Rarely have logos on golfers’ apparel attracted such interest Tommy Fleetwood has seen this spring, but much of it has been earned. Fleetwood has reproduced a wide range of golf course logos at basically every tour stop he has played this season.
There were Pebble Beach, Discovery Dunes and Riviera hats throughout February and March. Also a cap with the golden boy logo during the Players Championship. And while his weekly shifts will continue for parts of his rise, the logo on his hat has found some consistency.
Blackstone is in.
Fleetwood has closed investment giant Blackstone is a hat sponsor a week before the Masters, perhaps the most visible week on the calendar. He will wear the logo on the front of his hat for the rest of the season, marking Blackstone’s first investment in the golf space and marking Tommy as its first global ambassador.
“I’m at that place in my life where every new partnership that comes along, there’s a whole bunch of stuff that goes with it,” Fleetwood said by phone earlier this week. “We have to have shared values. To be able to help each other in any way. Like I think people that I can learn lessons from and gain experience, things like that, I think that’s always very, very important.”
By this Fleetwood literally means the relationship he has with Joseph Barrata, the head of Blackstone Private Equity. Their friendship stems from Dunhill Links Championship – a favorite of Fleetwood’s, held at St. Andrews every autumn – where they have played together several times. Fleetwood says he has often found himself inspired by his various partners at Dunhill – feeling less successful in his group – and is always picking their brains to see what he can apply to his trade.
Fans will see Fleetwood wearing the Blackstone logo this week at the Valero Texas Open, but that doesn’t end the fun apparel journey he’s been on. More than any other pro, he has been very public about his agency without clothing, and that will continue next week at the Masters. Rest assured, he’s planning to wear some Augusta National logos on his person next week, keeping the tradition going from shoulders to toes.
“It will continue,” Fleetwood said. “I’m wearing a Blackstone hat, but I still have all the freedom to wear my clothes. So far this year I think I’ve been a mix of golfers, like wearing a lot of golf merchandise, but also wearing clothes and outfits that I wouldn’t wear on the golf course, if you will, or figuring out what I like when I’m playing.”
Beyond learning what it feels good from a playwear perspective, Fleetwood said he has come to understand his visibility much better. He’s leaning into history a bit, even filming this simple pro shop promotion, debunking the idea that he bought all his gear off the shelf. After 20 years with Nike, that experience has taught him things about how he might want to move forward with apparel sponsors in a different way than in the past. How this will shake out, we’ll have to wait and see.
