The minimalist footwear movement has gained another major advocate: FootJoy.

The concept, which first gained popularity in running, preaches shoe design and construction that enables the foot to move as if it was essentially barefoot. In running, supporters say, minimalist shoes lead not only to more efficient form and movement, but fewer injuries. Considering how proper footwork lends itself to a better swing, it's no surprise that minimalist shoe makers have surfaced in golf in recent years.

Now, FootJoy has entered the growing category with its M:PROJECT shoe. Unlike some minimalist advocates, however, FootJoy isn't endorsing the barefoot trend as the answer for every golfer's footwear needs. But company officials say the M:PROJECT delivers more comfort and flexibility and can help develop better balance.

"We've been tracking the minimalist trend for the past couple of years, and we've been in development of this type of product for over 18 months now," said Doug Robinson, FootJoy's vice president for golf footwear worldwide.

"We think it's an important concept that fits well in our overall line structure," said Robinson, adding that the M:PROJECT expands and complements the company's offerings, which include ...

Jesper Parnevik, who will make his PGA Tour season debut at the Humana Challenge next week, will be donning new gear when he takes to the first tee, as Cobra Puma Golf announced it had signed the 14-time winner to an apparel and golf-club contract.

“Cobra Puma Golf and Jesper Parnevik are a perfect match,” said Bob Philion, president of Cobra Puma Golf. “He has been a world-class performer and a pioneer of modern golf fashion on the global golf stage for over 20 years; making him the perfect blend of performance and style that Cobra Puma Golf embraces. We’re excited to see him return to the PGA Tour and embody the Cobra Puma Golf spirit on and off the course.”

Parnevik will wear Puma's Spring and Summer 2013 Collection, while also adding a nearly complete bag of Cobra clubs. Parnevik will be at the Cobra Puma booth on Demo Day during the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando on Jan. 23.

“I’m thrilled to be part of the Cobra Puma Golf team; they’re not afraid to do things a little differently,” said Parnevik. “I’ve played Cobra and worn Puma in the past; both brands provide ...

Bubba Watson, the 2012 Masters champion, has joined Oakley Inc. to wear its performance golf apparel in 2013, the company announced Thursday.

“I’m proud to join their family because they love the game and they never stop pushing technology to make the game better," Watson said.

Oakley officials said Watson's distinctive style of play makes him an effective spokesman for the brand, which is bringing its action-sports heritage and technology to the golf category.

“He is a Masters champion who fuels excitement with amazing drives and unbelievable shot making, and his personality brings a whole new flavor to the game," said Scott Bowers, senior vice president of global marketing and brand development at Oakley.

Oakley announced the deal on its website this morning, complete with this video:

Ray Rapcavage, a commercial real estate analyst in Rumford, N.J., had an idea. A wild and crazy idea.

A 3-handicap golfer, Rapcavage was hitting full wedge shots in his front yard. He shanked three in a row. Thus his desperate idea.

He pulled an old oversized sweater over his head, positioning one sleeve in front of his body and the other at his back. Then he forced both arms into the front sleeve. He was ready to attempt a golf swing.

“I was like a machine,” he said, recalling the moment. “It really felt great.”

And that was the birth of the Golf Swing Shirt (www.golfswingshirt.com), a practice device that is intended to squeeze the arms together and teach connectivity: the art of a golfer’s body parts remaining synchronized and connected during the swing.

All that was early in 2011. A short time later, he showed his discovery to a friend. “Ray, you really are crazy,” the friend said, “and, on top of it, you look like an idiot.”

Relentless, Rapcavage slipped the sweater on his friend. “He took three swings and started pounding the ball,” Rapcavage said. “He had to admit that it was helping ...

About 15 years ago, I made plans to spend an off day playing golf in the suburbs of New Jersey with a good buddy of mine. A couple of hours before our tee time, I drove to the PATH train station in Hoboken and found my friend standing near the steps to the subway entrance, wearing wrinkled plaid swim trunks, with his shirt untucked, and his golf bag by his side. Just for good measure, he also was unshaven.

My recollection is that I was borderline horrified by his appearance. Would he even be allowed on the course looking like that, I wondered, as I stroked the placket of my neatly ironed, double-mercerized Ashworth shirt? (Remember, this was before performance fabrics became all the rage.) I pondered the odd looks he must have received as he rode the subway from his apartment in Brooklyn to Penn Station, then transferred to the Trans-Hudson line with his golf bag slung across the back of his unkempt shirt. I recall giving him grief about his appearance as we drove to the course. His excuse was that he hadn’t done laundry and didn’t have any clean golf clothes to wear. (At the ...

