In My Golf Locker: Chad Mumm

I’ve always been a gear obsessive and love trying out new stuff. My first real job was working at a golf store when I was 14, and I used to blow every paycheck on clubs from the used bin. Even now I’ll try anything, and won’t hesitate to put something new in the bag for a round. I’m not above a lunch break run over to my local golf store (Roger Dunn in L.A.) where I’ll find myself browsing the used club and putter bins. It’s always been this way. I still remember the first piece of golf gear I got excited about —my first Ping hoofer bag. I got it when I made the golf team in high school. Forest green with grey legs. It made me feel like a real player.

I remember buying a righty version of Mike Weir’s driver after he won The Masters in ‘03. I have no idea why that club spoke to me compared to all of Tiger’s clubs, maybe because Mike felt attainable and relatable compared to Tiger. I got it with a purple and yellow Proforce 75 shaft and couldn’t miss a fairway for 2 months!

Point being, I can never get enough. I recently tweeted, asking people to tell me what they bought this year that they loved, which got me thinking about the stuff I’m glad I came across this year. Here’s a shortlist of what kept my golf obsession flowing.

In the Locker

These days I’m way more into soft goods and apparel rather than clubs, which feels like a pretty big transition for me. I have a very specific identity I’m trying to convey on the golf course which probably only makes sense in my head but is essentially that of “somebody who looks like they could be a scratch golfer as a guest at a top 50 club”. That means all visor, all the time. That means polos from Sugarloaf Social Club, Extracurricular, or Holderness & Bourne from a club I’ve played (or my home club). I usually try to have one item of clothing be a little loud. Sometimes that means chromed-out Jordan 6’s if I’m going more traditional up top. It might mean a more maximalist visor, shirt, or belt if I’m rocking the FJ Premieres. I subscribe to the “no double logos” school of golf style.

For something to move the needle for me, it needs to riff on the traditional looks and heritage of golf, but with a little extra juice. You know it when you see it (Double Seve visor as example). Golf has old ghosts, it’s what makes this game way more than a hobby for me. I try to keep one foot in the future and one in the past stylistically speaking.

There’s been a big trend across menswear in this direction in general, and I think golf is a natural setting to experiment with different fits. The example I can think of this year are the Metalwood and Buscemi limited edition FootJoy collabs. Both of those shoes are my ideal aesthetic and I think they hit it out of the park. Again, old meets new. (I also feel justified in that, because if you want a pair now, you’re gonna have to pay a premium.

One other thing I decided to do this year was find a favorite glove, so I kinda went on a tear one night while I was waiting to pick up my daughter from softball practice and ordered 2 dozen gloves from a bunch of different mainstream and indie manufacturers. My only rule for gloves is they have to be leather, (no synthetic other than rain gloves), but I felt like I was missing out on another opportunity for a pop of self-expression. So mostly I ordered gloves in subtle colors—either in khaki, tan, light yellow, or gray. Of all the gloves I bought I ended up liking the Vice Golf tan gloves the best. The leather is unbelievably thin and soft, and the feel was great. But my cord grips ended up tearing them up after a couple rounds. The best compromise of feel, aesthetic, and durability for me was the 7Iron Golf tour glove in grey.

I’m hoping they make a canary yellow or tan one next year so hopefully they read this.

In the Bag

In terms of clubs I’m looking for aesthetics more than anything. I spend too much time thinking about the look of my golf bag. These days I switch between a Titleist Links Legend from my home course (Lakeside GC in LA) and a Sugarloaf Mackenzie bag. I only allow myself one headcover from a course I’m not a member at (rules are I have to have played it and broken 80 and never the driver cover), which means right now the 5-wood has a Kelly green knit cover from Peachtree on it. I’m also impressed with the Groove-it mini brush, which has a strong magnet and definitely solved a problem I didn’t know I had.

I like square irons with minimal visible offset. I can’t stress enough how much I dislike offset. That’s why the P790s felt like a revelation a few years ago, and I still have a set in my garage. Last year I went all in on the most hipster irons I could find, which was a rare set of Japan-only Yururi Flat Back blades that I found on eBay. I played some great golf with them for over a year but switched into the Titleist T100 iron this year and can’t imagine playing anything else now.

But if we’re talking golf clubs, 2024 will be known as the year of the LAB putter. I tried one out at Riv this year during the Genesis and I have no doubt I will break down and buy one in the next 2 months.

Bonus: I always have a traditional loose golf towel with either black, red, green or blue stripes. That’s a throwback to high school golf as a freshman, when the best player on the team told me that towels that attach to your bag are for scramble players and/or hackers. Never left my mind.