Why this TravisMathew retail rig’s interior is one of the coolest spots in golf
Like all the vehicles in the TM fleet, Eleanor is staffed by company employees, who also pilot the rig, driving tens of thousands of miles a year. Along with a kitchenette and bathroom, the trailer is furnished with a range of creature comforts, including beds — though on most overnight stops staffers opt to upgrade to hotels.
Courtesy TravisMathew
Every golf apparel company has product rollouts. TravisMathew takes the concept literally.
From its home base in Huntington Beach, the clothing maker known for its stylish, Southern California–inspired sports and leisure wear extends its consumer reach with custom rides that double as roving pro shops. The big rig pictured here, nicknamed Eleanor, is the newest and largest addition to a 10-vehicle fleet that roams the country’s highways and byways, bringing TravisMathew’s latest to golfers coast to coast.
“We wanted to take our retail shop on the road,” says Leif Sunderland, TravisMathew’s VP of marketing and e-commerce. “This allows us to do that, with some serious wow factor.”
The dream of going mobile with the brand dates to an afternoon nearly 10 years ago, when Sunderland and two other company execs attended opening day at Del Mar Racetrack, just north of San Diego. Strolling the grounds, they were struck by the sight of a tricked-out party bus with revelers gathered on its roof. The tasting room on wheels belonged to a winery. “They were having such a good time,” Sunderland says. “We thought, We should be doing something like that.”
Not long after, TravisMathew dispatched Doris, a modified motor home stocked with polos, T-shirts and other items from that season’s line. Next to join the cavalcade was Betsy, followed by a mini-trailer they call Maya, then six Mercedes vans, each of which was given its own female name. In 2019, the family was rounded out by Eleanor, a 55-foot truck-towed trailer that serves a similar function as its sibs but on a bigger, bolder scale.
Working a territory mostly west of Texas, Eleanor makes scheduled stops at member-guest tournaments and other course events. Once it’s parked on property, her boxy trailer body morphs into a three-story multipurpose venue, with ground-floor retail, a mezzanine level and a rooftop hangout that’s ideal for live music and post-round cocktail parties.
When the fun winds down and the crowds disperse, Eleanor reverts to her wheeled configuration and heads back on the road. Like fashion itself, always moving on.
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