About Us

Henry Rowland is the founder of Shapland. Born of British parents and raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago, he oddly enough became fascinated with golf bags at a young age. If you don’t believe us, check out this home video from his 14th birthday (he was a late bloomer...Ha!) For as long as he could remember, Ping manufactured the bag for the serious golfer. They were everywhere in junior golf. They were the high school and university team bags and at the time were carried by anyone who understood the importance of well-designed, innovative golf bags. At the top of that list was the L8 golf bag, the inspiration for Shapland and where our story begins - innovating on the best products of the past.

 

“What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive.”

- Arnold Palmer

Shapland is passionate about design, quality, and doing things right. We believe that quality design is built to last, which is why we have engineered all of our products so you can take pride in them for years to come. While our products gain inspiration from the great designs of the past, we will only make something if we believe we can improve upon it.

The name Shapland was inspired by the Godfather of Great Britain's golf course architecture, Henry Shapland Colt - more commonly known as Harry Colt or H. S. Colt. He was an elite amateur golfer, a licensed lawyer, and became one of the most influential golf course architects while having a critical influence on the likes of Alister MacKenzie, Charles Hugh Alison, Donald Ross and Stanley Thompson. He developed trademarks for his patience, attention to detail, and thoughtful approach to design, something that we hope to emulate at Shapland.

The Shapland logo takes its inspiration from Colt's first golf course design, Rye Golf Club on the South coast of England. Since the 1920's Rye has been host to the annual Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society tournament called the President's Putter. The winner of this match receives a silver medal in exchange for his or her winning ball, which is then attached to the Putter by means of a silver band and a silver chain. Three different Putters bearing the winners' golf balls are on permanent display in the clubhouse and now adorn our shield.