There’s something quietly brilliant about ideas that emerge not from a boardroom, but from the fairway. Nutricaddie, the fledgling health and nutrition brand designed specifically for golfers, was born out of one man’s frustration at the halfway hut.
“I’d get to the turn and all that was on offer were bacon rolls and Lucozade,” founder Kyle tells me. “A friend of mine said, I’d never have a bacon roll in the week, I’m only having it here because it’s all that’s available. That’s when I realised there was a gap to fill.”
Launched in June 2025, Nutricaddie set out to change how golfers think about fuelling themselves, particularly the vast number of amateurs who, as Kyle points out, often overlook nutrition altogether. The brand’s motto, ‘fuelling the modern golfer’, feels apt. The approach is both practical and aspirational: better energy, better focus, better golf.
At present, the brand offers Fairway Hydrate, a clean electrolyte mix available in lemon and raspberry flavours.
“We were really keen to avoid using any formula with Maltodextrin within it, so it’s a clean electrolyte mix, mainly sodium and magnesium,” he explains. “That crash you get from sugar-laden drinks just isn’t something you want halfway through a round.”
Fairway Hydrate is light, effective and purpose-built for golf’s unique demands, offering five hours of low-intensity endurance in the elements. It’s a product that feels considered, not copied.
Born on the Course
Kyle, 26, speaks with the enthusiasm of someone who genuinely lives the problem he’s solving. Having embraced fitness and clean eating during the pandemic, he quickly realised that weekends on the course were undoing all the effort of his week. “You’re out of the house for six or seven hours,” he says.
“Most clubs still serve the same tired snacks. So I thought, OK, well, I can either sit here and complain about it, or I can see if I can do something about it.”
That personal story anchors Nutricaddie. There’s no corporate fluff, just a golfer trying to help other golfers feel and play better. It’s also been an education. “I think one thing I’ve realised, it’s never been easier to start a business, but it’s never been harder to stand out.”
And yet, Nutricaddie has already caught attention. In just five months, the brand has attracted around 100 customers, all drawn to its authentic, clean-cut feel. “People who aren’t even customers have reached out saying, ‘This is great, I want you guys to smash it.’ That’s been amazing,” Kyle says. “When you’re building something from scratch, that validation keeps you going.”
Fuelling the Whole Round
While the first product is impressive, Nutricaddie’s long-term play is even more compelling. Research, Kyle notes, shows that 75% of golfers are under-fuelled for their rounds, a statistic that immediately underlines the opportunity.
“A 1.5% dip in hydration levels drastically reduces your ability to play golf,” he adds. “There’s a study that showed a 1.5% dip lowers your driving distance and increases dispersion.”
Fairway Hydrate is designed to combat exactly that, sustaining focus and endurance without the spikes and crashes of conventional sports drinks. But Kyle’s ambitions extend beyond hydration. “I want to have products that cater to the whole day of golf,” he says. “Preparation before the round, what you take with you, and how you recover afterwards.” That roadmap feels logical and exciting in equal measure.
Kyle kindly sent me the product to test. I spend a fair amount of time on the golf course, in different countries and conditions, and having played competitive amateur and county golf in my younger years, I know all too well the issues of falling off around the turn or in the final stretch.
If you’ve got a score going, whether that’s to par or against your handicap, you need to be at your best mentally. Each shot demands every muscle in your body and every ounce of concentration. Couple that with the variety of shots you have to play, and the jeopardy of hazards, out-of-bounds or the long stuff, there isn’t much room for error.
I used to take trail mix and beef jerky on the course for sustained energy in competitions, nothing that would give me a major spike and then crash like sugary snacks. So why not do the same with hydration? Water is the source of life, but it won’t replace the essential salts required for balancing fluids, facilitating muscle contractions, enabling nerve signals and maintaining the body’s pH balance.
I began drinking Fairway Hydrate before rounds and noticed a more sustained level of energy and mental alertness. The sluggishness that can so often creep in during a round, or even the type that hits when you wake up, failed to appear. That’s not to say you drink one bottle of electrolytes and leave it at that. I maintained my hydration levels by continually drinking water throughout the day, a necessity on the course. But by starting the round with Fairway Hydrate, I acted proactively rather than reactively, allowing me to begin in my best state.
And now, Nutricaddie has become part of my daily routine. Whether I’m playing golf or not, I start the day with a cold Fairway Hydrate. In fact, I’m drinking one while writing this. Flavour-wise, both lemon and raspberry are tasty and subtle, just make sure you’re using the recommended amount of water with the scoop, or more, otherwise it can be a bit salty. Ultimately, it’s a product I now take with me to the course, the gym, on long walks, or simply use to start the day.
Respecting Golf’s Traditions
Despite Nutricaddie’s modern outlook, Kyle’s respect for the game runs deep. “I really wanted to honour the tradition of the sport with the branding and try and sit seamlessly into what is a really respectable, elegant sport,” he says. The brand’s minimalist aesthetic mirrors that ethos, subtle, not shouty, and instantly at home in a pro shop.
Ultimately, he wants to see Nutricaddie products stocked at pro shops and halfway huts nationwide, replacing the usual suspects with something designed for the golfer’s body, not just their sweet tooth.
“Gone are the days of Lucozade, Mars Bars and Twixes,” he says. “Instead, you see Nutricaddie products that are genuinely really good for you; that’s the vision.”
Keeping It Personal
For now, Nutricaddie remains a direct-to-consumer brand, sold exclusively via nutricaddie.co.uk. But every order carries a distinctly personal touch.“Expect handwritten notes from me with your orders, saying thank you,” Kyle laughs. “It’s authentic. You get what you see.”
That authenticity is perhaps Nutricaddie’s greatest strength. The brand feels less like a faceless supplement company and more like a clubhouse project, one built by golfers, for golfers, with a genuine desire to improve the experience of the game.
To find out more or order online, visit the Nutricaddie website.
