PURSUIT OF
Perfection
In pursuit of the perfect pants for her picky son, Sprague began studying men’ s golf pants and what was available on the market. She began thinking about fabrics, colors, and, most of all, function for kids.
And then, with the encouragement of her husband, she made the decision to turn her passion project into a startup business.
“ It was my husband saying,‘ Let’ s just do it. Let’ s make the perfect pair of pants for kids,’” she said.“ Of course, I’ m the practical one, asking,‘ How do we do this? Where do we start?’ I’ m not much of a risk-taker.”
Sprague, who neither sews nor plays golf, researched how to start a fashion brand and how to create a product. She found a fashion consulting company in New York that guides those new to the fashion industry with launching a brand, creating a piece of clothing, and even producing an entire fashion line.
“ I was starting completely from scratch, but I told them what I wanted to do,” she recalled.“ They said they had never seen anything like this, but they were encouraging.”
The New York company worked with Sprague on design and fabric ideas and helped her identify a factory— working with her through their first round of manufacturing and production.
She also tinkered with what to name her product, settling on“ Turtlebacks” as a salute to Pinehurst and its signature Donald-Ross-designed crowned greens.
“ Anyone who has ever played at Pinehurst knows those rounded greens that look like a turtle’ s back,” she explained.“ I wanted a name that alluded to golf, but wasn’ t too golf-heavy because the pants and other pieces are good on and off the course. I also didn’ t want to dissuade kids who don’ t play golf from wearing our product, but golf is our background and our history.”
The name Turtlebacks also felt“ youthful” and represented“ strength and toughness, like a turtle shell” for a product that is currently just made for boys, she added.
Turtlebacks launched in the summer of 2024, with just its Play All Day Pants in four colors— navy, khaki, dark gray, and black.
IT WAS MY HUSBAND SAYING,‘ LET’ S JUST DO IT. LET’ S MAKE THE PERFECT PAIR OF PANTS FOR KIDS.’
TURTLEBACKS
Premium performance fabric 70 % Nylon, 30 % Spandex
SAMPLE COLOR:
Shell Pattern
new patterns and colors are always being added
TURTLEBACKS, MEGAN SCHMITZ
22 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M AY / J UNE 2026 vsga. org