Q&A With Adrienne Cass of TrendyGolf USA: Winning with high-quality clothes and service

For all the fairway fashionistas planning on a wardrobe rehab this season, we have found the perfect one-stop shop to satisfy your stylish needs – TrendyGolf.com.

We were fortunate to meet with Adrienne Cass, the site’s co-founder and managing director, to get a few pointers on what to buy, which brands are hot this season and what looks are making a splash on tee boxes across the country.

Tell us a little bit about your background and where the idea of TrendyGolf.com came from.

Trendygolf originated in the U.K. in 2004, just as J.Lindeberg and Jesper Parnevik were building a following in golf. J.Lindeberg was so hard to find because of its limited distribution strategy. The solution was to start a website where there were no country club fees and no closing hours. TrendyGolf quickly became the premier online destination for high-end golf apparel in Europe.

At the time, I was working for J.Lindeberg, managing key accounts for the golf division. I developed a relationship with Ian McLeod and Ben Woods, founders of TrendyGolf UK. I respected them and their ...

The Tommy Hilfiger Group, which relaunched its golf collection in 2011, has entered into a sponsorship deal with the Golf Club at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

The two-year agreement includes advertising placement for Hilfiger's Spring 2012 campaign, which features endorser Keegan Bradley. Other signage – including parking garage banners, elevator door wraps and tee-divider patches – are part of the deal as well.

In addition, club staff will be outfitted in Tommy Hilfiger Golf apparel and select merchandise will be sold in the New York Golf Center pro shop at Chelsea Piers.

The sponsorship continues Tommy Hilfiger's push back into the market. In February, the brand announced Bradley, 2011 PGA Championship winner, as its global ambassador. In March, the company signed British golfer Melissa Reid to promote its women's golf collection.

Regarding the new sponsorship deal, Hilfiger said: "The Golf Club at Chelsea Piers is an iconic spot for New York golfers and a great location to showcase the golf collection."

In a move designed to showcase its performance wear and greater presence on pro tours, Ashworth announced Justin Rose as its latest brand endorser.

Already part of the TaylorMade-Adidas family that owns Ashworth, Rose began wearing the apparel brand’s EZ-TEC2 shirts and Cardiff shoes at the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, May 24-27.

The EZ-TEC2 line is made with 100 percent synthetic performance fabrics and offers a relaxed, modern fit and moisture-wicking capability.

“This is a new category for Ashworth,” said Susan Bush, vice president of Ashworth apparel and footwear. “In the past we’ve focused primarily on cotton-based apparel because of the feel. With EZ-TEC2, we’ve created a lightweight golf shirt that not only incorporates the benefits of a best-performing synthetic, it also has a superior hand feel.”

Since turning professional in 1999, Rose, 31, has won nine times on the PGA Tour and European Tour combined. His most recent win came at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral Golf Resort in March.

The LPGA has partnered with Boston-based Streetwear Inc., designating the company as an official licensee of LPGA apparel.

Under the agreement, Streetwear will design, manufacture and distribute LPGA-branded apparel, with the first collection scheduled for retail delivery in early 2013.

“The LPGA has been focusing on bringing to life our tour’s points of distinction, particularly our unique personalities, which naturally extends to our players’ fashion,” said Jon Podany, the LPGA’s chief marketing officer. “. . . As the foremost brand in women’s golf, it is a logical extension to create another touch point for our fans which ties to our performance and style.”

Streetwear plans to distribute the apparel collection in golf and specialty retail shops as well as department stores in the United States and Canada. The company has teamed with Will Cropper, formerly of Adidas Golf, who will lead the LPGA venture.

“We intend on blending today’s performance technologies with styles women can wear both on and off the course, making LPGA Apparel a versatile part of an everyday wardrobe,” Cropper said.

With more than 20 years of experience in apparel design and manufacturing, Streetwear creates its own branded line and has a portfolio of licensed brands ...

We all know the saying: April showers bring May flowers. And that means sometimes the gung-ho golfer has to put up with wet conditions. Modern-day technology, and a few nice fabrics, have helped make those conditions more enjoyable.

Zero Restriction kicks off a month of finding out more about the different options in rain gear. I had the opportunity to talk with Billy Draddy, the senior vice president and creative director of Zero Restriction. He gave me an inside look at the technology behind the brand, and why it’s a great option this spring.

As the top premium rain gear line on the links for many years, it only seems fitting to expand into a technological apparel line. Tell me about this transition and how it came about.

Any moisture management story requires layering -- a moisture protection layer, a thermal/moisture transfer layer and a base layer. We were fully developed in the protection layer, starting with our Gore-Tex product down to our packable and knit waterproof products. For the thermal/mid layer we also had a full assortment of products for any weather condition. But in the base layer category we only had our z400 mock, which is ...

