Company Profile, Product Review:
Greg Norman Collection Golf Apparel & Accessories
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com

How do you define an individual golfer? Oh sure, you may label the members of your Sunday morning foursome by their unique swings, or by the number of mulligans they’ve tallied throughout the summer. But each and every golfer shares one common characteristic: we all own a preferred apparel style.

I’ve always admired Greg Norman’s style – whether it be his trademark straw hat during his swashbuckling days on the PGA Tour during the 1980s and ‘90s, or his successful business dealings, which today, through Great White Shark Enterprises, include golf course designs, fine wines (which we have reviewed here at London Ontario Golf), and fine dining. What Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer were to golf style of their respective eras, so, too, is Greg Norman.

In fact, even though The Shark is past the point of competing for championships on the PGA Tour, his name remains synonymous with class and style. I’ve always admired Greg Norman Collection golf apparel and accessories. Heck, when I recorded my first hole-in-one a few years ago, and during my career-low round of 62, both times I wore a Greg Norman Collection golf shirt. Call it fate. Call it superstition. But whatever you call Greg Norman Collection golf wear, call it classy and stylish.

“After launching as a knitwear line of golf apparel exclusively for men in 1992, Greg Norman Collection has since developed into a complete lifestyle brand inspired by the game and, of course, the man behind our namesake,” says Jeremy Brandrick, Senior Director, Design, Greg Norman Collection.

“Our target audience consists of enthusiastic men and women golfers who are active yet sophisticated, ranging in age from 35 to 55,” says Brandrick. (For the record, your humble scribe falls right in the middle of that demographic, although I am sure my golf partners would question my sophistication). “Our brand is built upon a unique combination of performance, luxury and style (what did I tell you?) – a belief that has created a specific niche for the Collection in the market place,” says Brandrick.

According to Brandrick, The Shark is involved with the development stages of his apparel line, seeing development at a very early stage, and typically at the midpoint of product development. Norman then is generally the first to see the finished product. According to Brandrick, “Greg Norman Collection is dedicated to providing retailers and customers with functional yet fashionable golf wear and accessories while continually answering the demands of those on the course.”

I’m particularly fond of the Greg Norman Collection mock neck shirts – listen, when you card a course-record 62, you’ve found your lucky shirt! But besides adding to the performance element, Greg Norman Collection apparel is some of the most luxurious and classiest clothing on today’s market. For this reason, we at London Ontario Golf are proud to have Greg Norman Collection on board as our official golf apparel line.

Greg Norman Collection continues to differentiate from the competition with innovative fabric technologies. The brand introduces two new Play Dry styles – Play Dry 2-Below and Play Dry ML 50 – for fall 2007.

Play Dry 2-Below is a cool-to-the-touch Japanese yarn that climatizes the body upon wearing. This innovative, lightweight performance fabric is constructed to create four silhouettes, each carefully pieced together, in different athletic-inspired patterns to answer individual style. The fresh, subtle yet effective color story is shared throughout two polos featuring a three-button placket; one zip polo; and another mock.

Luxury Play Dry develops even further with the ML 50, the company’s highest-gauged polo yet. This polo’s silky finish is a result of a fine knitting process which also ensures extreme wicking and unsurpassed moisture-wicking and UV protection. Four colourways are merchandised within Signature Series, the brand’s assortment of menswear-inspired sportswear that fuses a high-performance foundation with exceptional styling in luxurious fabrications. 

The entire Fall 2007 line, both Men’s and Women’s, from Greg Norman Collection is built upon a unique combination of performance, luxury and style. In fact, so is the entire Greg Norman Collection, a subsidiary of MacGregor Golf Company, and a leading worldwide marketer of golf-inspired sportswear for men and women, influenced by one of the world's leading golf professionals – The Shark.

There are some outstanding pieces to the Greg Norman Collection Fall 2007 line. My favourites include the Long Sleeve Pieced Mock Weatherknit, featuring a Raglan sleeve with jacquard inserts for style and mobility. Water and wind resistant, it’s made from an interlock knit construction, and 100 per cent Play Dry fabric.

The Play Dry ML 50 Polo in black is a favourite, as is the Performance Polo in key lime, featuring Raglan sleeves with cooling inserts, moisture-wicking properties and made with 100 per cent Play Dry Performance. Also, the Micro Windowpane Performance Mock in blue, 100 per cent Play Dry Performance, offers an update to the Collection’s patterned mock. It boasts a unique style yet maintains the technical benefits including moisture wicking.

Greg Norman Collection has recently released its Signature Series for Spring 2008, including the Luxury Ultimate 80s Polo.

Performance. Luxury. Style. The name, Greg Norman Collection, says it all. Whether impressing your fellow club members at the bar and grill during a 19th hole beverage and exchange of tall tales, or impressing them from tee to green, apparel and accessories from the Greg Norman Collection make the perfect partner.

For more information on all Greg Norman Collection offerings, visit www.gregnormancollection.com.