Meet the Colorado Company That’s Making Golf Fun

5280 | Spencer Campbell | August 2023

Arvada's Pins and Aces dreams up creative head covers that leave traditional golfers spinning in their knickers.

Photo credit: Paul Miller (from 5280)

Nothing illustrates golf’s vibe better than its clap—an applause that’s intended to produce as little noise as possible. But since the pandemic, when thousands of players took up the sport, the game has become, well, louder. And no company has dialed up the volume as high as Pins and Aces.

Nicklaus Mertz (formerly a project manager at a mannequin supplier) founded the Arvada-based business in 2019 after he went in search of a new head cover and found the available options dreary. So he began producing his own, starting with one that featured the Colorado state flag. The designs quickly became more exuberant and now showcase Mexican sugar skulls, mythical creatures, and cultural icons such as William Wallace ($35 to $55). “The demographics have changed in golf,” Mertz says. “It’s following the trend of hypebeast apparel, like a Kith or Supreme—things that are very edgy.”

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