THE GOLF RENAISSANCE: TEAM OAKLEY WELCOMES JR SMITH TO ROSTER
JR Smith Will Sport Head-to-toe Oakley Eyewear, Apparel and Accessories for Multi-Year Contract
Friday, January 13, 2023 — Golf for decades has been dominated by its own set of rules, traditions, dress codes, and decorum. Over the last several years, golf has continued to evolve into one of the fastest-growing markets across culture and lifestyle while still honoring its heritage consumer in sport. Now at a crossroads, the challenge-hunting and demonstrative new generation has changed the rules.
For over 20 years, the sport has become an integral part of Oakley brand history. Oakley has created reliable and innovative products for top players, and to this day continues to provide best-in-class eyewear, apparel, and accessories to the world’s best athletes. Supporting the new evolution of golf, Oakley has signed college star JR Smith, sending a message to the world that anyone can pick up a club and play.
JR Smith, the newest member of Team Oakley, is a former professional basketball player who admitted himself back into college at the age of 36 to fulfill his passions of playing golf and receiving a college degree. Smith, who started playing for the NBA straight after high school, received the North Carolina A&T Academic Athlete of the year award in 2021-2022 while carving his path as a top golfer on the team at North Carolina A&T.
“As golf continues to evolve into a world of expressive, fun and diverse athletes, as a brand, we are excited to grow with it and are thrilled to welcome JR Smith to the family,” says Corey Hill, Head of Global Sports Marketing for Oakley. “We are dedicated to progress in the sport by supporting our athletes and making the best sport-performance eyewear available for both professional and recreational golfers.”
While on the course, Smith will be seen wearing Sutro Lite, Sutro Ti, Encoder, and CTRLNK from Oakley’s Authentic Prescription Collection, and more. The eyewear also features Prizm Golf lenses which are engineered to help players spot transitions between the fairway, fringe and rough, gauging distance with accuracy to help read the course better. Oakley also offers Prizm Dark Golf lenses which offer the same benefits, but for bright sunny conditions on the course. Smith will also be seen wearing Oakley’s head-to-toe apparel and accessory offerings.
“I am so excited to join Team Oakley. I have always been a fan of the brand and look forward to creating great things together,” says JR Smith. “It’s truly eye-opening to see golf become more and more popular, and to be in a position to be able to inspire those who are either just getting started, or even veterans in the sport, is extremely rewarding.”
For more information on Prizm Lens Technology and Oakley’s golf offerings, please visit Oakley.com.