In an industry dominated by billion-dollar marketing budgets, tour endorsements, and a distribution model that hasn’t changed much since the 1950s, Sub 70 Golf is doing things very differently.
And that’s exactly the point.
Founded by longtime golf-industry veteran Jason Hiland, Sub 70 has quietly become one of the most respected direct-to-consumer golf equipment brands in the game—earning trust not through commercials, but through craftsmanship, customization, and something increasingly rare in modern golf: accessibility.
To understand why Sub 70 resonates so deeply with golfers, you have to start with its origin story.
The Second Act
Jason Hiland didn’t stumble into golf. He grew up with it.
Raised in rural Illinois, he spent his childhood hitting balls off a barn and walking nine-hole rounds at a local semi-private course—no irrigation, no frills, just golf the way it used to be. That early love turned into a career. At 22, Hiland founded Diamond Tour Golf, a component company that still exists today.
Years later, after starting a family in his early 40s, Hiland found himself at a crossroads.
“I took a breather for a few years when my kids were little,” he says. “And then I got bored.”
That boredom turned into a question: What do I want to do next?
The answer became Sub 70 Golf.
Hand-Built, Not Mass-Produced
From the beginning, the vision was clear: build clubs the way he’d want them built for himself.
That meant:
- No pre-made inventory
- No mass production
- No shortcuts
Every club would be hand-built in Sycamore, Illinois, with full customization—lie angle, length, swing weight, shaft, grip—everything.
“If you want it built 3 degrees upright or D3 swing weight, we can do that,” Hiland explains. “That’s how we’d build our own clubs.”
The challenge wasn’t the product. Hiland already knew how to build elite equipment. The real challenge was differentiation.
How do you compete with Titleist, Ping, Mizuno—brands that sell billions of dollars a year?
Swimming Upstream
Around 2015, something interesting was happening outside of golf. Direct-to-consumer brands were emerging—not as cheaper alternatives, but as better ones.
Brands like Shinola, Combatant Gentlemen, and even Tesla were proving that cutting out the middleman could elevate quality while lowering cost.
Golf, as usual, was slower to adapt.
Hiland saw an opportunity.
“Traditional golf retail is a 1950s distribution model,” he says. “There are too many hands in the cookie jar.”
Sub 70 would eliminate that inefficiency—selling directly to golfers, custom-building clubs on demand, and passing the savings along without sacrificing performance.
It was unconventional. Some people thought he was crazy.
He wasn’t nervous.
“You can’t play scared,” Hiland says. “Once we believed we were on the right path, you just go.”
Authenticity Over Advertising
Without a massive marketing budget, Sub 70 leaned into what they did have: authenticity.
Social media became the platform—not for hype, but for honesty. Hiland himself became the spokesperson, learning on the fly how to communicate directly with golfers.
“My cell phone number is still on the website,” he says. “If someone needs help, they can call me.”
That openness resonated.
Early momentum came from MyGolfSpy awards, organic buzz on GolfWRX, and a major break when Champions Tour player Mark Calcavecchia put Sub 70 clubs in play—not because he was paid, but because he liked them.
“That was huge for us,” Hiland says. “We didn’t have a budget to buy validation.”
They didn’t need to.
Built for Golfers, Not Invoices
At the heart of Sub 70’s appeal is customer service that feels almost foreign in modern golf.
Hiland hates the idea of golfers feeling like an invoice number.
“If someone gets clubs and something isn’t right, it drives me nuts,” he says. “We’ll fix it. Period.”
That promise matters even more in a direct-to-consumer model, where many golfers never hit the clubs before they arrive. Specs can be transferred from other fittings, launch monitor data interpreted, and adjustments made quickly—because everything is built in-house.
Clubs don’t disappear overseas for weeks. They’re modified and back in golfers’ hands in days.
“You can’t farm this out,” Hiland says. “You have to do it here.”
What the Pros Look For
Sub 70’s reputation began with irons and wedges, and that’s still where many touring professionals start.
While amateurs often focus on distance or forgiveness, pros obsess over something subtler: the window.
“They see a very specific trajectory,” Hiland explains. “Spin, feel, look—it all has to match what they expect before they even pull the trigger.”
That level of nuance is where Sub 70 thrives.
As the brand has grown, so have its drivers and fairway woods, including patented technology that’s gaining traction. But irons and wedges remain the foundation.
A Brand That’s Grown Without Losing Its DNA
Today, Sub 70’s product line is broader, its systems more refined, and its messaging tighter—but the spirit hasn’t changed.
“It’s a more efficient machine now,” Hiland says. “But it’s not corporate. The DNA is still there.”
There were no catastrophic early mistakes. No “what were we thinking?” moments. Just constant learning, refinement, and staying true to the original intent.
That intent still guides everything.
So What Is Sub 70, Really?
Hiland doesn’t love elevator pitches, but his philosophy is simple:
Imagine having your clubs built the same way professionals’ clubs are built—custom, by hand, with expert guidance, and without paying inflated retail prices.
Sub 70 isn’t trying to be for everyone. It’s for golfers who care about how their equipment is made, who value honest communication, and who want a relationship—not just a transaction.
And in a crowded golf landscape dominated by logos and endorsements, that approach is quietly turning heads.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Hiland says. “I get to do this for a living. I love my job, I love our customers, and I love this journey.”
For golfers willing to look beyond the commercials, Sub 70 might just be the most refreshing story in modern equipment.
More info on Sub70 Golf can be found HERE