Just like their name alludes, the team over at Quiet Golf focuses on treating the sport as if it were therapy. The west coast brand was started by Raul and Diego Diaz, two brothers who wanted to create a brand that encapsulates golf’s ability to provide a mental escape for all that choose to play. Through their minimalistic garments and storytelling, Quiet Golf provides an accessible approach to golf that many outsiders of the sport feel is missing.
We chatted with Quiet Golf’s Raul Diaz and co-founder, Christiòn Lennon, about their personal experiences with golf, their design choices for apparel, and the importance of an event like Divots in the Desert to golf culture.
StockX: What does Quiet Golf hope to accomplish within golf culture?
Raul Diaz: Golf for us is less about the whole loud drinking situation and getting rowdy. Golf is more of like a mental escape on our end and there are a lot of people that feel the same way. We’re trying to tap into that. More of a zen kind of aesthetic with a streetwear approach. [We want to] help people find an escape within the game by tapping into that demographic.
When did you guys pick up golf?
Diaz: I dabbled with it in high school a little bit but it was the nerdy thing to do. None of my friends were golfing. I mostly grew up skating and surfing. But I was getting clowned for golfing so I dropped it after high school and picked it back up years later, during the pandemic. And now it’s a full-blown addiction, a healthy addiction. We’re getting out there and having a good time.
Christiòn Lennon: My dad played professionally in different countries but he never pushed the sport on me. We weren’t really close like that when I was younger. I was very focused on baseball as a kid. Over the last couple of years, I got into golf again and it made me and my dad a little bit closer. So it’s definitely a special thing for me, and that was relatively recent, I would say late 2020.
As relative newcomers to the game, would you say that your stories and experiences within golf help you utilize that narrative of yours towards your clothing?
Diaz: Yeah, for sure. At the end of the day, the brand is gonna represent us as partners but also those people with similar stories. Even the way things fit, you know, that’s definitely something that we want to come across with our brand and storytelling.
Lennon: Yeah, I feel the same way. As I said, golf has been around me kind of my whole life, and when I go visit my dad out in Palm Desert, I nerd out on all the golf clubs and weird memorabilia stuff that he has. It’s just sick to take that inspiration and apply it to our garments.
Why is it important for Quiet Golf to focus on the “less is more” approach with certain designs?
Lennon: I think that’s just who we are. We’re pretty minimal in other aspects of our lives. Whether it’s the interior of our homes or how our desks look. That’s just who we are as a whole and that translates into the brand itself. There are a lot of other cool brands doing great things too, but sometimes you can get a little too saturated or overly focused on graphics versus storytelling. We felt like there was a space for us in the golf world with our minimal pieces and designs. We can get our point across without having to do so much.
Why is partnering with StockX for Divots in the Desert a good fit for Quiet Golf?
Lennon: StockX’s platform and reach are massive and we believe that partnering with you guys will help push that therapeutic vibe that we’re trying to push to a larger audience. I think the fact that you guys are getting into golf in this way and hosting tournaments offers more options and avenues for us to facilitate. It’s pretty exciting to have golf get that exposure from companies like StockX.
How is an event like Divots in the Desert important to the brand’s mission toward golf’s culture change?
Diaz: To be honest, the old-high-school me is just so excited. I didn’t think things like this could exist in golf to be honest. It was so intimidating at a young age. I didn’t even join the golf team back in high school. So for this event to be such a big deal, including big names like StockX and Malbon for putting on this fun, friendly competition, and inviting a brand like us means a lot. It makes the sport of golf more inviting. People are gonna be seeing this all over social media, etc., so maybe a high schooler may see this and think “Damn, maybe I do want to get into golf, it’s kind of sick.”
Divots in the Desert starts April 14th, 2022 in Palm Springs, CA. Learn more about our Divots in the Desert invitational on our landing page and check out other interviews with our DropX partners Whim Golf, Bogey Boys, Malbon Golf, and Students Golf.
