Ridgeview High School’s golf program is starting up its season with fresh, brand-new apparel, thanks to its recent partnership with the Bad Birdie clothing line. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams will get to hit the courses sporting exclusive merchandise and enjoy their new-found recognition and promotion by the brand.
Bad Birdie is a U.S.-based company that creates golf-athletic apparel and ships worldwide, with several in-store locations across the nation and an online website. When asked about the sponsorship, Krista Huffman, the senior Sports and Entertainment Marketing Manager for Bad Birdie, explained, “The ethos behind the Bad Birdie High [School] Program is that we invest in champions or those that need champions…this school really, really, needed a champion, and Bad Birdie is here to help provide that.” With the two-year sponsorship program, Ridgeview golfers have the opportunity to be ‘authentically’ represented by Bad Birdie. “We just want the student-athletes to feel like we care that they’re set up for success both in the classroom and on the golf course,” Huffman says, further elaborating, “Bad Birdie represents the alternative type of golfer. We’re not the country club, we’re not super buttoned up, we really want people to be authentically themselves…and I think Ridgeview has a really, really interesting story.”
Brett Lemster, the head coach of Ridgeview’s golf program, has led the teams for four years. He recalls, “I was actually shopping online at Bad Birdie for myself, and then I saw that they had a high school program and on a whim, I was like, might as well try and see what happens…six to eight months later, I got an email from Krista at Bad Birdie, and it kind of snowballed from there.” Lemster believes that the sponsorship is an excellent motivator for his golfers, stating, “When you look good, you feel good…Golf is a sport that can cost a lot, and so sometimes here at Ridgeview, we might not have as much as the private schools, or we may not have as much as other people, but to be able to have something that our students and players can look nice and feel good without having it cost their families is awesome.”
For junior Emily Chavez, the announcement surprised her in her first year on the team. Chavez admits, “Our coach just surprised us with it, and we were really grateful because Ridgeview isn’t really a golf-dominant school, so we’re just really thankful for the opportunity.” She continues by saying, “The sponsorship is really just encouraging me to continue this sport and it’s really a new door into new opportunities.” Chavez agrees that golf is not the most popular option, however, she ends on an optimistic note, concluding, “It’s definitely going to promote us and have people know about this program.”
While golf may be one of Ridgeview’s underrated sports, with the help of Bad Birdie, it’s easy to say that this is soon to change. Huffman finishes her statement by emphasizing, “It’s really special to be a part of this…we don’t just pick them at random. We really dive deep into the story, and the reason why.”
