(l-r) The St. James Co-founders Craig Dixon and Kendrick Ashton (Photo Credit: Adam Ewing)
Springfield, Va. – (October 17, 2019) – The St. James, the premier sports, wellness and entertainment destination in the country, announced today partnerships with TaylorMade and Tecnifibre, the leading golf and racket sports companies, respectively, in the world. The partnerships are designed to infuse The St. James’s golf and squash offerings, including its best-in-class lessons and training, camps, clinics, tournaments and leagues with cutting edge instructional content and world-class technology and equipment, and provide TaylorMade and Tecnifibre with greater engagement with significant numbers of grassroots golf and squash enthusiasts.
The partnerships with TaylorMade and Tecnifibre, which are The St. James’s first brand partnerships, follow The St. James’s partnerships with DC United and MedStar Health and advance its strategy of bringing world-class offerings and experiences to local and regional sports enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels.
TaylorMade is the leading golf engineering and innovation company in the world. The top golfers in the world play with TaylorMade clubs, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Sung-Hyun Park, the No. 1 player in ladies golf.
Not to be outdone, Tecnifibre is the global leader in the design and manufacturing of rackets and racket strings for tennis and squash. Top tennis and squash players playing with Tecnifibre rackets include Daniil Medvedev, the world’s No. 4 ranked tennis player and 2019 US Open finalist, and Mohamed El Shorbagy, the world’s No. 2 ranked squash player.
“TaylorMade and Tecnifibre are two of the world’s most innovative sports companies,” said Kendrick Ashton, The St. James co-founder. “The engineering and design talent and investment they bring to bear in service of helping athletes push to ever greater heights of achievement is unparalleled and is completely aligned with our mission of helping people maximize their potential.”
“We were very careful in selecting our first brand partners,” said Craig Dixon, The St. James co-founder. “We wanted global brands that embody innovation and excellence. We achieved that with TaylorMade and Tecnifibre.”
In addition to enhancing The St. James’s golf and squash programming with their instructional and technology expertise, TaylorMade and Tecnifibre will have significant brand presence in the Squash and Golf House at The St. James, the 15,000 sq. ft. state of the art training and competition center featuring eight international squash courts and seven full swing golf simulators. TaylorMade and Tecnifibre will also produce events. Tecnifibre’s sponsored athletes will make appearances and provide clinics at The St. James. The brands will also test and demo products in development at The St. James and release new products at the complex. TaylorMade will have a golf club fitting center in the Squash and Golf House. Both brands will be featured in The St. James’s performance retail boutique, Strivers.
The St. James facility has seven full swing golf simulators
“The St. James is providing incredibly unique and compelling sports and entertainment experiences for sports enthusiasts and a premium, technology-infused year-round golf experience,” said Joe Heid, Regional Sales Manager, TaylorMade. “We were impressed with our ability to get our clubs in front of so many golfers at all stages of their engagement with the game and we’re excited about partnering with The St. James to build the game as they expand across the country.”
“The growth of squash in the U.S. over the last 10 years has been breathtaking,” said Wael El Hindi, Squash Promotion Manager for Tecnifibre USA. “Our investment with The St. James, one of the best squash training centers in the world, is a reflection of our belief in the quality of experience and training they’re delivering and in the continued growth in popularity of squash in the country.”
TaylorMade golf club fitting center
The St. James, which opened its first flagship just outside of Washington, DC in the fall of 2018, plans to open its second flagship in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire in the fall of 2021. Its golf program is led by Sam Lyons, Director of Golf. Sam distinguished himself as a member of the men’s golf team at Coastal Carolina University where he played alongside some of the best in the world, including Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler. He was ranked inside of the top 100 in the R&A World Amateur ranking. Lyons went on to make his mark as a professional golfer, competing in tournaments around the world, including the NGA Tour, the Asian Tour, Web.com Tour and the Egolf Tour. Sam has served as director of coaching and operations for Ivy Golf Academy for elite golfers, and as lead golf instructor for all ages at MCG Golf Academy in Potomac, Maryland.
The St. James squash program is led by Alister Walker, Director of Squash. Alister has been a world-class professional squash player since 2001. He reached a career-high of world #12, winning 11 PSA world tour titles. He also won the World Junior Team Championships and European Senior Team Championships. He made history for his birth country by winning Botswana’s first gold medal in an international squash event and the Men’s Individual All-Africa title. His coaching career involves roles working with the elite sections at Chelsea Piers and CityView Racquet Club. Alister holds an England Squash Level 3 coaching qualification and has coached the varsity squash teams at Columbia University
About The St. James
The St. James is the premier sports, wellness and entertainment destination brand in the country. Our mission is to maximize human potential by designing, developing and operating sports, wellness, entertainment and hospitality programs, services and experiences that engage, inspire and empower people to pursue their passions and be their best at play, at work and in life. The St. James aims to serve as the center of the universe in every community where it is located by delivering the most comprehensive combination of best-in-class sports and wellness venues, developmental and elite coaching, training and competition, five-star lifestyle experiences and family-centered active fun all in an environment that engages, inspires and delights everyone that comes through our doors. For more information, please visit thestjames.com.
About TaylorMade Golf
Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, TaylorMade Golf is a leading manufacturer of high-performance golf equipment with industry-leading innovative products like M5/M6 metalwoods, M5/M6 irons, TP5/TP5X golf balls and Spider putters. A major force on the PGA TOUR, TaylorMade has an unrivaled athlete portfolio that includes Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa.
About Tecnifibre
Founded in 1979 by Thierry Maissant, Tecnifibre is the premier global leader in the design and manufacturing of rackets and racket strings for tennis and squash. Tecnifibre’s manifesto is to provide all racket sports players with an adapted, suitable product whatever the players’ level.
