When Sergio Garcia revealed earlier this month that he was making a surprise switch in golf balls, it sent a ripple through the equipment world.

The reveal was a golf ball from the mysterious Underground Golf. A bold new venture co-founded by Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg, Garry Singer (former co-founder of Clear Golf Balls), and retail heavyweight Doug Meijer. Their ambition is simple and audacious: build the best golf ball on the planet and deliver it through an ultra-exclusive $2,800 membership.

The twist? The ball isn’t sold, stocked, or even marketed.

I sat down with Garcia, Singer, and Wahlberg to talk performance, exclusivity, and why they believe this isn’t just another golf ball launch.

Garry Singer

Gianni: What gap in the traditional golf ball market did you feel The Underground was uniquely positioned to solve?

Garry: We’re not trying to fill a gap. We’re trying to build the best golf ball we possibly can and get it into the hands of friends and like-minded golfers who care about the same things we do. That said, there’s a segment of the market that cares deeply about engineering integrity and performance.

Most major manufacturers are optimizing for scale. That means decisions get influenced by cost efficiencies, distribution requirements, and margin structures. That’s not a criticism, it’s just reality. We wanted to build something without those constraints. Small batch, tightest tolerances, freedom to reject anything that doesn’t meet standard. There’s a real market for players who prioritize precision over price and I’ve seen that before with Clear. Sometimes success in this industry isn’t always visible from the outside, but when a product quietly performs at a very high level, the right people notice. And they act.

Gianni: For serious equipment enthusiasts like GolfWRX members, how does someone actually gain access to The Underground’s membership? Invite-only, referrals, or another process?

Garry: Applications open this week. We’ve already received hundreds of inbound requests on our waitlist. People have written in with full golf resumes, competitive histories, personal notes about why the mission resonates. It’s been impressive.

We’ll review things like club affiliation, handicap, playing profile, but more importantly, alignment. We’re looking for players who understand why we’re controlling numbers in the first place. This isn’t artificial scarcity. It’s engineering discipline.

Membership will be capped. That’s non-negotiable. Because if you want to continue manufacturing at the tightest tolerances possible, you can’t chase unlimited volume. The people who get that? Those are the ones we’re building this for.

Gianni: Without revealing anything proprietary, what core performance philosophy guided the ball’s design?

Garry: Consistency first. Everything else follows that. Our philosophy is simple: remove variability wherever possible. Tighten tolerances beyond what’s typical at mass scale. Build something that performs the same way on swing number one and swing number one thousand. When you focus on that level of detail, you don’t have to say much about it. The performance speaks for itself.

Sergio Garcia

Gianni: Which single performance characteristic made you put the ball straight into play?

Sergio: It wasn’t just one thing on paper. It was more the feeling. From the first few swings, there was just something different. The flight was very stable, very penetrating, but still soft when I needed it to be. Around the greens especially, it just reacts the way I see the shot in my head. And then last week having an albatross with it in tournament play…obviously that’s a special moment no matter what you’re playing, but when you’re seeing the lines clearly and the ball is doing exactly what you’re asking, it gives you a lot of confidence. Sometimes you hit a ball and it just listens to you. This one does that. There’s something magic in it.

 

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Gianni: What’s the reaction been from fellow tour pros since the news came out?

Sergio: A lot of curiosity. Guys notice quickly when something new goes in the bag. I’ve had a few come up asking what it feels like, what the numbers look like. I just tell them they should try it. You can’t really explain it until you hit it. Once you do, you understand.

Gianni: What excites you most about being part of The Underground at this stage?

Sergio: I like that it started small. Very intentional. Very precise. It wasn’t built for everyone, it was built to be right. That’s exciting to me. When you’re part of something from this stage, you can feel the care behind it. It’s not noise. It’s not hype. It’s just quality and belief. And I think people are going to feel that when they play it.

Mark Wahlberg

Gianni: What convinced you that The Underground was something you wanted to build?

Mark: Most things in golf are done at massive scale, and that’s fine. But I wanted to build something where we could be obsessive, no compromises. I’m not interested in “good enough.” I’m interested in best possible. That’s how I live. Training, business, family: whatever I’m doing, I want to do it right. And I wanted to see how close we could get to that standard in golf, too. A ball that feels like it was made with discipline.

Gianni: As someone who plays a lot of golf, what performance characteristic of the ball stood out most to you personally?

Mark: Consistency. That’s the thing. It’s precise. You hit it, and it does what it’s supposed to do. Over and over. That’s what serious players want. It has something special where you don’t feel like you’re fighting the ball. You’re seeing the shot and it’s matching your intent. That’s as close to perfect as you can get, where it becomes less about guessing and more about trusting.

Gianni: Long term, is the vision global scale or tightly controlled exclusivity?

Mark: Controlled – always. The second you chase unlimited scale, you start making trade-offs. And we’re not here for trade-offs. Could it be global? Sure. But global doesn’t have to mean mass. Our priority is protecting the standard. Because once you let the standard slide, it’s over. And the whole reason we built this is to do what the big manufacturers can’t (or won’t) do.

 

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You can begin the application process for membership to The Underground right now at underground.golf.