Fescue & Dunes will return as a Premium Partner of Elevate Golf in 2026, extending its relationship with the golf tourism event for a second consecutive year.
The e-commerce platform will participate in the invitation-only gathering, which brings together 220 golf courses and hospitality businesses. The event connects suppliers with international tour operators serving high-net-worth golf travellers.
Elevate Golf 2026 will take place from October 25 to October 30. It will open in Northern Ireland before moving to St Andrews, where Fairmont St Andrews will host the Scottish stage.
Building a market for course merchandise
Marketing specialists and golfers Tim Neill and Joe Petrucci created Fescue & Dunes in August 2024. The business helps golf clubs develop and sell branded apparel to visiting players, with a focus on American golfers travelling to the UK and Ireland.
Its model gives golfers access to authentic merchandise connected to courses they have played. For partner clubs, the platform provides an additional revenue stream while supporting more efficient onsite and online retail operations. Fescue & Dunes works with clubs on merchandise design and production before making those products available through its e-commerce platform.
Royal Birkdale, host of The Open in 2026, is among the venues in its growing portfolio. The platform also works with Royal St. George’s, Portmarnock, Royal Dublin, Tralee, Dundonald Links, Machrihanish Dunes, Dumbarnie Links and Norway’s Lofoten Links.
The portfolio spans established championship venues and destination courses. Elevate Golf offers direct access to more potential partners whose visitors may want to purchase club-branded clothing during a trip or after returning home.
“We were delighted with the response we received from Elevate Golf last year, so it was an easy decision for us to return as a Premium Partner for a second year,” Fescue & Dunes co-founder Tim Neill said.
Neill said the event attracts the type of clubs and industry professionals with which the company wants to develop relationships. “It gives us a fantastic platform to demonstrate what Fescue & Dunes can do for a club’s brand,” he said.
Elevate Golf returns to Northern Ireland and Scotland
Elevate Golf is a business and networking event for the trade, rather than a consumer golf show. Tour operators attend by invitation, while golf venues and accommodation businesses are selected as suppliers. Organisers say invited operators must have a record of attracting high volumes of high-net-worth clients.
The format is designed to put premium golf destinations in direct contact with businesses that arrange international golf travel. That makes the event a targeted setting for Fescue & Dunes, whose commercial model depends on partnerships with clubs visited by travelling golfers.
Elevate Golf director Leanne Thorpe said Fescue & Dunes had contributed during its first year as a partner. She identified the platform’s usability and product quality as reasons for its return, along with its ability to help clubs develop new commercial opportunities.
“We look forward to welcoming Fescue & Dunes back to Elevate Golf as a Premium Partner for a second consecutive year,” Thorpe said.
Related: Wild links and breathtaking landscapes: Why Machrihanish Dunes should be on every golfer’s list
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.