Many of the outdoor sports that gained scores of new fans during pandemic-induced lockdowns are rapidly emerging as new matches for licensing.

Golf, for example, boasted 24.8 million players in 2020, up 2% from the previous year and marking the sport’s largest net increase in 17 years, according to the National Golf Federation. The number of players rose to 25.1 million in 2021.

And then there was pickleball, a nearly 57-year-old mash-up of ping pong, tennis, and badminton played on a court roughly half the size of a tennis court. Participation grew 11.5% annually starting in 2016, but surged 40% between 2019 and 2021 to reach 4.8 million players.

In the case of golf, which already had many well-established licensing programs, the popularity brought in new brands. For example, Perry Ellis International brought the 122-year-old Farah fashion brand into golf for the first time under a licensing agreement with Worldwide Golf Brands. The deal includes a collection of polo shirts, pants, belts, and caps each emblazoned with the label’s iconic “F.” Perry Ellis also extended its long-time apparel license with Callaway through 2028.

On the pickleball side, where licensing was less entrenched, Cincinnati, OH-based racquet supplier Baddle signed a series of licensing deals stretching from fashion (Vera Bradley racquets and balls, as well as racquet covers designed with the brand’s soft, quilt-like fabric), to the National Hockey League (racquets), to the U.S. Army and Ohio State University.

A sure sign of increasing interest in the growing sport was OvareVentures’ equity investment in three-year-old Baddle. Additionally, longtime sports equipment supplier Franklin Sports recently signed a licensing deal with the National Football League and previously inked a three-year deal with the sports’ top player, Ben Johns, for a signature series of racquets. Like athletes in other sports, Johns switched partnerships this spring in pairing with table-tennis supplier Joola, which is entering pickleball for the first time.

As with many product categories, a focus for pickleball and golf suppliers is the growing interest in the sports among Generation Z and Millennial consumers. In the case of pickleball players, 30% of the 4.8 million participants were between 18 and 34 years old, while another 20% were 34 to 54 years old. The number of female golfers grew by 8% in 2020, and 45% of people who played a round of golf the same year were under 40 years old.

“The global appeal and interest in golf as a sport, especially with a younger consumer, is a natural evolution for the Farah brand,” said Perry Ellis CEO Oscar Feldenkreis.

That appeal is translating into golf equipment sales, as Callaway’s full-year golf equipment sales rose 39% in 2021 to $1.2 billion, and total revenue rose 97% to $3.1 billion. That includes $1 billion from its acquisition of the TopGolf entertainment/golf business, which was finalized in 2021.

“We are even more confident that our golf business will be up [this year],” Callaway CEO Chip Brewer said. “But the structural shifts around golf that have [taken place] over the last several years are pretty significant. There’s a lot of momentum and enthusiasm. Hybrid and remote work are not going away. We are optimistic about the golf markets overall and confident in our business.”