Best Dressed: Practice Day 2

Korea's Sang Moon Bae: He was hitting to the far left side of the range and immediately caught my eye. (Hope that doesn't rhyme)

The red, white and blue motif can go so horribly wrong, yet here he has done it with sophistication and a modern edge. Corey Pavin should be framing this for team uniform inspiration. (Photo by yours truly.) 

Practice on Day 2 - Through the KC's lens

Some of my favorites from today. (Click on each photo for full-size)

-KC

gold jacket, green jacket, who gives a s@%^?

(All 2009 winners images property of Getty/Cannon Images)

Well, we certainly do at the KC... We happen to think the Brooks Brothers number that Brian Gay received on Sunday is the best looking winner's jacket out there. I mean of course we'd take Augusta's offering over all else, but when it comes to sheer wearability the blue and white seersucker is a southern/prep classic. That's Brian's second jacket-worthy Sunday performance this year. (See above photo from Hilton Head) 

The combined collection of jackets given to PGA Tour winners is not all that extensive and looks strangely like the closets of several of our fraternity brothers. You have the wild tartans of Hilton Head and the Colonial. The classic blue and gold at both Bay Hill and Quail Hollow...Of course the "Green Jacket." 

But the seersucker stands tall, not only because of the relevance of it being given in Memphis - seersucker is always part of any tradition-minded Southern gents wardrobe - but also for its unique simplicity. When I watched Justin Leonard put it on in 2008, it was easy to picture him at a backyard party somewhere, surrounded by sunshine and the careless clinking of cocktail glasses. The jacket would never be considered gaudy, always appropriate, but with a little kick. 

Yes, traditional navy blazers like those given at Bay Hill or Quail Hollow may seem sensible, but there's nothing special, nothing historically or geographically relevant about a year-round piece. When men reach for the seersucker (a safe guide is Memorial Day to Labor Day) it means warm temps, short work days and long evenings. What could be a better gift to a champion who has just displayed an enviable amount of 'cool' down the stretch than a jacket associated with comfort, ease and enjoyment. Cheers Brian. 

-KC

 

Hot Color in Memphis: Road-Cone Orange

(Photos property of the Associated Press)

"The duds are so bright you gotta wear shades..." was the theme at the St. Jude. 

Back next week...

(Property of Cannon/Getty Images)

We'll be back next week, all week, for coverage of the United States Open at Bethpage Black...

-The KC Team

Friday Throwback

(Photo borrowed from The Ron Watts Private Collection)

Obviously we're doing the Bear this week. Kind of a cool juxtaposition with the Jesper photo. Jack had some big forearms. Reminds me of Paul Casey at address here. This is from a swing sequence in 1964. Jack was 24 and already owned 3 legs of the career Grand Slam. 

Jesper's effortlessness is old hat at this point...

(AP Photo by Jay LaPrete)

Proportion

(Images borrowed from the Associated Press)

I was watching a video segment recently where Marty Hackel from GD and David Chu (founder of Nautica/Lincs by David Chu etc.) were going through the better dressed players on Tour for 2008 and explaining why they were so effective. Marty didn't have Camilo in there, which is kind of ridiculous; although he did sub in Justin Timberlake. 

When it comes to Luke Donald, David Chu speaks of proportion. Because Luke is a shorter guy - and this is a good lesson - he compensates by wearing a more fitted shirt, shorter sleeves, a slimmer trouser. (Look at the narrow cut of the sleeves on his sweater.) A lot of shorter guys don't believe that this will make them appear taller, but it will. It will also avoid the dreaded "stumpy" appearance that I see many height-challenged guys in New York struggle with while wearing fuller cut suits. 

Luke was looking great as usual in the first round of the Memorial in RLX stripes, a bold blue pant and white FootJoys. Simple. Proportionate. Effective. It's an easy style to emulate, anyone can pull it off. (Luke's round of 64 may be a bit tougher to recreate...)  

As David Chu explains and the KC preaches, simple looks are often the best. 

A Break from the Norm...

