For those reading this story, the name Katie Calderon might not ring a bell. But for those active on Instagram and TikTok, her nearly 500,000 followers know her affectionately as “clubgirlkatie.”

Despite having such a following, Calderon has no interest in being a social media influencer. The content she creates is simply an offshoot of the Texas A&M University engineering student’s true passion, which is changing the game for women, one golf club at a time.

This dream started when she was a young girl golfer who quickly realized the industry did not prioritize the needs of females in many ways, but especially regarding equipment. As for her experience, Calderon quickly improved at golf, growing out of junior sets and being left with the choice of playing with clubs that were meant for boys, or shelling out thousands of dollars to get equipment tailored just for her.

Knowing this was a reality for all female golfers who took the game seriously, and with no one stepping up to fix the issue, Calderon took it upon herself to start building putters for women. After years spent tinkering with prototypes and building out her company, Calderon officially launched Club Girl Golf and the Monarch Putter on Friday, October 11.

“I was 16 when I first realized this was a problem and that I wanted to be the one to fix it,” the now 24-year-old Calderon explained. “I wasn’t quite sure where to start, so I looked at my own golf game. Putting was by far the worst part of it, so I set out to make a putter, and after 124 prototypes, I could not be more excited to debut the Monarch, which is just the first club my company will produce for women.”

This momentous achievement was not lost on Calderon, who took the time to reflect on her journey and everything that has led to this. It all started during a family vacation in Hawaii when she was just four years old. Calderon and her father were in need of an activity while her mother took a nap, and with few options at their disposal, her dad chose to take advantage of the free lessons that were offered at the golf course connected to the hotel. After just a few swings, Calderon was hooked.

“I remember making my dad go back to the course every day for the rest of our vacation,” Calderon recalled. “It was all I wanted to do, and then when we landed back in LA, I said, ‘Okay, when can we go back to Hawaii so I could play more?’ After letting out a laugh, my dad pointed out that I could keep doing that here at home.”

And that’s exactly what Calderon did. She spent every moment she had practicing the game, which paid off as she made her middle and high school golf teams. This still wasn’t enough golf for the upstart player, though. Calderon wanted to explore the industry side too, which is why she got a job in a golf shop when she was 16.

Calderon started at the front desk, but was quickly moved back into repairs since the club’s repair guy didn’t work Saturdays, and she did. Looking back, there’s a strong chance none of this would have happened had Calderon not gotten this opportunity to explore club repair and fittings.

“I first learned how to reshaft clubs, and that’s when I started getting really interested in all the things you can do to them and how manipulating just one thing can make a huge difference,” Calderon explained. “So once the rest of the staff saw me tinkering with the equipment, they taught me how to fit clubs. I ended up working there for five years, and during that time, I really got to see all the slight differences and how they impact a player.”

While working at the course, Calderon pursued another dream – competing on the World Long Drive Tour. She teed it up in several events between 2020 and 2021, winning six times in the Xtreme Long Drive League. Unfortunately for Calderon, who averaged drives of roughly 365 yards, this did not prove to be a sustainable career. With that said, it did bring her one step closer to realizing her engineering dream.

“The tour was so much fun, but it really proved to be another opportunity for me to see how equipment could be manipulated even further,” Calderon shared. “For example, you get to deal with longer shafts, and you’ve got a lot less loft, so learning all about that was really cool and opened my eyes to how far this equipment could be taken.”

Calderon knew she wanted to become a club designer from there, so she pivoted to college, committing to Texas A&M and pursuing the closest majors she could find to club design, which were Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. This proved to be the right choice, as one of her professors immediately suggested that Calderon attempt to build a golf club.

Katie Calderon with check and trophy

The putter immediately jumped out at Calderon for many reasons, including the fact that it was mainly one piece. So, with that club in mind, she began 3D printing huge plastic block ones from home. Despite being bulky and made of plastic, these putters were both playable and manipulable. Calderon took advantage of the latter by hammering metal weights into them, which is how she learned to do weight manipulation for her recently-debuted Monarch putter.

These initial designs are what sparked her social renaissance, as she shared them across her accounts for followers to see how she was progressing. Calderon figured there would be a few friends who would enjoy her videos and engineering insights, but she never expected the widespread interest and support that came from the female golf community.

What started with putter design videos quickly turned into testing prank balls and cutting golf balls open to see what’s inside. This blend of golf and science has made Calderon a household name on social media, as she has accrued 346K followers and 22.7M likes on TikTok alone. Despite her large following, Calderon has remained focus on the Monarch.

This putter is the ultimate proof that perseverance pays off. Calderon has put thousands of hours into creating, testing and adjusting its design. Calderon even kept a notebook on her nightstand for when she dreamt up a design change and needed to write it down as soon as she woke up.

Calderon has made hundreds of adjustments over time, but she only changed the model number after a major revelation. The Monarch Putter that is now available on her website ended up being Model 125, which also has a total of 125 different weight combinations, offering girls and women the customization they have long been yearning for.

“After spending years on the design, it all just came together, and it was kind of serendipity with the 125,” she explained. “So at that point, it was like, ‘Okay, this is the one. It doesn’t get better than this.’”

Katie Calderon

Now that her putter is officially out on the market, Calderon has her sights set on growing the company and creating a full line of clubs following her graduation in December. If bringing the Monarch putter to life has taught Calderon anything though, it’s that patience and hard work are key. She attributes these traits to her parents, who have always encouraged her to chase her dreams, no matter how big.

“My parents always told me when I was younger that if I have an idea or a dream, I have to chase after it,” Calderon explained. “I still remember my dad reading me bedtime stories from the book, ‘Think and Grow Rich,’ so they really wanted me to do what makes me happy and to pursue my dreams.”

As for the Monarch Putter, Calderon hopes it will provide women with a key piece of equipment that is finally tailored to them. Between reaching out to female golfers on campus and asking her social followers for feedback, Calderon discovered that women were running into the same three issues, which were size, style and weight and balance distribution. As Calderon explained, the industry standard has long been to “Shrink It and Pink It,” which means that manufacturers take the most forgiving men’s club, chop down the height and paint it pink.

“I knew that if women's clubs needed to be made properly, it needed to be by women who understood the game and their equipment and why it needs to be different,” Calderon said. “Over time, I realized that I wanted to take my skills and my new design knowledge and be the one to make an impact. I hate to say I’m at the forefront of this effort, but it’s been a dream come true to see this all come to life.”

Whether she views it this way or not, Calderon is blazing a new trail in golf and is changing the industry for good. And if it’s up to her, no girl will ever have to settle when it comes to equipment ever again.

“I want to create a better world for the girls that were like me as a kid,” she said. “I want it so they never have to struggle with their equipment or with anything in golf. I want them to go out and enjoy the game and not have to worry about the fact that their clubs cost more. That should not be a thing. They should not have to wait three months to get their golf clubs because they had to get them custom-made either.

“They should just be able to go to a store, pick up their clubs, walk out and go play with them the next day because they’re just so happy to get to play this wonderful game.”

For more information about the Monarch Putter, please click here.

Katie Calderon: A One in a Million Golf Entrepreneur

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