BRINGING STYLE
TO GOLF
Nancy Haley pioneers
fashionable wear for the links
Written by ELLEN GRAY
Photography by KIT WILLIAMS
It was more than 20 years ago that Nancy Haley discovered
just how frumpy women’s golf attire really was. It was the
mid-80s, and she was a young working mother in her 20s
with two children at home. She was working as an interior
designer, furnishing model homes for a local developer, when
she took up golf with her husband, already an avid golfer.
Haley’s first exposure to golf was at age 16, when her dad
told her he wanted to take her out to play. “I said to him, ‘Dad,
only dorks play golf!’” she recalls. True, she didn’t know much
about golf, other than what she had picked up in conversation
with others.
So it was not surprising that when she began playing,
Haley was amazed that a sport that intrinsically requires so
much finesse should so blatantly ignore — indeed even flaunt — bad taste on the female front. “I just could not believe how
ugly the clothes were for women,” Haley recalls. “Everything
was so cutesy and so unflattering. The men’s golf clothing
market was huge, and there were so many options. Women
were largely ignored, and the clothing reflected it.”
So here was the dilemma. Look like an outdated frump on
the golf course or imagine a better option, one that was
sophisticated, feminine and, yes, easy on the eyes.
“I would come home at night and go to my studio, where
I did my design work. I drew outfits, which I hung all over the
walls. Finally, my husband said, ‘Just do this already, make
some of these designs,’” she says. “I started out very small,
on the premise that feminine fabrics were the answer, things that could be worn both on and off the
golf course.”
Her dream was modest, but her
accomplishments were impressive. From
her studio sketches, Sun Daze, a company
that catered to the women’s golf market,
was born. Four years later, a men’s
line was added; she changed her company
name to Sport Haley; and the line
became a hit within the trendy golf community.
Manufacturing was centered in
the United States, and clothing was sewn
in factories based in North and South
Carolina and Pennsylvania.
By the time Haley sold her company, in
1996, a decade after she founded it, a
slew of designers were focusing on the
women’s golf market. Her pioneering
efforts earned her a lifetime achievement
honor in recognition of the fact that her
vision led to an explosive market catering
to lifestyle sportswear for golfers. When
Sport Haley was sold, the company was
doing $21 million annually in sales, a rarity
in the golf industry, which typically boasts
sales of less than $10 million.
After years of working hard and
putting her heart and soul into growing
a successful business, Haley now had
no plan. She tried playing golf and
focused on enjoying her retirement
from the highly competitive business
world. But a chance meeting with Clint
Eastwood (yes, THE Clint Eastwood)
changed her world.
“My husband had been playing golf
with Clint for years and would bring him
Sport Haley shirts. After my retirement,
we were at Mission Ranch in California,
which Clint owned. We were there to play golf and tennis, and
one night we were in the bar having drinks when Clint and I
began talking. I told him I never again wanted to work that hard
building a brand, especially because I didn’t really believe anyone
recognized the Sport Haley name,” she reflects with a smile.
At that time, Eastwood was caught up in the excitement of
building Tehama, a golf resort in Carmel Valley, Calif., which
represented the culmination of his own 30-year dream. “He
turned to me and said, ‘We can start a sportswear line and call
it Tehama.’ I closed my eyes, looked up, and he was already
walking away,” she remembers.
“The next four days I never had an opportunity to talk with him
again, and I was on pins and needles wondering if he meant it.
Then a mutual friend called me and set up a meeting in Los
Angeles for a few days later. I showed up at Clint’s business manager’s
office, and both Clint and his manager were dressed from
head to toe in Sport Haley clothing. I couldn’t believe my eyes!”
Even Eastwood’s manager was amazed. “Clint was 67
years old, and he had never before promoted a product. He
asked him why he would want to do this, and Clint answered, ‘I have confidence in Nancy. She built Sport Haley, and she
can do this. I want to do this with her,’” recalls Haley.
Five months later, a contract was finalized. “One of the big
obstacles was compliance. If you recall, Kathie Lee Gifford had recently put her name on a clothing line, and there were
huge problems with child labor that we did not want to face.
So from the outset, we established very strict quality and
compliance rules for our company,” Haley says.
The two partners invested equally in the business, then
assembled 100 investors through a private offering. In its first
year, Tehama realized $7.5 million in sales. Today, just 10
years after it began, Tehama is doing just shy of $50 million in
sales, a fairy-tale story by any standard.
“I think there were two reasons behind our fast success,”
Haley says. “First, it had been
a very short time, just one
year, since I’d left the industry,
and people knew and trusted
me and my ability to offer highquality,
good design. Also, having
Clint as a partner brought
an immediate recognition to
the line.”
