Tom Hislop
Senior Vice President
Golden Bear Golf, Inc.
11780 U.S. Highway One
North Palm Beach, Florida 33408
Phone: (561) 626-3900
When Jack Nicklaus founded the original Golden Bear in 1970 his idea was to associate his name with high quality products and successful companies. Today that same philosophy remains vital to the company's mission. The Marketing Division is responsible for managing a variety of corporate relations and building what has now become one of the most recognized brand names in sports.
Through a long-standing relationship with Hartmarx Corporation, Nicklaus Apparel is sold through pro shops and fine specialty retail stores around the world. Nicklaus markets an accessory line along with a line of Barbara Nicklaus-inspired Golden Cub children's wear. In February of 1997 the company joined forces with Gargoyles, a forward-thinking manufacturer of sunglasses for whom Jack Nicklaus will provide input on products designed specifically for golfers.
The Nicklaus/Flick Golf Schools, a leading instructional school, combines the swing philosophies of Jack Nicklaus and the teaching methods of instructor Jim Flick. Dedicated to Jack's simple belief that game improvement leads to game enjoyment, the Nicklaus/Flick method doesn't seek to reinvent the golf swing, but to build on each student's strengths and capabilities. In attempt to provide that valued instruction to the largest possible audience, Nicklaus/Flick this year launched the Faults and
Cures Tour, a 32-city tour which shadows the Senior PGA Tour schedule. These one-day schools specialize in fixing golfers' most common problems in a more affordable format.
Recent years have seen the Marketing Division's development of the Jack Nicklaus International Golf Club. Created in 1995 as a reciprocity system for members of Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses, JNIGC has emerged as an exclusive passport to some of the most prestigious Nicklaus-designed golf courses in the world. Today over 1,600 members of JNIGC have access to 77 host golf courses and resorts on four continents, participate in intra-Club tournaments and enjoy exclusive access to privileges and
products created solely for their use.
Throughout his career, Jack Nicklaus has aligned himself with marketing partners who share his commitment to excellence. Today Golden Bear continues that tradition by actively maintaining marketing partnerships and brand licensing agreements with the premier companies in their respective fields. Jack Nicklaus and the Marketing Division of Golden Bear Golf are proud of their long-running associations with companies like Lincoln-Mercury, Rolex, Gulfstream, Hartmarx, Golf Magazine, Textron, Rockport and
Maxfli. In recent months Golden Bear has added selectively to this list by signing a strategic partnership with Visa, CitiBank and GolfWeb, the most popular golf-related site on the Internet.
"The Marketing Division is really the keeper of the Nicklaus brands.
We are charged with overseeing the brands to make sure that we associate with the right partners, that these partners invest and promote heavily to grow our businesses, but also develop the right products - products that Jack Nicklaus can represent credibly. The customer ultimately decides what product he or she buys and we've got to make sure that our customer gets value and gets quality." - Tom
Hislop