AmateurGolf.com Podcast Episode 25: Apparel industry icon John Ashworth
March 7, 2023 | by Sean Melia of AmateurGolf.com
"Ash" talks about his life in golf from caddying to saving Goat Hill Park to starting two clothing lines 30 years apart
If you were a 1990s golf fan, you recognize John Ashworth’s last name. His apparel company, Ashworth, adorned some of the best players in the world: Fred Couples, John Cook, and Ernie Els. Over the years, John Ashworth has had his hand in a lot of different projects and companies, all of them connected to the game he loves.
We discuss how he got into the game as a kid caddying for his dad, playing competitively in college, looping on the PGA Tour for his friend Mark Wiebe, playing in Scotland, and saving Goat Hill. Ashworth most recently started LinkSoul, an apparel company that feels very much like a culmination of his golfing journey. Easy, laid-back clothing that can be worn on the course and then in a restaurant afterward.
On his relationship with the game
It did impact me and did definitely had some sort of directional pull for the things I've done in terms the parts of the game that aren't so much the competitive parts, but being out in nature and getting away. Being out in trees and grass and you're playing a game with your with your friend, my dad played with his friends. It's this camaraderie and people are kind to each other. I feel like that part was kind of the virtues of the game got fairly ingrained in me.
On landing Fred Couples and John Cook as Ashworth ambassadors
I remember seeing Fred for the first time at a collegiate tournament. And I knew his name; he was obviously good at the time. And I said, "Who's that?"He just had this way he was walking down the fairway; his shirt was untucked. And he just looks so cool. And then John Cook I knew from Southern California; he grew up in Southern California. Fred and I have the exact same age, almost to the day. And then John Cook, I think, is about a year and a half older, but I knew him from junior golf days. I knew he was really good. They were both good-looking guys, and I thought it would be cool to have two guys, kind of like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts
We discuss how he got into the game as a kid caddying for his dad, playing competitively in college, looping on the PGA Tour for his friend Mark Wiebe, playing in Scotland, and saving Goat Hill. Ashworth most recently started LinkSoul, an apparel company that feels very much like a culmination of his golfing journey. Easy, laid-back clothing that can be worn on the course and then in a restaurant afterward.
It did impact me and did definitely had some sort of directional pull for the things I've done in terms the parts of the game that aren't so much the competitive parts, but being out in nature and getting away. Being out in trees and grass and you're playing a game with your with your friend, my dad played with his friends. It's this camaraderie and people are kind to each other. I feel like that part was kind of the virtues of the game got fairly ingrained in me.
On landing Fred Couples and John Cook as Ashworth ambassadors
I remember seeing Fred for the first time at a collegiate tournament. And I knew his name; he was obviously good at the time. And I said, "Who's that?"He just had this way he was walking down the fairway; his shirt was untucked. And he just looks so cool. And then John Cook I knew from Southern California; he grew up in Southern California. Fred and I have the exact same age, almost to the day. And then John Cook, I think, is about a year and a half older, but I knew him from junior golf days. I knew he was really good. They were both good-looking guys, and I thought it would be cool to have two guys, kind of like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts
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