Apparel Reviews

Review: Vesti Ascendi Apparel

Published

10 years ago

May 21, 2014

Pros: One of the most comfortable and wearable garments in its category. The Vesti Ascendi shirt and tie will help you to make a statement, both on and off the course.

Cons: While Vesti Ascendi is surprisingly comfortable, the dress shirt is not designed to accommodate a golfer on a hot summer day. Some golfers aren’t prepared to ditch their casual golfing attire in favor of a more sophisticated look, or pay the price tag associated with that style.

Bottom Line: If you possess an adventurous spirit, the Vesti Ascendi brand of shirts and ties will not disappoint you with it’s great fit and bold style. Give your favorite short-sleeve polo shirt a day off and golf like a gentleman.

Overview

A shirt and tie, as much at home in a boardroom on Madison Avenue as on a golf course in Madison, Wisconsin; that’s the premise behind Vesti Ascendi, an up-and-coming apparel label founded by Ryan Heiman a little over a year ago.

Heiman is not a fashion designer by trade. He isn’t skilled with a needle and thread. He makes a living as a Lutheran Pastor, and his love of golf (and its traditions) derive from his childhood days picking up the game from his father. The idea of Vesti Ascendi — latin for “dress up” — was a solution to a problem: how to seamlessly transition from the office to the course for a quick nine without having to carry around an extra set of clothes.

“I started really sketching and going after it January of 2013, after visiting the PGA Show,” Heiman said. “I walked and looked at every apparel booth that was there and realized that my idea wasn’t represented.”

To come up with the concept, Heiman critiqued his own wardrobe, studying both dress shirts and polos. He systematically picked apart both things he liked and didn’t like until he had a list of features he felt would enable his shirt to function for the golf swing while maintaining the sophistication and formality of his everyday workwear.

Working with a manufacturer in Peru, Heiman went through six prototypes before signing off on a finished product.

“Since I don’t sew myself, I had to work closely with an apparel designer and the factory to get the specs to where I wanted,” Heiman said. “The retention straps on my sleeves, for instance, they did those wrong on the first four shirts.”

The retention straps, as mentioned by Heiman, allow you to roll up the sleeves and hold them in place for a more casual look. It also allows the shirt to be worn on warmer days.

A Vesti Ascendi shirt is made from 95 percent Peruvian cotton and 5 percent spandex, allowing for plenty of stretch. The shirt’s forgiveness is further accentuated by a seamless extension pleat that replaces the traditional yoke between the shoulder blades.

As for the tie itself, no, it doesn’t flap in the breeze. A clever, patent-pending “tie rail” uses an elastic strap and button system to secure it in place. To the uninitiated, the Vesti Ascendi look must seem like an overly-complicated garment to slip into for a round of golf. Trust me, I felt the same way at first. But once you have it on and start waggling the club, you’ll quickly forget why you believed it was a contrivance in the first place.

Performance

The Vesti Ascendi dress shirt is as comfortable as any polo I have ever worn. At no time did I feel it was impeding on my ability to swing a club or distracting me on the putting green. The length of the sleeves felt just right and there’s extra room in the chest, perhaps just a touch more than I would like. The contrasting pima-cotton collar is extra soft and is devoid of any tags might rub up against the skin.

The Peruvian cotton yarn used in the shirts is rugged enough to withstand being washed the hundreds of times golfers will expect, and is highly resistant to fading or shrinking. The shirt does wrinkle easily; it’s not a grab off the hanger and dash-to-the-course, polyester-blend polo you might be accustomed to wearing.

You may be thinking to yourself that Vesti Ascendi is a gimmick, that it’s designed to amuse golfers who like to throw on a pair of knickers and play a round or two with hickory-shafted clubs in an exhibition for the thrill of it. Rest assured, it’s not.

Two separate high schools, one in California and the other in Minnesota, have partnered with Heiman to outfit their varsity golf teams. If Vesti Ascendi is good enough for structured competition, surely it’s good enough for your five-dollar nassau games on Sunday with the boys.

Looks and Feel

The Vesti Ascendi line offers three different shirt styles: white, grey and light blue with coordinating ties. The shirts are currently on sale for $100 (normally $150) and are available in limited quantities. Each shirt and tie that is purchased arrives with a custom-made Vesti Ascendi-branded wooden hanger and a handwritten note by Heiman; an unexpected and welcome nicety.

The shirts can be worn tucked, or untucked, and with or without the tie. I personally prefer the more the refined look and I recommend coordinating your Vesti Ascendi shirt with a pair of dark trousers from Dunning or Matte Grey. For a little more pop, go ahead and treat yourself to one of the unique Jacob Hill leather belts designed exclusively for Vesti Ascendi and sold directly through Heiman’s website.

On cooler days I pair my dress shirt with either a contrasting merino wool vest or cardigan. It’s a look that The Hawk would definitely approve, and is on a short list of inspiring styles that Heiman channeled into the Vesti Ascendi brand.

The Takeaway

Heiman is a savvy guy. He didn’t launch Vesti Ascendi with the absurd hope of connecting with and swaying the flat-bill crowd to embrace a more sophisticated look.

