Gumtree Golf & Nature Club Takes Meticulous Approach to Business—And It’s Paying Off

One step inside the Gumtree Golf & Nature Club studio tells you everything about the brand, and, as an extension, founder and CEO Karsten Jurkschat.

Built out from recycled materials, including branches from discarded trees, leftover paracord from old Gumtree products, and found wood and stone bricks from the neighborhood, the Brooklyn, N.Y., studio mirrors the Aussie’s impetus for launching the lifestyle brand in 2020 “to further meld the natural beauty, flora and fauna of each environment with the golfers who play amongst them.”

Vintage furniture accented by rugs and tapestries dating back to 19th century Bengal and Afghanistan decorate the room as trees, flowers and plants transport visitors from the Concrete Jungle into another one as soon as they enter the studio, fittingly located across the street from McCarren Park in Greenpoint.

On display amid the indoor natural surroundings are Gumtree Golf & Nature Club products: small batch handcrafted, sustainable and one-of-a-kind releases upcycled from found and heirloom textiles. 

Jurkschat has repurposed a 1970s tent from a Vermont farm into a limited collection of head covers that sold out in 11 minutes. GGNC has also released New York City subway token ball markers, Italian micro-mosaic brooches, and five one-of-a-kind vests made from an heirloom cross-stitched quilt circa 1970s-80s.

“We design and release with purpose and storytelling,” Jurkschat previously told me. “And I think there’s a luxury in the restraint, knowing that you have a piece that’s special—that has some storytelling that might make you a little bit more interesting out there on the course, and that you can’t get it in a big-box retailer at a pro shop.”

Gumtree’s purposefully meticulous approach to its products and collections is a microcosm of the brand’s business strategy. Not only using Mother Nature as a creative muse and industry differentiator, GGNC contributes 2% of sales from its website toward removing carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

In a world of fast fashion and chasing trends, Jurkschat and Gumtree Golf & Nature Club encourage golfers to stop and smell the roses, listen to the birds, spot the squirrels, and enjoy your surroundings because there’s more to golf—and life—than your score.

“Lose your ball, find yourself” reads one of the brand’s T-shirts as part of its Gumtree Golf & Mental Health Awareness Club collection.

“It’s pretty strong in the messaging that it’s a brand that’s a little bit of an outsider when it comes to the golf industry and sort of norms,” said Hypegolf senior editor Julius Oppenheimer. “Even something as simple as not participating in the PGA Show or not going the wholesale route. Instead, they try to show up more in front of the creative community and more sort of urban golfers, younger golfers. The messaging is pretty clear there.

“From a product standpoint, from the beginning he was able to differentiate himself with these small drops where everything felt bespoke and custom. He was able to build a level of demand for those drops as he was selling out and could follow from there to see what people were into and that would inform future decisions.”

Jurkschat, an award-winning former creative director for top agencies including McCann, is building a brand—his brand—how he wants to, and people are loving it.

Gumtree Golf & Nature Club has done $1 million in direct-to-consumer sales so far this year with $1.5 million total revenue projected by year’s end. The brand has seen 200% revenue growth YoY the past three years all with one full-time employee, no influencer marketing and no paid celebrity endorsements.

Nick Jonas wore a Gumtree hat playing alongside Rickie Fowler at the 2025 BMW Championship Pro-Am. Josh Allen was photographed in a Gumtree T-shirt alongside Hailee Steinfeld shortly after the two tied the knot in May 2025.

Having bootstrapped the brand off an initial $10,000 investment where sales from one collection were used to afford the next one, it was time for the one-man brand to expand.

Rather than going the traditional fundraise route via private equity or venture capital, Jurkschat comprised a highly curated collection of 10 like-minded individuals from outside the golf industry, including creative directors and musicians, to invest $60,000 each at a $5.5 million valuation, giving Gumtree Golf & Nature Club a 12-month runway.

“I could probably go out with all the momentum I’ve got with the brand and get way more money from private equity or other places,” Jurkschat said. “I could make more money on every single product that I sell if I wanted to. If I took manufacturing from New York to overseas, cut costs, and cut quality, I could 100% be making more money on this business tomorrow, but I’ve made all of these decisions that aren’t based on that. They’re based on creative control, quality and authenticity, so I tried to extend that same approach to raising money. 

“… I was really conscious and nervous about raising a bunch of money and then all of a sudden feeling like we’re not the same.”

Jurkschat used the influx of cash to bring on a Chief Operating Officer as well as other part-time help to support operations and events, while Gumtree’s brand, products, marketing, aesthetic and storytelling remain unchanged.

Herein lies the dilemma for Jurkschat: balancing demand, growth and expansion while remaining rooted to the brand’s identity and impetus.

Other golf apparel brands haven’t been able to manage both. Verutum Sports, a contemporary South Korean fashion brand, wound down and discontinued its golf apparel line in October. Hillcreek, a premium Japanese golf apparel brand operated by Black Yak Group, had its products removed from BYN Black Yak’s official online store after June. Maison Kitsuné Golf, Calvin Klein Golf and Random Golf Club have all also scaled back or discontinued their golf apparel operations.

Gumtree hopes to continue to pave its own path and not be another once-unique brand eventually gone by the wayside.

“What makes Gumtree special is that it’s a creatively driven brand,” said one of its publicly anonymous Founders Club investor members. “Karsten has a vision that is not only worth investing in, it’s worth protecting. People are drawn to Gumtree because it’s not just a brand, it’s a creative idea—an idea that thrives off the authenticity and integrity Karsten brings to the products, events and partnerships. 

“I love that Karsten wanted to assemble an investor group of varied interests and experiences that could contribute value to the brand beyond money. It’s these kinds of decisions that set the brand apart. This is a brand that feels hands on. It feels like there is a vision and care. It’s so important that Karsten has the support to continue that without compromise.”

Jurkschat’s curated, less-is-more approach to products and business carries over to partnerships and collaborations. Saying “no” more than “yes,” Gumtree released a Birds of Georgia collection for the 2026 Masters in collaboration with Malbon. GGNC quickly followed that up with the Field Notes Collection in collaboration with Puma.

Having built a community of like-minded consumers and creatives, Gumtree started hosting events where fans of the brands could get an immersive experience blending activities like flyfishing, bird watching, yoga and hiking with golf.

These Field Trips have taken place in the Sonoran Desert (Arizona), Zion National Park (Utah) and the Catskill Mountains (New York), the latter two supported by brand partners including On and Lululemon.

Jurkschat said the events will continue as Gumtree continues to grow and expand. The company is also set to introduce a women’s line, though Jurkschat is quick to point out his products are gender neutral and can even lean slightly feminine with softer aesthetics and floral designs.

Increasing demand will require Jurkschat to source another raise, though he’s unsure exactly what that looks like at the moment though his Founders Club members get first right of refusal on increasing their investment.

“I think to raise what we’re looking to raise, we might have to open it up to institutional money,” he said. “As long as it’s coming from the right places because we also don’t want the cap table to get crazy messy.”

Learning to sew from his German grandmother and getting his green thumb and botanical background assisting his father, a landscape gardener, Jurkschat will continue to carefully nurture Gumtree Golf & Nature Club in his own way as the brand grows in and out of golf.

“I feel really lucky to be doing it, especially after doing it for so many other brands for so long,” he said. “It was always one of these things I thought to myself if these brands and agencies are paying me this much money to have my creative direction and design influence their brand, if I can’t do it for myself then this whole time I’ve just been a fraud. I’m glad I’m not that.”