The Loop

If you play golf in the rain, this is for you

January 19, 2012

The Seaforth Rain Hood is a product that most golfers probably are unaware of even as they've likely seen them on telecasts of PGA Tour events.

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The hoods are widely used by tour caddies as a means of keeping their players' clubs dry during the course of a round in the rain. In fact, the hoods were developed and refined through input from tour caddies, including Ken Doig Jr., the brother of the company founder, Carolanne Doig.

"Basically my brother was a caddie on tour at the time when the rain hood was being developed and we were trying to perfect it," Doig said. "My family, we're all golfers. We have a course here in Seaforth, Ontario, the Seaforth Golf Club. A lot of the feedback and improvements and design features were the result of talking with the pros and their caddies. Practically all the time we can claim we have the number one players in the world on both the men's and women's tours using it. We've had as high as 92 percent of players at the Players Championship using our product."

So why is the Seaforth Rain Hood better than the hoods that come with the golf bag?

"The hood that comes with a regular golf bag doesn't have a velcro flap-type opening," Doig said. "It's zippered, so you have to use two hands. Plus it was never really made to be a rainhood. Originally it was made more to protect clubs to contain them."

The hood weighs only seven ounces and when rolled up for storage it takes about as much room as a sleeve of balls, Doig said.

The company also features the Seaforth Slicker, which basically is a rain suit for the golf bag. "It's becoming increasingly popular with college teams," Doig said. College players carry their own bags in the course of competition.

The hood sells for $25, the Slicker for $40.

-- John Strege