Opinion & Analysis

GolfWRX gets trendy: The Ashworth Style Experience

Published

12 years ago

May 23, 2012

Zak Kozuchowski

By Zak Kozuchowski

GolfWRX Managing Editor

Golf clothes are like swing tips. No matter how many a golfer has, they always seem to need new ones.

But sometimes, new swing tips are no better than old swing tips. Old patterns return, despite a golfer’s best effort to change them. The same is true of golf fashion. Golfers tend become comfortable with their style, even if it’s limiting their look. And for the sake of comfort, they often make similar mistakes when deciding on new apparel from their local golf retailer.

That’s why Ashworth decided to send four GolfWRX contest winners on an all-expenses-paid trip to the United Kingdom that they dubbed the “Ashworth Style Experience.” The premise – receive a golf fashion makeover from golf’s leading fashion authority, “Mr. Style” Marty Hackel. Other perks included three nights at the Pennyhill Park Hotel, a five-star resort and spa, a round of golf, tickets to Tuesday’s practice round of the BMW Championship at Wentworth, a tour of the TaylorMade’s European Tour Van and the best food and drink Surrey, England, had to offer.

Ashworth is best known as the clothing sponsor of Freddy Couples, who brought attention to the brand when he was at his golfing peak in the early 1990s. TaylorMade-Adidas golf purchased Ashworth in 2008, and has since worked to revitalize the brand. Ashworth’s latest line has its sights set on 35-to-55 year olds, but thanks to its revamped cuts, fabrics, patterns and color options, Ashworth should please a wider audience.

The contest winners ranged in age from 34 to 42. Each was from a different part of the United States and had different tastes in fashion. Yet with the help of Mr. Hackel, they all left the UK with a fall wardrobe that suited their lifestyles and body types.

On Monday, the contest winners set out for North Hants Golf Club, the club where Justin Rose honed his world-class game as a teenager. They played 18 holes of golf, which was followed with a party that welcomed Rose as the lead ambassador of the Ashworth brand. The guys had a few pints, English-style fish and chips, and some one-on-one time with Rose himself.

Click here to see the photos.

At the event, Rose said that he was excited with the modern elements of Ashworth’s new line, such as the slimmer fitting shirt he wore at the event, a red dual-front pocket design that is much different that the oversized shirts that Couples popularized years ago.

“I think there’s some really clean looks to [the Ashworth line],” Rose said. “It’s also still very classic … I think it can transfer both on and on the golf course. I’d be very comfortable wearing this shirt with a pair of jeans.”

During the style makeover on Tuesday morning, Hackel echoed the importance of versatility in a golfer’s wardrobe. Darrin, a contest winner from New York who works in the medical field, is forced to play much of his golf after he leaves the office. For him, Hackel recommended self-collar polos, a shirt that employs the same material in the collar as it does in the body of the shirt. Hackel said that self-collar shirts are dressier, and more appropriate in an office or restaurant setting. A knit collar, which uses a different material in the collar than in the body of the shirt, provides a golfer with fewer options, Hackel said.

“With knit collars, you’re pretty much limited to the golf course,” Hackel said. “We want you to spend your money on things that give you more versatility.”

Casey, a banker from Tennessee, had been a fan of Ashworth clothing for years. But his shorter stature was a problem for him when buying shirts. Hackel recommended that Casey pay special attention to where the seams of his golf shirts rested on his shoulder. If the seam rested below hs shoulder, not only would his golf shirts appear too large, but they would also inhibit his shoulder movement during the swing.

“A lot of golfers think they need a fuller garment to be able to swing,” Hackel said. “But exactly the opposite is true. With bigger armholes, the entire shirt tends to move, which does not make the shirt more comfortable. They higher [and smaller] the armhole, the easier your arm can move without the product moving.”

Chas, the tallest of the contest winners with the broadest shoulders, learned from Hackel that it was not just the cut of a golf shirt that was important. Color plays a role as well. Hackel advised Chas not to go too dark in his shirt color choices, as it has a tendency to throw off the proportion of his upper and lower body. By dressing in light-colored shirts and darker-colored pants, Chas could streamline his physique and better accentuate his long torso.

Hackel had a recommendation for Chas’ pants as well. Because of Chas’ 12.5 shoe size, he was often conscious of how large his feet looked when he wore slimmer-fitting pants. Marty steered Chaz away from pants that he said he would have bought. He told him that he needed at least a 17-inch cuff [European-styled pants often have a cuff as narrow as 15 inches], which would make his feet look proportionate with the rest of his body.

Jim, a Michigander who specializes in graphic design for an advertising agency, was in violation of Hackel’s 34-inch rule, which deals with white belts.

“We think the white belt is gone,” Hackel said. “The 34-inch rule means that if your waist is larger than 34 inches, you can only wear a white belt if it’s attached to a badge or a holster.”

Jim said that because of his larger waist size, he stayed away from brown and black belts with light-colored pants because he said they drew attention to his midsection. He felt that a white belt limited this contrast, and made him look slimmer. Hackel said that a white belt has nearly the same effect as black and brown belts. According to Hackel, the only way to truly draw attention away from Jim’s midsection was to opt for a belt that matched the color of his pants as closely as possible. For Jim, he recommended khacki-colored belts, especially those made of cloth, which would help keep him cool during the hot Michigan summers.

Jim, who studied art as an undergraduate, preferred to wear clothing with louder patterns, which was another habit from which Hackel steered him away. Hackel wanted Jim to dress with as little contrast as possible, a scheme that would provide a silhouetting effect.

It was clear, however, that Jim wanted to have some fun with his outfits, and Hackel embraced that. He urged Jim to show off his personality through accessories, such as bold socks, shoes and watches.

An area of fashion that Hackel has welcomed has been hybrid golf shoes, such as the Ashworth Cardiff model that Justin Rose will wear this weekend at Wentworth. Each shoe has a strong accent color on its rubber outsole, which a golfer can highlight with a matching pair of laces.

“We want golfers to stay in their comfort zone, but we also want them to show off their personality,” Hackel said. “That’s why Rickie Fowler gets a pass with his orange outfits and white belts. That’s his personality. But it’s not for everyone. You can’t worry about what you’re wearing. If you stop by a window or a mirror and look at what you’re wearing for more then 10 seconds, go back and change. You’re not going to feel comfortable in it.”

Click here for more discussion in the “Golf style and fashion” forum.

Click here to see the photos.

You can follow Zak on Twitter @ZakKoz and GolfWRX on Twitter @GolfWRX

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

6 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Lessons from the worst golf instructor in America

Published

6 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Brendan Ryan

In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.

While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.

Here are some of my key takeaways.

Method Teacher

It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.

Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.

The Cult of Stack and Jilt

The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”

Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.

These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.

Fooled by Randomness

In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.

Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.

Practice

One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”

Sunk Cost

The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.

Cliches

Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.

The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.

This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

2 weeks ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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