Brandon-based Logical One Golf outfits players from coast-to-coast
When Tiger Woods turned professional in 1996, he changed the sports world landscape.
Not just golf, but the entire sports world.
Tiger-mania was alive and well in the late 1990s, getting its hooks into even the casual sports fan. That was certainly the case for Brandon resident Kelly Thompson.
Thompson grew up in Wessington Springs, but spent each summer playing baseball, not golf, which makes his current situation even more unique.
In 2005 Thompson developed the Logical One Putter. He said the design and development of that putter was intended to be a one-off project. After spending the next several years working on his career in the banking industry, he got the itch to return to the golfing equipment trade.
“I got to a point in my life where I knew I wanted to get back in golf equipment,” the 52-year old said. “I really have the passion for – not just the game of golf, but the business side of it – the equipment in particular.”
So, two years ago he started Logical One Golf in Brandon, a golf equipment company that serves golfers in all of the lower 48 states. Logical One runs a direct-to-consumer business. He develops and carries equipment similar to that of national brands Callaway Golf or TaylorMade, but not nearly as big.
Thompson said over the last two years that he’s developed solid relationships with multiple foundries and factories in China to actually build the equipment he designs. It also includes significant testing and prototyping.
“I have some resources here locally, guys I grew up with, that are pretty good golfers that I leverage to do some testing for me,” he said. “But having the equipment made in China is because that’s the primary location where the majority of golf equipment is produced. I love developing relationships and partnerships. I’m a firm believer that good partnerships are a two-way street. It’s gotta work for both parties.”
Thompson calls himself a “data freak.” Although an engineer is needed to develop the equipment, Thompson said data is just as important.
“It really attracted me with understanding the equipment and understanding the rules of golf and how to have a product conform,” he said. “All of that fascinates me in terms of what equipment does within an individual’s hands that makes it perform the way that it does. Gravity, overall weights, MOI (momentum of inertia). All of that stuff is data and that’s the type of person I’ve been. I’ve always paid attention to the latest golf technology.”
Logical One has grown at a rapid pace since launching two years ago. Thompson is heavily involved in the Epson Tour and was a corporate sponsor of a tour event in 2022. The Epson Tour is the official qualifying tour of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). Logical One also has an LPGA ambassador in Gigi Stoll, a second-year player on the Epson Tour with six Top 10 finishes.
“I’m such a huge supporter of growing the game of golf,” Thompson said. “The Epson Tour is great and it’s a great place for Logical One to be involved because it’s where they hone their skills and learn what professional golf is all about.”
Thompson continues to work full time at Wells Fargo while growing Logical One. He said developing golf equipment has been a perfect fit for his current situation.
“It allows my brain to think on a different level versus what it does day to day,” he said. “When I get into golf equipment, it just allows me to focus on that with nothing else around me, just that. It really helps my mind.”
For as big as it’s gotten, and for as quickly as it’s grown, there hasn’t been a ton of growth locally. Thompson said he has done some marketing and promoting, but is hoping things ramp up more in the Brandon and Sioux Falls area. He’s meeting with Brandon Golf Course manager Andrew Bauer next week in hopes of creating some partnership for 2023.
