The Perfect Golf Sock (Just Ask Bubba)
I have a friend who laments that, even with all the technology in the world, he still can’t find a good pair of socks.
That is, until he crossed paths with Radnor’s Mark Kent (pictured) at the 2014 PGA Show in Orlando, Fla.
Having walked 36 holes of golf the day before, and about five miles in the Orange County Convention Center that day, we had no inkling of the foot oasis we’d be fortunate enough to find when we hobbled into the Kentwool display booth.
Like us, Kent knew all about the blisters that blistered feet during the BMW Pro-Am, I questioned why no one had made a sock specifically for golfers,” Kent says. “My caddy posed the question, ‘Why don’t you make them?’ The very next day, I assembled my engineers and told them we were going to make the world’s best golf sock. Now, Kentwool has put socks on the level of shoes in terms of golf equipment. Mission accomplished.”
Kentwool golf socks come with a serious pedigree, considering the same technology was actually developed for a heavy-duty military spec. “During Operation Desert Storm, we were asked to make a special sock that was 20/20, or as comfortable in 20 degrees as it is in 120 degrees,” says Kent. “They had to be blister- and odor-resistant, anti-microbial and durable for soldiers logging hours in the field. We took our combat-tested socks, and created a line that protects and energizes golfers’ feet.”
Kent is the CEO and president of the South Carolina-based textile company. He’s the sixth generation of Kents to helm Kentwool Manufacturing. He fondly recalls his youth in Radnor, where he played tennis at Merion Cricket Club. “My grandmother lived in Villanova, and my uncles in Gladwyne and Haverford,” says Kent. “I still go back to visit family and play at my beloved Merion Golf Club (where he still holds an active membership).”
As my friend and I take off our old socks and slip into Kentwool’s low-profile version, Kent tells us how his product has made it onto many golfers’ must-have equipment lists. “There’s nothing worse than having to quit a round of golf due to blisters, or having to worry about staying comfortable,” he says. “These socks have a cult-like following on tour. In fact, Matt Kuchar told us, ‘I never thought of socks as vital equipment- until I wore Kentwools.’”
Bubba Watson has won all of his PGA Tour events, including the 2012 Masters, in Kentwool styles. He may have worn them all the way down to Butler Cabin, for all we know. But I bet he didn’t wear them for the next two days straight-—like I did. $19.99. www.kentwoolsocks.com.
