Callaway Apparel announced the launch of the new Tour Authentic Collection, which the company describes as “an exclusive and concise collection of ultra-premium garments.”

Two years in research and development, leaders in technical apparel specifically designed the apparel for the formal and functional needs of golfers looking for heritage styles in modern incarnations.

“We are excited to bring the exclusive Tour Authentic collection to market,” stated Gregg Hemphill, Senior Director Global Soft Goods and Licensing at Callaway Golf. “Tour Authentic’s upscale men’s golf apparel is appealing to all customers, whether or not they enjoy the game of golf, thanks to active styles that go far beyond the fairway. Callaway Apparel pledges innovation, quality, and performance, which have always been our core attributes.”

The 2018 Tour Authentic Collection includes polos, 100% cashmere sweaters, shorts, and pants; all of which are crafted from high-quality materials, and all of which feature a range of precisely considered technologies.

To talk through this unique collection and its development, I spoke with Alexander DePallo, Brand and Marketing Manager for Callaway Apparel.

BA: Where did this collection come from? It’s a departure from Callaway’s usual apparel philosophy. What was development like?

AD: Basically, over the past year-and-a-half we…as Callaway Apparel, pivoted in our strategy in adjusting our business model. In the past, we had been very focused on department stores and wider outlets, versus now, we’re pivoting and implementing that pricing, we’ve closed up our distribution we’ve made it more focused on selling full-priced products, golf specialty…honing on on where golfers are going to buy product and elevating the full platform for Callaway Apparel.

We’ve really been building up our green grass presence…We’ve found that at these high-end green grass locations, we didn’t have products that were meeting their needs. Our design team went out and had the task to build a luxury golf line that’s build for high-end green grass. That is what Tour Authentic is.

They spent 18 months developing the products. They went to five different countries; pulling fabrics from Japan, from Germany, from Switzerland, finding the right materials and coming up with product construction that was not in the market. Looking at the solid poly with the Japanese yarn or the Mongolian cashmere sweaters or the Schoeller fabric in the pants…there’s so much technology but still a refined craftsmanship.

BA: Taking a look at the polo shirts. Merino wool. Japanese yarn. Mercerized cotton. Some quality materials there but also plenty of technology…

AD: With the polos, we wanted to have a variety of materials while making sure we’re meeting the demand of the higher-end consumer. It’s a more tailored fit. The materials are of a more substantial quality. The Japanese yarn. The Merino wool–that’s something you don’t see in the market. We’ve gotten great feedback on the wool. The mercerized cotton with the moisture management technology…that’s only in our cotton polos…you have no white marks, no sweat marks through the shirt. It’s incredible.

Really having high-quality construction with a tailored fit, and repeatable: all of the seams are laser cut and seam sealed. There are no seams when it comes to the sleeves and the placket…there’s no stitching on that…even down to the detail of the alloy buttons, there’s just such an attention to detail, and we’ve very proud of what we have. We had 99 percent sell through at Whistling Straits within 60 days.

This collection is only available at high-end green grass shops and on our website. It’s very limited. There’s probably about 35 U.S. clubs that are carrying it and probably 25-30 in the U.K.

BA: Great. So how about a bit about the Mongolian cashmere sweater? Obviously, the sweater has historically been a staple of the golfer’s wardrobe, but on the Tour, it’s kind of been overtaken by performance layers and shells. I’m not sure if the same is true for golfers at higher-end courses. And certainly, the sweater has a measure of versatility the zip-up wind jacket doesn’t. I assume that’s part of the idea?

AD: Right. This Mongolian long staple cashmere is truly the best that you can get. We wanted to have a piece that, exactly as you said, our target consumer is going to wear this on the golf course, but also in the grill room, and the board room. This is a piece that can transition. It’s a little more refined versus performance material or outerwear…this person wants something that’s different, more refined, more dressy.

We didn’t want to be just like everybody else and just do a high-performance cotton quarter-zip. We wanted to do something different than what’s in the market…this piece is refined, but it still has a tailored fit and has some performance elements to it. It’s going to complete the look.

BA: The pants and shorts have a wealth of technology, and honestly, I could have seen you going with a cotton or cotton blend and calling it a day, but these seem to blend traditional elements of, say, a cotton or wool dress pant with some modern features. I imagine finding the right balance was a process?

AD: Yeah. These really bridge the gap between the person that only wears traditional cotton and the person that wants performance. It’s a blend [cotton/nylon/elastane]. The Schoeller technology is truly unbelievable. I do this test kind of to show the product off…I’ll take a glass of water and pour a quarter glass of water on the pants then flip the pants up and they’ll be totally dry.

So that will pique your interest, but in addition to that, the weight, the cut, all of that it..it has more of a feel like a traditional trouser, but it has this performance element to it and it has more of a tailored fit. It’s got your active waistband, but it’s not the overtly loud…active waistband you’re used to seeing in the more athletic brands. We keep it tight in that it’s two color: navy and khaki and every polo can work with those two. It’s different from what we’re doing in our main line. And it’s different from what you’re going to see in the market.

BA: Anything else you’d like the readership to know, before I let you off the hook?

AD: This is all very much in the infancy stages. In the fall, we’ll have a new array of products. We’re going to continue this line, and we’re really excited about the potential it has.

BA: Right. Because this is kind of a concept, a philosophy, that’s evolving, and this is the first articulation of that, right? You can expand it. You can take it into other realms.

AD: We say, “heritage in the making.” Paying homage to what was. Having that classical style, but with the really technical, forward-thinking construction and materials. We think that blend is very interesting and finds a niche in the market.

You can check out Callaway’s Tour Authentic Collection here. Additionally, Callaway Apparel’s VP of Product Design, Lupe Benitez, joined Michael Williams on the 19th Hole podcast (10:15 mark).