Preparing for a golf trip to the British Isles requires a good deal of thought. Of course, you’ve got to start with your 14 weapon arsenal. (You don’t want to go to battle at The Old Course with a new driver, do you?)
A good rain suit should, without a doubt, be looked at as nothing less than a 15th club. I’ve long ago given up on umbrellas -- without a caddie to hold and manage them against the wind they are completely worthless for links golf. But a good rain suit, well, it can be the difference between being completely miserable and being comfortable enough to swing the club, stay dry, and actually play some decent golf.
I’m fortunate to work with people with great taste, and one of our content managers (and a heck of a golfer) Lynne Cowan recently gave me a pair of black Sunice Karumba rain pants to try out.
They hardly ever leave my golf bag.
These waterproof wonders barely weigh anything (they are made out of the only fabric with a lifetime guarantee - GORE-TEX), fold up small, and when the time comes to put them on, they keep my pants completely dry underneath. Sunice packed them with great features like double pockets that let you get to your pant pockets underneath or simply use the outer pockets in the rain pants. The back pocket is perfect for scorecards or yardage books. And the version of GORE-TEX in these pants, called Paclite, is the perfect blend of lightweight, waterproof, and breathable.
Until recently, I was “pairing” these pants with whatever short or long-sleeved wind shirt I had handy. This was fine for a trip to Bandon Dunes, Oregon where we only saw rain one day. The main issue there was cool mornings which is easily taken care of with layering.
A week before my trip to the Scotland to cover the Walker Cup, it dawned on me that I needed one jacket to cover everything. I turned to Sunice for a light grey colored jacket that was trimmed so beautifully in white that I felt like it would be stylish enough to wear all over the place.
The jacket, like the pants, is packed with well thought-out features like the signature microfiber cloth towel in the left hand pocket, attached to the jacket so that you can use it to clean your ball, dry off a grip, or just stick your hand inside the pocket and grip the towel to stay warm and dry. All the zippers are waterproof, and this particular model (like the Karumba pants it's made of GORE-TEX Paclite) is so light and swing-worthy that a round of golf in a light rain doesn’t turn into an “on again, off again” experience.
I spent 7 days in Scotland, playing the Old Course, the Jubilee, Royal Aberdeen, and Murcar Links. I covered the Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen and spent a day site seeing in London. I literally wore the Sunice Hurricane every day, as a real hurricane moved across the British Isles dealing up a dose of high wind, heavy rain, and “periods of sunshine.”
Lynne told me the only thing I needed to add was a bucket cap, but fortunately it never came to that. I haven’t had my “Bishop in the movie Caddyshack” moment yet, but if I shoot 7-under on the front nine in a downpour, you know I’m finishing the round...
Sunice is based in Canada, and the company makes outerwear for skiing as well.
The Sunice Hurricane is available from better golf retailers. Learn more about their products at www.sunice.com.
