Check Out Tara Collins’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara Collins and Sammy Berger. They share their story with us below:

Both Tara and Sammy have always known that they would start their own businesses but never quite knew what it would be… When the world threw us all a giant curveball at the beginning of 2020, one of the hobbies many women leaned into was golf. Golf was one of the only sporting activities that stayed and remained open throughout the entire pandemic. Playing the sport was considered to be safe and socially distant. Tee times became tougher and tougher to find with thousands of new players picking up the sport and taking to the links.

This is when Sammy and Tara realized how slim their golf wardrobes were and how nearly impossible it is to find relevant and fashionable female golf clothes. They couldn’t help but notice massive oversights in the clothing options for female golfers; no pockets, awful colors, and even worse patterns. They wanted more clothing options, so they’re creating them. Options that are calculated for sexy and not-so-sexy curves. Options where you don’t have to sacrifice fashion for function. They wanted pockets, danggit. And they plan on providing ample pockets and a multitude of other functional features in their golf clothing for the 5.5 million female golfers in the US (and counting). We’re doing it, because quite frankly, it’s what the game needs.

Tara and Sammy have bootstrapped Prio Golf and built the company into what it is today. Prio’s first clothing collection is expected to launch this, Summer of 2022.

Eventually, they would like to grow Prio Golf into a women’s golf empire that encourages thousands of female golfers worldwide to start and/or continue playing the sport. All of course, with our clothing being the “go-to staple” in every female golfer’s closet.

Short bio of Prio Golf / Mission

Prio Golf’s mission is to inspire confidence in potential and current female golfers through fashionable & functional attire, camaraderie, and education.

Prio Golf is named after the first woman to wear trousers at a major ladies’ championship in 1933, Gloria Minoprio. Her decision to wear pants (and show her ankle) caused quite the stir and was deemed inappropriate because it created fear that the “wearing of trousers” by ladies would result in a slip in standards of golf etiquette. Gloria’s ground-breaking fashion choice led to more freedom of choice for women. Beyond her fashion influence, she was a phenomenal athlete – winning the ladies championship with ONLY ONE CLUB (yes, you read that correctly).

It is only right that our company nods to this absolute legend, who led the way for many women in the sport from her fashion decisions to her club choices.

Golf Etiquette / Starter Kit

As the finishing touches come together on Prio’s clothing collection, Tara and Sammy are also looking for ways to grow the game among women.

About 1/4 of all golfers in the US are women. So basically, one person in every foursome is a woman. That’s 5.5 million female golfers in the US alone and that is growing rapidly. One thing is clear: more & more females are watching, caring, and becoming engaged in the sport than ever before but many don’t know how to get started.

Sometimes Golf can be perceived as a very intimidating sport with a lot of barriers to get started (especially for women), but it doesn’t have to be that way. The most common barriers we come across when talking to our lady friends are:

– “I wouldn’t even know how to go about finding the right course and booking a tee time.”

– “What if I don’t have clubs?” “Can I rent them?”

– “Many of my friends don’t play and I don’t have anyone to golf with.”

– “I have no clue what to wear!”

– “I don’t want to go out there and be completely embarrassed about my low level of play.”

This is exactly why Prio Golf is offering a “Ladies Golf Etiquette Starter Kit” to help new women players break down those perceived barriers and to help them get started in the sport. The kit will include;

– A cheeky/fun golf etiquette booklet (a quick read that gives a new player everything they need to know about Tee Times, renting clubs if needed, showing up early to practice, appropriate clothing, not walking in someone’s line, etc.)

– Prio Golf Balls

– Prio Tees

– A Divot fixer and ball marker

– A Prio Hat (of your choosing)

If you know someone that wants to get started in golf and needs a little confidence boost – this is the perfect introduction to the sport.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Both Sammy and Tara are business graduates from the University of Denver. So, while they know how to create go-to-market strategies, run paid ads/marketing, and draft their own financial projections, the biggest learning curve has been diving into the world of clothing design and manufacturing. Luckily, they have some pretty amazing advisors that have introduced them to women willing to help in the industry. The work that goes into creating 1 garment of clothing is astonishing.

Additionally, they are in the process of securing a small business loan for women in business and truly it is so much harder to find funding options for a minority-owned company than they would have thought. Sammy and Tara pray that one day they will be in the position to help other female-founded companies – whether that is providing advice on the best funding options or even serving as investors.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

Why Prio Golf: – There is not a “go-to” company for women’s golf clothing. There is no Travis Mathew who has a new take on modern golf clothing. There surely isn’t a Bad Birdie that is bringing fresh & fun spirit to clothing and the community. We aim to fill this gap. 

– Women don’t want to spend $300 on an ill-fitting golf polo. Our products cost ~29-42% below market averages while maintaining 66% margin (with targeted functionality, high-quality fabrics, and fashionable designs). 

– At the end of the day, Prio will be positioned as a fun and relevant lifestyle brand for the modern female golfer. 

About the founders: 

Sammy Berger 

– Growing up golfing in junior programs at the Omaha Country Club, Sammy perfected her smooth and effortless golf swing at a young age. Continuing down her athletic streak, she loved the team atmosphere in volleyball and played on the D1 volleyball team at the University of Denver. After graduating with an MBA from the University of Denver, Sammy dove into the world of market research, consumer insights, and the sports-tech startup scene – propelling her entrepreneurial spirit in launching Prio Golf. Sammy’s current day job is on the User & Product Insights team with Wix.com, where she leverages her expertise and knowledge in consumer behavior, web development, API integrations, and SEO for Prio’s digital presence. 

Tara Collins 

– Tara grew up playing field hockey and volleyball and found her passion for golf during college. 

She found that her field hockey swing transitioned quite well into a powerful drive and she was hooked. After graduating with her Bachelor’s of Science in Business Analytics, Tara pursued a Director of Business Development role for a SaaS technology company, which allowed her to stay close to the data while harnessing her sales and negotiation skills. Tara’s current day job is on the Partnership Analytics & Insights team at Guild Education. Tara’s background in statistics and analytics will serve Prio well when forecasting inventory and running optimization analyses on any facet of Prio’s business operations. 

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Both Sammy and Tara have fond childhood memories of constantly being outside; with siblings, playing sports, jumping on trampolines, etc. Likely a huge reason why both founders decided to go to the University of Denver and stayed in the beautiful state of Colorado post-graduation. Of course, the inviting technology and business climate is hard to beat, but their decision was largely made for the obvious reasons; (1) proximity to the mountains and (2) access to a wide variety of recreation and wellness activities that truly take living and working in Colorado to a whole other level. 

Contact Info:

• Email: priogolf@gmail.com
• Website: priogolf.com
• Instagram: @priogolf

Image Credits
Dylan Nelson
Soona photo studio