Sweet Stuff

Antigua Spring Women’s Trends

One of the nation’s leading apparel brands of lifestyle and golf clothing--the Antigua Group, Inc--is setting trends for Spring 2018 with its women’s clothing collection that feature some bold new colors and fun styles.

“The Spring 2018 Antigua ladies golf collection is a unique play on several trends in the sportswear market,” said Ron McPherson, CEO of Antigua. “By constantly monitoring high-fashion trends, we determine which are relevant to golf and seem to have some longevity in the marketplace. The 2018 collection features three major trends.”

The first trend taking the fashion market by storm is the holographic effect. Textile prints, trims, accessories and even hair and nail color all utilize some form of a hologram. Some manifest as a true multi-color holographic effect, while others offer a subtler combination of light bright shades that give the appearance of a prism light spectrum.

Regardless of how it’s used, the hologram is a trip down memory lane--bringing flashbacks of the late 80’s and early 90’s fashion. Thankfully the holographic effect of today’s world is slightly less plastic looking and more organic in feel. Instead of creating fabrics that appear holographic, designers have been using foil prints, screen prints and heat transfers. All are soft against the body and allude to the effect of a sunset, both simultaneously calming and visually stunning.

Another major trend is mixing deep vibrant colors with soft bright colors. Overall, color plays a key role in how a collection is merchandised for both buyers and end customers. This new collection includes two different color palettes, providing endless options. One color palette groups bold vibrant colors, including Boysenberry, Cherry, Poseidon, Spearmint and Sunflower.

The alternative palette features softer bright shades like Mandarin, Oceanside, Meringue, Iris and Rose. This color-on-color trend makes what was once a basic polo suddenly appear original and contemporary. Several styles in the collection mix colors from both palettes, in which each deep shade is mixed with a soft shade. The soft color takes the bold color down a notch and makes it feel both modern and wearable.

The last trend is the use of patterns and prints. Never before have printed fabrics played such a key role in ladies’ golf. Previously prints were seen as over-the-top, but now it’s difficult to find a ladies’ golf line that doesn’t have multiple versions of an all-over print. The 2018 line includes a few printed styles that appeal to many tastes. Some styles feature an all-over printed pattern, others just a small detail, such as a printed side inset. Prints have remained geometric in style, embodied by abstract artwork, and are overall symmetrical in feel.

Headquartered in Peoria, Arizona, The Antigua Group’s golf division holds license agreements with the PGA TOUR, LPGA and the PGA of America.

For more details on Antigua’s Spring 2018 Women’s Collection, visit www.antigua.com and shop.antigua.com

Nexbelt

Nexbelt was one of the first companies to introduce the adjustable, one-size-fits-all belt concept several years ago with its ratchet buckle technology—and continues to gain in popularity among golfers. Now, with many improvements and new products—including logoed belt buckles—Nexbelt has taken on the moniker of “The Fastest Growing Belt in Golf” with new products and its own stable of PGA Tour players wearing the product.

The company offers over 150 different belt and buckle combinations for men and women, with many specialties in addition to golf—such as the Folds of Honor Series, Texas Series, Marine Series, Faith Series and more.

With a focus on golf, Nexbelt has assembled a team of staff

professionals for 2017-2018 that includes PGA Tour Players Jim Furyk, Kevin Na, Marc Leishman, William McGirt, Jason Bohn, Jarrod Lyle, Greg Chalmers and LPGA Tour Player Katie Burnett.

Nexbelt developed its own unique ratcheting system providing the wearer with the best fit and feel known as PreciseFit, which allows for adjusting the belt in ¼ inch increments. It’s great for travelers because of the quick-release buckle that makes it easier through those security check points—and it comes in handy when you need to loosen the belt a little after one of those big holiday meals. Just tap the quick-release lever and let the belt out. With one-size-fits-all—just cut the belt to the size you need and insert into the buckle for a custom fit.

Nexbelt continues to upgrade and refine its products to make them more reliable. They use premium leathers with a tan backing to the belts, and the patented sizing system has been redesigned to last longer and perform better.

Their version 3.0 is something that no buckle manufacturer in the world with an adjustable system has done--eliminated pins as mounting points and replaced them with stainless steel Hex-head screws.

The many styles that Nexbelt has developed during its years in the market are designed to reflect a person’s wardrobe taste—be in on the golf course or at dinner in the club house. They even have a US Patent on a style that features a golf buckle that opens and has a ball marker behind the face.

Nexbelt creations are available at over 4,500 retail pro shops, golf outlets and specialty stores nationwide, and online at www.nexbelt.com.

Golf Pride Grip

With the New Year and a new season of golf just around the corner, many teaching and club fitting professionals recommend installing replacing worn grips with new ones for better feel and performance.

Golf Pride grips, which are used by more than 80 percent of touring professions on their clubs, has several newer models that deserve a look that are getting rave reviews and have gained quick success among professional players.

The MCC Plus4 ALIGN features breakthrough grip technology that helps players gain consistency in their hand position—one of the most crucial elements of a repeatable swing.

The new ALIGN Technology features a dedicated raised ridge that extends down the back of the grip for consistent hand placement allowing the golfer to feel alignment. The patented ALIGN Technology is featured in the MCC family in both the traditional MCC taper profile and MCC Plus4’s larger lower hand profile. It is the #1 hybrid grip on Tour combining cord and rubber for all-weather performance, and now has the dedicated raised ridge on the back of the grip allowing for consistent hand placement and an enhanced ability to square the clubface at impact each time.

The ALIGN Technology also features a unique micro-diamond texture and 50 percent firmer material compared to the surrounding grip area to amplify its pronounced feel. The flex channel separates the ALIGN Technology ridge from the grip body to maximize elevation lift and lock the grip into fingers, while conforming to the rules of golf.

“A repeatable grip is critical for many of the world’s best players, as 1 out of every 3 PGA TOUR players currently use a grip with a reminder rib,” said Jonathan Neal, Global Marketing Manager for Golf Pride Grips. “However, they uniformly provided us feedback that they want it to be more pronounced. That insight led us to develop ALIGN Technology to assist the best players in the world and amateurs alike to feel alignment and to square the clubface.”

For those looking for a grip with a little softer feel, the Golf Pride CP2, which comes in the wrap and pro version, has an all new design with the Control Core™ Technology that can reduce club torque by 41 percent when compared to a club without the core, that adds considerable stability.

This grip offers better control without the feeling of slippage because of its tacky, soft feel utilizing the softest rubber compound that Golf Pride has ever used, and the reduced taper promotes a more even grip pressure and can help players to get their hands through the ball with a more fluid tempo.

For more information, visit www.golfpride.com.