BRIGHT COLORS, ODD SIZES AND HIGH PRICES

The Golf Clothing : Golftini Skorts and Sleeveless Polo Tops
The Gals : Dawn, Shelley and Whitney
The Golf Course : Southshore Golf Club, Henderson NV

We were introduced to Golftini's line of  bright geometric print golf clothing at the 2013 PGA Expo in Las Vegas, and were so pleased to receive samples to review for you!  Interested in having the Gals play in and critique your golf clothing or accessory?  Instructions regarding submitting samples are at the end of this post.  

Dawn Says :  I wore Golftini's Blue Lagoon Golf skort, (sz 4) and sleeveless button up polo (sz med) for our recent round of 9 holes... 

According to my measurements, the size chart on Golftini's website indicates I should wear a 6 - however when I tried on the sample size 6 it felt more like a size 2!  Potential size labeling issues during manufacturing?  

During play, the skort felt a little big at the waistband but I thought it had a great length. My size medium top was huge under the arms - I'd definitely choose a smaller size in the future. 

The skirt is 97% cotton and 3% spandex - not alot of stretch but fairly comfortable to play in.  Just as I suspected, the photo above shows how the skort looked after machine washing on gentle and line drying.

Shelley says : Pink and orange is a favorite color combination of mine, that's why I loved the look of my Lucky Charms skort (sz 6) and pink polo (sz med).   

Two thumbs up for this line's subtle attention to detail like the same-pattern attached cotton undershorts, grosgrain ribbon detail on the edges of the 2 side pockets, and Golftini's super cute martini glass logo embroidered on the bottom hem of the surprisingly soft shirt.   

Like Dawn and Whitney, I found that the skirts all suffered from inconsistent sizing.  Here I am trying on Whitney's Jet Setter skort at the end of our round...

Whitney says :  The size discrepancies among these golf skirts highlight why some women have body image problems when shopping for clothing!  Since manufacturers use different models when designing and cutting their clothes - never be discouraged if your usual size doesn't fit!

Positives about these skirts?  I thought the pink and black honeycomb pattern on my Jet Setter skort  (sz 4) was cute and the length was perfect.  The cotton blend fabric wrinkles easily, however, and was kind of scratchy.  After handwashing and drying it flat, here's how mine looked...

The ruching on the front yoke of my white shirt (sz med) was a nice subtle detail, but I did not like the overall boxiness of the shoulders - I prefer a more feminine cut for tops like this pink sleeveless Ping.  The fabric was nice and soft, comfortable while playing during 70-80 degree temperatures.  

SUMMARY :  

We're going to give our Golftini skorts and shirts 2 out of 5 balls.  Why not 5?  Here's why: 

1. Streamline the sizing of the golf skirts!  Based on the inconsistencies we experienced, it would be hard to order the correct size when ordering online.

2. Change the skirt's cotton fabric, but keep the cute patterns!   Polyester blends that wick away moisture and don't wrinkle when wearing or washing are far more preferable.

3.  Lower the price!  This golf outfit's total price is $195 : $75 for the shirt and $120 for the skort.  Given the sizing issues and the amount of maintenance needed to keep the skirt wrinkle free - we think $75 or under for the total set seems more realistic.

Cheers!

Special thanks to the good folks at Golftini for sending these samples!  To submit your golf clothing or accessory for the Gals to critique, click here and send an email introducing your company / the product(s) you'd like us to review.  We'll be in touch shortly!  

A NOT-SO-SPOOKY REVIEW : PING FOR SPRING 2014

The Golf Clothing :  PING Ladies' Golf Collection for Spring 2014 
The Golf Gals :  Dawn, Shelley and Whitney 
The Golf Course :  South Shore Golf Club, Henderson NV

We were lucky enough to connect with the good people from PING at the recent PGA Expo in Las Vegas.  We were thrilled when they sent samples our way to review!  Interested in having the Gals play in and critique your golf clothing or accessory?  Instructions regarding submitting samples are at the end of this post. 