For fans of the Masters Tournament, there's an endless array of Augusta-inspired merchandise, spanning from apparel to coffee cups to umbrellas.

But for those who think their collection is never complete, FootJoy is offering a commemorative shoe for the season's first major – custom-made no less.

Through the company's MyJoys design program, FootJoy is making available a limited-edition, green sting ray printed leather to make 200 pairs of the themed footwear. The shoes can be made in a variety of FootJoy models and range in price from $140 (LoPro Spikeless) to $310 (FJ ICON Sport with BOA) for men's shoes. Women's options are from $140 (LoPro Sport Spikeless) to $200 (DryJoys).

This is the fifth year MyJoys is offering a special product for the major. In 2008, Zach Johnson, then the Masters' defending champion, was among several players who wore shoes made of a green caiman gator printed leather. For this year's tournament, the sting ray print will be used to craft shoes for numerous FootJoy staff players, including Luke Donald, Hunter Mahan, Jason Dufner, Nick Watney, Bill Haas, K.J. Choi, Gary Woodland, Johnson Wagner and Johnson.

FootJoy launched the MyJoys initiative in 2004 ...

We tracked down John Ashworth, the internationally renowned designer and founder of the Ashworth and Fidra brands.

Last August Pima Direct LLC acquired Linksoul Inc. and joined forces with Ashworth. He was named chief creative officer of the combined company and tasked to create a fashionable-golf masterpiece -- and this is exactly what he has done.

Ashworth took some time to discuss the merger and offer some crucial advice from one of golf’s best-dressed men.

• • •

How did Pima Direct and John Ashworth come together to create golf’s newest and most fashionable collection?

I formed Linksoul as a design company a few years back with family. We decided in early 2011 to design clothing under the Linksoul label. As we were putting the finishing touches on our first collection we were also looking for an operational partner that could help us with all of the day-to-day factors. One day last April my brother Hank and I went up to meet Mark Killeen, the president of Pima Direct. After a few meetings we all thought our companies would complement each other and would be a great fit, so we decided to form an alliance.

• • •

With your years of expertise, please tell ...

Some of the endorsements are obvious and in plain sight, like the long-term relationship with signature spokesman Tom Watson or the deal with world No. 1 Luke Donald.

Count Davis Love III, this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team captain, in that mix, too.

All three are naturals for Polo Golf, a division of Ralph Lauren, which like the parent company is defined by certain words: Classic. Timeless. Quality.

But Polo Golf’s investment in the sport goes far beyond signing PGA Tour players.

Since its founding in 1987, the division’s sponsorship and endorsement activities have established ties to the game’s cornerstones. And the portfolio is still expanding: Beginning this year, Polo Golf will serve as the official outfitter of the R&A, and just last month it announced a new collaboration with the Folds of Honor organization, which uses golf to raise college scholarships for children of military personnel.

Details of the new initiative are still in the works, but Polo officials are tentatively calling it Red Shirt Fridays – with a portion of proceeds of each red Polo shirt sold earmarked for the Folds of Honor.

“We want golfers and golf professionals on Friday, as a ...

After wrapping up a 2012 PGA Merchandise Show, we caught up with Catwalk Performance Artwear founder and designer Lauren Demerling.

We learned about how the line has evolved over the past few years, what mistakes have made them better, and the new and exciting fashion-forward outfits we can look forward to seeing on the tee box this season. Everything from reversible skirts and shirts, convertible dresses and sublimated designs.

• • •

Tell us something about the brand that we didn’t know last year. What new and exciting news do you have to share with us?

For Spring 2012 we have introduced a relaxed fit in a few styles. Please don’t mistake this for a boxy fit as it is not at all boxy. The beauty of the relaxed fit is that it allows women who are not comfortable with the body skimming fit of the standard Catwalk apparel. It allows these ladies to have more room in the breast/back area, as well as the tummy area. The curves are all still there, so women will still feel and look feminine.

• • •

How is the product evolving?

We are constantly listening to feedback from women who wear Catwalk or want to ...

Underscoring its growing push into the golf category, Oakley Inc. announced Feb. 1 the signing of Yani Tseng to its team of global brand ambassadors.

According to the company, the world's top-ranked female player had been using Oakley products since early in her career. Now, with an endorsement deal in place, Tseng will represent a broader array of Oakley products. In addition to wearing Oakley sunglasses, Tseng also will wear apparel from the new Women's Active Collection.

Said Patrick McIlvain, Oakley's vice president of global sports marketing: "… With Yani, the ride has been incredible. We're pleased to further our support as she continues to make her mark on the world of golf."

Tseng, 22, already has five major championships to her credit. In 2011, she was honored as the LPGA Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.