Christian Cavaliere is many things. He’s a competitive mid-amateur golfer who won the 2025 Azalea Invitational. He’s the founder of golf clothing and accessory company Tremont Sporting Co. And, according to him, he’s completely out of his mind. Luckily, that last thing is critical to his success as an entrepreneur.
“I have this personality I’d say is a blessing and a curse because I’m wildly fixated on what I could be doing and how I could be improving things,” Cavaliere said. “It’s to the point where I’m sitting at dinner on a date with my girlfriend and I’ll space out and think about what I could be doing with the business.”
What started out as a side hustle in college has evolved into a company that sells golf apparel and accessories online to individuals and more than 350 golf clubs. What makes Tremont special? Customization. Customers can work closely with Tremont staff to pick their own designs, colors, materials, liners and more. A Tremont slogan is “great gear made by great golfers,” and golfers know what other golfers want.
“Through the unique lens of where we come from in the golf industry and what our knowledge base is, and our attention to detail with our design work, and our craftsmanship, that’s where we separate ourselves,” Cavaliere said.
“The beginning of it was literally building headcovers on my mom’s sewing machine in my parents’ house in New York.” — Christian Cavaliere
Cavaliere started sewing at age 10 on his mom’s sewing machine and quickly fell in love with the pastime. As a junior at Boston College, he realized he could use his talents to make money and solve a problem.
“We had team hats for the golf team at BC and I hated them,” he said.
Cavaliere ordered custom patches and sewed them onto blank hats for the team to wear. Soon, not just the golf team, but other teams at Boston College wore his hats.
“These things were awesome,” said Patrick Hallisey, Cavaliere’s teammate at Boston College and Tremont’s co-founder. “Christian’s always been the kind of person where if he doesn’t like something or he thinks something could be done cooler he’s just going to go out and do it. He’s not going to wait for someone else to do it.”
In 2020, Cavaliere was a senior in college. His side hustle was making money, but he had other plans. Once he graduated, he wanted to pursue professional golf.
But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Cavaliere had to return to his parents’ home in New York. With little to do, he figured he’d keep making products and expanded his product line to include headcovers.
“The beginning of it was literally building headcovers on my mom’s sewing machine in my parents’ house in New York,” Cavaliere said.
During the summer of 2020, the entire operation was Cavaliere, his mom and a couple of high school friends who wanted to help out. As Cavaliere put the word out to his golf network and on social media, people who wanted to buy his gear started reaching back. The nearly instant sales surprised him.
“I really didn’t think I was going to sell them but people were willing to pay,” he said.
It was time to focus more seriously on the business. While Cavaliere said it was scary starting his own venture instead of getting a more “stable” or “safe” job, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I took pride in the fact that I didn’t want to do a normal route,” Cavaliere said. “I wanted to do something different whether it was [play] golf or something like this.”
But it was difficult. Country clubs and other clients were putting in orders of 30-40 pieces. Cavaliere couldn’t keep up on his own.
“I was up to my neck in cutting and embroidery and sewing,” Cavaliere said. “I wasn’t sleeping because I was so stressed about getting the orders done and out. I bit off way more than I could chew.”
Meanwhile, Hallisey worked as a marketing coordinator for PVH Corp, an apparel and fashion retail company. One day, he saw an Instagram post by Cavaliere apologizing for orders getting out slowly because Cavaliere was overwhelmed. Hallisey wanted to help his old friend.
“I reached out because I had some free time during COVID,” Hallisey said. “Let me know how I can help. I’d love to get involved.”
The help was much needed, and Hallisey joined the team near the beginning of 2021. Tremont Sporting Co. was born. While Cavaliere focused on production in New York, Hallisey took over sales and operations from South Carolina.
“I was hooked,” Hallisey said. “It was something that really fired me up. I always wanted to start a business.”
In February 2022, Tremont moved out of Cavaliere’s living room to a facility in Florida. Cavaliere and Hallisey started hiring full-time help, a massive weight off their shoulders. Now, Cavaliere said, Tremont has 31 employees: 22 in production and nine in sales.
And the word on Tremont is getting out through social media and word of mouth. Cavaliere said about 85 percent of the company’s sales are from wholesale accounts, of which Tremont has about 500. About 360 of these are golf club accounts and another 30 to 40 are college golf teams.
“You’d be surprised how small the golf world is,” Hallisey said. “Once you get your foot in the door in some top-100 clubs, the dominoes start to fall. They all talk to each other.”
Cavaliere’s deep understanding of the game and the club world give him a unique perspective that’s reflected in everything Tremont produces, said Brandon Kuzmich, the PGA head golf professional at Hudson National Golf Club in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.
“We’ve partnered with Tremont for their high-quality head covers, hats and leather goods, all of which consistently reflect the craftsmanship and understated elegance we value at the club,” Kuzmich said. “Their pieces strike the perfect balance between classic and contemporary, and they resonate with our membership.
“What makes Tremont so attractive as a partner is not just the product, but the people. Christian and his team make the process effortless. From concept to final delivery, the attention to detail and responsiveness are unmatched. They’re collaborative, reliable, and truly a pleasure to work with.”
“We’re going to continue to build into being the lifestyle brand that we’ve always been destined for.” — Christian Cavaliere
Cavaliere said many on the Tremont team are active in the golf community. Some, like Cavaliere, play mid-amateur golf and promote the product to their peers and competitors. On the national stage, a big moment for business came in 2023 when Cavaliere qualified for the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. Cavaliere said there was a big uptick in engagement on the company website as spectators saw the product in person or on television.
“I did it selfishly because I wanted to compete but it was the best thing I could’ve done for the business,” Cavaliere said.
Both Cavaliere and Hallisey believe Tremont Sporting Co. can continue to grow. Hallisey mentions growing the company’s ambassador program, through which Tremont seeks exposure by working with players on the PGA and Korn Ferry tours as well as aspiring pros.
Ultimately, Cavaliere and Hallisey want Tremont to be a brand for everybody, not just golfers.
“We’re going to continue to build into being the lifestyle brand that we’ve always been destined for,” Cavaliere said.