 

Dawn Says : I love the black and white dot retro style of this Ping golf skort (sz sm) and the cute pocket detail on the shirt (sz sm).

In my opinion the skort is about 2-3 inches too short and might push the limit of some clubs' dress codes.  I was constantly pulling the built in shorts down - at times they hung past the skirt!  Like Shelley, I found the shirt fabric was not very breathable.  Although this is for a Spring collection, wearing this top on a 90-114 degree day would not pass the performance test.  Whitney's sleeveless shirt with breathable panels would be a much better choice!

Shelley Says : I absolutely loved the bright tangerine and charcoal color combination of my Ping short sleeve shirt (sm sm) and polka dot skort (sz sm).  Both pieces stayed in place when swinging... 

 

...but I would have preferred a bit more length on the skirt.  Loved the attention to detail on the shirt (orange stitching and piping, snap buttons) however I found the fabric to lack breath-ability.  Overall, I absolutely loved the look of this golf outfit - we received several compliments from ladies in the clubhouse and on the course!

Whitney Says :  I felt ready for next Spring in my beautiful light pink shirt and mint green Ping skort!  The shirt's fabric was light and breathable, especially the two breathable panels on the back...

 

I really enjoyed the cut of the sleeveless shirt (sz sm) - a little extra room in front and back.  The skort (sz sm) was very cute, although a little short.  It looked great with my Navika stroke counter! 

SUMMARY :  

We're going to give our PING apparel 4 out of 5 balls.  Why not 5?  Here's why:  

1. Increase the length of the golf skort just a tad!

2. Keep the cute zippered pockets on the front and back of the skort, but create a ball pocket on the attached undershorts.  Nobody likes ball bulge!  

Fill the skort pockets filled with flat objects like ball markers and tees - but keep them zipped!  They're not very flattering when open or with a ball in them.

3.  Consider adding breathable panels to the short sleeve shirts - it was in the upper 80's when we played, and they were not as breathable as Whitney's sleeveless top.

Special thanks to our friends at PING for the Spring 2014 samples.  We 'played our best' in them!  

To submit your golf clothing or accessory for the Gals to critique, click here and send an email introducing your company + the product(s) you'd like us to review.  We'll be in touch shortly!  

PGA EXPO 2013? SMALLER VENDORS = A HOLE IN 1

Just to warn you - this review of the 2013 PGA Expo in Las Vegas is a long one.  But what would you expect?  It's about shopping - just at a trade show...not a mall!

The good, with Whitney : Walking in to the 2013 PGA Expo in Las Vegas, I was unsure of what to expect.  How would the vendors respond to bloggers, and more importantly, how would they respond to three young women?  We immediately sought out the clothing and accessories.  After all, women's golf fashion is our thing!  The first booth that we stumbled upon was the Navika Golf Gifts.  The bling caught my eye immediately! 

They were selling ball counters and ball marker necklaces, and most of the pieces were accented with Swarovski crystals.  The representative was very helpful, and also interested in our suggestions and what we had to say about women's golf fashion.  I purchased one of the ball counters and will provide a review of it once I take it on a test drive!   

The next booth we visited was the Catherine Wingate Golf Apparel booth.  Her functional dresses are what immediately caught my eye!  In bold navy and bright white, the dresses looked comfortable and versatile.  They even had a one piece dress with built in shorts - a rarity in women's golf dresses.  Catherine's wearing it below, right.  Looks versatile, doesn't it?

I definitely hope to give Catherine Wingate dresses a try!  I felt immediately drawn to this booth and both representatives did not disappoint with their welcoming and informative nature.  In fact - at many of the more 'boutique' expo booths, the story was the same : females in the golf industry, feeling like there just aren't enough cute, functional and fashionable golf clothing choices out there.  Yet.

