Golflinks
“Golfing equipment, clothing, waterproofs, shoes and gloves have changed and improved out of all recognition since I started out as a Pro-fessional. Here I am pleased to offer my honest and qualified opinion of suppliers that have both served and impressed me over the years.”
Golf Apparel
Some things do not change, however, for example the superb quality that has always been a consistent feature of the Scottish knitwear com-pany Lyle and Scott. Founded in 1874 by William Lyle and Walter Scott, and based in the border town of Hawick, the brand with the fa-mous golden eagle logo supplied shirts and sweaters to me for over 30 years. I always found them to be professional in their service, innova-tive in their design, and generous in their support.They were my pre-ferred supplier of plain coloured lambswool sweaters, embroidered with the logo of the golf club wherever I worked as Head Pro. I purchased thousands of items from them, and their quality standards never fluctu-ated. Fashion in golf often crosses over to the high street, particularly with younger customers, and Lyle and Scott always seem to stay prominent amongst the traditional knitwear brands in the higher quality stores around the world.
The other clothing brand that I really enjoyed both wearing and selling was Ashworth. Started by John Ashworth in 1987, this upmarket US company produced some fabulous pima cotton shirts which had a su-persoft, high thread-content feel. They stood up to hard wear, and ma-chine washed really well. The marketing of their clothing range featured some great sepia and monochrome images of major winner Freddie Couples, whose relaxed , high quality persona matched the look of the clothes perfectly. I met up with Freddie one time when he was compet-ing in Germany, and thanked him personally for helping me to sell so many of the iconic Ashworth shirts…..his reply was typically smooth….” No problem, man. Glad to help”. Now part of the Adidas/Taylormade group, it continues to produce casual, stylish clothes for golfers.
Golf Footwear
Properly fitted shoes are absolutely vital to help not only foot comfort, but also stability and energy storage so that we maintain control and power in the golf swing. After decades of wearing (and selling) many dif-ferent styles of golf shoes, I am confident that Footjoy cover all the footwear bases that golfers need. Well constructed, waterproof leather shoes used to be a pipe dream, these days they are the norm. Footjoy have always kept up with technology, and kept aware of changing trends in fashions and colours. The early sturdy Footjoy Tour spiked shoes are a world away from today’s lightweight hi-tech material won-ders. The competition is intense these days, but Footjoy remain my number one for golfing footwear.
Golf Gloves
Non-golfers find it difficult to understand why we wear one glove to play the game instead of either a pair, or none at all. For me the answer is that, for a right handed player, the left hand is completely in contact with the grip and that means a properly fitted glove helps maintain a non-slip contact during the swing. The right hand is wrapped around part of the left hand and the grip (with the ends of the fingers and thumb) and as such does not need the help of a glove. Fine leather cabretta gloves, made from goatskin, have always provided a second skin feel, good adhesion and the flexibility needed to maintain control of the club. During my years as head pro at Stoke Poges and Forest of Arden Golf Clubs, I stocked gloves by both Footjoy and the Japanese company Kasco. Footjoy were the mar-ket leaders ( and still are), producing a wide range of leather, all-weather and winter gloves. Kasco, founded by their president, Mr. Kamada in the 1960s were specialists in the glovemaking business, and I was impressed by the quality of their kid leather, and also the cut of the tapered fingers, which fitted superbly from the first try on. I was fortunate to meet and play golf with Mr. Kamada at Stoke Poges…..an absolute gentleman, wise and kind. He shared this piece of advice with me….when you first buy a leather glove, use it when driving your car, because the hand inside the glove is in the same shape as when you grip a golf club. You are therefore moulding the glove perfectly for play…..simple, effective advice from the master glove maker.
Waterproofs
This is such an important part of a golfer’s wardrobe, particularly in the northern hemisphere. To be able to play in the rain and cold, knowing that you are dry and warm enough is very comforting. Comfort in the fit of waterproof jackets and over-trousers is vital to the freedom and flexi-bility needed to swing the club effectively. I always sought to source wa-terproofs for my shops from a recognised specialist waterproof manu-facturer. Sunderland of Scotland and Proquip were therefore my suppliers of choice. These days, with companies like Galvin Green, Under Armour, Ping, Adidas, Footjoy and others are major players in waterproof clothing, the market offering is varied and wide.
Golf Equipment
Throughout my teaching career, I have always adopted the philosophy passed on to me by the legendary John Jacobs, who told me “ Teach the person, not the method”. We golfers are all individuals, with very dif-ferent body shapes, strengths and mental approaches to the game. That is why matching golf clubs to the INDIVIDUAL person is vital, par-ticularly so as a golfer improves in ability. Golf equipment manufacturers took a long time to realise this fundamental principle, but the man who led the change in thinking about personalising clubs for people was Karsten Solheim, the founder of Ping. This innovative Norwegian-born American revolutionised they way clubs were designed. From his early putter designs (the original Ping Karsten heel/toe weighted Anser putter is the most famous, and copied, in history), through to the ranges of distinctively shaped irons and metalwoods, the Karsten Manufacturing Company has always stuck to it’s founder’s ethos of proper CUSTOM FITTING. We are sometimes understandably concerned by that expres-sion, assuming it means it’s going to be an expensive “luxury” to have clubs fitted to us, whereas in reality it’s an advisory essential if we want to get the best out of our game. I remember the first time I tried to or-der 3 sets of Ping “standard” irons to stock my shop at Stoke Poges Golf Club…..a reply came from the Gainsborough HQ requiring the fit-ting specs for the order. That taught me a valuable lesson, clubs have to be fitted to people, not just sold to them, whatever their height, strength or hand size. I have remained a big fan of Ping ever since.