Scoring A New Location

When Pins & Aces gets settled into its new 16,000-square-foot distribution center and retail space in Arvada this month, it will have tripled in size. That growth signals a major expansion for this Colorado golf accessory and apparel company from its beginnings as an e-commerce site in 2019.

Founder and owner Nicklaus Mertz is a Colorado State University business graduate who, along with partners John Major and Alex Bard, saw a need in the business for golf club headcovers and other products that stand out rather than blend in.

“I bought a Callaway Epic driver a few years back and the headcover was so ugly, I started looking around,”

Mertz says. “I like clothes and accessories, and the covers I saw were expensive and not worth the money.”

With experience in the apparel industry stemming from a company he started while in college, Mertz began exploring how to manufacture his own designs in bright colors and offbeat patterns like dancing flamingos, clowns and icons ranging from Abe Lincoln to the Joker. Ball markers are in the shape of crackers, emojis and marijuana leaves, among dozens of designs. They added clothing for men and women in 2020 and the golf hoodie is currently a hot item. Pins & Aces has been savvy about limited edition collection for holidays like Cinco de Mayo and collaborations with pop culture characters from TV’s “South

Park” to musician Jimmy Buffett.

The company logo - an ace of spades with a golf pin at its center - is popular as well.

The typical customer for Pins & Aces, Mertz says, is “a weekend golfer who wants to have a good time. He’s not so worried about his score and he’s probably drinking.” Among the best sellers is a beer sleeve, $24.95, which keeps beverages cold and fits into a club slot in a golf bag. While the original intent was for the sleeve to be snuck onto a golf course, pro shops around the country now sell the sleeves with their club logos on them. “We originally thought the courses would hate them, but ironically, 600 pro shops around the country sell them,” Mertz says.

A surprise for Mertz is that the brand is taking off in Japan and South Korea. “There’s an affinity for American brands like ours in the Asian market and we’re going to be opening stores there,” Mertz says. He says he has learned “if you build a strong brand with high-quality products, there is a demand.”

With 27 employees and annual sales of $12-$15 million, Pins & Aces is expanding its presence in the professional golf world. It is supplying custom covers, polos, hoodies and beanies for the Korn Ferry Tour stop the Ascendant to be played July 10-16 at TPC Colorado. The company also has a charitable side and is sponsoring a tournament June 5 at Fox Hill Club in Longmont to raise money for the Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit. In April of 2022, Mertz’ baby girl twin spent 10 days in the NICU and he and his wife are grateful to the hospital and staff who cared for the infant.

While 75 percent of the company’s business is done online, Mertz says he regularly gets requests for a retail space for people to visit and see all of its products. The public will be able to do that soon in the new space’s 800-square foot retail shop, which will also serve as a spot to test merchandise displays for stores and clubs.

WILD DESIGNS: The company began because of a hunt for clubhead covers that allowed players to express themselves.

Player’s Corner

By Jim Bebbington