Category: Clothes

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Clothes with SPF?

Have you ever heard someone ask for a tip and the other guy responds with “wear sunscreen”.  Haha, very funny, but boy it’s getting hot out.  This year, because it’s kind of a pain to put on a ton of sunscreen on, I decided to try wearing long sleeve shirts as long as possible.  It’s still working even with 90+ heat in a lot of places!

Long sleeves have a few benefits.  The first is of course keeping the sun off your skin.  This helps keep your risk of melanoma lower, keeps your skin looking younger, and keeps you from getting a crazy farmer tan.  Seems good all around.  A second benefit is that it’s supposed to keep you cooler.  I’m not sure about that one, but everyone wears long sleeves in the middle east so there must be something to it.

I have two different approaches to my long sleeves.  First, there are long sleeve shirts made out of moisture wicking, breathable material.  These are a great option and very easy to find these days.  The other option is a pair of sun sleeves.  These are tighter and designed to cover just your forearms and extending under your short sleeves.  Sun sleeves are also made out of high tech fabric, but allow some breathing room under your short sleeves.    Plus, you can take these off when you go inside!  Here is a picture of a sun sleeve made by Sun Mountain.

Sun Sleeves made by Sun Mountain
Sun Sleeves made by Sun Mountain

The other thing to consider when buying your golf shirts is their UPF, which is similar to SPF for sunscreen.  It stands for UV Protection Factor.  Clothes inherently have some UPF because they block the sun, but companies are impregnating clothes with a sunscreen like substance to increase your protection from the sun.  This seems really smart and makes a lot of sense!  Some clothes even have their UPF rating right on their label, so keep your eye out.  Generally the UPF will run from 30 to 50 on average.

Anyway, hope those thoughts on sun protection are useful.  Hit ‘em long and straight, but don’t forget to protect your skin from sun damage!

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The Importance of Golf Shoes

I learned years ago the importance of golf shoes. When I first started playing golf, as with many players, it was important save money. Golf is an expensive game, but there many ways to save money. For example, I bought used equipment and walked the course whenever I could. Well some things never change. Golf is still an expensive game and I still try to save money whenever I can. However, there are a few things that I have spent a little more on and this includes shoes.

As taking lessons for a while from a golf pro who knew and respected. Shopping for shoes one day in the clubhouse where he taught and he came over and recommended a pair of Footjoy Gel Fusion shoes that he told me I could get a discount on. They were a lot more than I was expecting to spend. But then he said something that I always remember. I asked about some cheaper shoes and he said they’d be fine, but they wouldn’t help my game. In essence he was telling me that the technology in the shoes could help me play better golf. The particular pair of shoes had a new technology which would help me turn my feet better. He was my coach and I took his advice.


IN THE HOLE! Golf

The shoes were great. They were very comfortable and worked through my swing fantastically. However, I really didn’t realize how great they were until I tried my old shoes. My previous shoes were a $30 pair that had worked well for me. But when I tried them on to practice with, I realized how much they were actually hurting my swing. There were not comfortable and didn’t seem to support me as well. And I could feel the extra movement through my swing. Since that session, I threw away those shoes and haven’t been able to buy cheap shoes since. Now I am forced to shop at outlet malls and sales.

Here of the things I look for in shoes: comfort, a snug fit, waterproof upper, and style. After finding the correct size I need for each brand of shoe, I’ve been able to find some good deals on the Internet. I usually try them on in a store and buy them on the Internet. Although I spend a little more, I’ve been very happy and my feet have thanked me for it.