BY MATT KITE for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 9/4/2026
On the first day of the inaugural Founders Cup last week at Oakbrook Golf Club in Lakewood, TRUE Linkswear CEO and cofounder Jason Moore searched for the perfect phrase to describe the Moore family’s golf brand.
“We’re like the punk rockers of golf,” he said, “while still being respectful to tradition.”
The two-day-long, four-round Founders Cup was part of a public celebration that commemorated TRUE’s official move from its headquarters in Tacoma’s industrial Nalley Valley to Oakbrook’s rolling greens and dappled shade. The relocation deposits TRUE’s offices, pro shop, product development, and content studio in the middle of one of Pierce County’s most charming golf destinations. The Edit Social House, a lively new restaurant and bar, rounds out the all-in-one vibe.
“What’s more natural for a golf company than to be actually rooted at a golf course?” Jason asked. “We can design product out on the course, test it in real time, photograph it, host events, and be a part of the golf community, and for us, that was like a no-brainer.”
So what’s so punk rock about TRUE? For starters, its corporate ethos reflects the town that spawned it.
“We have an incredible, world-class work ethic that is hard to compare,” Jason said. “It’s got that Tacoma grit and grind, and I appreciate that about it. There’s no reason there should be a golf brand from Tacoma that makes it around the world, and we are. But it’s the work ethic. It’s the grit and the grind. It’s the people behind the brand. We love waking up, locking arms, and walking toward the next endgame goal of ‘How do we evolve this game of golf?’”
TRUE employs twenty-five people at its new Oakbrook headquarters and another twenty-five around the world. Its fulfillment warehouse, formerly in Nalley Valley, has moved to Nevada. Its shoes and clothing are made in China.
Like any good punk rock story, TRUE’s begins humbly. Jason and his older brother, Ryan, a five-time PGA Tour winner, spent much of their youth at the family business, which just happened to be a driving range in the Parkland area.
“I’d take balls when I was five years old off the driving range and clean them and even had my first business when I was like six years old selling used golf balls from the parking lot,” Jason recalled. “In some capacity, I knew golf would be part of my life. To imagine where we’re at today is like a dream, for sure.”
The Moore brothers grew up in The Punk Rockers of Golf Come Home to Oakbrook Lakewood’s Oakbrook Golf Club, the new corporate headquarters of TRUE Linkswear, features groves of stately Garry oaks. Also known as Oregon white oaks, the protected trees are ideal for golf courses because of their deep taproots. Puyallup, with Ryan attending Cascade Christian and playing for Puyallup High and Jason graduating from Rogers High a few years later. Flash forward to 2009, when they founded TRUE. Three years later, they bought Oakbrook with their father as part of RMG Golf Course Management. And in 2017, the brothers restructured TRUE to take full ownership.
TRUE turned heads in the industry with its first shoe: a minimalist design with a wide toe box and zero drop from heel to toe inspired by the barefoot experience. Today, in addition to expanding its footwear lines, the company offers golf wear and golf bags, among other products. TRUE has become known for simple-yet-elegant designs with everyday utility.
“For me,” Jason said, “the saddest thing about buying golf gear is it sits in your closet waiting for you to go play golf next month or next summer. We want to make gear that you can wear to the office, wear it on a hike, go play golf in it. You wear it in your everyday adventures. For us, that’s a critical part of making things usable and economical for the average consumer.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, TRUE has earned a loyal following in the golf shoe market. They’re not the Ramones playing CBGB circa 1974, but the company’s fans are just as ardent.
“For us, product comes first,” Jason said. “We talk about selfish innovation all the time. We want to create things that we wish existed for people like us. We grew up playing golf, living golf, eating and breathing and sleeping golf, and there was a hole in the market for something that’s comfortable, something that’s versatile, something that performed well. And I think as we’ve created those products, we’ve just been honored and humbled by how many people want those things too.”
Added Jason, “We bend over backwards to make anything happen for our customers, and because of that, I think we’ve built a really beautiful community of people that believe in the brand, appreciate the product, and want golf to get better.”
In another nod to the punk rock ethos, TRUE returned Oakbrook to the people shortly after buying the facility in 2012.
“It had been an exclusive private club for fifty-plus years,” Jason said, “and so the first thing we did when we acquired the property was open it to the public. All these people that live on these fairways and drive past it had never been able to play. So now anyone can come to the restaurant, anyone can come and play golf or hit a bucket of balls or putt on the putting green for free with their kids.”
The rolling course’s most unique feature? The groves of Garry oaks, also called Oregon white oaks, that create what’s called an “oak island” ecosystem. The native oak enjoys protected status in Pierce County and Washington state. Its deep taproots ensure survival during dry summers and minimal impact on the greens.
“The course is set up like a traditional country club in a really beautiful way,” Jason said. “It has a very golf-purist format. You have to kind of shape your shots, learn your way around the course, and make good decisions to shoot a good score. At the same time, it’s just a really peaceful, Zen environment walking through the trees.”
At the Founders Cup, everyday golfers rubbed elbows with PGA Tour players and local celebrities like former Lakes High and University of Washington standout Jermaine Kearse, whose storied football career culminated in two Super Bowls with the Seattle Seahawks.
“We call this the Founders Cup,” Jason said during a lunch break between rounds. “My brother and I founded the company. Okay, come beat the founders.”
Jason and Ryan “ham-and-egged it” on the eighteen-hole course just enough to hold a lead after the first round. Whether or not they could maintain it over the next three rounds was yet to be decided. But one thing seemed certain: the Moore brothers were making a positive impact on the golf world while remaining true to their roots.
“At the end of the day, that’s what my brother and I set out to do,” Jason said. “Golf gave us a lot of opportunities, and we want to give back to the game in some capacity, and TRUE is one of the ways we do that. I pinch myself because I wake up every day and I don’t even have to go to work. I just love what I do. It’s not all golf every day. It’s the grind and the spreadsheets and the product development and resourcing. To me, there’s so much reward in what we get to do.”
For more information about TRUE Linkswear, visit https://truelinkswear.com.