“My success model is probably different than a lot of companies,” Heiman said. “I don’t mind being small and doing something unique.

“I see it as a niche brand, not something mainstream that will be available at every pro shop. I’d like to see it be available at some of the private clubs or resort destinations where customers are looking to take something home that isn’t necessarily another polo with a Nike logo sewn on it.”

Realistically, is Vesti Ascendi appropriate for a casual round at your local muni, or to be worn on a sweltering day in the middle of July? Perhaps not. But it’s a great way to differentiate yourself from the pack if you’re competing in your club championship or celebrating an outing on Father’s Day, or making a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Scotland. If you find yourself in any of those situations consider ditching the big logos, the engineered stripes and the bright colorways.

The phrase, “golf like a gentleman,” isn’t just a motto Heiman plumbed from the annals of golf history to sell shirts; it’s also a good piece of advice.

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Accessory Reviews

Insider photos from Tiger Woods’ launch event for his new “Sun Day Red” apparel line

Published

2 months ago

Feb 13, 2024

Andrew Tursky

On Monday evening, inside the swanky, second-story “Coach House” event center in the Palisades Village, just minutes down the road from the 2024 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, Tiger Woods and TaylorMade officially announced their new apparel/footwear/accessory line, called “Sun Day Red.”

The Sun Day Red website officially launched on Monday night during the event, and the products are set to go on sale starting May 1.

The “Sun Day Red,” or “SDR” name will be self-explanatory for most golf fans, since he’s been wearing a victory-red shirt on Sunday’s for his entire professional career, but Woods explained the meaning of Sun Day Red at the launch event:

“It started with mom. Mom thought – being a Capricorn – that my power color was red, so I wore red as a junior golfer and I won some tournaments. Lo and behold, I go to a university that is red; Stanford is red. We wore red on the final day of every single tournament, and then every single tournament I’ve played as a professional I’ve worn red. It’s just become synonymous with me.”

The Sunday Red outfit has worked to perfection for his 82 PGA Tour victories, including 15 majors, so why not make an entire apparel line based on the career-long superstition?

As I learned at Monday’s launch event, the new Sun Day Red line includes much more than just clothing. To go along with a slew of different golf shirt designs and colorways, there were also windbreakers, hoodies, shoes, hats, headcovers, ball markers and gloves on display.

The upscale event was hosted by sports media personality Erin Andrews, with special guests David Abeles (CEO of TaylorMade) and Tiger Woods himself.

As explained by Abeles, the Sun Day Red brand is an independently-run business under the TaylorMade umbrella, and is based in San Clemente, California (rather than Carlsbad, where TaylorMade headquarters is located), and it’s run by a newly-formed, independent group. Brad Blackinship, formerly of Quiksilver and RVCA, is the appointed president of the new brand.

As for the logo itself, obviously, it’s made to look like a Tiger (the animal), and is comprised of 15 tiger stripes, which correspond with Woods’ 15 major championships. While the logo may need a 16th stripe if Woods adds a major trophy to his collection, it makes perfect sense for the time being.

The golf/lifestyle line is meant to combine premium precision and athletic comfort, while still having plenty of wearability and style off the course. Like Woods said on stage at the event, he wants to be able to go right from the course to dinner wearing Sun Day Red, and that was exactly the aesthetic on display at the event on Monday.

Following the official announcement from Woods and Abeles, they revealed multiple pieces of clothing, accessories and footwear for the event-goers to ogle (and photograph). Check out a selection of product/event photos below, or head over to our @GolfWRX Instagram page for video coverage…OR, head into our GolfWRX Forums for even more photos and member discussion.

Enjoy this exclusive look at Tiger Woods’ new Sun Day Red apparel lineup below.

See more photos from the Sun Day Red launch event here

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Apparel Reviews

Apparel review: Justin Rose Collection @ Bonobos

Published

3 years ago

Apr 10, 2021

Ronald Montesano

Bonobos? Bonnaroo? What do they have in common, besides being fun words to pronounce that belong to today’s generations? That’s a question for another story. We’re here to tell you about the latest addition to our curated polo collection, the Performance Golf Polo from the Justin Rose collection. It comes from Bonobos, so kick back to this 2020 Bonnaroo mixtape and read up on white anchors.

Professional golfer, Justin Rose, photographed for his Spring 2021 Bonobos capsule collection.

Bonobos has been working to reinvigorate its golf category that launched in 2011 and bring a fresh face and new thinking to their golf mix. The brand has been eyeing pro-golfer Justin Rose for some time, especially as he’s risen in the game and his style on and off course aligned with the brand’s aesthetic, it was a natural fit. Bonobos made the official partnership in 2019 and since then, Justin has worn Bonobos on the course during his tours, and in his everyday life, by choice.

In March 2021, the brand launched the Justin Rose Golf Collection, its first co-designed golf line with Justin consisting of an assortment of printed performance polos, pants, and shorts that are versatile for casual days on the course, to playing 18-holes and to the clubhouse afterward.