This was definitely true for GolfHER Girl as well.  While the patterns at GolfHER were not necessarily up my alley, owner Sarah Schultz's  passion for golfing and the desire to create great clothing for women was refreshing and exciting! 

Last but not least, Lizzie Driver was a great booth to stop by.  The representatives had us sit at their ordering table and view all of their spring pieces.  For those of you who've never attended a trade show, the ordering table is prime realty!  Even though both reps knew we did not have plans to order from their line, they sat with us showing each piece with pride, discussing the fabrics and patterns. 

Being a female golfer, I would be remiss in not discussing shoes!  By far, ECCO had the most exciting new collection of spikes at the show.  Bright pinks, yellows and teals plus great details make their spring collection the one to watch!

Skechers also presented a well-priced, versatile golf shoe line they're introducing this Spring 2014.  I'm looking forward to trying on the slip-on variety and their lighter golf shoe options...

With great golf shoes, you need a great belt, right?  Druh Belts had the cutest butterfly buckles in pink, purple and rainbow colors... 

The belts were made of premium leather and look like they would really withstand the Vegas heat.  The inner side of the strap has no color so it doesn't bleed onto your shorts when you sweat.  A plus!  I really hope to be able to provide a review on these fantastic accessories in the future!  ;)

Several of the bigger name vendors ignored us completely - but a clear and outstanding exception to this rule was Ping.  The representative from Ping, Jeff Knapp, was very friendly and recognized the value of amateur women golfers and our opinions.

Jeff was willing to show us some of the women's clothing (which was very cute and had great feminine details) even though he was with a buying customer.  He was a shining example of being able to value his product and the needs of the customer. 

The somewhat bad, with Dawn : Amongst the 100 apparel exhibitors occupying half of the expo floor, I must say I was most excited to visit the Puma and Adidas booths. After making my way through rows of clothes and accessories, we finally arrived at space 135 - Cobra Puma Golf.  For a moment, I thought that we were invisible because of the 5 representatives working the booth, we were acknowledged by only one.  As I scanned the merchandise, I was confused because I couldn't find any ladies golf apparel.  

Then, I looked down.  Behind the counter, hanging on a rod no higher than my hip was a four foot section of ladies golf clothes dragging on the floor hidden from public eye.  Disgusted, I just walked away.  Perhaps this is why I was not greeted as I entered their booth, they couldn't find the ladies golf clothes either!  Sure would have liked to see the skirt below...

After exploring all of the ladies golf booths, the story was like a broken record; women are designing golf apparel because they are tired of complaining about everything wrong with the selection currently available.  Although some of the designers don't even golf, evident in their fabric selections, they have a passion for golf fashion and that is exciting!  I invite them to play 9 holes with me someday in 114 degree heat in their designer non-breathable threads, or send me a sample and I will let them know it performs.  For example, we were super excited about the patterns on a few of Haute Shot Golf's skorts, but the fabric was a bit scratchy and way to heavy for playing in warmer weather.

Overall - most of the ladies presenting their product or designs were very creative and enthusiastic about their line.  I was pleased with the turnout of female golf apparel vendors this year at the Vegas PGA Expo, I am still in shock as to how most of the leaders in the golf apparel industry seem to dismiss the female golfers.  I realize this was not the LPGA Expo, but some of the big name exhibitors won't even make eye contact with you!  Confusing. 


However, Ping Golf has figured it out!  With a booth crammed full of people, the Ping representatives were all welcoming and helpful.  Not only were they interested in our golf game, they were curious to know how we liked their clothing.  Let's face it, golf is a male dominated sport.  From golf expo representation to golf course pro shops, men typically hold these positions.  However, golf is also a profit driven industry from golf tees to golf clothing...and women love to shop!  If the golf industry can figure out how to become more female friendly, they may actually see their profits increase!  I'm going to give all the men in the golf industry a free clue; communicate and pay attention to what the lady golfers want, and we will buy it!

