Katie Calderon

Founder Spotlight: Katie Calderon

Playing the Long Game: How Katie Calderon Is Redefining Golf for Women

Fresh off her December 2025 graduation from Texas A&M, mechanical engineer Katie Calderon is already making waves in the golf industry as the founder of Club Girl Golf, a women-centered golf equipment brand that has generated early sales momentum and is poised to announce a major retail partnership this spring. In fact, she was just named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Class of 2026.

Katie’s journey with golf began early—at just four years old—when a free introductory class sparked a lifelong passion. She went on to play competitively in middle school and high school and later became the youngest competitor on the professional Long Drive Tour. Along the way, working in golf pro shops gave her a front-row seat to a glaring industry gap: equipment designed for women was often just scaled-down versions of men’s clubs.

Determined to do better, Katie followed her instincts into mechanical engineering at Texas A&M. Early coursework confirmed she was exactly where she belonged, and she began teaching herself CAD, designing her first putter for women she had personally fit in pro shops. When she shared the design with her existing YouTube audience from her Long Drive days, the response was immediate—her following tripled almost overnight. More importantly, she invited feedback, learning from experienced engineers and golfers across the internet.

That visibility led to an unexpected call from Callaway, telling Katie about an internship she eagerly accepted. She brought those industry insights back to her own designs, doubling down on her mission to create equipment engineered specifically for women—not the “shrink it and pink it” approach that has long dominated the market.

During her sophomore year, Club Girl Golf officially created. Katie pitched her concept—a 3D-printed, adjustable, weighted putter for women—at the Mays Business School’s Meloy Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. She also posted about it on Instagram, where more than 4,000 women responded. Katie personally interviewed nearly 200 of them, grounding her product in real user insight. She placed second in the competition and used the prize money to file a patent on her design. Soon after, she won Aggie Pitch.

The business has remained completely self-funded, powered by pitch competition awards and support from the Texas Business Hall of Fame’s McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship Future Texas Business Legend Award, presented in honor of James Galloway ’29.

After testing 125 iterations of the Monarch Putter and earning LPGA certification, Katie officially launched Club Girl Golf in December 2024. To date, the company has operated direct-to-consumer, with Katie and her family handling everything from design and testing to manufacturing and shipping.

Looking ahead, momentum is building. A retail partnership announcement is expected this spring, with a broader rollout planned for summer 2026. Club Girl Golf will also introduce a more affordable, non-adjustable putter line this summer, expanding access to women golfers at every level.

Katie currently partners with HP to 3D print steel and polymer putters and is sourcing additional manufacturers for future growth. The brand has already expanded into apparel, ball markers, and a Gate Trainr featuring more than 20 online drills to help women improve their putting.

And she’s not stopping there. Katie is already designing a full bag of Club Girl Golf clubs, with a target launch in 2030.

There’s no doubt about it—this Club Girl is playing the long game, and the fairway ahead looks wide open.