We connected with one of our favorite 'homies' to hear about how he's changing peoples perception of the game and bringing their love for the links into their homes. His work with Lie + Loft has inspired our workspace at TRUE (we have their art hanging everywhere), so we wanted to share his story. Learn about Lie + Loft, Home on the Range, and his many golf adventures below. You can also shop our L+L x TRUE collaboration print collection for your home here.
Q. What is Lie + Loft? What inspired you to start this?
A. It’s about connecting golf and home. Our mantra is home is a feeling. It’s more about being in a moment than having a ‘house’. Loving where you’re at. We think it’s important that your house is putting out great feels, and that it’s a welcoming environment that you feel at home in.
The idea for Lie + Loft came when I got my first house after college. I wanted to decorate it with some golf art, but looking around I couldn’t find anything that fit my vibes. It was traditional and outdated. I wanted to find a new way to take the good things about golf and show it through art and décor.
Q. What is your design influence or genre?
A. I’d call our look essentialism. It definitely takes on some minimalist, modern, Scandinavian inspiration – because those genres are really timeless. Golf in general has been behind the curve in adopting those types of design aesthetics, so that’s where we’ve put a lot of our focus. Keeping things clean and simple.
Q. So we heard you just opened up a physical loft, what’s that all about?
A. We do everything in house – design, production, wood working, printing etc… So we needed a physical space to operate out of. We found this Loft in Raleigh, NC for production, but we wanted to open up the space for more than that. We’re in this rad little neighborhood and we love the community. We wanted the loft to be a community, an extension of home, a place where you feel welcome when you walk in the door. Lots of people that wouldn’t consider themselves golfers love hanging out, chipping around, and it ends up changing their perception of the game. It’s really a community gathering area where we host art galas, chipping contests, viewing parties, events and so forth. We’re even thinking about opening up a food and beverage aspect of it so people can come in and get nourished while they hang.
Q. What got you into golf in the first place?
A. Growing up, my dad was a fighter pilot, so I spent some of my childhood in Saragosa, Spain. We lived on base, on the golf course – so he played with great regularity. I’d wait for him to come around the golf course and greet him. There are videos of me playing golf and swinging the club when I was 2 years old. So you could say my Dad introduced me to the game. It wasn’t until hanging out with my Dad in my teens that I actually started going out to the local muni and playing nine or eighteen. I grew up playing all competitive sports – except for golf. I played collegiate baseball, but had to hang up the cleats when I found out my arm was shot. So naturally, I got a job at a local golf course on the greens crew and fell in love with the game there. I was typically done working by 2 o’clock so we’d go out and tee it and play an emergency 9 or 18. Ended up transferring to NC State and took the PGM program and I've been in the golf business ever since.
Q. Did you ever play competitive golf?
A. Not growing up. I really didn’t have the typical ‘junior golf league’ type of experience. For me it was just a game I fell in love with and helped me connect back with that 2-year-old Luke swinging the club in the yard.
Q. Why do you tee it today?
A. Golf is about getting outside. I grew up in the woods, basically in the middle of nowhere. My childhood memories are of exploring, climbing trees and all that good stuff. Now golf, for me is a way to re-connect with nature. Scoring is something I am motivated by, being a competitive athlete my whole life, there’s a part of me that’s driven by improvement. I have gotten myself down to a single digit handicap, but really golf is a pastime for me, getting outdoors and enjoying good company.
Q. I’ve seen some of your adventures, biking across multiple states, camping through national parks. What was your inspiration?
A. First we did Portland to Pebble –on a bike. We golfed and camped the whole way through the trip (a friend and I). He was an avid cyclist who had done a trip from coast to coast. He wanted to combine it with golf – and so I said yes, not knowing what I was getting into. I was jacked about getting to golf everyday, camp but I wasn’t exactly prepared for the 60 miles per day of cycling. The challenge was fun. But really being able to disconnect, do some soul searching - that’s what a vacations or should I say adventures should be all about.
Q. What was the highlight of that first trip?
A. Just looking back on the map and seeing the amount of ground we covered, and then just realizing how many people are zooming by in cars not getting to take in the whole coastline like we did.
Q. You drove around to national parks in a Westfalia, what was that all about?
A. That was just a personal bucket list thing. Andy, the other creative designer here at Lie and Loft and I just wanted to challenge ourselves to get out there and live off the land and do something we wouldn’t typically experience in the typical nine to five culture.
Q. Did these adventures inspire you to start Home on the Range?
A. Yes. Both of those experiences rekindled my passion for camping. I think going outdoors and sleeping under the stars is something that everyone should do. During our trips we’d call ahead and see if we could camp out on golf courses – and we did. After doing that a few times, we realized everyone should experience this. That’s where home on the range was born, combining camping, community and golf.
Q. What is home on the range?
A. There's something primitive + invigorating about sleeping under the stars. Last year, we combined our love for golf + camping in the "Portland to Pebble" bike trip. A few golf courses let us camp on the range, where we set up our tents to the tune of sunset, sunrise, and golf.
On May 11-13 we are organizing a golf + camp tournament at Tobacco Road. Instead of staying in hotels or traditional lodging, I wanted to put together a golf experience that got you outside and allowed you to camp at the golf course. We'll have our camp grounds set up on the driving range, celebrating golf + the outdoors. If you've never camped before, what an opportunity to do so at a familiar space (a golf course). For the avid camper, imagine waking up to your sticks + golf balls, ready to tee it all day.
Q. What would someone experience at Home on the Range?
A. The photos and stories that will come from the event won’t do it justice. You’re going to have to be there to really capture the essence of it all. We’re going to play a lot of golf at Tobacco Road – in some fun formats you don’t normally experience, like night golf. We’re going to be doing the typical camping fun, fires, music, and just enjoying the fresh air – all in good company. Even if you’re not an avid camper, this is the ideal event for you. Did I mention we’re going to play a lot of golf?
Q. Tell us about Tobacco Road Golf Course…
A. It’s going to be the perfect venue. I love the place. We’re going to turn the amazing terrain and property into this unreal venue. It’s going to be quiet yet super fun. Lots of unique events are planned to be able to take in the amazing property - the sight lines are unreal.
Q. Any events or announcements on the horizon?
A. We’re going to be doing an event around the content we shot during Portland to Pebble. There will be a book, video and more in the next month or two.