(Photo shamelessly stolen from the New York Times article)

This article - from today's NY Times Style Section - on designer Michael Bastian has nothing to do with golf, but everything to do with loving your clothing. After all, that's really what this site is about. 

-KC

"Just Good Enough" - By Sean Hotchkiss

(Photo borrowed from the Associated Press)

"I don't play as much as I'd like to. I haven't played as much as I'd like to since I was 13 years old and played 36 a day, trying like heck to break 80 on my home course, the Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine. One summer morning I shot a 1-under 35, playing the back nine first. I went stiff as a two-by-four on the front. A 45 led to a broken 3-iron, tossed in the lake. 

I never took too many lessons growing up. I hated getting worse before you got better. Couldn't handle it. If I was Tiger, I wouldn't have re-tooled my swing in 1998. I wouldn't have won 4 consecutive majors. The problem is, I like knowing I am capable of hitting a good shot at any time. I am and always have been a feel player. Hell, I'm a feel person. I've never responded well to technical teachers and technical terms. I suck at math...And science. My path through golf was carved playing, enjoying...not at the range beating balls. The secret is in the dirt, they say. Not for me. 

I've seen many players turn into range zombies. Ranger Ricks. They never finished a round. "I'm going to the range to work on something." I took money from those kids. Beat them in tournaments. I rarely won the tournaments, but I usually competed. My game was just good enough to keep playing and hoping some day everything would fall into place - that perfect round. I was king of 4th place. I assumed too much and worked too little. I excelled at match-play where you could make snowmen and still win. I'd be hot and cold for 6 hole stretches, inconsistently consistent. 

In Hilton Head at the International Junior Golf Academy, I shot 100 my first day there. Everyone thought I was a 30 handicapper and a chop. Two weeks later I beat everyone in the Academy and finished 2nd in a local tournament. I told myself this was my year. I'd shoot under par in practice and 80's in the tournaments. Tournament golf is not a feel game. Tournament golf is a precision game on several levels - mental, physical and spiritual. Guys who avoid instruction rarely win tournaments. But I was just good enough. Just good enough to toss a 72 in there when all hope seemed lost. I was back. I was going to win. I shot 90. 

Fear. That's what kept me away from lessons. Fear is not in the best golfers vocabulary. Golf is a game of evolution, constant patience, a ping-pong match of frustration, optimism, outright anguish. I experienced all those emotions with my ever-ready game, my ever-ready take it back inside, drop it in, slightly over the top swing. I hit it straight. Most of the time. I was just good enough. If I didn't play every day I suffered. I sucked in college. Sucked doesn't cover it. I'm a feel player. I'm a feel person. I feel like I'll never change. The kids who practiced caught up. They made changes, got comfortable, caught up. They passed me. I played and I played and I had fun and I hated it. 

I played last weekend. First round of the year. I made 12 pars in a row to start. What followed wasn't worthy of the scorecard it was written on. But I started so well...I was just good enough. I am just good enough to keep going. To have hope. To wonder. I'll never be a champion. But I'll never be last. I am just good enough and I am happy...maybe..."

First Look: Abacus Golf

(Photos borrowed from Abacus Golf)

Rainwear has gotten so much better over the past few years, but save for RLX, Lindeberg, Adidas, Puma and maybe a few others - most rain suits are still pretty ugly. Even with some of the aforementioned brands, you only get a few color choices - black and navy come to mind. 

Abacus is a Swedish clothing company with golf at the core of its inspiration. When you punch in their website you may be thrown as a giant landscape of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan appears; however you'll soon be greeted with a 2009 Solheim Cup logo and start to put the pieces together: Chicago is host city for the Solheim this year where Abacus will be the official provider for Europe's team. Got it. 

But I ramble...to the rainwear! My first impression is almost of a Patagonia or a Cloudveil. This is a good impression, in fact for many years I wore a Cloudveil rain jacket on the course because the fit was more suited to my tastes. The Abacus Pitch jacket and pant come in several colors and are really nice looking pieces. I love the light green men's jacket pictured above. Fits are trim, "Euro" if you will, practically synonymous with better these days, and the features: plenty of pockets, sealed seams, extra long zippers on pants etc. are exactly what a golfer needs in trusty rainwear. 

