When Emily Farrell was growing up in Minnesota, golf was just a bike ride away, every day.
Farrell would cross the street, park her bike, grab her clubs and spend hours at Somerset Country Club. She was the only girl among plenty of boys partaking in junior golf, but started seeing the same person at the range every day she was there.
That was Ruth, a woman then in her 70s who frequented the course as much as Farrell and took her under her wing. The two became fast friends and playing partners. It’s a heartwarming example of what the game is all about.
“Our age difference never really mattered,” remembers Farrell. “We both were excited to spend time with each other, and I’d see her almost every day. We always said if we would’ve known each other at the same point in our lives, we would’ve been really good friends.”
Farrell and one of her first golf friends, Ruth.
“My parents told me that, when I was little, I always wanted to start an apparel company for some reason,” Farrell laughs. “And here we are.”
From rounds with Ruth to a career in golf
Farrell played Methodist’s championship-winning golf team in college.
The program puts college students on a path to getting a bachelor’s degree and their PGA of America Membership through education tracks and 16 months of paid internships. Farrell had a pretty sweet cap to her internship experience: after her junior year at The Country Club outside Boston, she went to work for Titleist in Massachusetts.
Farrell spent the early part of her career at Titleist working on marketing campaigns.
“I hit a point where I missed talking to golfers,” Farrell remembers. “So I called Brendan Walsh at The Country Club and asked if he’d hire me back as an assistant.”
Farrell was back at the course in no time. A yearlong sting there reinvigorated her a bit, and she began to notice something missing while working in the golf shop: quality women’s clothing options.
“It felt like if you wanted clothes that were professional and polished, but also stylish and built for golf . . . they didn’t really exist,” says Farrell. “So I noodled with the idea of creating my own.”
Making a stylish splash
After The Country Club part two, Farrell moved back home to the Twin Cities and took a job as an assistant at White Bear Yacht Club. She was on the lesson tee a lot teaching members and felt like she needed a little bit of reset when it came to what she was wearing.
“I was buying a lot my clothes at J. Crew, Loft and Banana Republic because I didn’t feel totally comfortable with the athleisure options available to wear at the course,” says Farrell. “I had all of these golfers coming to me to learn and felt like it was a good chance to show off my clothing style and look a bit.
“As a busy working mom, how did I not feel like an ER doctor wearing scrubs?”
So Farrell started to sketch: a high-waisted structured jogger that was functional for on-course, but off course, too. She honed in on the pockets – typical women’s pants had 3.5-inch pockets whereas men pants had 7-inch deep pockets.
“It was odd and a lot of company’s just made fake pockets versus making them deeper,” Farrell adds. “I wanted something that was a modern take on the old school golf uniform: a combo of classy, stylish and comfy.”
The Peggy Pant, Abendroth Golf’s first product.
Farrell with her sister and mother. Family ties play a large role in Abendroth Golf.
Both pants have Peggy and Ruth’s signature on their tags, a nod to how important both have been to Farrell. As does the name Abendroth, which is Farrell’s middle name and an ode to her grandmother Polly’s last name.
“She represents everything we want women to feel when they wear our clothing,” Farrell says.
An avenue for women to feel confident on the course
Farrell has now turned full-time to Abendroth and the company has expanded their offering to hoodies and accessories, too. More tops and outerwear pieces will come this fall to complement the current wardrobe and Farrell is particularly excited about a cute button-up polo that will be launching. All the tops are made in Minneapolis with Italian fabric, too.
It’s all in the name of one thing: getting more girls and women into the game.
Farrell hopes her clothing can help women feel more confident on the course.
“That’s really where my true passion lies,” says Farrell. “Golf can be a good outlet for a lot of women and having clothing that works for the course and away from it is where I come in. The course is such a great place to build relationships. I’m always trying to be an advocate and approachable for women when they don’t know where to go. I want them to feel welcome.”
You could say things have come full circle then for Farrell. Just as Ruth welcomed her to the range all those years ago, Farrell is doing the same. And golf is better for it.
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