Golf pro finds niche in UD apparel

Jim Witmer Jim Kincaid, former golf pro who now owns Korporate Kasuals, a business that sells UD apparel, business is at 1906 Brown St.

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By Doug Harris, Staff Writer Updated 8:33 PM Saturday, February 6, 2010

Jim Kincaid was head golf pro at Dayton Country Club when he was approached with a proposal from one of his members that would change his career.

Ted Kissell, the University of Dayton athletic director at the time, wanted some apparel that would be a step above the standard college fare of sweatshirts and T-shirts to market to the Flyer fan base. His idea was to put UD logos on Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and other upscale sweaters, vests and pullovers and make them something fans could wear both to dine out and then attend a Flyers basketball game.

For Kincaid — who had the necessary connections from years of stocking his pro shop — accommodating Kissell would be as easy as a gimme putt.

“Being a golf pro, you do get the experience in merchandise,” he said. “It’s sort of like having a business within a business, and I always did enjoy the retail aspect. ... It was sort of a natural for me.”

Kincaid and fellow golf pro John Kelly began supplying UD with apparel about eight years ago and eventually spun off a company for Flyer apparel called Korporate Kasuals (the K’s come from the partners’ last names).

They’ve broadened their business since then and beat out several competitors to land a contract with the Ohio High School Athletic Association to sell souvenir clothing at tournament venues. Wright State also is a client.

Kincaid, 47, who was inducted into the Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Honor after an All-American golf career, spent about 15 years as a pro at area courses, including a stint as an assistant at Shaker Run in Lebanon. In the winters, he worked as a small-college and high school basketball referee.

The Springfield resident has a daughter, Jennifer, who is a freshman at UD.

In his words

“With the saturation of the golf market, the job for golf pros has dwindled in value, I guess would be the best way to say it. From 1988-98, we had 12 new courses open up (in the Dayton area). We got saturated and went from being busy all the time and having all our memberships full to everyone struggling to get enough rounds at their courses to make ends meet.

“Fran Tarkenton used to stop by and hit balls (at Dayton CC). He was in town seeing somebody. They called and said, ‘Would it be OK if he came out and hit balls?’

“At Shaker Run, we got more of the Reds players. Tom Browning and WLW had a fundraiser for Middletown United Way. ... Browning, when he had his marijuana episode (a 1993 arrest for possession of the drug), he and Cris Collinsworth almost got into a fight on the back porch. Collinsworth did sports talk and didn’t let him off easy that day. Browning was the guest, and Collinsworth didn’t let the subject go. He tried to hit it head on, and they went at it pretty good.

“Jose Rijo was having some bad luck and went home and sacrificed a goat. He came back and we had all the celebrities’ carts lined up. We had removed his cart. We brought a goat out. We put his name around the goat and attached it to a pull cart.

“That Dayton City League had some great basketball. I enjoyed working it because the kids just wanted to play ball. As an official, you want to foster that and allow them to get into the rhythm of the game.

“The people interaction was really fun (as a golf pro). That’s probably why I still enjoy event sales. You do get a lot of interaction. Generally, the events we do, people are excited to be there. Members of the Dayton Country Club, they’re excited to be there. They just want to go out and have a good time.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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