If you ever find yourself struggling for motivation, let me tell you: Four kids under the age of five will get you off your ass in a hurry.
I know this from experience but Nicholas Mertz, the owner of Pins and Aces and, since last December, Edel Golf, is living it in the here and now.
“I got married young and now I have four kids. You learn a lot and you grow up quickly.”
On the surface, the Pins and Aces/Edel Golf pairing seems odd. After all, Pins and Aces is a flashy, youthful golf lifestyle brand that’s growing. Edel Golf has been a struggling putter, wedge and iron brand.
Other than both being “in” the golf space and based in Colorado, the two companies had very little in common when they walked down the aisle.
But, hey, many successful marriages started with less than that.
Pins and Aces + Edel Golf: Strang bedfellows
“You could say that I loved the product so much that I bought the company,” says Mertz, channeling his inner Victor Kiam (you youngsters can look it up). “At the same time, there was an opportunity to help expand what we’re trying to do with Pins and Aces.”
Pins and Aces is very much a product of the post-COVID golf boom. It has made a name for itself by producing cool and edgy bags, headcovers and other golf lifestyle products. Edel Golf, on the other hand, was a boutique putter brand with one of the most unique fitting systems in the game. The company’s big splash came in August 2015 when Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Amateur Championship with a set of custom single-length Edel irons built by company founder David Edel himself.
Five years later, Edel sold his company to Doug Coors of the Coors brewing family. In 2022, Coors moved Edel headquarters from its Austin, Texas, home to Denver (the custom putter facility remains in Austin) with plans to expand. However, the company struggled to find mass market appeal. It remained a premium-priced, niche product, but lacked the marketing muscle to fuel Coors’ plans for growth.
While the terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, it’s likely Mertz got a relative bargain when he acquired Edel last year. The question, of course, is obvious: Can a company known for flashy, borderline-crazy headcovers, colorful golf bags and the LiquorStick® successfully coexist with a fitting-centric golf brand?
An offer he couldn’t refuse …
“We had always said we were never going to make shoes, clubs or balls,” Mertz tells MyGolfSpy. “But when we looked at Edel Golf and saw the depth of their engineering, their manufacturing and their heritage, it was just a really attractive business.”
The 35-year-old Mertz can best be described as a serial entrepreneur. He started his first company while in college at Colorado State, running it out of his parents’ basement. He wound up selling that company after graduating in 2012 and went to work for his girlfriend’s father, who is now his father-in-law.
“I was going to go get my MBS (Master of Business Studies) after I sold my first business,” says Mertz. “But my father-in-law was like, ‘You come work for me. You’ll learn more in two weeks than you will in two years in an MBA (Master of Business Administration) program.’”
In 2016, Mertz bought Adams Polishes, a direct-to-consumer car care company. He sold that company in 2020 and has since devoted his full efforts to Pins and Aces and, now, Edel.
“We have a long track record of successful businesses. We’re not a bunch of yahoos. We know what we’re doing. Edel is in good hands and we want to take care of it.”
Taking stock of the new acquisition
Edel Golf made a name for itself early on for its detailed putter fitting system and its ability to custom-craft high-end, bespoke putters at its Austin machine shop. That changed under the Coors ownership.
“I’m thinking, why aren’t we doing this anymore?” says Mertz. “Previous ownership had different goals, but I’m like, this is crazy. There’s a lot of skill at the Austin facility. You’ve got to showcase your capabilities and have a hero product.”
Ever since the acquisition, Edel has been getting back to its roots, offering bespoke, American-made putters that can run as high as $1,000. There’s plenty of new stuff in the pipeline as well.
“Putters are part of the Edel ethos we want to bring back,” Mertz explains. “We’re working on face-balanced putters and some zero-torque putters. Those should be coming out this fall.”
I experienced a full-scale Edel putter fitting about 10 years ago and was fascinated to learn how important perception was to alignment or, more accurately, misalignment. The company is now selling the puck-and-laser tool it uses in fittings to help you align your putter face square to your target line.
“It’s called ‘Aim Check,’ and it’s literally used to check your aim,” explains Mertz. “We use it in fitting but you can use it to retrain yourself if you like the putter you have. You may feel you’re aiming correctly. I’m not sure who said it first, but feel is not real in golf.”
Repositioning irons and wedges
It’s important to remember that Edel Golf is a small company. It doesn’t have unlimited resources or huge R&D budgets. What it does have, however, is a solid understanding of what it can do.
“You have to understand what you are and what you’re not,” says Mertz. “When we bought Edel, we lowered our iron prices significantly. There’s still margin in there but I think they were priced out of the market by trying to compete with Miura and other really high-end irons.”
You can order an SMS/SMS Pro Combo set online for just over $1,000. Edel’s SMS wedges are being discontinued and are available for $140. They’re being replaced by the new SMS Pro wedges, which feature a flippable weight to move the CG closer to the heel or toe as needed.
“We’re not going to be a cheap $400 set of irons,” Mertz adds. “We want a true, forged player’s iron that’s very forgiving, very approachable and that’s not going to break the bank.”
Edel isn’t exclusively direct-to-consumer but it is working to rebuild its fitting network. Custom fitting experiences are available at Edel’s Denver headquarters and at the Machine Shop in Liberty, Texas. It’s essential to note that, as long as the iron category remains the same, your specs are transferable.
After all, one-degree flat, half-inch long DG Mid 100 R300 shaft travels from brand to brand.
“I know my specs, so I can order clubs online,” explains Mertz. “We’ve made the website a little bit easier to navigate and we’ve made it simpler to check out.”
How does the Pins and Aces/Edel marriage play out?
As mentioned, Pins and Aces and Edel Golf are strange bedfellows. The growth of Pins and Aces, however, does show that Mertz and his team are adept at combining online sales with traditional retail.
“Pins and Aces and Edel are very different brands,” Mertz admits. “There’s some overlap, though, and that’s what makes it interesting. If you’re looking for something that’s not run-of-the-mill and a little different, I’d say give Edel a try for sure.”
Throughout our conversation, Mertz did make sure to recognize what he considers Edel’s legacy. The company did have a cult following for its bespoke putters. Additionally, you can make a case that it was Edel, not COBRA, that put single-length irons back into the golf consciousness.
That’s why it was so important to Mertz that David Edel’s son Nico remained part of the company after the sale.
“Nico brings a lot to the business. He’s been there since he was a kid. He’s still pretty close with Bryson and helped build Bryson’s original single-length irons.”
We’ve said many times that there’s never been a better time to be a golf consumer. There are more high-performing choices at more price points now than ever before, and choices are what make life worth living. You can follow the crowd or you can go your own way.
“Pins and Aces started with a couple of young guys making wacky headcovers and beer sleeves,” says Mertz. “It blew up and we made it legit. It’s the same with Edel. We make some amazing products and we want people to try them out.
“We’re a small business. We’re not huge and we’re not private equity-backed. I think people want to support the small American family business. That’s who we are, and that’s really important to us.”
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