Page 135 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2024

Brett Parker, a well-known golfer along the Gulf Coast and beyond, was only 10 years old when his father handed him an 8-iron and told him to master it.
“Once I showed him I could hit it,
he gave me another club and that continued until I had a full set of clubs,” he said. “I picked the game up pretty quickly because I won my first state championship at the age of 12 and at that time, I was officially bitten by the golf bug.”
Dara Parker, however, did not grow up in a golfing family so when she married her husband, she had a lot to learn about the sport so she could be part of the club.
“It was a lifestyle I had to get used to,” she said. “I rolled around with him on the golf cart until we got married and then I kind of stopped. I became the golf widow at that point.”
When the college sweethearts embarked on creating Park Tees using his golf proficiency and her graphic design expertise, Dara just knew a “Golf
Widow” line needed to be included in the apparel.
“Brett gives me the quotes and the
golf lingo, and I designed the shirts and apparel to go along with them,” she said. “Ironically, one of our best-selling items is the golf widow apparel, so I’m not alone.”
It’s a full-swing partnership that fits perfectly together with Brett as the face of the business, handling the sales and marketing, and Dara on the creative and design side with “Regulators Mount Up” and “Back Nine Assassin” joining “Golf Widow” as some of the most popular lines.
The couple started the company as a way to create a lasting legacy for their son, Christian, and to spend more time together. In just a year, business has grown to a level that surprises even them.
“It’s just unbelievable,” she said. “We have requests from Ohio, Louisiana, Florida, and just all over. It’s blowing my mind because it’s taking off in this industry that used to drive me absolutely bonkers.”
Park Tees is not just reaching customers nationally. They are also creating lasting partnerships and recently became the official staff apparel partner of the Mississippi Golf Association.
“They wanted some of our current designs with their logo on the sleeves for their entire staff,” she said. “I created a design for them with their logo within the pattern. It has a little magnolia with the golf ball.”
The company has other partnerships on its endless horizon, and Brett has now stepped away from his full-time career to focus exclusively on Park Tees.
“We have grown leaps and bounds in only one short year,” he said. “We are about to find out how far we can take this company.”
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