My fit arrived promptly, and I couldn’t help but throw it over my head and shoulders, and strut around the house. No matter the time of year nor the weather outside, a golf polo always works in the indoor arena. I had considered the slim fit, but opted for the standard. It was reassuring to realize that either one would have draped well over my torso. Plenty of room from shoulders to ribs to belly, both static and active. First box, checked.

The next task was no less arduous: wear the shirt in the out-and-about. A brisk day arrived, so I tucked a long-sleeved shirt beneath my polo, and went about my daily business, aka teaching. My students perked up when I entered the hall, and asked immediately about the anchors. “Ya know, just a new polo,” I replied. The company logo was apparent on my sleeve, so no need to ask about its origin. I’ve worn polos in the past that did not interface well with a shirt beneath. When you play golf in the wee morning hours or the evening gloaming, or the shoulder seasons of spring and fall, you often need to trick out your fit with another layer. The Bonobos Performance Golf Polo was comfortable beyond words on this day, and the collaboration with the long sleeve was a success. Second box, checked.

At this point, a little transparency will help matters. I looked good in this shirt, but when I read the added description about the model 40-inch chest, six feet two inches tall, size medium slim fit), I couldn’t help but feel a bit…inadequate? Then I looked in the mirror again, smiled, and winked, and I still looked good.

The final checkpoint was my new, Bryson-esque golf swing pitted against the Bonobos PGP. Having played golf with a gentle, consistent, non-violent swing since I picked up a club, I made the decision that 2021 would be the year that I would tear the cover off the ball. Why wait for a better time than the present, am I right? Swing after swing at the dome produced a variety of shot traces (Bryson wasn’t built in a day, after all), and my body still loved my second skin. Box three, checked.

In addition to the White Anchor pattern, something I would call the small-repeat, Bonobos offers five other patterns for purchase in this shirt model. Two floral patterns (Red Tropical and Teal & Pink) fall under the large-repeat style. The Green Sailboat Geo fills the entire top with a small-repeat, making it hard on the eyes for me. The Blue Lighthouses pattern is a medium-repeat; not as large as the Florals, but more sizable than the anchors, sailboats, and the last pattern (on a dark-blue shirt) the Navy Golf Bags small-repeat. Three white backgrounds, one blue, one red, one teal. That’s a pretty nice lineup from which to select a few new coller-poppers.

End of the day: Two happy shoulders (out of two) for the affordable ($69 retail) Bonobos Performance Golf Polo. If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to check out the rest of their virtual Guideshop. Peace!

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Apparel Reviews

WRX Spotlight: Adidas TOUR360 XT Twin Boa Golf Shoe

Published

5 years ago

Oct 10, 2019

Michael Williams

The Product

The new Adidas TOUR360 XT Twin Boa, available in North America now, selling for $250 at adidas.com (only available on Adidas’ website, this shoe will not be at retail).

The Pitch

From Adidas: “The adidas TOUR360 XT Twin Boa® is the epitome of performance golf footwear, designed to offer micro-adjustability in two separate zones. The first is the independent main dial with high strength Boa lace that when combined with the forged 360 wrap creates unparalleled power for your swing by locking the area between your midfoot and forefoot. The second provides micro-adjustability from the middle to bottom instep for a customized fit, feel, and support. The Boa Fit System activates both zones to deliver the ultimate in power, stability, and performance.”

Our take on Adidas TOUR360 XT Twin Boa

BOA technology, a ratcheting cable system that replaces laces for securing the shoe, has been around for a while now. It was a radical departure when it first hit the market and traditionalists viewed it with some skepticism, but those who tried shoes using the system became hooked on the ease of use, secure feel, and reliability of the system. I have had to replace shoelaces, but I have never had a cable fail in a pair of shoes with Boa technology.

With the TOUR360 XT Twin Boa, Adidas has introduced the next step on Boa technology (pun intended). The shoe has a sleek, technology-forward look that is associated with Adidas products. It even looks good in the size 13 that I sport. The color selection is limited, to say the least. You can choose from white with green trim or white without green trim. But the star of the show is the Boa technology, which is implemented in two dials located on the outside of each shoe, replacing the one dial on previous iterations.

Each dial controls the fit for a different part of the shoe, and the ratcheting dial gives the wearer the most precise fit available. The real advantage over laces is that the Boa system stays secure longer and is easier to tighten than re-tying shoelaces. It’s so easy to reach down and give a couple of clicks that it became routine for me to check on each tee box to make sure I had a good fit before teeing off. Equally pleasing is the quick release on each dial that gets you out of your shoes at the end of a round without the terror of facing a wet double-knot.

The shoe is waterproof leather, and it is light and comfortable enough to walk 18 on hilly tracks. I personally would have preferred a slightly wider toe box, but that is nit-picking.

Overall, the Adidas TOUR360 XT Twin Boa is a performance shoe that promises, fit, comfort and stability, and it delivers on all fronts. Not everyone has $250 to drop on a pair of golf shoes, but if you want the tech on your feet to match the tech in your bag, then the Adidas TOUR360 XT Twin Boa is perfect for you.

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