Photos by Nathan Limbach
The internet can be a strange and wonderful place. Raise your hand if you have a friend you've never met in person but talk to regularly and consider close because of your online connection. Keep it raised if your partner or spouse refers to someone in your life as "your internet friend" or reacts with concern when you announce plans to meet someone you've only interacted with online.
Mike Norcia, founder of SternLines and Forewind Golf, was one of those internet friends. That changed when we planned a round at Cape Ann Golf Course. I remember my partner asking, “You’re driving two hours to play a nine-hole course with a stranger on a weekday?” Her expression said it all when I replied, “He’s not a stranger. It’s Mike. He’s driving an hour south to meet me, and we’re playing it twice, so it’s actually 18 holes.” She wasn’t convinced. But to me, it wasn’t unusual. Mike and I had been talking for months. I admired his golf headcovers made from recycled sails and appreciated his entrepreneurial spirit. We were both New Englanders with similar backgrounds, including a shared aspiration to become club professionals at one point in your younger days. We had a lot in common. Mike was, and still is, an internet friend, but after that round at Cape Ann, where he handed me a prototype headcover before Forewind Golf even existed, we became real-life friends too.
What excited me about Mike and his emerging golf brand was how naturally the story unfolded. In 2013, while enjoying the view of Whaleback Light near their home in Kittery, he and his wife Liz noticed lobster rope washed up on shore. Most people would have ignored it, but they saw potential in the colorful, durable material. Lobster rope is built to withstand the elements, a reflection of Maine’s resilience. They began weaving it into doormats and tote bag straps, quickly running out of material. Fortunately, Liz had connections with local lobstermen and soon had access to thousands of pounds of rope. Alongside the rope came canvas tarps and old sails—materials that deserved a second life. Tote bags were the first product, but Mike, a lifelong golfer, saw another opportunity: headcovers.
While experimenting with prototypes, Mike realized he had something special. “I love golf gear. I’ve always been a gear head since I was a kid playing golf,” he said. Sails are lightweight, quick-drying, and rugged, making them ideal for golf accessories. A Portland-based salvage company had storage units filled with retired sails, and the first prototypes, like the one I tested, sold out quickly on the SternLines website. Mike knew this new venture needed its own identity. Since sails are “made for the wind,” Forewind Golf was born.
Forewind Golf took off faster than expected. The Fliers Club requested headcovers for their Hyannisport event, and Zac Blair ordered custom covers for The Ringer and The Buck Club. Mike was busy cutting sails while local seamstresses stitched headcovers at a rapid pace. The order that truly elevated Forewind came from Cape Arundel, a Walter Travis-designed gem and longtime Bush family haunt. They requested a headcover made from a flown pin flag embroidered with “43.” Creating something for a U.S. President is pressure enough, having only 36 hours to complete it raised the stakes even more. Mike got to work.
Throughout it all, I cheered Mike on from Rhode Island. I sent him unsolicited ideas for new products, like a zippered envelope bag made from sailcloth, which he generously named the Limbach Bag. I also sent materials, wool blankets from Faribault Mill, vintage patches from New England vacation spots, castoff curtains from golf clubs, and single-origin coffee bags from my local roaster. Most people would have seen junk. Mike and I saw treasure.
One of those ideas was a lightweight, slim golf bag made from sails. I’ve used a half set of clubs for years and wanted something smaller and lighter than what was available. Sailcloth was the perfect material. Mike sketched out designs, and my friend Zac and I tested the first prototypes on a trip to Western Ireland. We carried those bags from Dublin to Rosapenna, Belmullet, and Ballybunion. Caddies lit up when they saw our half-set bags, knowing their day just got a little easier. The bag was named after Fergus Kearney, the superintendent at Carne Golf Club in Belmullet. We returned with feedback, adjustments to zippers and straps, but every review was glowing.
Despite Forewind’s growth, it still feels like a passion project for Mike. There’s no factory or assembly line. He cuts every headcover and bag by hand in his two-car garage, and two seamstresses down the street sew each one. Everything ships from the local post office. “Every headcover, every golf bag, every drawstring pouch, you’ve ever seen, I’ve cut every piece,” he says. “We don’t outsource. It’s all done here in Kittery, Maine.” That level of care means each item carries a personal connection. Forewind has created custom gear from old rain jackets, college golf uniforms, and even family heirlooms.
For Mike, it’s not just about selling products. “We don’t make products,” he says. “We do projects. I don’t want to sell 500 identical headcovers. We try to pair the material with the story and make something meaningful.”
What’s next for Forewind? More materials, more covers, more golf courses, and more collaborations with emerging golf brands, all from a garage in Kittery, Maine.
