🏌️‍♂️ I Tried the Most High-Tech Golf Apparel Ever Created

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I had the privilege of playing in the Bay Hill Pro-Am this week ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, and it was simultaneously the best and most miserable experience of my life.

I’ll explain more at the end.

In today’s newsletter:

🗞 The Big Story: Meet the Golfer Who Hit a 1-Iron To Get Out of $10,000 in Debt

📉 Biggest Loser: Teams Make More Money By Lowering Prices, Here’s Why They Don’t Do It

🏆 Winner’s Circle: I Tried the Most High-Tech Golf Apparel Ever Created*

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🗞 The Big Story

This professional golfer hit one of the most difficult shots in golf that you’ve never heard of, and it got him out of $10,000 in debt.

Here’s how it happened…

Background: In 1976, Curtis Strange was considered one of the best college golfers in the country. In 25 matches at Wake Forest, he never finished outside of the top 10 and it seemed all but guaranteed that he was going to be a star on the PGA Tour.

However, as it turns out, it wasn’t that easy.

A Long Road: In order to qualify for the PGA Tour, Strange had to compete in several amateur events which he had to pay for out of his own pocket, causing him to amass over $10,000 in debt.

So, with hopes of finally earning a spot on the PGA Tour and trying to pay off all the money he owed, he flew down to Sydney, Australia, to compete in the 1976 Australian Open, and in the final round of the tournament, he found himself just a few strokes back from the leader.

Now, by the final hole, it was clear to Strange that he wasn’t going to catch first place, but he still had a shot at a solo second-place finish, which would net him $22,000 in winnings.

All he needed to do was make par on the 18th hole. Here’s what happened next:

Strange would eventually go on to win two U.S. Opens (‘88 and ‘89) and lead the Tour in earnings three times, winning an impressive $7.6M during his career.

Talk about betting on yourself…

📉 Biggest Loser

The Utah Jazz just made one of the smartest business decisions in all of sports, but why aren’t more teams following suit?

Background: Before the start of this season, Smith Entertainment Group, the company that owns both the Jazz and the new Utah Hockey Club, decided to slash the prices of five of their most popular concession stand items by upwards of 75%.

Even though they weren’t the first professional sports team to do this, teams like the Atlanta Falcons have shown that cutting your prices actually leads to more total revenue.

For example, back in 2018, when the Falcons decided to cut the prices of their most popular items by 50%, the team saw a subsequent increase in per-fan spending of 16%. Not to mention, merchandise sales increased by 80%, and thousands of fans started arriving upwards of two hours early to games, which helped massively with wait times.

Early Success: In their first season with lower prices, the Utah Jazz have already seen sales of their five discounted items increase by 80%, with fans praising the team for this decision.

So, if lowering prices is such an obvious success, why aren’t more teams doing the same thing?

Well, the short answer is because they’re not allowed to.

That’s because most professional sports teams in America don’t even control their own concession stands.

Playing it Safe: Instead, most teams choose to sell their concession rights to a food and beverage provider, who will, in exchange, pay the team tens of millions of dollars every year as well as 50-60% of gross revenue.

The teams love this arrangement because it’s guaranteed revenue every year, but the trade-off is they lose control over things like prices, staffing, and menu selections.

This often leads to these food and beverage providers setting crazy high prices and understaffing their concession stands to quickly recoup their initial investment, which not only leads to bad service but also frustrated fans.

So, even though teams like the Jazz and Falcons seem to be setting the standard for what good, affordable concession stands can be, it’s going to require a lot more rich owners turning down a guaranteed check worth tens of millions of dollars every year for anything to change, and I wouldn’t hold my breath.

🏆 Winner’s Circle

This is the most high-tech golf apparel ever created, but not in the way you might think.

Testing Ground: For 21 years, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard has been a testing ground for new technology, not only in golf but across areas like retail and apparel.

For example, the event has been using tap-to-pay for all concessions and merchandise since 2019, helping pave the way for easier and safer ways to pay.

And this year is no different, with the brand rolling out a piece of hidden technology in every piece of apparel from their exclusive drop with the brand 9dcc.

However, this technology actually starts before you ever put anything on.

Shopping Smarter: Mastercard Foundry’s Smart Mirror interface transforms fitting rooms into intelligent, interactive experiences. Seamlessly recognizing items from the Mastercard x 9dcc collection—including size and fit—the mirror provides personalized styling recommendations.

Using AI-powered body imaging and machine vision, the system captures your photo and overlays selected clothing in real time, intelligently adjusting to your posture and movement for a hyper-realistic fit.

This means that you can virtually try on clothing without ever stepping into a dressing room. Then, once you’re happy with the gear, you can scan the QR code on the mirror to check out right from your phone.

But that’s not even the coolest part.

Hidden Tech: Because every single piece of apparel has a secret chip that you just tap with your phone, giving you access to:

• A special message from Justin Rose

• A digital version of the item you just purchased

• Access to priceless experiences

Mastercard has actually rolled this technology out at other sporting events, too, allowing people to collect both physical and digital memories as well as custom rewards.

Not to mention, all of the proceeds from these apparel sales are getting donated to the Arnold and Winnie Palmer Foundation, which supports the community here in Orlando.

Plus, it doesn’t look half bad.

*This section contains a paid collaboration with Mastercard.

⏱️ In Other News

• The 26-Year-Old Superstar with a (Secret) $6M+ Side Hustle

• Snowboarding is getting a $20M makeover

• RIP to Nate Silver (not literally)

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👋🏻 Happy Friday!

Before teeing off with Akshay Bhatia on Wednesday, I received some sage advice from Curtis Strange and Billy Horshel: Stay out of the rough.

They clearly didn’t know my game because the combination of 30 mph wind gusts, rain, tight fairways, and ill-placed water hazards led to me recording more golf balls lost (6) than pars (2).

My only saving grace was Akshay telling me that Wednesday was “the hardest the course has ever played,” and I could tell he was even having trouble hacking it out of the wet, thick rough.

Luckily, the day wasn’t a total bust golf-wise. Akshay’s swing coach tossed me a nice tip while I was in a greenside bunker (and directly after Akshay had drained his shot from the same location), and I stuck a 7-iron to around 10 feet on the iconic 17th hole.

All in all, it was a priceless experience, but now it’s time to get back to my day job.