A few years ago, companies
such as Nautica, DKNY
and Calvin Klein approached
Tehama to license their
names on the clothing. In the
end, the company chose
IZOD, which had recently
broken off from Lacoste.
“We had the luxury of
choosing whom we wanted
to do business with, and we
had a big advantage over bigbox
retailers, who had tried and failed to make a profit in the
retail golf arena. We can go to these customers, take their
orders, and give them what they need,” explains Haley.
Today, Tehama has upward of 4,000 accounts, including
big retailers such as Nordstrom and Macy’s, country clubs and
smaller retail boutiques. In addition to being able to fill small
orders very quickly, Tehama offers in-house embroidery, so
clothing can display the name of a particular country club.
Haley staffs a large design team and approves all designs
before they make it to market. She keeps a strict eye on fashion
trends and is careful to ensure the IZOD brand remains
distinct and separate from the Tehama look. In an effort to
remain a step ahead of the industry, Tehama recently unveiled
its Hang ‘Em Dry line (a takeoff on Eastwood’s Hang ‘Em
High), a green concept designed to appeal to environmentalists
and the younger market. The clothing is manufactured
from carbon extruded from coconut shells.
Another innovative product is Tehama’s newly unveiled vitamin-infused shirts, which contain water-soluble Vitamin C. “When you perspire, your body releases sebum, which opens
your pores and allows the vitamin C to be absorbed into your
skin. The Vitamin C will remain in the fabric for many washings,
so it provides benefit for many wearings,” Haley says.
Another line that will be unveiled late this summer bears
the name of world-class golfer Arnold Palmer. This line will
appear in large department stores and will boast a more traditional
look, reflecting his unique style.
It is often said that hard work comes at a high price. Such
does not appear to be the case for Nancy Haley, whose seemingly
boundless energy and enthusiasm have earned her
praise from some of the nation’s most respected critics. She
was recently recognized as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of
the Year in Retail and Manufacturing. Previous winners have
included Michael Dell of Dell Computer Corp., Steve Case of
America Online and Howard Schultz of Starbucks.
In addition to this achievement, Golf magazine named Haley
one of “The 40 Most Powerful People in Golf,” and Golf World
Business named her one of the most powerful people in golf
fashion. Haley was the only woman to make the top five on this
list — in the company of Ralph Lauren.
Such kudos notwithstanding, Haley is proudest of the
award she received in January, the PGA Ernie Sabayrac
Award, recognizing the
contribution of manufacturers
and distributors to the
golf industry. Haley is the
only woman ever to receive
this award.
“This is truly a lifetime
achievement award, and it’s
about being a pioneer, pushing
the envelope and thinking
forward. I want to be known
as someone who is first to
come up with a concept that
will cause others to sit up
and say, ‘Oh my gosh, how
did she think of that?’” Haley
says with a smile.
She has come a long way
from where she started, and
the game of golf has evolved
right alongside her. She says, “It’s still a man’s world, and 70 percent of golfers are still men.
When I started in this business, no one was looking at the
women’s market, and women for the most part don’t take the
time to play this sport. Men find the time to play, no matter what,
and that’s why Tehama is so popular. You can wear the clothes to
work and then go straight to the golf course without changing.
“A lot of smaller golf clubs in the United States find it difficult
to make women’s apparel a profitable part of their business
because many of these clubs don’t have many women
players. The way we help them is to bring in one color line
and allow them to special-order just one of an item. This lets
them test the waters and serve their members.”
It has been 20 years since Haley started in the business, and
for her, things just keep getting better and better. “I’m a Type A
personality workaholic, and now I’m working to find the balance
I need to keep going strong,” she says. “I’m looking for ways to
move away from areas of the company that don’t ring my bell,
but I’ll keep focusing on the big picture. This is my baby, and I
have a huge investment in it. But I have so many other areas of
my life that are important, and I’ll pay attention to that.”
In that regard, Haley and her husband, Tony, are avid fans
of bike trips, and each year they travel to different parts of the
world to ride. They golf together during the week, and she is
devoted to her two sons.
Clearly, Haley has discovered what too few individuals can
ever hope to learn in a lifetime of experience: “I am not one
to try to do this or anything big by myself. I am not The Devil
Wears Prada, and I rely on my team of superstars to help me
succeed. I believe everyone who works here should act as if
this is their own little company, and I am honored by the
recognition I’ve received from the industry. I’ll continue doing
my best, and I love every day of it!”
