While you might not recognize the brand name, the golf bag manufacturer's reputation for quality craftsmanship does not go unnoticed by the world's best players.
Vessel founder and CEO Ronnie Shaw is no stranger to the world of crafting golf bags. His father David started the first Taiwanese golf bag manufacturer, Zonson, which grew to become the most internationally recognized OEM company supplying premium golf bags to most major brands in the golf industry and on tour.
As Vessel celebrates its 10th year anniversary, Morning Read's Janice Ferguson interviewed Shaw about what Vessel means to him and his family, and how this labor of love transcends generations with strong doses of respect, creativity, passion and experience.
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Morning Read: It's likely that most people don't know how Vessel bags began and how you got into the business of making golf bags. Briefly tell us the story.
Ronnie Shaw: Ever since I was little, I spent every summer working for my dad and learning the trade at Zonson, the golf bag company he started. I mastered the art of turning raw materials into tour-worthy golf bags, so after going to college and earning a degree in electrical engineering, my father said, "You're coming to work for me," and eventually I came to the United States to handle the business here.
MR: In 1986, your father invented the first golf bag with fur-lining protection for graphite shafts, and he also designed the first golf bag with full-length dividers - both considered standard in one form or another on today's bags. Does that impress you now?
RS: My father is a giant in my eyes, and he's still at it, running Zonson at age 74. We FaceTime every day and talk about work nonstop, and he's always designing something. I'll tell you, a lot of stuff that I'm doing at Vessel is refining something he tried to introduce to the market years ago, but it didn't work. He was too ahead of his time, and I'm actually benefitting from as much of it as I can because it's all really good. To me, it all goes back to my dad.
MR: So you set up shop in Carlsbad, California, with some major brands for neighbors. Zonson's largest account at the time was Nike, making up about 52 percent of the business. But in 2016, Nike abruptly decides to end its clubs, balls and bags division. How were you able to pivot after that?
RS: Well, my dad and I looked at each other like, "What are we going to do now?" Vessel was already a thing, but we didn't make a lot - it was mainly for tour professionals, and at that point maybe three bags a week. We weren't really focused on it or doing much until Nike exited. Now we had all of this excess material reserved for Nike bags, and we had time plus capacity - maybe we should figure out how to control our own destiny a little bit more. That's really what vaulted Vessel into its own brand. We made the first Player bag and did pretty well. We knew we were good at making product, but we weren't experts in marketing or sales. Luckily we have a lot of supporters that came and supported Vessel, and we are grateful for that. They gave us the faith and the confidence to move forward.
I would actually go to the LPGA event at Aviara in Carlsbad - the former Kia tournament - and I'd try and talk to each player asking them, "Hey, how's your golf bag? Can I make you a new bag?" That's how it started and in about three years I was seeing Vessel bags all over the tours. Making custom bags is our DNA, so a lot of brands like Monster Energy and Under Armour, for example, who don't make their own golf bags have the pro players tell their sponsor, "We want Vessel to make our bag." Well, getting a call from Tiger Woods' and Jordan Spieth's team and hearing that - it's still pretty surreal to me.
MR: Now hundreds of tour players use Vessel bags. But the pros' bags don't say Vessel on them, so the general public doesn't really know its a license agreement deal. Time to make your own brand the best brand and start offering 'luxury goods crafted for the driven,' as the mantra reads, to everyone. Explain that thought process to us.
RS: We build quality products at Vessel and Zonson - so why not bring the tour player experience to everyone? We want to enhance the carrying experience, whether it's golf, tennis or travel. We're always asking ourselves how can we push the limits of functionality and style using the care and attention to detail we have become known for in the pro golf world. Customer feedback is extremely important to us - we're taking everything we hear about the Player III bag, good and not so good, and launching the Player IV next year. Cosmetically it might look very similar but functionally it is that much better.
As far as venturing into the travel bag product line, we felt like if you know how to make a good golf bag then you know how to make a good backpack. Again, being a product guy, when I travel I look at people's bags all the time and how they function. It's probably an occupational habit or hazard, but I love making what's out there better. Also we want to tie in the golf travel and leisure travel so that will be a focus for Vessel going forward.
MR: There are a lot of exciting new Vessel products on the drawing boards - new golf bag styles like the Sunday bag, fresh colorways to existing fan favorite bags, and special edition bags for some big golf events throughout the year. But I'd like to wrap up with the story behind the Vessel logo because it has special meaning.
RS: Yeah, so our logo has two Vs - the bottom V represents vessel because we believe everybody is a vessel in that we all carry something with us. Like when somebody walks in a room and they bring some kind of energy - warmth, joy, peace, a sense of calmness - we all bring something to everyday life.
The top V represents the blessing that flows in and is supposed to flow back out - blessed to be a blessing. It's a kind of overflowing effect that's not for your sake but for others. Whatever good you receive you're supposed to pass it on. So that's the heartbeat behind the Vessel logo and name, and it's why we give back by partnering with the World Vision San Diego chapter, it's the organization we give backpacks to sponsor children affected by disaster, poverty and famine in order to help them and their communities reach their full potential. Our goal at Vessel is to simply never let them run out of backpacks.