Product: Chase54 golf apparel
Who tried them: Mike Dojc, golf junkie, and AmongMen contributor
Retail Price: Polos range from $52-74 with shorts and pants clocking in at $72-90
Available: Chase54.com
Chase54 shoots very low but in Golf that’s how you win the game. Named after the score shot if a player were to birdie every hole on a Par-72 course, this young gun brand is not shy about dreaming big.
Pursuit of Perfection
The PGA TOUR’s record for the lowest round is 59 and that enviable score has been posted by six golfers in the top tier Tour’s history. Al Geiberger, “Mr 59,” was first to do the deed back in the second round of the 1977 Memphis Classic. Incidentally Geiberger turned pro in 1959 so he had numeric karma going for him all along. Then came Chip Beck (1991), David Duval (1999), Paul Goydos (2010), Stuart Appleby (2010), and Jim Furyk (2013). Phil Mickelson hit golf’s magic number in a silly season tourney in 2004 so it doesn’t count in the books as an official tour event and Annika Sorenstam shot a 59 in an LPGA event. There have been a flurry of amateur rounds tucked under that number. Homero Blancas who would go on to play on tour knocked in 13 birdies and one eagle en route to a 55 during at an invitational tourney in Longview Texas in 1962 (the course was just over 5000 yards though so super short by today’s standards). But 54, that’s uncharted territory. Still, considering Chase54’s grand ambitions to vault to the top of the apparel leaderboard, the name fits.
Sweating the Details
Every Nike, Adidas, and Puma on the block trots out the super fabric trifecta of sweat wicking, dry fitting, stain and UV resistant golf gear these days, so it takes a lot of effort to impress. Chase54’s poly/spandex mix in their golf pants seems smoother and softer than a lot of their brethren. There’s also gripper tape in the waistband lining of their pants and shorts to keep shirttails from creeping up and a “StaCrisp” waterproof back pocket is a great feature as well, keeping your scorecard or other gear dry even when it’s drippy outside. Fabric-wise their poly blends are soft and smooth and have the same sweat wicking, dry fitting and stain resistant capabilities as the other brands. Sorona, a corn derived polymer from DuPont, is woven into many of their designs, imparting a cooling aspect to the garments.
