Clothing brand benefits at washed-out Ryder Cup
04/10/2010
The Edinburgh-based company announced six months ago that it was close to completing its preparations as official supplier of “weatherwear” to the European team, centring on a new suit for 2010, the TourFlex.
TourFlex is made with an exlusive ultra-lightweight, plain weave fabric that is stretchable all over, making it easy to play in. At that time, the company said the most significant recent development in this area has been stretchable waterproof fabrics, although many are relatively heavy and used only as panels within jackets. However, it said fabrics such as TourFlex are part of “a new generation of all-over, stretchable, lightweight waterproofs”.
When rain halted play on the first day of the competition, in which teams of 12 golfers representing the US and Europe go head to head in various match-play combinations, it became clear that the clothing the North American team had brought to protect its players from the weather—provided by Montana-based Sun Mountain—was working less well than officials had hoped.
US team officials were forced to buy new waterproofs for the team and turned to ProQuip. The company had a stand in the merchandise exhibition tent at the course and put together between 25 and 30 combinations of jackets and trousers for the US golfers and their caddies. The Professional Golfers’ Association of America told Bloomberg that the Sun Mountain gear had been the choice of team captain Corey Pavin. He told reporters on the first day: “We were disappointed with the performance of (our waterproofs) and we just fixed it. They were not doing what we wanted them to do so we went out and bought some more waterproofs.”
ProQuip managing director, Richard Head, suggested that the US team may have been taken a little by surprise by the conditions in Wales. He told Reuters: “Obviously it’s risky here at this time of year to have the Ryder Cup. I think it’s hard for people overseas to understand the fluctuations of the weather. We are only two miles from the sea and it’s a micro-climate here. This is the most extreme weather I’ve seen at a Ryder Cup.”
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