Monday, July 27, 2009

Woody Wear That?

(Photo is the property of the Associated Press/Tim Hales)

Here's an interesting piece from Woody Hochswender, over at CNN/SI/Golf.com, about Polo's domination of the Open Championship. A snippet:

The design team at Polo Golf planned way in advance for the tournament, developing a special "Royal & Ancient" apparel line with Scottish themes as the basis for their entire fall collection. Watson was very tailored-looking and classic throughout, most notably in his gray argyle sweater (Thursday), a pair of dove-gray flannel chalkstripe trousers (Friday), and a black-and-blue crewneck with windowpane overplaid (Saturday). These are not the sort of clothes you typically see on the golf course anymore, unfortunately.

The thing we think you should pay most attention to in the ongoing discussion of "scripted" PGA Tour looks is that Polo does NOT script their players, even for majors. They send the top players - Luke, Davis, Tom - their new stuff and let them pair the looks as they see fit. That's why you see Watson wearing something that doesn't look overly done and appears classic and fairly spontaneous, because it is. Given Polo being the iconic brand that it is and one known for a deep appreciation and celebration of personal style, this should come as no surprise...

Also, Woody touches on something quite thought-provoking in the last paragraph: the idea that while professional golfers used to model their dress after the country club elite, today's recereational players, regardless of socioeconomic status, model their dress after the pros they admire. Woody's points aside, the dramatically more athletic look that has come into vogue is as much about the evolution of golf as a sport, the fitness levels of today's stars and the climate in which much of the pro game is played as anything else.

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