Fred Couples Is The Most Unexpected Malbon Signing But Makes the Most Sense

When I caught Stephen Malbon, it felt like any other check-in. Dog in the background. Pebble Beach air. Him talking about foraging mushrooms. And then casually mentioning that he had just been in Newport Beach shooting with Fred Couples.

That is when it hit me.

Fred Couples in Malbon is not just a signing. It is a statement. And it is one that quietly reframes how we talk about modern golf style without yelling at anyone in the process.

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What stood out immediately is how organic this all was. This did not start with a pitch deck or a boardroom vision. It started with Fred asking Stephen to dress his wife for the Happy Gilmore premiere. Then Fred said, “while you are at it, could you dress me as well.” Stephen said yes. At that premiere, Fred wore Malbon and Stephen told me, “a lot of people were really really curious with him wearing the logo on his shirt.”

Curiosity matters because Fred is not just a former major winner. He is a reference point. Stephen described him as “really, really, really savvy” with a “really high IQ in golf,” someone who pays attention to everything from junior golf to the Champions Tour. Fred is not chasing trends. He is aware of them.

That awareness is why this signing carries weight. Most brands chase the new shiny thing. Fred is the opposite. He is a vet. Stephen agrees and shared Fred’s initial hesitation. “Look dude, I’m 66, I can’t wear what Jason’s wearing,” Fred told him. That could have been the end of the conversation. Instead Stephen packed pleated slacks cashmere quarter zips understated colors and delivered them himself. When Fred saw the range, he said, “I think we can do this.”

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That moment says everything about Malbon. The brand has always existed in a box people try to label. Stephen knows it. “There’s a lot of people that think they have very strong opinions about our brand,” he told me.

It’s like yeah we’re all of that but we’re also Freddie Couples.

That line from Stephen stuck with me.

This signing is personal for Stephen in a way you cannot manufacture. He admitted it outright. “It’s making me cry and stuff,” he said. Fred is his parents favorite golfer. His grandparents favorite. A living symbol of an era that shaped how he understands golf. When he told me he read a mock voiceover written as if Fred were speaking and started crying, it made sense. This is not hype. This is reverence.

But it is also bigger than Malbon.

Stephen spoke honestly about the tension in golf right now. New energy. New people. New expression. But also tradition. Manners. Slacks. Respect. He does not see those as opposites. “It’s always an and conversation,” he said.

Fred embodies that. He does not want to stand out. He wants to feel good. He dresses for himself. And in doing so, he becomes iconic without trying. Stephen told me Fred ended his own voiceover with a line that felt like the thesis for this whole moment.

Golf is for anyone brave enough to love it.

That is what this signing really represents. A wider table. A longer timeline. And a reminder that golf does not need to choose between past and future to move forward.