By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images courtesy of Antigua

PEORIA, AZ – “Our products continue to stay ‘on trend’ in design and fabrications because of a strong design and development team. Our products have maintained high quality standards over the years but improvements continue to be made with each collection,” said Ron McPherson, President and CEO of Antigua, one of the nation's leading designers and marketers of lifestyle and golf apparel.

I had mentioned to McPherson that we have enjoyed Antigua’s products for many years and was wondering how the company had maintained its edge. Humbly, McPherson credits his team for Antigua’s continued success.

Each new collection is unique and the products are different, yet there’s a continuity there that just can’t be denied. Golf apparel is a funny thing – it always changes, yet with Antigua, quality is perpetual.

McPherson says they’re excited about Antigua’s Spring/Summer 2015 Men’s Golf Collection -- and it’s easy to see why. “Response to the bright colors, fantastic new styling, and the advanced moisture-wicking technology has been outstanding. This promises to be our best-selling men's collection to date."

The technology McPherson mentioned involves keeping you comfortable on the golf course. It’s sometimes hard to concentrate on the game even when you feel great – if you’re sweaty, it’s downright distracting.

McPherson says Antigua’s “Desert Dry” and “Desert Dry Xtra Lite” fabrics have set them apart in the industry but they’re always looking for new and even better fabrics.

According to the company, the Desert Dry™ family now includes poly/cotton blends. Antigua has taken Desert Dry™ moisture management technology and constructed fabrics with fine cotton fibers blended with synthetic filaments to create Desert Dry™ Performance Cotton. Customers have been requesting a more casual fabric, without compromising the wicking capabilities of the poly fabrics.

Meanwhile, Desert Dry™ Xtra-Lite combines the Desert Dry™ moisture-wicking feature with specially constructed ultra-light fabrics for maximum wicking performance and optimum comfort. New additions to this category are 100% poly fabrics that feel and look like cotton. The garments feel like cozy cotton, but handle perspiration like poly. These new cotton-like poly fabrics open up a whole new world to consumers, who can have the comfort of their favorite tee while maintaining the ease of poly's wear and wicking power.

Needless to say, that’s important. Many players enjoy the softness of cotton on the golf course in addition to its traditional looks. Antigua’s technologically engineered fabrics give us the best of both worlds.

One thing we found somewhat non-traditional in the 2015 Antigua line-up was the use of vivid colors. Wow, some of them are bright.

McPherson explains: “Colors have been bright and bold for the past several seasons but really have not been a departure from traditional golf. Golf has always been colorful from Jimmy Demaret and Doug Sanders to Payne Stewart and Ricky Fowler. However, we do expect the colors to be toned down to some degree in 2016.”

McPherson has a point. Certain individuals have always stood out with their colorful styles. With today’s bright hues, you’ll also have your chance.

Along with those colors comes the performance you’d expect from a brand like Antigua. While the shirts won’t hit shots for you, they can still “perform” in your game.

“Performance in golf apparel should include moisture wicking, flexibility, proper fit, lightweight comfort, excellent maintenance characteristics and color fastness,” McPherson added. He’s right – maintenance characteristics shouldn’t be overlooked.

Antigua shirts are easy to keep looking nice and don’t need an excessive amount of ironing to go from the dryer to the golf course. As alluded to earlier, they also look good for years – it’s hard to ask for anything more.

As a final note, Antigua’s Tour staff (men’s and women’s) help steer the design ship. “Our tour players give us great feedback on both style and performance,” McPherson said. “One of our women’s styles called ‘Gem’ remained in the line for four seasons because of feedback from LPGA star Stacy Lewis.”

Along those lines, McPherson said they’re now finalizing the uniforms for the U.S. Solheim Cup Team for the matches in Germany in September. “We get fantastic feedback from the team and the captain that we utilize in the uniforms and in our future collections.”

Wise companies listen to the best players in the game. It leads to the type of continuity of quality that Antigua is known for. McPherson said they’d like Antigua to be recognized for its quality, technological innovation and its authentic sports heritage.

From what we’ve seen, they’re already there.