I think consumers, especially my demographic, will appreciate not only the product, but the way Abacus presents itself as a brand: sophisticated without being stuffy, contemporary with a firm nod to tradition. The trailer romanticizes the allure of the urban landscape as well as the country golf club, making both look young, vibrant and exciting; not always an easy task for the latter. The soundtrack is very 'I'm shopping at Polo and I never want to leave...'

How to get your hands on Abacus rainwear and apparel in the States? Could be tough before the start of the Solheim Cup, but here's their listed rep: 

Jay Hubbard or Kelly Hubbard, Impact 1 Marketing 
Chicago, IL - 630.730.2955 

jhubbard@impact1marketing.com 

Live Blog: Memorial Skins Game

(Borrowed from AP Photo/Tom Vernon)

Villegas with another good second shot on 18. He'll have about 15 feet for birdie. Jimmy Furyk to about 17 feet. See I'm pet-naming everyone after listening to Tiger. 

Fantastic effort from the bunker on 17 for Kenny Perry. He's in for par. Jack follows it up by almost holing one for his 5. Tiger chips up close for his par. Cink misses his long birdie attempt. Hole halved. 

Up on 18 green, Furyk misses. Camilo for the win...cue the oohs and ahhs. Just missed. A "Chip Off" will be contested for the remaining skins...I love this. Tape measure is out and Paddy wins 3 skins and $23,000! All going to the First Tee. 

Last group in the fairway on 18. Nicklaus pulls his fairway wood slightly into the left bunker. Cink is in jail left off the tee and plays out to the right of the green. K.P. also misses the green. If Tiger hits the green, he may have this hole with a par. Way short out of the fairway bunker, by Tiger's assessment "...it sucks"

Perry is in gimme range from the bunker. 4 is looking like it might win here. Jack is firm on his attempt for his par. Cink misses right. Perry is giving it to Tiger over his par putt. Tiger makes it anyway! Never a doubt. This group will head to a chip-off as well...

Tiger! Right in the heart! Great smirk. As Nicklaus says, "Vintage Tiger."

Jack to tie..solid effort...

K.P. almost puts one in on top of Woods! (With a running fist pump no less.) Not good enough though. Tiger wins 6 skins and the First Tee bags another 37k. What a great event. Probably one of the last times we'll see Tiger and Jack tee it up together, but who knows...

Well that does it here at the KC for our first attempt at Live Blogging. How'd we do??

More live blogging...

(Image borrowed from the AP/Jay LaPrete)

Tiger picks up on 15. It's a small deluge out there now. Perry misses a short one on the same hole and skin carries over. Everyone has a skin in this group except K.P.

"You get to a certain age and everything is into the wind..." - Jack 

Tiger great shot at the par-3 16th. About 10-12 feet left for the bird. "Just like my 3 wood on the last..." he quips. Perry also hits the green, but has a ways to go for the 2. 

Great clip of Camilo struggling to get his Gator headcover off the driver. Furyk: "I'm sure you could find a few Ohio State fans who could help you with that..." Attention Buddy Alexander: Send more headcovers. 

Tiger for the skin...too low. Cink won't give him the putt for 4. "Something's wrong with my throat..." Tiger's response: "Priceless Stewie." I love Exhibition Tiger. 

Vijay is fighting for Kenny's title of Mr. Giggles. The big guy can't control himself on 17. 

Camilo misses his par putt at 17. Harrington needs to make his par to halve the hole with Furyk.  Paddy drills it. Hole halved. 

Best line of the day so far - Fan to Tiger on 17th tee: "I love your video game." Beats 'Get in the hole!' running away...

Great glimpse of Tiger and Jack talking fatherhood walking up 17. Jack asks Tiger if he's seen "Baby Mama..." (Didn't actually happen)

All players are hitting woods on the par-4 17th for their second shots, shows you just how wet it is. 

Live Blogging

(Image borrowed from the AP/Jay LaPrete)

Gorgeous 6 iron to 10 feet by Camilo at the par-3 16th. 

