A Mallow entrepreneur is building an Irish golf brand from the other side of the world, with his bespoke golf creations now being produced in the United States as the business continues to grow.
Kevin Dowling, founder of BHÍOS Golf, is operating the business from Australia, creating personalised golf prints and bespoke pieces designed to celebrate the courses golfers have played, the memories they have made and the achievements they have collected along the way.
The name BHÍOS comes from the Irish word meaning “I was”, a simple phrase that captures the idea at the heart of the brand.
Each stamped course represents a round played, a memory made and another chapter in a golfer’s story. The company’s prints are designed to be more than maps, becoming a visual record of the places golfers have visited and the experiences they have collected.
The idea began as a personal project for Dowling.
He wanted a way to track the courses he had played, not simply to tick them off a list, but to capture where he had been. With Ireland’s world-class golf courses in mind, he created a version that he would be proud to hang at home, something that looked as good as it felt to earn.
It was an idea that quickly caught on.
Requests began coming from friends, golf clubs and other golfers who wanted something similar. What started as a simple way of recording his own golfing journey gradually developed into a business creating bespoke and personalised golf pieces.
The philosophy behind BHÍOS is to create something that can be kept, used and added to over time, rather than simply being another piece of golf memorabilia.
That approach has now taken the Mallow-founded business onto the international stage.
BHÍOS Golf recently began producing its pieces in America through a print and framing studio in Georgia. The move initially started with a small production run, with Dowling planning to see how the business performed in the American market over the following months.
The response was stronger than expected.
Before the company had even announced its US production operation, BHÍOS received its biggest single order to date, with 52 pieces ordered. While Dowling was preparing that order, further sales continued to arrive and the initial stock eventually sold out completely.
The Georgia studio has now been restocked, allowing BHÍOS Golf to take new orders again.
For customers in the United States, the move means pieces can now be produced and shipped domestically, removing some of the complications around international delivery and customs.
It also provides an option for Irish customers looking to send BHÍOS pieces as gifts to friends and family in the United States.
For Dowling, the business is about more than creating attractive golf artwork. He has been documenting the process of learning the golf industry while building the company, from design and production through to golf clubs, tours, partnerships and the wider business surrounding the sport.
There has been considerable thought put into the experience surrounding each piece, from the artwork itself to the BHÍOS stamp and the story behind the brand.
From a simple idea to record the courses he had played, Dowling has now created a growing golf brand with an increasingly international reach.
While BHÍOS Golf is being built from Australia, its identity remains firmly rooted in Ireland, with a Mallow founder bringing an Irish name and a distinctly personal approach to golf memorabilia to customers around the world.
To find out more about BHÍOS Golf and explore the range of personalised golf pieces, visit www.bhiosgolf.com.
