HANDS ON - Shoes, Gloves & Apparel
Originally Posted January 2010 at Golfing Magazine - Publinkgolfer.net
When it comes to golf shoes, gloves and apparel it’s all about combining form with function.
It’s wonderful to have the most ergonomically advanced designs and softest leather that allow you to look and feel great on the course and in the clubhouse. But it’s also vitally important that your golf shoes, gloves and apparel perform optimally to help you maximize your performance.
Today’s golf shoes are classic examples of combining state-of-the-art ergonomics with great looks. Shoes are designed with insoles and outsoles to provide superior traction in all types of weather conditions and to create a stable platform for the swing. After all, if you’re slipping and sliding during the backswing and follow through because of poorly made or golf inappropriate shoes, you can take all the lessons you want and hit 300 balls a day and your results will still be poor. Golf shoes must create solid contact with the ground and maintain that contact to allow your swing to be true and repeatable.
Today’s golf shoes come in a variety of colors and patterns, from traditional black, white and gray to sporty multi-toned and striped. Most are equipped with the latest weather resistant materials to provide creature comfort in even the worst conditions.
Golf gloves have also become ultra high-tech, incorporating features such as materials that wick moisture away from the skin and create airflow around the fingers area for a superior grip, even in rainy conditions. Soft cabretta leather never goes out of style and feels great on your hands. But modern gloves also take advantage of synthetics (sometimes in tandem with leather) to enhance the overall feel and gripping benefits of the glove.
Perhaps more so than any other item you employ during a round, apparel makes a statement about who you are. There is a rainbow of colors and a multitude of patterns to choose from when it comes to selecting shirts, slacks and outerwear. But don’t get fooled by today’s visually stunning apparel. It also is designed to help you perform the best in all conditions, keeping you comfortable, warm and dry, allowing you to swing free and enjoy your round no what type of day it is.
So, as you will see in the following pages, it really is all about form and function.
Antigua Golf Desert Dry™ Xtra-Lite
Unique Features: Antigua’s new DESERT DRY™ XTRA-LITE is an extremely light fabric without being sheer. The three-dimensional construction is what makes the fabric extremely light without being sheer or see-through. Because the fabric has a lighter weight construction, DESERT DRY™ XTRA-LITE wicks away moisture even quicker than Antigua’s proprietary DESERT DRY™, a performance fabric the company created when it introduced its performance category for golf several years ago.
Antigua’s apparel is engineered with a constructional wicking process done at the knitting stage. An additional treatment in the finishing process maximizes the wicking to keep golfers dry and comfortable.