Kenny Perry's drawl is killing me. He is by far the most entertaining guy on the course today, no way we're buying any foul play at the FBR....Guy is a teddy bear. 

Watch Golf Central tonight to get Jack and Tiger's input on the NBA Finals and Lebron's exit...

I've caught up to live on my DVR and can no longer skip commercials. Not happy...While the Golf Channel is paying their bills, I will offer up an observation: Camilo's black JL pants today fit like a glove - I've tried on a lot of JL pants and none fit this well. In the words of the departed Warren Zevon, "Ha, I'd like to meet his tailor..." - Ok we're back.

Tiger calls Perry K.P. --- cute.

Villegas lips out the birdie at 16. Skin carries over. 

 

Live Blogging

(Image borrowed from the AP/Jay LaPrete)

Tiger drops one from 25 feet at 13. Kenny Perry aka Mr. Giggles tosses Tiger's ball into the crowd. This is great. Tiger 2 skins to tie Jack. 

I notice PGA TOUR is live blogging as well - stiff competition. 

Very cool replays of Tiger's 2 unbelievable par saves at the 14th hole. 

Steve Flesch doing on-course interviews? I like the concept. Let's see how he does.  

Golf Channel, predictably, is giving a lot more air time to Tiger and Jack's group. 

Cink makes bird at 14. Tiger has a putt to halve...pulled it. Cink wins a skin. 

Spiderman makes a nice 15 footer for birdie at 15. Furyk pulls his 7 footer and Camilo wins another skin. "Takin' it to the vets..." says Flesch. 

Gimme some skin!

(Image borrowed from the AP/Jay LaPrete)

I'm going to do some live-blogging from a slightly damp Memorial Skins Game, because it happens to be one of the cooler things I've seen in a while. Everyone is mic'd up so we get total access. 

-How about the Golden Bear drawing first blood at the 11th with 2 skins against Tiger, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink? In Jack's words, he "killed an 8-iron in there..." 128 yards to 3 feet. 

-Camilo just canned one of the tougher bunker shots you can have on 12 - downhill, sidehill lie and the green sliding away towards the water - for 3 skins and 12k. 

-This is why the Skins games and other similar exhibitions are so fantastic - you get to hear Tiger be a wise-ass ("Those aren't good now boys...") Nicklaus take a few deep breaths before stroking a putt and Camilo laugh heartily at a shot he shouldn't have made. 

Change of Plans...

(Photo courtesy of New Mexico Tech)

The Russian Open will be held this year, but the format will change slightly. Instead of a four-round medal play tournament with several million dollars in prize money played at Moscow's Le Meridien G+CC on Aug. 6-9, the event will now be held in Socorro, New Mexico and renamed the Elfego Baca Shootout. The lone "tee box" at the Elfego Baca Shootout is perched 2,550 feet above the hole and nearly three miles away. No news on which European Tour players will appear, but John Daly has already signed on. The winner will receive one "Race to Dubai" point, a $5 dollar Taco Bell card and endless bragging rights. At least the views are better...

In all seriousness, someone recently asked me: "What's with all these blurbs popping up about holes with dramatic elevation changes and guys hitting shots from mountains and stuff? Is it really that fun to hit a golf ball from way up above the target?" Answer: Yes. It's really f%^king fun. It's a lot like dropping a few in the middle of Fifth Ave and playing 'what can I break?' Although, that might get you in more trouble. Stick to safer pellets when playing in major urban areas. 

Okay, see ya. 

-KC

Travis Mathew Revisited

(Images borrowed from TravisMathew.com, Associated Press, Getty Images)

I can be really hard on apparel brands. I guess I just expect a whole lot from anyone willing to come out and say 'This is it. This is our stuff. We're progressive, we're different, come get it.' I was hard on Travis Mathew as a brand, I think, because at the PGA Show everyone was raving about how great it was, how it was some of the best stuff out there etc. etc. and all I saw was racks of gray and black and the stuff that did have color was retro surf-inspired shirting that made me think of Quiksilver or Billabong, circa 1998. (I would know, I wore it.)

