Industry Notes: March 24, 2011

The deadline for applications to the Canadian Tour’s Florida and California qualifying schools is Friday. For more details, click here…CN has chosen the Sainte-Justine UHC Foundation and the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation as the beneficiaries of the CN Miracle Match campaign that will be held during the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open. The Women’s Open will be played Aug. 25-28 at the Hillsdale Golf and Country Club in Mirabel, Que. … Geoff Tait and Bobby Pasternak of Quagmire Golf are launching the recreated Arnold Palmer line of apparel, which will now be called Arnie. It will be available at green grass and off-course retailers.

Industry Notes: Jan. 25, 2011

Sunice has resigned PGA Tour player J.B. Holmes to an endorsement contract for 2011. Holmes has worn the Montreal-based outerwear company’s product since 2008, including the Sunice Silver Polo Collection, Sunice GoreTex outerwear and an assortment the company’s layering pieces. “We expect J.B. to have a great year and are optimistic that his standing on the PGA Tour will continue to climb,” said Mark Fletcher, president of Sunice … Quagmire has signed new sponsorship deals with PGA Tour players Tag Ridings and Joe Affrunti, while extending its relationships with Australian Aron Price and Canadian Brennan Webb. Quagmire also recently supported the 2011 Bob Hope Classic for the fourth consecutive year, providing its ColorFusion polos to the tournament’s amateur participants, including celebrities such as Alice Cooper, Tommy Thayer, Kurt Russell, Marshall Faulk and Grant Fuhr … The Canadian Tour has retained O’Connor Golf Communications to develop strategy, coordinate and execute the tour’s communications. “We need to help the media tell our story and we owe it to our sponsors, fans and players to take our communications to another level,” said tour commissioner Rick Janes. Previously, O’Connor worked with the tour on its Bridging the Gap initiative, which is moving forward with Golf Canada and the Canadian PGA.

Lady Quagmire 2010 Debuts

Bright colours, plaids and stripes highlight the debut of Quagmire’s 2010 spring collection for women.

The array of polos, sweaters, shorts, pants, dresses, skirts and outerwear are available in shades that range from orange and green to baby pink and blue with contrast detailing throughout the line.

Crafted primarily from Quagmire’s exclusive, environmentally-friendly Gud ‘N Dri fabric, the 2010 collection features a variety of textures in its tops, including pique, interlock and a cotton slub jersey.

Performance characteristics of these static-free, wrinkle and piling-resistant pieces include breathability, durability, fast-drying properties, UV protection and anti-microbials. Quagmire also offers woven nylon, cotton stripe and seersucker plaid fabrications in its bottom styles.

“You don’t have to be a serious golfer to wear Quagmire,” says Quagmire co-founder Geoff Tait. “Our women’s styles are fresh and playful. As we celebrate our fifth anniversary this year, we know it’s about looking good and feeling great in what you wear, wherever you are.”

Emphasizing its light-hearted approach to fashion, Quagmire’s 2010 women’s designs include names like Heckler, Gimmee and Lipout. The collection is highlighted by cut-and-sew detailing, unique logo and pocket placement, and feminine fits across nearly 40 styles in sizes ranging from XS-XXL and 0 to 14.

The new collection is outlined in a 52-page catalog that is currently available to retailers.

For more information, see the website, www.quagmiregolf.com, or call (416) 785-1099.

Click on images to enlarge.

So, You Want To Be In the Golf Industry, Huh?

Even in the best of times, it’s tough to break into the golf industry as a new company.

That point has certainly been made clear at the Canadian buying shows over the years, but the place that has really hammered home that message over the years is the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.

Back in the late 1990s, I saw a lot of wannabe golf companies creating a lot of buzz on the show floor in Orlando with big booths, lavish receptions and cool marketing campaigns only to disappear in the next year or so.

I often wondered as I walked the show floor over the years how many of the companies that were commanding attention would be back. I made mental notes and would try to remember them the next year in Orlando and there were a lot of casualties.

Denizens of the golf industry are often creatures of habit and loyal to the brands that have worked for them over the years. Add in long-established working relationships, the influence of buying groups and the terms of engagement with off-course retail shops and it isn’t a stretch to say a new company needs grit to survive.

Some have it, some don’t. Read more

Spring 2010 Preview: Quagmire Golf

“Plaids are back, really big and really hot.

We added a fashion forward cotton slub in the shirts. It’s a cotton, but it has little flecks in it, so it’s trendy and a little less traditional. We have a recycled polyester in shirts that is made from recycled pop cans, which is eco-friendly.

We have a little seersucker in the line and, maintaining our look, we have the crooked pockets and plackets and fun logo placements.

In colours, we have a lot of basics. We also have a great yellow, some greens and, obviously, we’ve kept our pink in the line!”

Bobby Pasternak, Quagmire Golf
www.quagmiregolf.com

Underdogs Unite at Quagmire Golf

Chez Reavie may have been swinging golf clubs last year at Glen Abbey in Oakville, Ont., but he hit a home run for a Canadian apparel company with his wire-to-wire win at the RBC Canadian Open.

Reavie seemed like an unlikely Canadian Open champ when he teed it up for Quagmire Golf with a bunch of Canadian media types at the start of a week where all eyes would be focused on two-time tournament champ Jim Furyk.

That media day may one day be an event that every scribe or broadcaster will say they attended, even if they didn’t, but I must admit that I was absent that day due to other commitments. All reports that came back said Reavie was a pretty cool kid, not to mention a three-time all-American at Arizona State.

Still, the 2001 U.S. Public Links champ had hardly lit it up on the PGA Tour, which is to be expected of a rookie off the Nationwide Tour, so the odds against him going into the Open were huge, but everything fell into place.

“I was seeing improvement in my game every week and I just happened to really like the way the golf course set up for me,” said Reavie, 27. “I was hitting the ball exactly where I wanted to and I had a great feel on the greens and I was making a lot of putts and I was able to roll with it.”

On a soggy Glen Abbey, Reavie shot scores of 65-64-68-70 to finish three shots ahead of fellow ASU Sun Devil Billy Mayfair and, in doing so, generated an avalanche of unexpected publicity for Quagmire Golf, currently in its third season existence and like Reavie, a long shot in golf apparel at the beginning. Read more

Traditional Meets Edgy in Golf Apparel

The stately grounds of the Mississaugua Golf and Country Club have been a playground for golfers for over 100 years, a picturesque and traditional setting in which its inhabitants seemingly would be resistant to change.

There is still a dress code in effect at this venerable private facility in Mississauga, Ont., but that doesn’t mean that fashion forward lines or new technical fabrics are banned from its fairways.

“We have changed over the years,” said head professional Gar Hamilton. “When I came, we had a long time with the sock issue because we were knee socks with shorts. Then, we allowed ankle socks.”

Golf may have lost a lot of younger fashion plates these days if they were still forced to wear knee socks with shorts, but it appears that golf courses across the country are opening their minds and relaxing dress codes somewhat these days.

According to the latest GNN Poll, 67 per cent of respondents say they allow edgy, fashion forward lines within reason, while 33 per cent say they have not relaxed their dress codes in recent years. Read more