Janet Craig was a golfer. She played in a U.S. Women's Open, a U.S. Amateur, and a Western Amateur in addition to having been a six-time medalist in the Cincinnati Women’s Metropolitan Tournament. Amazingly, she didn’t play all that much before meeting Bert - her husband-to-be and a self-taught +3 - in college. As family lore tells it, Bert’s first conversation with Jan included the question, “Want to go play some golf?”.
From then on, Jan and Bert played both individually and as a husband and wife team in many amateur events in Cincinnati and around the region. They had so many wonderful, golf-loving friends that when Jan knit her first headcovers, several of those friends asked if she would make a set for them. After a few years of tireless knitting and struggling to meet demand, Bert suggested that Jan might have an accidental business on her hands.
A few months into the new venture, a young, touring professional named Jack Nicklaus ordered a set. As his success grew, so did recognition of his ever-present Jan Craig Headcovers. Jan’s knitting business was officially off and running.
While Jan Craig Headcovers never had a formal business plan, there was one guiding principle in the early years: knit enough headcovers to pay for Jan and Bert’s yearly anniversary trip to Pinehurst. There, they would play 36 each day on Course #2, going head-to-head in what they called “The Hopeless Open”. It was their favorite course and their most cherished time together.
We lost our founder, wife, mom, sister, and favorite golf partner unexpectedly in 1977 when she was only in her mid-40s. We miss her to this day, but we revel in keeping her name and spirit alive with every Jan Craig Headcover we create.
After Jan passed, her brother and sister-in-law (Dave and Gretchen Sprout) offered Bert their help in making sure the business could continue as Jan would have wanted. Gretch and Dave moved the headcover office 30 miles north to their home in Dayton and, later, they relocated themselves and the business to Sarasota, Florida. In that time, Mr. Nicklaus went on a Major winning spree and his peers caught on to the pom pom predilection. Jan Craigs could be spotted in the winning circle on any given Sunday on the bags of Tom Watson, Nick Price, Greg Norman, and others.
Gretchen's kind demeanor and strong work ethic turned countless first-time buyers into loyal fans. To this day, we have customers who fondly recall memories of the Gretchen years and share stories of the care she took when fulfilling every order.
When the Sprouts decided it was time to retire and play more golf, Jan's oldest son and his wife (Barry and Lynn Craig) took the reins and moved the business back north to Chicago. Space limitations in the city finally resulted in Jan Craig Headcovers having its first ever office outside the home. Barry and Lynn entrusted longtime friend, Jennifer Reusing, with the role of General Manager and the three spent the next 30 years working together to define the second generation of Jan Craig Headcovers.
During this time, JCH’s fandom had grown to include to the likes of Mark O’Meara, Tommy Armour III, Michelle McGann, Nancy Lopez, Jason Dufner, Lucas Glover, Cristie Kerr, John Cook, Davis Love III, Dottie Pepper, and countless other professionals that so graciously carried our poms as they competed. As JCH sightings became common on Golf Channel, Barry, Lynn, and Jennifer also fostered meaningful relationships with our club partners and everyday customers. Thanks to busy days filled with sales calls, annual trips to the PGA Show, and experiments with new advertising avenues, our second generation is responsible for much of our growth.
As the business was growing, so were Barry and Lynn’s four children – one of whom was named Janet after her paternal grandmother. Janet and her siblings knew all about JCH thanks to closets filled with yarn, dinner table conversations centered around golf, and the occasional visit to the Magic Kingdom on the heels of mom & dad’s work at the PGA Show.
Janet eventually began spending summers as a JCH “intern” – learning the ropes of customer service and trying to convince Barry that a company Facebook page was a good thing. This new blood happened to be around the same age as some up-and-coming golfers who could be spotted with JCH poms of their own: Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Jessica and Nelly Korda to name a few. It was also during this time that Jan Craig Headcovers proudly outfitted Ryder Cup Team USA for several years.
After spending some time in the corporate marketing world after college, Janet followed her gut back to the family business and took over operations in 2020. Much like her namesake, Janet’s favorite thing to do is play 18 (or 36) with her husband. In fact – the two even took time on their honeymoon to travel to Scotland and visit several spots that play a role in JCH’s history. Janet is honored to continue writing this chapter of the Jan Craig Headcovers story and looks forward to welcoming you to the family.
