Sam Goulden, the founder of MNML Golf Bags, was kind enough to join us on this week’s podcast to tell us a little more about his story and discuss some of the game’s hottest topics.
If you’re a regular listener to our podcasts at Edel, you’ve certainly come to realize that we aren’t afraid to think outside of the box. While bigger companies are primarily concerned with mass production and getting their products into the hands of as many golfers as possible, our sole mission is to help people play better golf and have more fun. That’s why we continually spend our time and resources trying to find methods and perfect equipment that makes the game easier.
While we’re constantly working to achieve these goals, we also have our eyes open for other companies and manufacturers that are thinking outside the box. That’s exactly what we found when we ran into Sam Goulden at the PGA Show. Sam’s the founder of MNML Golf Bags. As we learned more about Sam’s story, we were more than a little impressed.
Sam was kind enough to join us on this week’s podcast to tell us a little more about his story and discuss some of the game’s hottest topics.
Sam got into the game of golf in high school and became a good enough player to earn a college scholarship. After college, he was drawn to teaching and did so for a number of years until he decided that he missed competing. He eventually moved to Los Angeles and played the Golden State Tour for a number of years during which he was able to work with some of the game’s greatest teachers.
In 2014, Sam returned to teaching and launched his online instruction platform, SamGouldenGolf.club. A short time after, he moved to Puerto Rico to focus solely on that endeavor.
When he returned to Puerto Rico for the second time in 2018, he felt a strong need to get some passion in his life and that became MNML Golf. He saw golf becoming more casual and less stuffy.
The decision to make golf bags came when he was working a student in his simulator and he noticed his student’s miniature golf bag. The bag’s simple, functional design, and lack of excessive features caught his eye and he realized that a golf bag should be “an extension of a golfer’s personality.”
Today, that’s reflected in the MNML golf bags. The bags come in black or white and feature magnets instead of zippers. The bag’s lack of logos and branding leaves plenty of room for customization and logo design that’s hand-painted by the company’s resident artist.
Additionally, the bag’s tech kit comes with a solar power bank, a Bluetooth speaker, and a phone charger.
Sam and David first met in St. Louis in 2005 when Sam was just beginning his professional career. After going through a putter fitting, Sam was “blown away.” While he was waiting for his Edel putter to arrive Sam “putted with his sand wedge because… he couldn’t aim his putter.” David and Sam have remained good friends to this day.
The conversation then turns to the topic of single length golf clubs, something both Sam and David are passionate about. By taking all the variables of extra length clubs and different length clubs out of the equation, both agree that the game becomes not only easier to play for golfers of all levels, but the learning curve for beginning players is much faster. In fact, Sam believes so strongly in the single length method that he teaches it to all of his students. In his words “There is absolutely nothing you could say to me at this point that would convince me to play anything other than single length.”
Check out the video of Sam unboxing his Edel Single Length club HERE.
There’s no question in our minds that Sam will continue to find success with both his teaching and the MNML Golf brand. We can’t thank him enough for taking time out of his busy schedule to join us on this episode of the Edel Golf Podcast.
To hear the full conversation and learn about MNML Golf and the man behind the brand, tune into the podcast above.
Interested in an Edel x MNML Stand Bag? Buy yours here: https://edelgolf.com/collections/accessories/products/edel-x-mnml-stand-bag