NEWS
FootJoy announces color enhancements to its StaSof, WeatherSof and StaCooler lines.
Glenbrae Golf enhances its mens lambswool cashmere range by introducing seamless technology.
As part of 18-year-old Australian Jason Day's endorsement deal with SFX, Day will wear Adidas Golf apparel and footwear.
Amy Grieder will lead Bette & Court and SWING's future design efforts as the company's new head designer.
Bite Footwear launches the first of two shoes designed for disc golfers -- the hybrid Distance Low and Distance High.
FASHION
Outfitting the Pros
By Janice Ferguson
GPA Fashion Correspondent
The pre-July 4 holiday weekend bubbled over with major sporting events - the World Cup, Wimbledon, Tour de France, the U.S. Women's Open and action-packed poker tournaments on cable if that's your gig.
Being golfers, though, you had to love watching the 36-hole coverage of the Women's Open on Sunday -- prime time, major network, throngs of spectators and Michelle Wie wearing a very short, snug-fitting Nike skort.
Hey, it works for tennis.
There's been a bit more buzz lately about women golfers finally having a good selection of cute golf clothes in the marketplace. We've watched the opportunities build over the past few years. Several new companies are making their entrance, and established ones are updating lines with slimmer silhouettes and more feminine cuts.
So, is the popularity of women's golf increasing because now we can look cuter on the course? The LPGA players certainly appear more stylish, and not just the teenagers. Seriously, what a noticeable improvement from a mere five years ago when we wouldn't have dreamed of wearing chandelier earrings with a golf outfit.
Certainly the expanded media coverage of women's golf has helped attract new participants to the sport -- females appearing on commercials and magazine covers typically dominated by male figures in the past.
This paradigm shift in golf apparel, for women and men, also creates attractive business opportunities for the clothing manufacturers. The more people who watch the pros either at a tournament, on television or in magazines, the more brand recognition their product generates.
Big money deals are being made with players to wear Adidas, Cutter and Buck, Puma and other familiar brands, but they're usually offered to the standouts, established winners or those considered to be an up-and-coming phenom.
How do the newer, smaller apparel companies who cannot afford to pay $100,000 a year to a player in addition to furnishing them with clothing, get their name in the mainstream? And, how do the second- and third-tier professionals get free clothes to wear?
If a pro has not won on tour or have a hot-shot agent generating press even if they're last on the money list, then a little self-promotion is necessary. Players will get noticed more wearing fashion forward attire. It's Marketing 101 -- product, price, promotion, place -- and becoming a more popular tactic now that golf apparel appears to have caught up with street fashion.
Stacy Prommanasudh is a good example.
Late on Sunday at the U.S. Women's Open, she headed into the Newport Country Club clubhouse at 2-over-par, in contention with a share of third place. She wears Trigelle, a southern California-based women's golf apparel company in its third year of business.
Word of mouth brought Prommanasudh and Trigelle together. She and three other LPGA professionals receive their entire collection from the company. Every style in every color, which includes a variety of sleeveless, short sleeve and three-quarter length sleeve tops; bermudas, shorts, skorts, capris, trousers, sweaters, rain suits and loungewear suitable for travel. There are two shipments in the spring and two in fall, totaling approximately 150 pieces of clothing.
Jealous? Yes.
A portfolio book is included to show the players how to mix and match outfits based on colors and style. The chances of two players wearing the same outfit are slim with that many combinations.
The pros are shipped the same collections that their apparel sponsor's send to retailers, so if a consumer sees an item a pro is wearing, likes the item and then wants to make a purchase, they know it's current for the season and can easily find it.
Not all of the newer brand names may be familiar to you yet, but they are around. Count on them breaking ground and satisfying our desire for fashion on the course. So keep an eye on the buying guide section of golf magazines, talk to your pro shop buyer, log onto pgamagazine.com, golfsmith.com or even pgaexpo.com and peruse the list of apparel exhibitors.
Send comments or questions to info@apparelwire.com.
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