The Wall Street Journal-20080202-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Sports -- Golf Journal- Getting the Pro Look- To Play With Her Husband- a Novice Buys Lessons -- and Outfits
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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Sports -- Golf Journal: Getting the Pro Look; To Play With Her Husband, a Novice Buys Lessons -- and Outfits
Full Text (970 words)Outfitted in an Astra long-sleeved polo shirt with sun protection fabric, Ralph Lauren visor, slim-fitting EP Pro cropped pants, and slip-on golf shoes designed by Walter Genuin, I shoulder my left- handed Callaway clubs in their sleek black golf bag with tan leather trim. I am ready to hit the practice range.
I may not yet be able to play the game -- but at least I look the part. While it may seem overly optimistic that I've already invested in a complete golf wardrobe, I figure the best way to get started is to have the right gear. In fact, I've purchased so many pieces of golf apparel and accessories in the year since I started golf lessons that my husband recently observed that I own more pairs of golf shoes than the number of times I've actually played golf.
The truth is I took up the game mainly as a way to spend more time with my golf-obsessed husband, Rick, who can happily play 36 holes and then spend whatever light is left in the day refining his swing. In addition to belonging to two golf clubs in New York, one in Connecticut, and one in Florida -- and those are just the ones I know about -- most of our vacations have to involve access to a golf course. Writing the Journal's Finicky Traveler column for the past decade, I've generally been able to find resorts where he can play golf while I enjoy the spa and pool.
And I've had good reasons to resist golf. For one thing, previous efforts to play years ago convinced me I have no hand-eye coordination. While he can spend hours in the sun and turn to a deep tan, I burn after 15 minutes with anything less than SPF 50. He's oblivious to weather and would play in a tsunami; I don't like it if it's too hot, too cold, too windy or too early. Or if there are bugs. But I finally decided it was time we had a sporting pastime together -- and I wanted to be fully outfitted beforehand.
I've always thought of golf apparel for both men and women as unflattering and unfashionable, with those big clunky shoes and baggy clothes. But as I soon discovered, the merchandise for both men and women has gotten snazzier and more performance-oriented, with moisture-wicking fabrics that also provide extra sun protection. Thankfully, stars like Tiger Woods and golfing celebrities are wearing better looking golf shirts these days; Tiger even has his own line of golf apparel made by Nike including mock-turtleneck styles in a Dri- Fit fabric with a nylon spandex blend for easy mobility.
According to the National Golf Foundation, there are about 5.5 million women golfers in the U.S., but that doesn't count the number of women who, like me, only visit practice ranges or go out for a few rounds now and then. But we do spend money on golf gear, and designer brands like Ralph Lauren and Burberry now offer great-looking golf fashion. Even Chanel weighed in a couple of years ago with a $3,000 golf bag.
Fortunately for those of us who can't pull off the short, scanty and tight look, there are also nice-looking golf fashions that provide more coverage. Lynn San Filippo, manager of the pro shop at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., introduced me to Astra USA's fitted shirts, with sun protection fabric, as well as EP Pro's white nylon/spandex jersey long-sleeve zip-collar polo with cheetah print trim, and knee-length micro-twill shorts with sailor- button pockets.
On the skills side, though, the game remains a challenge for me. Despite many lessons with my favorite instructor, Dustin Wallis, at the Breakers resort golf course in Palm Beach, I have a hard time remembering, let alone executing, all the pointers he has taught me about how to hold the club, what to do with my hips, and how to actually hit the ball.
But that's easy compared with going out on an actual golf course, after weeks of hitting off turf. They don't tell you it is nothing like the practice range. The ball goes in the rough and you actually have to stand on a slope. And then there are sand traps (bunkers, in real golf terms) -- going in one of those would entail getting my Walter Genuin shoes dirty. Dustin tells me he wants to see divots, but I hate kicking up chunks of grass and making a big mess.
During my most recent lesson, Dustin went through the usual drills with me, giving me some valuable pointers on how to hold my arm straight and hinge my wrists at the same time. Later, we went inside to put it all on camera and compare my swing to another left-handed player, Phil Mickelson. I couldn't help but admire how much I looked like a real golfer, even if I didn't always hit the ball.
This is not to say that I haven't hit a few excellent shots, and nothing makes me feel better than having Rick tell me it was a great shot and be impressed. My main goal is to be able to go out on a golf course and play with my husband when there are other people around and not embarrass myself to death.
A few weeks ago in Florida I went out on a real golf course with my husband for the first time. We had fun, but it was during that cold snap there and after five holes I started shivering, so we went in. But I'm ready to get out there again -- and I bought a nice Ralph Lauren golf jacket just in case of more chilly weather.
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John Paul Newport will return next week. Email: [email protected].
