What makes Tiger Woods' new Sun Day Red polo different

Just a few short months after Tiger Woods’ debut apparel brand Sun Day Red launched, the design team did something unheard of in the apparel world. The team essentially scrapped its original golf shirt design and started over, sourcing new fabrics and redesigning the silhouette to release a new version for the fall season. Typically, design teams are working on collections a year or two in advance of release. The Sun Day Red Heritage Polo line includes 14 classic golf shirts in a variety of colors in both solids, traditional stripe patterns and an on-trend micro-stripe.

"We're on a mission to make the best polo in golf,” Sun Day Red Sr. Creative Director Caje Moye said. “This is the first step toward that.”

The initial launch of the collection included the Sun Day Red 3D Knit Polo with a thicker fabrication and noticeable absence of the Sun Day Red Logo. The abstract tiger logo was designed to have 15 stripes—one for each of the 15 major championships he’s won.

Throughout the year we’ve seen the logo move from the bottom of the placket to a more traditional placement at the chest, where it will stay for the foreseeable future.

Woods has been wearing iterations of the shirt throughout the year for an arduous seven months of testing that has left clamoring to get their hands on one of their own. The brand has held off until everyone on the team (including Woods) felt 100-percent confident about releasing it.

After the PGA Championship, where Woods’ shirt did not fare well with the Kentucky humidity, the team went back to the drawing board and sourced new fabrications that would hold up through any weather.

Beyond the sample Woods wore at Valhalla, several fabric blends were trialed during development to achieve top performance qualities while maintaining a traditional look and feel. The final poly-spandex blend has a soft hand feel with moisture-wicking properties and a lightweight, breathable finish.

The silhouette of the Heritage polos would be described as both tailored and athletic. Specific design attention went into perfecting the upper back and shoulder area of the shirt to maximize the space for each golfer’s individual swing radius—including Woods’. The traditional silhouette is a look Woods has become known for wearing and was important for the design team to match in this collection.

Another Woods-specific add is the step hem, adding an extra inch at the back of the shirt to allow it to stay tucked securely without creating a bulky look or feel at the waist.

When you see Woods wearing this shirt on the course, you’ll likely see the placket with the top of the three buttons undone for a clean and crisp open spread of the collar. Sewn in stay collars also add to the symmetrical collar look, while pearl buttons add a luxe finish to this upscale version of the golfer staple.