Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: Quality clothing from a company on a mission.
Golf Tribute is a spin-off of luxury golf goods manufacturer Sweet Wood Golf. Sweet Wood specializes in products such as hickory shafted, forged irons, handcrafted leather golf bags, and hand crafted ball mark tools. All of these hearken back to an earlier age when artisan craftsmen produced handmade goods that looked as good as they worked.
Thus, it was natural when Sweetwood decided to launch a line of apparel that their clothes also should reflect that heritage.
Thus, Golf Tribute.
The Golf Tribute fall line consists of an argyle sweater vest, a clubhouse jacket, “featherweight” polo and a golfer’s flat cap.
The sweater vest comes in a grey argyle design with black piping. It buttons up the front with beautiful wood buttons. Very traditional. In fact, I was watching Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius while writing this review and noticed sweaters with similar designs on both players and in the gallery. Serendipity.
The Golf Tribute vest material is a nice cotton-wool blend. Two outer pockets complete the classic design. On the front is a large Golf Tribute logo, but it really is not that noticeable from more than a couple of feet out.
Golf Tribute’s vest is very soft and very comfortable. It feels more of cotton than wool, so I would be cautious about putting it in the dryer for fear of shrinking. That’s important because the fit is a bit on the slim side. You may want to think about ordering a size up.
The “Feather Weight” polo is indeed light. Indeed, it may be the lightest weight golf shirt I have tried. That said, it also doesn’t feel particularly synthetic like other lightweight, moisture wicking, anti-microbial shirts. It feels instead to me instead like a very, very fine cotton weave.
Like the vest, the Golf Tribute polo comes in an understated grey with a large, but conservative logo. No Rickie Fowler colors here.
The shirt is nicely constructed, with a double hemmed collar and three button placket. The effect here is quite traditional. It would look quite nice with a pair of knickers.
I like the clubhouse jacket a lot. It is roomy through the shoulders, but fits snugly through the hips and at the wrists. In that, it’s perfect for a cool fall round in Michigan (or a cool summer round, given the way our weather here sometimes goes).
The material has a fine suede-like feel and is said to be water resistant. I haven’t had any opportunity to test this theory, but have no reason to doubt it. The interior has a grey plaid lining. There are two slash pockets on the outside, and a single inner pocket along the hip line on the left hand side. The pocket is different; it is ten inches long and eight deep, with the top secured a bit with a single small velcro tab.
My only complaint is one that I have with lots of other apparel manufacturers. The jackets just don’t have enough pockets. In this day of cell phones, iPods, golf GPS units and other gear, I think jackets should have lots of interior pockets. The other pockets should zip. The Golf Tribute club jacket would be perfect with a right inner breast pocket.
I have the least to say about the cap. It’s constructed from a wool-cotton blend that feels more wool than cotton, and will probably keep your head quite warm on cool fall days. That said, the L/XL just isn’t large enough for my size-8 head, so I can’t judge its fit and feel.
Golf Tribute President Kerim Antoine Kfuri says that his company offers more than clothing, however. In his words, the company tries to pay tribute to “the history and origins of the game.”
Kfuri encourages golfers to “Take The Pledge and make a personal commitment to always dress properly while playing, look to find their natural swing by using feel-based golf equipment, and to always keep a philanthropic outlook toward the game.”
The company’s philanthropy is accomplished as a Silver Partner of the First Tee program. A portion of every sale goes to the First Tee.
“Simply put, as a collective group, each one of us can pay tribute to the game and its origins in our own special way. In doing so, we have the opportunity to elevate this wonderful game and also ourselves” says Kfuri. “We’re thrilled to support such a wonderful and well-respected organization as The First Tee. It’s had a huge impact in my life as well as the life of millions of young people all across the country.”
I like this line (albeit limited) of apparel very much and look forward to its expansion.
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