How this Charleston startup is redefining the women’s golf apparel industry

Though the village has only 700 residents, to Maeve Gallivan, Emyvale, Ireland, is the home of her maternal and paternal family’s heritage, where she would golf while on summer vacation.

As of the past seven months, Gallivan has given Emyvale a second meaning.

A 2011 graduate of the College of Charleston, Gallivan started her career in marketing and communications. With prior golf experience, she walked on to the College of Charleston women’s golf team for one season and has continued to play ever since.

Gallivan said she has always struggled with the women’s golf clothing, having spent her fair share of time with “Bermuda shorts and men’s polos.”

“It’s evolved a little bit since then,” Gallivan said. “But even fast forward to today, I’ll walk into Dick’s Sporting Goods or big names golf stores and try on very common brands, or across-the-board brands, and I still felt like they just weren’t getting what women needed and what women golfers needed.”

Unimpressed with her options, she decided to make a change. In February, Gallivan left her full-time marketing job and launched Emyvale Golf , a golf apparel line catering directly to women golfers’ needs.

“I heard a term u sed very heavily in the golf world… that says you take men’s clothes and ‘shrink it and pink it’ for women,” Gallivan said. “Once I heard that and I was kind of like, ‘we’re going to move to Charleston. I’m going to take the leap. I’m going to do this myself, launch this andtry and bring something better to the market.’”

Carving out a niche

Emyvale apparel is made with Italian fabric of SPF 40 and assembled by a manufacturer in New York. Emyvale’s skirts have four pockets customized to hold golfer’s phones, tees, golf balls, scorecards and yardage books.

“I was launching my company in Charleston. I was really inspired by the bright colors and prints,” Gallivan said. “So, my first line I launched four skirts, and I have matching shirts coming soon, but they’re just really fun, bright, colorful prints that you can wear on the golf course and beyond.

Gallivan currently has her products in Daniel Island Club. She said she hopes to get Emyvale products into local golf clubs such as the Kiawah Island Golf Resort and Country Club of Charleston, as well as high-end activewear stores and boutiques.

Gallivan says she is looking into more color options, shirts and potentially girls’ clothes down the road, per requests from Emyvale customers. She plans to launch a new spring line in January or February 2025 which will include a couple new shirts and a new skirt style.

“Women who aren’t golfers, they bought my skirt and then they love wearing it running errands and chasing around their toddler because it has four pockets,” Gallivan said. “Alot of golf women’s golf apparel still doesn’t even have that functionality, and they love the fit so it can really, honestly take you from A to Z throughout your day.”

Most of Gallivan’s customers have been online, having sold locally as well as in New York and Minnesota, she said.

Making connections in the golf world

The Emyvale brand is growing in reputation through sales, but also through a local partnership in the Lowcountry.

After meeting at Daniel Island Golf, Gallivan began sponsoring Emma Schimpf, a golfer on the College of Charleston’s women’s golf team. Gallivan said she helped Schimpf travel for tournaments, and in return, Schimpf sported the Emyvale apparel.

“I knew she grew up here. I knew she’s a fantastic golfer. I knew she played for College of Charleston and her achievements are insane,” Gallivan said. “I wanted to connect with someone local and she’s kind of a big name around here.”

A Charleston local, Schimpfhas had over 30 honors and achievements in her golf career since high school.

“It’s been awesome,” Schimpf said. “She is super sweet and I love what she is doing with her brand and with women’s golf, getting into some more fun skirts because there aren’t a lot of options out there.”

Schimpf said her school has a partnership with Under Armor and Lululemon. She said it is nice to wear something different as well as have all the pocket options and shorts underneath the skirt while playing.

In addition to Schimpf, Gallivan also did a photoshoot with a Citadel golf alumna while playing nine holes with her. Gallivan said the alumna explained her struggles with redness and irritation from their uniform Lululemon skirts, then showing Gallivan that Emyvale skirts left her with no redness.

According to the National Golf Foundation , women’s golf has gained 1.5 times the number of players that men’s golf has since 2019. In 2023, about seven million women and girls played golf on a course, the highest participation levels since 2006 as well as an all-time high.

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“I really want to help bring women into the game. I really want to empower them with confidence,” Gallivan said. “I truly think when you’re on the golf course, when you show up and you feel good about what you’re wearing, it transcends into feeling good about your game, and I want women to have fun with it.”

As the clothing brand grows, Gallivan said she plans to grow a team, beginning with a marketing and social media manager.

“I say I want to breathe new life into a woman’s golf apparel,” Gallivan said.

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