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Alex Elias  Andrew Blatnik, Director of Retail Operations at Oak Hill Country Club, spoke with AE Golf News ahead of the 2023 PGA Championship. Oak Hill's East Course is ranked 22nd in the U.S. and is the only course in America that has hosted all six rotating men's major golf championship. The 2023 PGA Championship marks Oak Hill's fourth PGA Championship. When Chris Frame (Director of Marketing at Holderness & Bourne) spoke with AE Golf News, he said, "That’s the business. We’re an apparel brand selling their logo. The better logo and the more weight it pulls, the more our product is noticed." In response, Andrew Blatnik, Director of Retail Operations at Oak Hill Country Club (Rochester, NY), said, "When you talk about Holderness & Bourne, a high end product like that would certainly be able to sell itself, but when you co-brand with another luxury brand like Oak Hill, it certainly takes that product to the next level." "There is a trend in merchandise where the logo is as important, or sometimes more important than the actual product itself. Because logos are limited to the membership and their guests, it gives the product that luxury branding," said Blatnik. Notably, Oak Hill features two logos. "The traditional logo of the club is the wreath logo, and it adorns the public-facing facets of the club (letterhead, emails, etc.). The acorn is a much more subtle logo rendition that tends to be more appealing on apparel and some accessories. I'd say there's a 50/50 split between members and guests that prefer one logo to the other," said Blatnik.
With an immensely well-stocked Pro Shop, Blatnik said, "Our largest brand is Peter Millar. Over the last few years, they’ve done a great job at differentiating their products from a lot of other golf specific retail brands. A lot of other good brands are out there, but they’ve done a really good job at handling their brand from a leisure standpoint outside of golf, as well as inside of golf." "Greyson has a huge demand. Lululemon has exploded in the golf scene. I like to pride myself, as nationally, we were one of the first Lululemon golf accounts. It has really sparked retail shoppers that we have not had before. We’re a large scale, family country club. We have 1,400 people with access to the golf course, but even more that are spouses, dependents, cousins, you name it, that want to come in and shop for not only the logo, but the brands that we carry. It starts with Lululemon, as that is a brand name outside of golf," said Blatnik. As Blatnik mentioned Greyson's demand, Blatnik pointed to an extreme shift within the industry, saying, "Prints have begun to be the new stripes. We have solids, stripes, and prints and prints have been the overwhelmingly favorite. I sell probably 75% prints, over solids and stripes."
Ahead of the PGA Championship, Greyson released a custom polo: "Wolf in the Oaks". The polo was "specifically designed with the characteristics that make Oak Hill Country and Greyson unique."  Courtesy of Oak Hill Country Club Golf Shop With temperatures expected to range from the low forties to high seventies, many players may be wearing hoodies over the course of the PGA Championship. As hoodies have become increasingly popular both in Pro and Amateur golf, Blatnik said, "I think that what we’re seeing in the differentiation of people’s fashion choices is great for the game of golf. It spurs conversation. On the PGA Tour, with joggers, you either love them or you hate them. There’s not really a lot of in between." Blatnik continued, "That comes all the way down to the club level. Even if you are having a conversation at your club about whether or not you should allow hoodies or joggers, at least there’s conversation. From my standpoint, as long as there’s conversation, I’m going to have people that are interested and have people that want to buy them."
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