William L. Coney Blog: Vessel – The Quiet Brand Behind the Boldest Bags on Tour

You’ve seen their products, but you’ve probably never heard of the brand. They’ve worked with some of best players in the world. Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Martin Kaymer and other major champions trust them to carry and protect their clubs. No, we’re not talking about caddies. We’re talking about golf bags.

Specifically, we’re talking about Vessel Golf Bags.

While not nearly as well-known as the likes of OGIO, Sun Mountain, or any of the OEMs who put their names on golf bags, Vessel has carved out a niche on tour and is now looking to expand its consumer-facing golf business.

Vessel On Tour

You may not know the name now – and who can blame you? From all angles, Jordan Spieth’s bag features the AT&T logo. Tiger has his Monster Energy bag. The list of Vessel players dwarfs the number of Vessel logos.

Across the worldwide tours, sponsoring brands work directly with Vessel to ensure that the colors, logos, and stitching meet their brand standards. They’re paying for exposure with the hope that PGA Tour staff bags will help build brand awareness. When a pro is in contention late on a Sunday afternoon, Vessel’s bags get plenty of TV time. It’s no secret that sponsors pay for visibility, but what isn’t as well known is that Vessel is a critical part of that exchange.

Although Vessel doesn’t pay players, over 100 PGA and LPGA Tour players trust Vessel. The company has produced bags for the Solheim Cup, the Olympics and the UL International Crown. Additionally, Vessel has partnered and collaborated with other luxury performance brands like PXG, G/FORE, and Miura to produce their branded golf bag offerings.

Even if you haven’t noticed them, Vessel’s footprints in the golf industry are large, but while its bags are instrumental in raising awareness for other brands, the company acknowledges it has some work to do to raise awareness of its brand among everyday golfers.

Building a Consumer Brand

So how does Vessel plan to raise brand awareness? For starters, to help get the word out, Vessel was a sponsor of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club. In addition to the bags on the course, Vessel’s presence included a table inside in the sponsor tents, and Vessel also provided gifts for golfers who participated in the Wednesday Pro-Am.

This past January also marked the five-year-old Vessel’s first appearance at the PGA Merchandise Show where Vessel was featured on the Golf Channel during a Morning Drive Segment. The company is also running traditional advertisements in Women’s Golf Journal.

As with most brands today, one of the key avenues to Vessel’s growth can be found in its social media efforts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In following the brand across those platforms, you should get an immediate sense of Vessel’s reach on tour. We already mentioned Tiger, Spieth, and Kaymer, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. Luke List, Gary Woodland, Michelle Wie and even celebrities like Steph Curry and Michael Phelps all carry Vessel bags.

It’s all part of a fresh effort to help familiarize golfers with the Vessel brand and hopefully insert itself into the consumer bag conversation alongside OGIO, Sun Mountain, and Bag Boy.

The Vessel Difference

The Carlsbad-based company prides itself on offering the best in quality and innovation. Every aspect of their bags is 100% customizable. Panels, straps, and zippers, too. If you can see it, you can customize it. Vessel currently offers seven golf bag styles, eight materials, and twenty-three colorways. The combination allows Vessel’s customers to create a unique bag that highlights their style or, as we see on TV every weekend, brand affiliation.

Many other brands offer some level of customization, but they are often limited to embroidery, and most don’t offer much when it comes to selecting materials and fabrics or in providing total customization.

Vessel’s Premium Microsuede Synthetic Leather, for example, is one differentiating factor, as its easy to clean, durable (meant to withstand a beating from the course), it doesn’t fade, and it has scratch, tear and abrasion resistance.

While it’s easy to get lost in the number of options, Vessel’s website makes building a custom, one-of-a-kind bag, simple.

“With our website, we built it so that you can build a bag within minutes. Pick your primary, secondary, or accent colors and you have your dream bag made up. We have designers on-site if you need help with the design of the bag, but if you think you’ve got it, you can go from start to finish with the order.” – Stephanie Beyer, Marketing Manager at Vessel

Custom stand bags start at $380, while staff bags start at $650. For those of you that play most of your golf in a cart, you might be interested in their custom cart bags, which start at $450. Some of the key features of Vessel golf bags include a range finder pocket, their patented rotator stand, and premium microfiber leather. All bags are built with Vessel’s exacting attention to detail and craftsmanship.

Just a friendly heads-up; custom bags take upwards of 55 business days to ship, but custom orders can be expedited to ship in 2 weeks for an additional cost.

Finally, we would be remiss not to mention that Vessel also offers off-the-rack bags akin to what you’d find in most any other bag manufacturer’s lineup. Pricing for stock bags, while still on the premium end, is more in-line with the competitive set.

“Buy A Bag, Give A Bag”

What truly separates Vessel from other bag manufacturers is its philanthropic efforts. With every bag purchased, Vessel gives a school backpack to a child in need. Pretty neat, huh? To date, Vessel customers have helped provide 26,740 backpacks.

Every bag is stitched with the message above and a unique ID number that correspondents to the number of backpacks donated across the globe.

“It’s one for one. Unique to the golf industry, we’re one of the few brands to give back. For every bag purchased, we give a school backpack to a child in need.” – Stephanie Beyer, Marketing Manager at Vessel

But why school backpacks?

Around the globe, millions of children are unable to attend school simply because their families are too poor to provide basic school supplies. Vessel works closely with several organizations that are helping deliver backpacks to children in need. Through this philanthropic effort, they are making a difference, and they have their customers to thank.

MyGolfSpy Custom Bags

The team at Vessel recently created bags for the MyGolfSpy staff, which were featured at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. We designed them, and Vessel made them. Let's just say that we have no plans of returning them.

Do you want to put your design skills to the test and create your own golf bag? To learn more about Vessel and their full product offering, visit their website: Vesselbags.com.