Welcome back, Weekend Warriors!

This week, we’re covering a busy bit of developments leading up to the PGA Championship, which starts tomorrow. Until then, enjoy this list of curated drops, some of which you can get, and some you can’t (unless you know how.) Find out why Nike is using race cars as shoe design inspiration, and take a deep dive into why Jordan Brand may be making the wrong move. All this and more in this week’s edition.

I hope you enjoy!

Jordan Golf Rebrand

A few weeks ago, Jordan Brand announced not just a launch of new Jordan golf shoes and clothes, but a soft rebrand of Jordan Golf in general. An announcement not just about Jordan Golf’s grand visions for the future, but how they plan to completely distance themselves from their history, with a quote from Michael Jordan himself talking about how “…the future of golf isn’t in the past.”

I find myself disagreeing with this idea a lot, not just because I am an oldhead when it comes to Jordan’s, but I feel like it is a fundamentally incorrect choice at this moment in golf to do so. There are so many people to educate, silhouettes to uncover, iconic fits to take inspiration from, now is not the time to fall into monotone normalcy and design complacency. Stand out, be unique, be what Air Jordan has been since its inception, while not forgetting about why that inception was so historically important.

Please find my full thoughts on this topic here, with a video dropping on socials soon.

Drops of the Week

Gleezy x Sugarloaf Social Club Visor

While many brands focused on Charlotte as a city, or the upcoming NASCAR race coinciding with the PGA Championship, Gleezy and SSC went all in on the “quail” part of Quail Hollow, creating an awesome mascot that lives on all the pieces, but looks especially homely on the visor.

Malbon x Jesper Parnevik

Malbon and Jesper Parnevik teamed up for a stylish and refined collection that meshes high quality wool knits and cuts with the unique style aspects of Jesper, like extra buttons, low cut v’s, and buttoned pockets, ensuring this high quality collection stands out like it should.

UNDFTD x G-Shock

Not the first time these two brands have worked together, but maybe the best, this sleek G-Shock model is accented with the logos and camo motifs that UNDFTD is so famous for, including multiple straps depending on how loud you want the watch to be. A neat touch is the red light and UNDFTD logo that appear when you hit the backlight button.

Beams Golf x Quiet Golf

A Japanese exclusive, which is awesome and saddening at the same time, this first-ever collab brings with it a small, street ready capsule of polos, t-shirts, and hats (including an awesome visor) that take the essence of Quiet Golf (it’s colors and modernist simplicity) and execute using brand new logos and the classic QG colors. Very refined, very clean, and very exclusive.

Kraken Golf x Miura

Legendary golf tool maker Kraken has been chosen by Miura to create an unbelievably beautiful line of hand painted ball markers, featuring Mt. Fuji floating in the back while cherry blossoms cross the forefront. A large red circle filling in the background completes the piece, adding more color and detail on the front than most ball markers have on both sides. These are dropping soon.

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Fore All x Khalhon

Both Fore All and Khalhon have really found their form in recent months, with Khalhon’s preppy vintage with modern cuts mixing well with the stylish yet loud silhouettes from Fore All. This joint collection combines parts of each brand’s identity to come together and create something completely new, mixing the preppiness with a sportiness that gives the entire release an air of nonchalant and fashionable fun.

Timeless x Sentinel

Sentinel Golf has teamed up with Timeless for a unique and boutique collection that meshes a love for the outdoors (and the trees that grow there) with the utilitarian needs of the modern golfer. Each piece is assembled with the highest quality in either New York, Italy, or Japan, the location of creation depending on whether it is a high quality knit shirt, or woven rain vest, or a protective hat and a spin on a garment bag. While a small collection, it holds more dual on and off course functionality than some other brands do in their entire site. A big big fan of this one right here.

Tour Moment

Malbon Golf have just announced they are signing the 136th best player in the world, South African standout Garrick Higgo, the young lefty who has found early success on both the DP World and PGA Tour, to an apparel deal similar to Jason Day. I remember fondly an article that released while I was an intern at Golf Digest that serves as a sort of introduction to Higgo, his story, and his capabilities. At only 26, and with under 100 events played, he has already racked up 8 professional wins, and made over $5 million in purse money. With all he has done already, there is still so much to do. I and so many others will be watching eagerly as he tees it up in the PGA Championship this week.

Weekly Advisors

Talk to the grass. I know it sounds stupid, but next time you’re putting, ask the grass which way the break is. Try and get it to tell you how violent the slope of the green is. Get nice and close to the ground and start asking around. Not only will the little voice in the back of your head usually give you a response, a subconscious one that goes along with your gut, but it also forces you to really take a second to exist in that moment of giving up control. With a putt, it only matters what line you start it on and how hard you hit it. Any extra movement of the golf ball happens only through slope and grain (the direction the grass is growing) so there is no harm in optioning the putting surface to help inform you which way it will take your ball. Stretching your mindset in golf and experimenting with unique mental strategy isn’t just fun for me; it’s helped take my putting to another level. The long game, I am still trying to find that edge, but experimenting with different putting ideas like listening to the grass and giving up control have allowed my putting to become the best part of my game. Try it for yourself, most of us have nothing to lose, and a whole lot of strokes to gain.

Song of the Week

Sneak of the Week

Most brands, for their PGA Championship merchandise, took inspiration from either the NASCAR race coinciding with the tournament or the “Queen City” moniker given to the city of Charlotte. Nike went with the former, creating their “Golfast” line of clothing and shoes, and while I honestly am not the biggest fan of that name, I am a gigantic fan of the shoe they have coming out. With a white and blue motif with “bred” accents, it’s a tribute not just to the colors of the PGA, but to the hues of NASCAR, resembling a racecar livery in it’s colorblocking and shading. The Air Zoom Infinity 2 uses its nylon upper to achieve a nice contrasting grey upper, with bright red accents used more often than the other models. The Victory Tour 4 is not as in your face, mixing red and blue squaringly while using the red accents for pop on the logos. Lastly, the Air Max 95’s all over blue upper gives it a really dope aquatic feel, and with a bit of a brighter hue as well it is definitely the most striking. I love what they did with the bottoms. Although the name for this collection is not Nike’s best work, I think they absolutely killed the designs. These are expected to drop this week, so stay tuned.

Stories from the Sticks

I’ve always said throwing a club shows you care.

— John Daly

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Weekenders Weekly! Next week, tune in for an exclusive interview with The Headband Golfer! Make sure to check out my bilingual efforts (eh) and the monumental motion at Malbon Miami (heavy) on the Weekenders Weekly Instagram! As always, a big thank you to 1440 Media for their continued support. It is appreciated every time. With summer coming around, I plan on taking myself, my camera, and in turn you guys to some pretty insane courses. Reviews and on course videos coming for all, of course. Lastly, please send over

• song requests

• best fits

• best kicks

from all your recent rounds! I want to feature the best of the best here on Weekenders! As always, thanks again for tuning in, and following along. I appreciate it every time. Crest Cup II sooner than you think! Go play some golf!

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