Last but not least, Adidas Golf.  I was happy to see there were two sections of apparel, nothing very exciting, but at least it wasn't hidden behind a counter like Puma's!  It would have been helpful to have the dude sitting at the hightop come over, say hello, show us the collection and perhaps give us a catalog, but he was busy on his smart phone, maybe texting his girlfriend?

...and the not so ugly, with Shelley : Okay, I lied.  Boo-hiss to the larger vendors mentioned above that flat out ignored us!  For all they knew, we could have been a pack of Tony Hsieh's Zappos minions - scouting for new golf lines, the next Win McMurry, or one of Stacey Lewis's new stylists (Love your guts and your game, girl.  Would just love to see you in something besides colored khaki's and a plain button up!).

My favorite of the show?  Lizzie Driver - they have my heart!  From their insanely soft fabrics to their attention to detail - Lizzie Driver is almost there!  

The only criticism I could muster would be the price point.  The sad fact is clothes get ruined quicker when you're exercising in them.  That means they're somewhat more disposable, and I feel their price should more accurately represent that.  $98 for a top, $136 for a skort, or $200 for a dress like this?  Yikes.  Perhaps a review of their golf clothing is needed to justify the price (wink wink) but I'm still on the fence!

I loved the fact that there were so many small companies at this expo based in the USA and handcrafting accessories for golf.  One of my favorite was Stitch Golf - they had the coolest retro handmade head covers and drawstring bags for tees and such...

 

Although not made in the States, I also love these handcrafted golf shoes from Lambda.  To somewhat quote that scene in Jerry Macguire - you had me at wingtip!  It would be hard to choose a favorite pair, that's for sure.  The only thing I wasn't so sure about was the thickness of the leather.  Seems like they would be hard to break in...

Sarah Schultz’s GolfHER line

Sarah Schultz from GolfHER Girl deserves a ginormous shout out - we were walking down the aisle, she spotted our name tags, and steered us all into her booth.  Loved her outgoing personality and her obvious commitment to the game and the women that play it.  I agree with Whitney, some of her fabric choices felt too 'old' for my taste - but I did appreciate her attention to detail.  For example - the flattering darts and unique collar on her 'Little Black Dress'...

Sarah Schultz’s GolfHER line

That's (pregnant) Sarah above - sporting a t-shirt that read 'golfing for two' and meeting Marty Haskell, the man behind Golf Digest.  Apparently Marty's a huge fan of GolfHER's lbd!

Summing it all up...

It's unanimous : smaller businesses with  women at the helm really know how to cater to their female constituents!  While some of the vendors aren't getting it right with fabrics and details, it was refreshing to see a few really dedicated to and working toward that direction.  PING?  You made yourself 3 new fans by showing not only your excitement about our project - but your obvious excitement about your golf clothing.  That attitude is precisely what is needed to promote the game of golf to all players - especially amateurs and non-golfers interested in getting started.  

Also unanimous?  The bigger vendors, such as Puma, Adidas, and Callaway were huge disappointments.  Not only were the males representing their booths unfriendly, they didn't even greet us as we looked around.  While we understand that their primary goal is to get orders at this show, they didn't even effectively display their women's gear.

Overall - the PGA Expo was a validation of the fact that there are better golf clothes available, even though the selection at Dick's Sporting Goods would never make you think that!    It was a truly enlightening and exhausting day that made all three of us want to go out and immediately play 18 holes, testing the clothes we had just been introduced to at the show!  

Since it was dark, however, we had to settle for dreaming about the expo and our future plans.  That, and  enjoying delicious drinks and dinner at She in Las Vegas's amazing Aria Hotel.  What a perfect way to end an inspiring day!

Whitney, dreaming of becoming Zappos first female Chief Golf Officer.  Shelley, coveting Win McMurray's job (but not her boyfriend Michael Phelps), and Dawn - brainstorming about transforming Stacey Lewis's look (but nothing else!)...