I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Golf breeds entrepreneurs. I don’t know if it is the creativity a shot requires. The long hours of practice needed to be good. The outdoors. There is something in the game that inspires people to create.

And that is exactly what Jeff Eggen did. In his hotel rooms, traveling on the Dakota Tour. Grinding through mini-tour life trying to make it. Constantly looking for new ways to make a buck so there is less stress to work on his game.

This outlook lead to a wonderful serendipity.

As many of you are familiar with, the front cubby of a golf cart tends to become the landing zone for everything you brought to the course. You throw your phone, keys, beer cans, granola bars, whatever in there. And a lot of times, your rangefinder.

Jeff was given a magnetic beer koozie. One day, he threw it in that front cubby and it landed near his rangefinder. To protect it from rolling around, he slid it in the koozie and a lightbulb went off. With the magnets, it stuck on the metal rails of a golf cart providing easy access.

It is absolutely crazy how an idea can come to you. And Jeff took this moment and ran with it. He envisioned creating a product he could sell that would help pay for his golf career.

Little did he know at the time, that it would eventually become a full-time career in its own, exploding through the world of golf.

From the Garage to the PGA Superstore

Jeff and his business partner, Chad, began making prototypes in his garage. He was gearing up for another season on the Dakota Tour and took the first batch of Stick It straps along. His goal was to give some out and sell a few to see if the players liked them.

And they did. Monument also learned a lot about their product. From this test run, they were able to take the Stick It to the next level. Now they had to do the same for their business.

To do so, they turned to the PGA Merchandise Show. This decision lead to their company taking off. A great product sells itself and the sales reps at the show could see that. Monument came out of the event with a full force sales team helping push the product throughout the country.

Another big moment happened as well. Bushnell approached them with an offer. They wanted to place a massive order with their name on the Stick It. This would not only provide a nice payday, but it would also get Monument in the sought after PGA Superstore and courses across the country.

After many hours of reflection, they decided to respectively turn it down. They wanted to stick to their guns. Giving up their name after all the hard work that went into it was too tough to do.

They also had a bigger vision for the brand in mind. They started the business as a monument to Jeff’s dad and Chad’s mom who passed away. They didn’t want to stop with that mission.

Five months later, they were in the PGA Superstore under Monument Golf. Since then, the Stick It has exploded across the golf industry and the Monument team has no plans of stopping anytime soon.

Episode 22 of G&E The Podcast | Golf & Entrepreneurship

Jeff Eggen has been able to create an amazing business around a flagship product. Monument Golf is in the hands of players near and far. It can be commonly found on tour as players use them during practice rounds. Not to mention that they recently outfitted the entire USA Presidents Cup team with customized Stick Its.

It was a true pleasure to have Jeff on the show. His outlook on not just creating a business, but on life, is amazing. In this weeks episode, we talk about:

  • the process of developing an idea into a company
  • how to be patient when building a business
  • strategies for selling a product in golf
  • how to use social media to promote your brand
  • why he believes mini-tour life creates entrepreneurs
  • And so much more!