Most professional golfers promote brands like Callaway, Titleist and TaylorMade on their golf bags. Not Sarah Schmelzel. This tour member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) promotes Big D Flooring Supplies on her bag—and no one else.
“Sarah is a member at my local club [Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix] that I met through a childhood friend,” said Steve Kleinhans, president of Big D Flooring Supplies, a top 20 distributor that has sponsored Schmelzel for the past five years. “When she qualified for the LPGA she sought out sponsorships to help offset her costs. We thought it might be an interesting opportunity for us to expose our brand to a wider audience while also having a fun talking point to promote and discuss with our customer base, many of which are avid golfers.”
Schmelzel said she is appreciative of Big D’s support. “Their sponsorship took some of the financial pressures off me, especially in the early years on tour,” she said. “I am grateful to Big D and proudly display their logo on my tour bag.”
Big D has hosted customer events with Schmelzel. “She has been a fantastic ambassador for our brand, and we are extremely excited to see her continued success that we hope will lead to a victory on the tour soon,” Kleinhans added.
Schmelzel, who has played in more tournaments in the last five years than anyone else on the LPGA tour, qualified for the U.S. team that competed in September’s Solheim Cup. The Solheim Cup, similar to the men’s Ryder Cup, is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States.
Kleinhans, an avid golfer himself, has played with Schmelzel and can attest to her skills. “The first time I played with Sarah I was very impressed with her unbelievable ball striking ability. We have had Sarah play with some of our customers. It is so funny to watch amateurs play with a professional for the first time. Our customers all loved the experience, although it can be a little intimidating to watch a petite young lady hit the ball 300 yards perfectly.”
