Over the past year literally truckloads of apparel and golf equipment have been received, tested and reviewed by our staff.

Soft good are the bread and butter for retailers as this is where the highest percentage mark–ups are found. And with the advent of new apparel and accessories companies blossoming, the golfers upgrading of their wardrobes can be seen in the styles and selections being made available by these new companies.

Companies such as Tehama and Nike have very avant-garde merchandize while companies such as Zero Restriction, Sunderland and Fairway & Greene have made great inroads on the Tours, which in turn have boosted their sales.

As regards to equipment, the product life cycles have been shortened to less than six months giving both the consumer many options but also causing confusion as to which product to purchase. In this domain of equipment (drivers, irons, woods, wedges and putters), marketing is playing a more important role for the manufacturer. For the consumer, his best “defense” is to test drive these products before making a purchase.

The most common thread amongst the star performers in each category was their quality, design, and functionality and desired intended usage.

We have, after exhaustive testing, concluded that to do each category justice, we would pick the top three products in each category, where possible, and award the title “The Best of the Best”.

Certain categories will reflect just a single product. Others contain two and sometimes three items, as we felt they were of equal stature. For those categories with only a single brand named, it was simply that other products submitted were deemed “not up to snuff” and therefore were omitted.

The first product listed is to be considered the best of show, unless there is a tie in which case all the products named will be bolded. I too often get asked about my favorites therefore for the sake of my sanity and that of my publisher, I concur with the first product shown to be my choice as well in that category.

This article is “Men Only”. The “Ladies Only” will appear in an upcoming issue.

APPAREL:

Belts – Greg Norman – Bobby Jones - Footjoy

Caps – O’Connor – Legendary – Imperial Headwear

Cleats/Spikes – Black Widow SoftSpikes - CHAMP Trac

Gloves - Nike - Footjoy – TaylorMade

Outerwear – Zero Restriction – Sunderland - Tehama

Rain Gear - Zero Restriction – Sunderland - Roche Zero Restriction

Socks – Eurosocks – DeFeet - Footjoy

Shirts - Upscale – Fairway & Greene – Tehama – Tommy Behama

- Regular – Greg Norman – Adidas - Nike

Shoes - Traditional - Nike – Adidas – Footjoy – Surefoot

- Contemporary - Ecco – Cyclonic - Bite

Trousers – Greg Norman – Tommy Behama - Dockers

Visors - Imperial Head Gear - Texace

ACCESSORIES

Collar Stays - Collarstyx

Coolers – 2,4,6 Cascade To Go Cooler

Golf Bags – Stand Bags – PING – Ogio - ClubGlove

– Cart Bags - ClubGlove - Sun Mountain - Ogio

Golf Carts - EZ Go – Yamaha – Club Car

Grips - Lamkin – GolfPride – Winn

On-Line Golf Shopping – The Golf Warehouse (www.tgw.com)

Push Carts – Manual – Sun Mountain Speed Cart – Big Boy Express

- Electronic – Lectronic Kaddy

Putting Greens - SofTrak Putting Greens

Range Finders – SkyGolf GPS - Bushnell

Sunglasses - Scheyden – Oakley- SunBuster

Sunscreen - Kinesys – ProDerma – Coppertone Sport

Tees - Global Golf’s “Step Down” tees – Brush Tees

Travel Bags – Club Glove – ClubGlove’s “Stiff Arm”

Umbrellas - GustBuster

TRAINING –TEACHING

Golf Book – The Right Mind for Golf , The Consistent Winning Process.

Schools - Game Improvement - Pelz Short Game Schools – Butch Harmon Schools – Kip Puterbaugh Golf Academy (Carlsbad, CA at Aviara)

- Pro Teacher School – Professional Golf Teachers Association of America

Training Aids – Putting – Dave Pelz Putting Tutor – The Putting Arc – Putting Pod- Trustroke

- Swing - The Inside Approach – AJ Bonar’s Video Series – The Plane Stick

Custom Fitting – Mitch Voges Max Out Golf – Dynamic Balance System

The Inside Approach

EQUIPMENT

Balls - Over $20 per dozen – Nike “One” – Titleist Pro V1 Series – Callaway HX Tour 2

- Under $20 per dozen – Noodle – Top Flight Infinity – Precept U-Tri

Drivers – Major OEM – TaylorMade 580 Series – Titleist 983 Series – Cobra SZ –
Callaway GBB II - Cleveland Launcher

- Secondary OEM – Adams- Tour Edge - MacGregor – GolfGear Tsunami

Fairway Woods – Sonartec – TaylorMade - Cleveland - Nike CPR

Irons - Regular – TaylorMade RAC Series – Callaway X16 – Nike Slingshot

- Hybrid - TaylorMade Rescue Mid -Tour Edge Bazooka JMAX Combo Set
– Adams Idea Irons -

Shafts - Graphite - Fujikara – Graphite Design Intl. – UST

Steel - True Temper - Rifle

Shaft Enhancement – Advanced Shaft Design Centroidal Axis Technology(TM), - SST Puring

Putters - Scotty Cameron Series (all) – Odyssey 2- Ball – TaylorMade Rossa series

Wedges - Cleveland Series - TaylorMade RAC Series –Vokey Series – Callaway V Series

Barry Lotz, J.D., Ph.D. is the director of the Professional Golf Teachers Association of America. He is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America, the California Golf Writers Association, and serves both as a Consultant and Mediator to the golf industry. He is also the author of numerous books, including "333 Best Web Sites for Golfers" and his current book, "How to Build Business Relationships Through Golf" is in the Top Ten Golf Business Book's best seller list.

He can be reached at www.pgtaa.com or drlotz@cbsgolf.net