Antigua Golf Apparel Review

These days, Antigua products can be found at thousands of golf facilities, golf retailers and golf events. They have been a part of the PGA Show for 32 consecutive years and have been chosen as a partner for Ryder Cup matches, PGA Championships, Solheim Cups and numerous events on all the other tours. Over the years, their gear has been seen on the backs and bottoms of such notable pros as Annika Sorenstam, Jim Furyk, Stacey Lewis and the late Payne Stewart. In addition to golf, the company also serves the licensed sports, corporate and specialty retail markets. They recently entered the tennis market, but I digress.

When it comes to golf apparel, every company has its own "technology." In the case of Antigua, a lot of their apparel uses a technology known as Desert Dry. Desert Dry is a moisture wicking technology created to absorb and wick away moisture quickly and evenly to achieve the most efficient evaporation possible. Antigua's apparel is often tested under the hottest conditions of the Arizona desert, assuring that it meets the company's high standards for moisture wicking performance. Other characteristics of the Desert Dry fabric include increased air flow for the fabric to breathe, reduced body temperature during activity, and minimization of body and fabric cling.

New polos for 2015 include the Desert Dry Performance Cotton which combines the casual comfort of cotton with the maximized wicking properties of Antigua's Desert Dry moisture management technology. Within the Desert Dry Performance Cotton line, Antigua offers a full palette of colors and styles. Long considered a brand for the older crowd, the new Performance Cotton is helping Antigua gain market as it appeals to a younger crowd. The same colors are available for both men and women.

Golf outerwear is where Antigua really raises the bar with its Spring 2015 Men's Collection, building on previous successes within the category. According to Ron McPherson, President and CEO of Antigua, "this collection is the focal point of Antigua's ever-expanding lightweight golf outerwear. Technology advancements have included new lightweight functional fabrics, making the design potential limitless. And golf outerwear has been crossing over to daily wear use, which has helped grow the category."

Such is the case with the new Asset, a half-zip pullover available in a range of colorful heather shades complemented with brightly toned sleeve taping and contrasting placket zippers. The Asset is something that could easily become a cold weather golfer's go-to garment.

Also new for this year is the Crux, which is constructed using a mid-weight, double knit neutral heather interlock and then contrasted with deep palette color shades, outlined with seams covered in bright color contrast cover stitching. It is both a casual look and a new-color classic.

Haze demonstrates that when constructed into a lightweight, lightly brushed half-zip pullover, a tonal irregular yarn can be comfortable in cool climates and, at the same time, not infringe on movement. In such a case, the versatility of lightweight outerwear styles adds to their popularity. Antigua's 2015 outerwear collection can be worn as a standalone piece, over a tee shirt or performance polo or even under a heavier weight piece of outerwear.

Also worth mention is Skill, Antigua's new half sleeve windshirt Newer technology is so advanced that these new wind-resistant fabrics are thinner, lighter and softer, offering both comfort and flexibility. Not only is Skill wind-resistant, it also keeps golfers dry from rain because of its high-quality inner membrane. It's embellished with elastic outer garment seam tape that mimics the irregular neutral stripe effects in this collection's polos, giving it a unique aesthetic design appeal.

Antigua's new line of golf apparel is worth a glance. It's hipper and more colorful than in the past. As you can imagine, Antigua apparel is available in a lot more stores than golf specialty shops. The Antigua online store (www.shop.antigua.com) sells the polos $55 and the outerwear pieces for $75.

For more details on Antigua's Spring 2015 Men's Golf Outerwear Collection, visit www.antigua.com.