If you ever wonder what type of vision and motivation it takes to build an iconic apparel brand, ponder this for a moment. John O’Donnell, founder of Johnnie-O, started his business twenty years ago selling polo shirts out of his trunk. His vision of a better polo evolved into a brand that has become a pro shop mainstay, becoming, for many, the gold standard for what a great golf polo should look and feel like. There is so much more to the brand though. Did you know that Johnnie-O holds a patent for the “Tweener Button”? This small, but ingeniously placed button helps bridge the gap between a collar that looks too formal, and one better suited for Miami Vice.
As the company celebrates their 20th anniversary, O’Donnell reflects on where he started and where Johnnie-O is going in its next twenty years.
We didn’t set out to build an actual company 20 years ago — we just wanted to make a great polo
John O’Donnell, founder of Johnnie-O
“We didn’t set out to build an actual company 20 years ago — we just wanted to make a great polo,” says John O’Donnell, founder of Johnnie-O. “What’s followed has been the ride of a lifetime. This collection celebrates where we started, the people who’ve been with us, and the little details that make Johnnie-O what it is today. We’re still having fun, still trying new things, and still all about creating styles you’ll want to wear everywhere.”
While golf apparel is certainly what drives the majority our interest in the Johnnie-O brand, it’s important to note that the company really didn’t focus on golf until sometime in 2017. In fact, the shirt that started it all, the Four Button Original Polo is made of cotton, a fabric we don’t see often on the golf course these days. The company re-released this legendary shirt as part of their 20th Anniversary celebration, and it’s something that must be seen and felt to be believed. Trust us. You might not find a better option for casual wear out there. Much like Johnnie-O itself, the Four Button Original seems to get better and better over time.
To this day, the Johnnie-O team still considers themselves a lifestyle brand first, offering options for anywhere from the workplace to the golf course, to the beach. Most of us are probably most familiar with what we see in golf pro shops, but the product line goes much deeper than that. The Surfer logo is there for a reason. It epitomizes West Coast casual. One truly could create an entire day’s wardrobe from the company’s catalogue, starting the day jogging on the beach in a pair of Half Elastic Surf Shorts, enjoying a mid-day round of golf in a Performance Mesh polo, and finishing the evening next to a fire in under the stars in a Talon hoodie.
As part of the 20th Anniversary, Johnnie-O has continued to expand their product line to offer additional accessories. They recently introduced a new sunglasses line, with a variety of different frames and lenses to match the needs of your personal passion, whether it’s hitting the course or deep-sea fishing. New headwear offerings bring a bit of youthful flair to a boring outfit. They even collaborated with Swag Golf for a set of limited edition headcovers as part of the anniversary celebration. These items join other recent additions to the company’s portfolio, like a full line of shoes, belts, and travel gear.
Still, most of THP’s readers tend to experience Johnnie-O as a golf brand.
We spoke to Chris Knott, Chief Merchandising Officer, about the company’s move into golf apparel. He told us:
“John was very connected in golf, because he’s a great player and he had access to a bunch of clubs. We really put the foot on the gas probably back around 2017 to do more golf inspired product. We dove into performance fabrics, good performance, a little deeper because we had a background in that. It was easy just to bring those factories and mills on because we understood it.”
Aside from visual shelf appeal, there’s a secret that Johnnie-O uses to capture attention on pro shop shelves – the sense of touch. Every one of us is familiar with the generic performance fabric that seems to be so pervasive in golf polos and performance wear. It’s not offensive, but it rarely does much to excite the senses. Holding a Johnnie-O jersey polo in the hands is an experience though, and it’s often the catalyst to convincing somebody to make a purchase.
I always say if you’re going to bake a cake, and you want to make the best one, you’ve got to start with the best ingredients.
Chris Knott, Chief Merchandising Officer – Johnnie-O
Knott went to great lengths, literally traveling around the world, to find the best raw materials for Johnnie-O’s products, and the company invested heavily into the best equipment for knitting those materials into a fabric. After that, a set of finishing techniques are what tie it all together.
Says Knott, “When you look at a Johnnie-O golf shirt and the collar is just beautiful, and it’s not puckering, and you put it on every day after you wash and it’s (soft) like that, well there’s a there’s about 35 steps that go into making one knit shirt. There’s a ton of minutes that go into that shirt.”
Details like the number of stitches per inch, buttons, and labels all add a level of sophistication and durability that can’t be matched via cheaper materials and manufacturing techniques. Johnnie-O even builds a custom model for each size, recognizing that the person needing a size extra-large has different fitting needs than somebody that wears a medium.
Rather than relying on online sales, Johnnie-O has invested heavily into their own storefronts and a network on retail partners, believing that their strength comes from the in-person experience. Looking forward, the company believes that the fact that they are a lifestyle brand that casts a wide net leaves them positioned to continue to expand their reach as a generational brand; one that appeals to people of all ages that explore the world in different ways.
As part of their 20th Anniversary Celebration, Johnnie-O has offered several sales and special items in 2025, so it’s worth keeping an eye on their website, johnnie-o.com. For detailed feedback on the company’s products, check out the THP Forums. A group of forum readers have conducted long term testing on pants from the Coffee Run collection, and there are several other threads discussing the company’s products.
