Georgia On My Mind
As sheets of rain cascaded off the clubhouse awning above me, I was met by cool Georgia air and rolling hills. I had briefly stepped outside to grab a golf ball from my bag. Tana Lamb had asked all of the attendees of the second Lamb customer/enthusiast event of the year – the Peach Tee Invitational - to sign a ball as part of a shop display dedicated to the seven trips they had planned for 2022. I was grateful for a moment alone to collect my thoughts. We were in the final hours of the Atlanta event and I couldn’t help but to feel that the torrential downpour was symbolic.
It was as if the heavens sensed the monumental effort that preceded event, and all at once exhaled as the burden of months of planning and preparation fell away. For Tyson Lamb however, I got the impression that it was more than the weight of planning this particular trip that he was shedding, if only for a moment.
The scene that greeted me as I reentered the dated clubhouse to deliver my display contribution was a poignant allegory of the Lamb community. An errant golf ball screamed off the face of a meticulously milled putter, across worn down carpet into mahogany baseboards. Laughter erupted spontaneously – the kind that starts from deep within the chest. Every ear-to-ear smile radiated the sentiment of the brand – the heart of the Lambs had been divided into 40 pieces and distributed in little black boxes to a group of fiercely loyal ambassadors.
On the surface, the Lambcrafted brand is somewhat of a mystery. For someone who is touted as a prolific craftsman of putters, markers, and repair tools, those items are noticeably absent from his website’s store. The question of Lamb’s designation as a putter company has become a running gag amongst those who know him best, “Tyson makes putters?” is almost always accompanied by an enigmatic smirk. How can a company thrive, much less succeed, if they hardly sell the very product they are known for? I suppose that would be a valid question… if Lambcrafted were just a putter company.
At my first Lamb event, I was tipped off that the core competency of brand may not actually be the physical product. Three days in Georgia confirmed it; Lambcrafted is in the business of cultivating relationships. The products are just a tool to facilitate connecting with people who share the same heart.
The crux of the event came as Tyson addressed the crowd of sleep-deprived and beer-battered attendees. What amounted to no more than a 60-second sermon felt like a pivotal moment in Tyson’s life. As all eyes in the room were locked on to the man who brought them together. Tyson allowed himself to revel in all that he had accomplished, surrounded by an extended family that would move mountains for him (seriously, I couldn’t imagine the firepower necessary to convince a TPC property to give us unrestricted access to their facilities while the course was closed but the two local hosts of the event, Phil and Adam, made it happen).
An emotional Tyson fought to push the words out of his mouth, as the significance of the moment revealed itself. He described what he called “the 4:00 PM feeling”. As the day matured into its waning hours – usually around 4:00 PM on the second or third day of one of these trips- he was immersed in the joy of being surrounded by a community that genuinely adored him and each other. This time, he went on to explain, it was different. I believe it’s because this time it he recognized that it was the culmination of years of work – not just days of comradery – that was the true genesis of the feeling. This time he gave himself permission to experience unfettered pride that was the result of all that he had built since purchasing his first milling machine and cramming it into his parent’s garage.
A weekend of hearing stories of the day they launched their webstore, financial bootstrapping, and growing from a garage to a several thousand square foot dream shop contextualized Tyson’s moment of clarity in that clubhouse. It’s immediately apparent when you hold something that dawns the Lamb logo in your hand: they are chasing perfection. That pursuit is the impetus of nearly a decade of filthy hands and sleepless nights. It would seem that they are now in complete control of their destiny, which may not have always been the case.
It's a unique position to be in - to quite literally be able to flip a switch and exponentially increase revenue overnight, and then choose not to. Hustle culture would admonish the thought of a company foregoing hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential sales to prepare for and attend an event that serves 0.01% of their customer base – all while very likely only breaking even when it’s all said and done. But for Tyson and the Lambcrafted team, there wasn’t any doubt they were exactly where they wanted to be.
The pursuit of maximizing the bottom line isn’t the engine that drives the company. Perhaps if it weren’t for the people and experiences that came along with money, there wouldn’t be much of a reason to turn the shop lights on every day.
The ferocious pace at which Tyson operates is not indicative of an artist who believes that he has ascended to the upper echelon of his craft. To put your name on anything invites unbridled scrutiny. It is incredibly difficult to stave off the imposter syndrome that tailgates the dichotomy of adoration and criticism– especially when your primary marketing vehicle is Instagram.
For a moment though, it appeared that Tyson had summited the peak. He had made it – whatever that meant to him. He built something that he could be immensely proud of, and he was unapologetically doing it his way. I suspect the feeling was fleeting, but the precedent had been set. Soon enough he’ll be back in the shop working on the next design that will undoubtedly blow our minds. But if the putter thing doesn’t work out, he’d make a hell of an event coordinator.
Photos by Matt Hahn