Mike Norcia of Forewind Golf and STERNLINES
- Brick + Tides
- Sep 25
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 25
In the corner of a quiet neighborhood in Kittery, Maine, the hum of creation doesn’t come from an assembly line or a cavernous factory floor. It comes from a garage. Inside, retired sailcloth, folded and bundled, fills the corners of a garage. At the center of it all is Mike Norcia — cutting, organizing, and selecting pieces for golf bags and head covers by hand.
The scene feels unassuming, almost modest, until you realize where his products have ended up. They’ve traveled as far as Japan and Australia, graced the fairways of Fisher’s Island and Hyannisport, and even found their way into the golf bag of President George W. Bush. From a two-car garage in Southern Maine, Norcia is building golf gear that speaks louder than any mass-produced brand could hope to.
From Rope to Sails: A Creative Spark
Norcia’s journey began in 2015, when he and his wife launched SternLines, a small company that found purpose in discarded lobster rope. They collected thousands of pounds of the stuff up and down the coast of Maine, transforming it into colorful, durable doormats. It was during those coastal trips that people began handing him other materials — old sails, canvas tarps, weathered fabrics. At first, Norcia didn’t know what to do with them. The piles went into storage in Kennebunk, forgotten but not lost.
Around the same time, Norcia and his wife endured a personal tragedy: the loss of their oldest son. Out of that grief, SternLines became more than a business. It was, as Norcia describes, “a great source to free my mind… a source of creativity and a source to distract my brain.” The materials waiting in storage would eventually provide another outlet.
Norcia, 46, had a history with golf. In the early 2000s, he had pursued the path of becoming a golf professional but walked away, put off by the constant travel and seasonal lifestyle. What stayed with him was not the pursuit of tournament play, but an obsession with golf gear — bags, head covers, the tactile tools of the game. “I love golf gear,” he says. “I love bags. I love head covers. I loved all that.”
One day, the pieces clicked together. Why not make golf accessories from the old sails he had been storing?
The First Head Covers for Forewind Golf
Norcia cut up the sails, stitched together a dozen head covers, and sent photos to friends in the golf world. Their responses weren’t critiques — they were orders. “I want the blue one,” one said. “I want the red one,” said another.
That feedback validated the idea, and soon after, The Fliers Club placed an order for 40 embroidered head covers for their event at Hyannisport Club. Norcia turned them around in just a couple of weeks, and with that, his second brand was born: Forewind Golf.
The business grew naturally. From head covers came golf bags — not full-size tour bags, but minimalist, one pound carry bags designed for walking rounds, travel, and short-course play. The bags hold eight clubs, feature a removable spine, and, like the head covers, are made from reclaimed sails and leather. Each bag takes roughly eight weeks from start to finish, a process that begins with sourcing materials from yacht clubs, sailing schools, sailmakers, and salvage yards.
Craftsmanship Over Production
Step into Norcia’s garage, and you’ll understand the soul of his business. Every product begins with him. “Literally everything you’ve ever seen of ours — every head cover, every golf bag, every drawstring pouch — I’ve cut every piece,” he says. “We don’t ship our material off to a manufacturer outside of Kittery, Maine. It’s literally all cut by hand, by me.”
This attention to detail means each piece carries a personal connection. Forewind has created custom bags and covers from meaningful materials — old rain jackets, college golf uniforms, even family heirlooms — repurposed into one-of-a-kind golf gear.
For Norcia, the work is about more than selling products. “We don’t make products,” he says. “We do projects. I don’t want to sell 500 head covers that are very standard. We try to pair the material with the project and make something meaningful.”
Projects of Prestige
Though Forewind remains small, its reach has been wide. Norcia has shipped to Japan and Australia, worked with more than 50 golf and country clubs, and completed some extraordinary commissions.
Perhaps the most memorable was a last-minute call from Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport, Maine: could he make a head cover for President George W. Bush? With less than two days to deliver, Norcia drove up the coast, collected the material, and turned the project around in 36 hours. “That was probably the most special head cover or project to this point,” he says, noting that he still saves cut pieces from significant jobs as mementos.
Other highlights include collaborations with Zach Blair and The Buck Club, which put Forewind head covers on a PGA Tour bag during the West Coast Swing, and large-scale orders like 140 head covers for Fisher’s Island Club’s men’s invitational. “That’s a bucket-list course for golfers,” Norcia says. “So on my bucket list as a maker, to have our stuff there — that’s awesome.”
A Brand Rooted in Maine
While Forewind products travel the world, their roots remain firmly in Southern Maine. Norcia and his family chose Kittery for its location — close enough to Boston, Cape Cod, and Portland to gather materials, yet grounded in a supportive community.
“Maine’s a very big, very creative state,” he says. “People recognize when something is made internally. There’s this Maine-made community where, when they see things created in Maine and heading outside of Maine, it’s really important. People will support that.”
That support often takes surprising forms. Friends and local customers will bring head covers into pro shops to show golf pros. Yacht clubs ship retired sails for repurposing, only to see them return as polished products in their own shops.
The Power of Storytelling
Like many small business owners, Norcia has had to adapt to the changing landscape of marketing. For years, Forewind’s story was told almost entirely through its products. Now, thanks to his partnership with Creative Director Justin Joslin, the brand is making waves with photography and video that highlight the process and the lifestyle.
“The game has changed in the last handful of years,” Norcia says. “If you’re not doing content, you’re at a gigantic disadvantage. Even if you’re not doing it perfectly in the beginning, you’re still doing it. You refine as you go.”
What started tentatively has become a joy in itself. “It almost became, for me, just as fun as this,” Norcia says, gesturing to the workbench. “But you still need that professional eye. We got very lucky to have Justin believe in what we’re doing.”
Quiet Waves, Global Reach
Despite Forewind’s growing reputation, Norcia remains humble. He frames his work as a simple labor of love. “I want other people to love what we do,” he says. “I feel so fortunate that they do because they buy what we make. But I just love when it’s done — whenever I cut everything and we get it back, I love seeing it finished.”
The feedback loop keeps him going. Photos of Forewind head covers on greens or in golf carts, tags on Instagram from strangers who cherish his work — those moments are priceless. “If someone’s taking the time out of their round to literally snap a picture of our golf bag or our head covers and send that — they love it,” Norcia says.
From a Kittery, Maine garage, Mike Norcia has built something rare: a brand that blends creativity, sustainability, craftsmanship, and community. His work honors Maine’s maritime heritage while carving a place in the golf world. Every sail he salvages, every stitch he cuts, and every head cover that finds its way onto a global stage tells a story — not just of golf, but of resilience, artistry, and the quiet power of making waves from humble beginnings.
BRICK+TIDES Note: We’re grateful to Mike Norcia for his time, his candor, and for giving us a glimpse into the creativity happening right here in Southern Maine.
Visit Mike at Forewind Golf.
Visit Sternlines.com
Visit Sternlines on Instagram.
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BRICK+TIDES is a weekly digital magazine based in York County, Maine. We share stories about local businesses, people, and places that make Southern Maine special. Explore more and subscribe,