That being said, I love clothing so much that I always revisit brands - it's impossible for me to write things off entirely. I recently revisited Travis Mathew and I saw things in a much different light. Part of the reason I decided to come back was the exposure they've been getting through the recent great play (3rd at the Players) of John Mallinger, their #1 man on Tour and also because I was blown away that Tommy Armour III was on the squad. My old golf coach (a former Tour player) said Tommy had a penchant for fantastic trousers. Regardless of whether or not I agreed, if an old war horse like Tommy was wearing T.M, I had to check it out. 

As I assessed the clothing, I immediately felt guilty for the hasty judgement. The shirts are trim, crisp and excel at the details. The lighter colored stiching on the top buttonhole caught my eye on several shirts, the shorts feature an iPod pocket, hidden discreetly in the back so as not to interfere with your swing. I feel like everyone promises fashion and function, but they really make an effort to deliver on it. And who doesn't love great basics? Their white, black and gray basic polos offer distinctly Lindeberg-type appeal and fit, but with a slightly longer sleeve and chest pocket. Plus, like JL, they have a symmetric and appealing logo. 

So much of fashion is modifying the classics in a new way. And classic styling means true all-ages appeal. As T.M. states, "There is no age to our demographic, nor are we about a specific target..." Sometimes you have to throw grandiose notions aside (slap on the wrist, KC) and be content with the idea that someone has achieved just what they set out to do.  True, there are brands out there similar to Travis Mathew, but I admire their persistence and their vision to remain original. You may not see a pastel-striped Travis Mathew polo anytime soon; But why, with the flood of loud colors on Tour, should we even care?

-KC

Best of the Best: Colonial "Pink Out"

(All images borrowed from Getty Images and the Associated Press)

When there's a great cause, like Saturday's "Pink Out" for Amy, go the distance. Luke, Brian and Ian - among others - should be commended for their dedication not only to the support of breast cancer research and Phil and Amy, but also to the fans. No one wants to see you with a sole pink ribbon pin on your hat like you could care less. It's like hosting a Halloween party and going as yourself. 

-KC

Camilo Villegas: A Vampire?

(Images borrowed from the Associated Press, Getty Images and Yahoo)

(DISCLAIMER: The below facts are speculative. To all you ladies out there, Robert Pattinson makes no appearance in this story, whatsoever....Deeply sorry) 

All the success of "Twilight" has gotten me thinking about the undead and methinks Camilo Villegas is a vampire. Yes, that's right. Camilo Villegas, Colombian heartthrob, human clothes hanger and one of the KC's favorite sons.  Let's add up the factors, shall we? Painfully handsome? Check. Charming? Check. Superhuman strength? Check. Ability to effortlessly contort himself into pretzel-like shapes? Check.  

Now Camilo may not be finding any success in 2009, but does he seem particularly troubled? Heck no, and why would you if you were 111 years old and kept on truckin? Records discovered in his Gainesville home show that Camilo Villegas Restrepo was actually born in 1898 in Peru. Apparently an accident in his youth led to his being "bitten" by a Colombian vampire in order to save his life. Camilo then went on to live in Medellin, where he learned the game of golf. 

Now I'm willing to pass the whole 'being out in sunlight' thing off as a formality - vampires, like humans, have evolved through the years and it's thoroughly believable that given the right amount of SPF and polyester, a vampire could compete on the PGA Tour. Why do you think J. Lindeberg is making those 70+ SPF fieldsensor shirts? Other weaknesses? Word in the locker room is Nick Watney ate garlic bread every night during the Buick Invitational... 

Our guess is Camilo hasn't "dined" recently, which is why he's playing like garbage in '09. So if any ladies (or dudes) out there are interested in seeing Camilo perhaps contend in the U.S. Open, I happen to have a line on where Mr. Villegas (if that is his real name) is staying in the New York metro area in 2 weeks time. Could give new meaning to the oft-used match play term of "drawing first blood..." 

Stay tuned to the KC, your source for vampire-watching on Tour. (Big toothy grin)