Carnivorous Golfers' Delight

KINGMADE Jerky may not be a household name, but it’s quietly been building a legion of fans on both the PGA and LPGA Tours thanks to professional caddie Jeff King, who created the product and owns the company. King, a caddie for the past 16 years, admits it was out of total boredom one weekend that he decided to try making his own beef jerky in his kitchen in McKinney, Texas. What resulted after weeks of tinkering with recipes and cooking methods was a frenzy at every tour stop with players and caddies lining up to buy the product.

"I always enjoyed eating beef jerky but the stuff I found in convenience stores and gas stations was terrible," said King "I knew there had to be a way to make a premium grade jerky and satisfy the health-conscious tastes of the players out on tour." Such was King’s instant success, that he found he was making over 170 pounds a week to meet demand.

Today, over 100 tour players eat KINGMADE Jerky. Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III, Ricky Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Candie Kung, Yani Tseng, Azahara Munoz and Jane Park are just a few who enjoy the healthy, high protein snack.

"It’s hands down the best I’ve ever had," said Matt Kuchar.  "I’ve always enjoyed going around the country tasting handmade jerky, and nothing’s close to this stuff for its flavor and tenderness."

The company says it's product is "Superior Sustenance for Active Sophisticates" and marketing efforts will focus on attracting the active consumer who enjoys outdoor activities and needs a convenient and healthy snack to fuel their athletic pursuits.

What makes KINGMADE Jerky so delicious is that King uses one hundred percent flank steak with spices. Importantly, KINGMADE has five times less sodium and sugar than any of its competitors and does not add any MSG or nitrites.

King no longer makes the jerky in his kitchen. Instead, he sought the expertise of C&C Processing, a well-established, family-owned meat processing plant in the Midwest. C&C worked with King to produce the exact same jerky that came out of King’s kitchen. With C&C overseeing KINGMADE’s production, King was able to get back to what he loves the most, caddying on tour.

KINGMADE Jerky comes in three flavors: Sweet Chili Pepper, Classic and Buffalo Style. The product sells for $8.00 for 2.25 ounces, and also is available in one pound bags.

As King likes to say, "We are a premium protein for a different kind of carnivore."

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf