By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images Courtesy of Antigua

PEORIA, AZ – It’s one of my favorite questions to ask golf products manufacturers – “What’s the one thing you’d like to be known for?”

I typically get some sort of stock answer spanning one word or at most a single sentence, but Antigua’s President and CEO Ron McPherson threw me a bit of a curve recently.

“We actually would like to be known for three things,” continued McPherson. “We want to be known for our quality, technological innovation and authentic sports heritage.”

Let’s see…quality, check. Technological innovation…check. Authentic sports heritage? Isn’t that something more akin to universal brands like Nike or Adidas?

Not necessarily. According to McPherson, Antigua was founded in 1979 as a regional supplier of embroidered apparel and accessories for the golf community in Arizona. Within four years the company became national in scope with sales agents across the country.

In 1988, the company signed an agreement to outfit Payne Stewart on the PGA Tour in apparel with NFL logos including his famous knickers. This signing moved the company into the licensed sports apparel business. Who can forget Stewart’s signature duds – he was as recognizable from two fairways away as he was up close. You didn’t even have to see his syrupy swing to see it.

Today, 38 years after its founding, Antigua has four divisions: Golf, Licensed Sports, Corporate apparel and Tennis apparel. The company also has international distribution in Canada, Malaysia-Singapore and Australia.

Antigua’s corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona houses a very large embroidery decoration facility along with inventory warehousing, design and development, supply chain operations, customer care, marketing support, sales management and finance and accounting.

354 associates are employed at Antigua headquarters and the company has 84 sales representatives in the field covering the four business channels. No wonder Antigua is breaking into the bigger brands’ market share. Great products and great people make for a winning combination.

People aren’t the only attribute that sets Antigua apart. McPherson says consistent quality, consistently distinctive designs and consistent value distinguishes his company from the competition.

It’s admittedly hard for the lay person to walk into a shop and recognize one apparel maker over another right off the bat. But a shirt isn’t just a shirt. How many times have you bought something that looked good in the store but after one washing was virtually unrecognizable?

Golf apparel is different than regular clothes too. That’s where expertise comes in. “Golf apparel must be designed with the ‘game’ in mind,” McPherson explained. “Fit, comfort, stretch-ability, ease of maintenance, fabric technology and ‘on trend’ in color are integral to designing apparel for golf.

“’Performance’ in golf apparel covers a number of areas including wicking/moisture management, colorfastness, stretch-ability, consistent fit, durability, and of course easy care/maintenance.”

The last element is important. I have Antigua apparel from years ago that still looks – and feels – great. The same cannot be said for other brands…which will go nameless. As a leader in technological fabrics Antigua has truly discovered the formula for long-lasting “performance.”

Simply put, it’s hard to perform well on the course if you’re not comfortable in your clothes. That’s true for both sexes.

As would be expected, men’s and women’s apparel is different. McPherson explains the distinction, “Women are expert shoppers and look for full ensembles.  So when designing for women, complete outfits are essential.  Men tend to be more item driven.”

The stereotype works for me. From someone who doesn’t care to spend more than a couple minutes picking out clothes for the course I understand where McPherson is coming from. Everyone wants to look good in the clubhouse and feel good on the course. Women just take a little longer completing the process.

A lot of it has to do with trends, too. “The key trends in men’s and women’s golf apparel revolve around fabric technology and color. The fabrics of today are synthetic blends with a percent of spandex all with wicking/moisture management attributes.  Color changes in each season so being on trend in color is an ongoing challenge.”

I have noticed a definite movement towards brighter, more vibrant colors in golf apparel. It’s great for the game and also works in more formal settings such as casual day at the office. Your boss may say it’s okay to wear a golf shirt to work but if it’s a cheap garment from a bargain store everyone will know.

Why take a chance?

For our part we love Antigua’s style, quality and performance. I can honestly say the whole family feels the same way; if we’re going to the course it’s Antigua on our backs. The fabrics keep you dry and happy and the outerwear is stylish and helps you stay warm – and dry.

The “big” brands may be a little more well-known; but after nearly forty years of service there’s no apparel maker better than Antigua.