Meet Sam Goulden of MNML GOLF

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Goulden.

Hi Sam, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Wow, ok I’ll try to be brief.. MNML GOLF was born on January 1st 2020. I got the idea for a more technical/perfomance based golf bag as I felt a shift in the type of golfer I was seeing around LA – – this thinking started in like June or July of 2018.

I saw tee shirts and tennis shoes, bluetooth speakers, people filming their swings.. It just seemed like there was an audience who was ready for a smarter golf bag. And, a golf bag that fit their style.

I had no idea how golf bags were made, where they were made, what they cost to make… I just started reaching out to friends and asking questions. Eventually I met up with a broker in San Diego who connected me with a factory in Indo.

Fun fact: nearly all quality golf bags are made in the same 4 factories in China and Indonesia. I was fortunate to meet one and we are still with them today – no plans to ever leave.

So anyway, they met with me and took my drawing and turned it into a sample. So by January of 2019, I had my first two working samples. They were beautiful. But they weren’t even close to ready.

It would take 58 total changes to get us to a production model that eventually arrived in El Porto (north Manhattan Beach) on December 31st 2019.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Hahahahaha yeah nothing to say here. Just smooth sailing the whole way.

No seriously it’s been a lot like surfing. Every year has a few swells. Every swell has a few good days, Every day has a few good waves. Other than that, it’s a grind.

I’m not trying to say it’s hard, I’m just saying, if I wasn’t very passionate about what I’m doing, I’d have quit three years ago.

In six years I’ve paid myself about $75k (and that all came in 2022).

But passion is funny. Passion isn’t rewarded by money all the time. I’ve known what I was put on this earth to do since I was 20. And as long as I’m doing that, Everything will be ok.

But yeah, if you want a fun one, try getting $240k worth of golf bags delivered – a bet we placed on a review that never happened and a super-bowl commercial that never aired. It took us two years to sell those bags and we lost about $120k.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about MNML GOLF ?
We make premium. custom golf bags. But, more importantly, we treat our customers as though they are family.

We don’t do paid or manipulative ads.

We don’t ever do discounts.

We are real people who are putting relationships in front of profit.

Oh and we support the Sh*t out of supporting anyone who is chasing their dreams.

Oh and we have a couple social clubs – one in Redondo Beach and one in Pasadena – MNML GOLF CLUB.

What matters most to you? Why?
I get the most joy from helping others be the best at whatever they care the most about. I’m not sure why that is.. Maybe because my mom and dad were both teachers. Or maybe it was some other influence.. Probably a lot of influence and a little brain chemistry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://minimalgolf.com/
• Instagram: @mnmlgolf
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MNMLgolf/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mnml-golf-co/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mnmlgolf
• Other: https://mnmlgolf.club/