What goes into sourcing merchandise for a Top 100 course? Hint: a lot

This past August, while on a last-hurrah summer trip to California before my kids started school, I noticed a man wearing a polo with the Maidstone Club logo — a royal blue whale positioned on top of the water, with the club’s founding year, 1891, underneath it. It’s an instantly recognizable emblem to anyone with Top-100-course know-how, but especially for me, a former employee of the club for two college summers. I haven’t been back to the course’s hallowed grounds in well over 15 years, but Maidstone (No. 29 on GOLF’s most recent ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S.) remains near and dear to my heart, my absolute favorite course and club.

Seeing that logo out in the wild, thousands of miles away from East Hampton, N.Y., stopped me in my tracks, and sent my mind whirring with possibilities. Did I know this man? Is he a Maidstone member? When did he play? I was so curious! But as much as I wanted to start a conversation with him, I suppressed the urge, for fear of being intrusively inquisitive to a complete stranger. Ultimately, I didn’t approach him, and he went his way and I went mine. But it was a stark reminder of the power of club logos: whether worn as humble-brag status symbols or bucket-list souvenirs, sporting them — and recognizing them — makes you feel like a member of elite society.

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to visit a club like Maidstone, you likely spent some time in the golf shop looking at the logoed gear. Guests at Top 100 clubs regularly drop hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on a course’s polos, hats and headcovers, and platforms like TikTok and Instagram have only heightened the relevance of top-tier club merchandise. While Maidstone refrains from social media, the “golf shop hauls” trend — in which players show off their gear, apparel, and accessory purchases from the world’s best courses — has skyrocketed in popularity, reaching an increasingly eager audience.

It goes without saying that selectively stocking the shop at these courses is no small task. Melissa Santonelli has been the golf shop merchandise manager at Maidstone for the last three seasons and took to the job like a duck to water, setting sales records each successive year. I was eager to ask her: What is her process for sourcing the merchandise at a club of Maidstone’s caliber?

“One of the things that has been important to me is finding new products,” she told me recently. “I take a lot of pride in seeing how well they do.”

One example: Harlestons, an emerging Charleston-based golf brand whose founders reached out to Santonelli for a meeting to show off their collection. She was impressed with their story and the quality of the clothing, put in an order for 100 pieces to start — and sold out within two weeks.

“I’m always looking for something that’s cutting edge, right about to blow up,” she said. “I don’t want something that’s already blown up, and everyone already knows it. So every year I try to find something new that I can bring in that [the membership] hasn’t seen before.”

As for some other up-and-coming brands to keep an eye on? Santonelli said she’s also impressed by Quiet Golf (“with its streetwear meets links heritage vibe”) and Field Day Sporting Co. (“bringing timeless menswear silhouettes back to the course”). Both will be in available at Maidstone in the coming year.

Of course, stocking logoed staples from familiar country-club brands like Holderness & Bourne and Peter Millar is a given, Santonelli says. But her decision to bring in crossover brands like Faherty has been a boon for the club as well. Another standout? According to Santonelli, A.Putnam, with its “resort-to-sport” style, has brought sophistication and modern elegance to women’s golf fashion at Maidstone.

“I don’t know that my choices would work for other clubs, but because Maidstone has a private beach club that sits along the Atlantic Ocean, some non-golf pieces are important, because not everyone is a golfer that comes here,” she said. “They want something with a whale on it, but not necessarily a golf polo. So the lifestyle pieces have become a big hit.”

For Santonelli, member wants and needs are always top of mind. But guests are also an important consideration. That’s why she ensures that there is always a healthy stock of souvenir items like logoed polos, hats and headcovers year-round. But Santonelli doesn’t silo members and guests into different categories when she’s trolling for new merch.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s for a member or a guest. I just buy the best stuff I can find, and it’ll land how it lands,” she says. “What motivates me are the true ‘golf enthusiasts’ — the ones that know the brands, appreciate the quality and understand the tradition behind the game.”

And speaking of quality, it’s something Santonelli also takes very seriously.

“A brand is often only as strong as the representative presenting it,” she says. “Attention to detail matters — from ensuring the logo is the right color, size, and placement, to making sure deliveries arrive on time. I am very mindful of fit, sizing and quality. If a collar doesn’t hold up well after a few washes, customers will also move to another brand.

“My success depends on each vendor’s professionalism as well,” she continued. “And if that’s missing, I won’t hesitate to drop a line, no matter how popular it may be. If I can’t get what I need to do my job well, I simply move on.”

As a Top 100 mainstay, Maidstone remains one of the most coveted tee times — and logos — in golf. Visitors tend to enjoy showcasing their purchases, both online and in real life. For Santonelli, that’s just par for the course — and ultimately, a reflection of a job well done.