FOR THE LOVE OF Sub 70 in Sycamore brings a personal touch to the sport with high-end, handcrafted clubs

from DC Magazine - Summer 2023

Family & Flower Power

By: Kelley White • Photos by lindsayrae.me and courtesy of Sub 70

Quality is one of the most important aspects of crafting a product, and Sub 70 owner Jason Hiland understands the rarity of true excellence.

The boutique, high-end golf club company is a crowning achievement after years of Hiland honing his business sense and passion for golf. For almost 30 years, he has combined his career with his love of the sport.

“I grew up in Hinckley and then started my first company in 1995 called Diamond Tour Golf, so I’ve always been in the golf business,” Hiland said. “Our first warehouse was in Waterman, and then we moved up to DeKalb. After that, we moved to Sycamore in ’97.”

Hiland spent much of his 20s and 30s building his portfolio and refining his skills as a business owner.

“When the kids were little, I backed off of it for a few years,” he said. “And then as the kids got out of the baby phase, I got a little bored and I wanted to do the next thing.”

The idea of starting a high-end, boutique company was always on Hiland’s radar. His vision started taking more form in 2016 and 2017, when he and his colleagues shifted their focus toward high-quality, direct-to- consumer products.

Direct-to-consumer retail is a large part of Sub 70’s business model, relying heavily on custom orders.

“We decided we were going to be totally different and hand-build things,” Hiland said. “We could eliminate a lot of steps in the traditional chain of retail that way. We could eliminate the retail store that marks it up another 40%, for example.”

Even though Hiland operates two other companies, he spends most of his time at Sub 70, which is his passion project. Each golf club is handcrafted in Sycamore and the company operates on custom orders only –they don’t stock any premade products.

“Sub 70 is the brand, and we make sure we control the quality,” Hiland said. “So, the product is exactly the way the customer wants it. Everything we do is hand-built.” This uncommon business model separates Sub 70 from other well-known golf brands.

“When we did this, we wanted to be different and more modern,” Hiland said. “It does make it a little more unique, the amount of customizations the clients can do to the clubs.”

Sub 70 clubs are made with a wide array of materials all specialized in the most modern techniques and science. Hiland said the material used to craft a club depends on the style.

“If it’s a forged iron, we use a DP4 carbon steel,” he said. “There are all kinds of different metals you can use depending on what you want the golf club to do. Drivers are titanium, for example. There are all kinds of unique materials to use.”

Sub 70 was launched in December 2018. Despite their storefront for club fittings on Lucas Street in Sycamore, they are primarily a global internet-based business.

“We’re glad we’re here in DeKalb and Sycamore […] but it’s a global company,” Hiland said. “It’s not just serving the DeKalbSycamore market. We’re all over the world.”

Although the United States being the largest

Golf Talk

Jason Hiland hosts a podcast with more than 150 episodes featuring a variety of guests and topics centered around golf.

“We’ll have professionals on and industry people,” Hiland said. “Then, we’ll have a country musician on or something like that. Mainly it’s a golf podcast where we’ll talk about what it’s like to be a trained professional around the world, or about the pressure of winning cups. I’m fortunate and lucky that they’ll come on and talk about their career and what made them great. And hopefully people can learn a little bit from them on that side of things.” market, Sub 70 has partnerships in about 15 different countries around the world. “The world is so flat from technology,” Hiland said. “Of course, we want to serve the local market. And that’s why we do have the 70 fitting center in downtown Sycamore. But we always thought about how to turn it into a global brand.”

For an archive of episodes, visit www.golfsub70.com/podcasts.html.

The company’s reach around the world gives Sub 70 a limitless feel. Hiland said they ship thousands of boxes each week.

“We’re basically an internet or tech company that just happens to be in the golf business,” Hiland said.

Even though most of their business exists over the World Wide Web, Sub 70’s warehouse and facilities in Sycamore are impressive. The company’s main building is 26,000 square feet, which houses the production facility and offices.

The Sub 70 building opened last year in downtown Sycamore is primarily for media events or customers coming in for fittings.

“It’s a really unique experience,” Hiland said. “We bought that building in downtown Sycamore and it is just a really cool building built in the 1860s with all this old heritage. It is our fitting facility or our retail store, by appointment only. If somebody comes in, they work with one of our golf professionals and get a oneon-one experience.”

Aside from their custom golf clubs, Sub 70 also offers key services to their customers.

“The trade-in is for somebody who has a previously owned set of golf clubs, just kind of like trading in a car,” Hiland said. “You can trade them in with us, and we have an eBay account that we use for our used golf clubs. We try to make it convenient for people.”

Sub 70 also operates a full-service professional repair shop for golf clubs.

“We still do club repair and regripping – any sort of repair,” Hiland said. “Sort of like any kind of repair shop you would go to for your car, except for golf clubs. Our main window to the world is the website and social media with how we reach people.”

The timeless sport of golf has been with Hiland his whole life, and creating a business to support it has only enhanced his love for the game.

“I think it’s one of those sports that you can still play for a lifetime,” he said. “But I love the challenge of trying to get better. And there’s not too many sports that, at 50, you can get better. I just turned 50, and I still think I can improve. It makes it such a unique sport. There’s still something about trying to figure it out and never being able to fully master it. The love of that has never left me since I was a kid.”

Sub 70 and Hiland are dedicated to the city of Sycamore. Hiland has spent nearly his entire life there, and his history with the community has instilled a desire to help however he can.

“If anyone needs help, we try to maintain most of all of our charity giving,” says Hiland. “We may say no to other areas throughout the world, but we always say yes to here. If there’s a charity or fundraiser or whatever it is that needs help, we try to make sure that the things that are local get all the help that they may need from us.” Hiland humbly expresses his desire to keep building the community and encouraging others to do the same.

“This is where I live,” Hiland said. “These are our roots. If you can, try to help home base and realize how fortunate you are to grow up in this area. And how good the people are. I’m very proud that we’re from here and the business is here and that we live here. This is my home.”

With a large inventory of lovely apartment and duplex homes and a variety of ﬂoor plans, there really is something for everyone. Apartments and duplexes feature spacious rooms, well-appointed kitchens, laundry, garages, and access to our onsite dining venues, ﬁtness center and pool. More importantly, we are building friendships and memories. We offer the guarantee of future care and peace of mind. To visit one of these apartments or duplex homes contact Liz Hoppenworth at 815-756-8461 or email lhoppenworth@oakcrestdekalb.org.

Saturday, July 8 • 1-5pm

Sycamore Community Park 940 E. State Street, Sycamore

Tasting Ticket Purchased by July 5 $25

On-site Tasting Ticket $30