MyGolfSpy Interview with Back 9 Co-Founder Andy Hydorn

[Matt Saternus]

MyGolfSpy.com Interview with Back 9 Co-Founder Andy Hydorn

 

 

 

 

Golfspy Matt: Hello, and thank you for taking the time for this interview. To start off, can you give the MyGolfSpy readers a little bit of background info on Back 9, in case they're not familiar with the company?

 

Andy Hydorn: Well, Back 9 started in 1997 when myself and a good friend Harry Conforti set out to make a better golf hat. We had some friends in the head wear business and used their resources to get us going. One of the first things we did was to decide to brand ourselves and luckily we came up with our current backwards nine logo and Back Nine name. It was probably the single most important thing we did at the time. Since the beginning we have set out to become a culture brand in the golf business. Our new philosophy was to not be restricted by a certain product category but to be open to creating products that would be desired and revered by our culture group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GM: Your website refers to Back 9 as both a culture brand and a design brand. Can you expand on those ideas and explain what they mean to you? What do you view the culture of Back 9 being?

 

AH: They are certainly two distinct things. First…The Culture Brand. We refer to the core golfer as our culture and we set out to make products for them but are not limited to a certain product category. These are the people who know and love the game and have golf as an integral part of their life. This is in difference to a category brand…such as a Ray Ban. Their core is in the product category and they make eyewear for many different market segments. Our core is the culture and we make products in different categories to satisfy the tastes of our culture.

 

DESIGN COMPANY: We do not deal in other people's goods. We have a distinct talent in product design and we rely on our own design ability to create all of our products. From apparel to head covers to headwear, we spec, color and fabricate every item we make and sell. To us, that is the only way to do things. Using other people's products with our log on them is just not something we do. We have more to offer than that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GM: What influences the Back 9 brand and team? Do you design things you like and hope they sell or are you trying to fill a hole in the market?

 

AH: Like any other designer, we take inspiration from other items in the market and always try to put our spin on things. In apparel and headwear, the categories are full of participants so there really aren't any holes to fill but in the head cover market. We absolutely went about our design with the idea of filling a hole in the market. It is a different market and we certainly recognized an opportunity to create products that the market actually needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GM: How did/do you decide what products to offer next?

 

AH: Being a culture brand, you are not really confined to your thinking about product. That, coupled with the fact that we are a creative group allows things happen as the opportunities present themselves.

 

 

 

GM: You recently launched an apparel line featuring two different golf shirts. What sets a Back 9 shirt apart from the thousands of others out there?

 

AH: It is hard to say one thing that sets our apparel apart but it is more a combination of important features. Some shirts have great fabrics but the fit may be poor or the styling is too much. We feel like in apparel if you can nail a great fit, great fabrics and a style you are looking for, you can become unique that way. None of the parts are unique but the overall package is certainly identifiable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GM: What can we expect to see from Back 9 in the future? An expanded apparel line? New accessories? Something totally new?

 

AH: Certainly an expanded apparel line and even some head cover additions are in the process but we are not limiting ourselves to those items. We have always wanted to do a great Back 9 golf bag so you never know what the next addition may be.

 

 

 

GM: Finally, where can people find Back 9 gear?

 

AH: There are many retailers and golf courses out there that carry our product but if anyone has difficulty finding some Back 9 gear, they can always go to www.back9usa.com and we can steer them in the right direction.

 

 

 

GM: Thank you again for taking the time to speak with me today, and best of luck to Back 9. MGS readers, you can expect to see in-depth reviews of Back 9's entire line coming very soon!

 

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[Matt Saternus]

For any and all MGS readers: Andy Hydorn and Phil Long (another member of the Back 9 crew) will be keeping an eye on this thread, so if you have any questions for them, post them here.

[JohnBarry]

I have some questions I am sure I know the answers to.

 

I work in the apparel market although not golf, but I do know a thing or 2! I hope you are considering some off the norm color combos, and bottoms to match. The closest I can ever come to what I am talking about is SubSeventy, but they changed their look up also. I look at the 70's golf apparel and yearn for those days, just maybe not the fit and feel, but crazy colors, patterns and combos. People knew you were going to golf or some sort of a costume ball!