A children’s golf clothing line
Strang’s mother, Jackie, says she searched high and low for a flamingo golf shirt but couldn’t find one.
He says that’s when they decided to start their own children’s golf clothing line.
“I got a few shirts made just for him, and he would wear them to golf tournaments, and eventually parents started asking where I got Chase’s clothes because they couldn’t find to anything like that.”
“Chase would come home and tell me kids were asking him if his mom could make them a shirt, so I thought why not give it a go, and it became ‘JQ Golf Clothing’ from there.”
Lots of colour
The golf shirts have an abundance of colors with flamingos, bananas and maple leaf patterns, among others.
Inside the collar, the shirts have Chase’s signature line of ‘look good, play good’ printed.
The apparel line is now in 13 pro shops across Canada, including Calgary’s Pinebrook Golf and Country Club.
Head pro Shelley Charlton says they were a great success.
“With the children, the biggest choice is, ‘Mum how big can I get?’ versus ‘Which one do I want?'” says Charlton.
“It’s been very well received and it’s been a very good addition for us in our pro shop for sure.”
Have fun designing golf apparel
Strang’s goal is to play one day on the PGA tour, but he also wants to continue designing children’s golf clothing.
“I would love to continue doing that and making cool clothes for kids who can’t find any,” she said.
“It’s a great feeling to see your designs, your clothes being kept at someone else’s place. It’s so cool.”
JQ Golf Clothing is a family run business. Chase’s two siblings also have a say in the designs and his father is involved.
For more information, you can visit lookgoodplaygoodgolf.com.
