Press Pass
News Index
March 9, 2009
THE EVOLUTION OF JACK NICKLAUS APPAREL: A DISCUSSION WITH BECKY RYAN, VP OF MARKETING AT JACK NICKLAUS SPORTSWEAR USA
January 30, 2009
JACK NICKLAUS APPAREL INTERNATIONAL RELEASES INFORMATION ABOUT THE 2009 JACK NICKLAUS INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONAL.
November 8, 2008
JACK NICKLAUS APPAREL INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH GOLF HOUSE S.P.A. FOR ITALY, FRANCE, GERMANY AND SPAIN
October 13, 2008
JACK'S THE MOST POWERFUL PERSON IN GOLF FOR THE 5TH STRAIGHT YEAR
October 7, 2008
DO YOU WANT A PERSONAL GOLF COURSE DESIGNED BY THE GOLDEN BEAR IN YOUR BACKYARD?
October 2, 2008
JACK NICKLAUS SPORTSWEAR USA ON LOCATION AT SEBONAK GOLF CLUB
Among the countless advantages of being closely allied with Jack Nicklaus (for those who make their living in the golf business) is that there is never a shortage of locations. And by "locations" we mean of the scenic-photographic-and-cinematic variety. As in, "We could do this in studio, but if it's going to be really beautiful, we need the right location."
If you're shooting Jack or a product with Jack's name on it, locations abound. The world -- or at least some of the world's finest golf courses -- truly is your oyster. Jack has put his signature on 267 courses (though we take our information from impeccable sources, it ticks upward on a monthly basis and averring such precision is fraught with the peril only a fact checker would know). Nicklaus Design, which includes the signature courses, has 334 courses open for play, spread among 32 countries, 39 states and well represented on anyone's Top 100 list.
So when Jack Nicklaus Sportswear -- that would be the apparel arm in Jack's empire -- which is based in New York and part of apparel giant Hartmarx, set out to shoot its spring 2009 advertising, it retained talented portrait and lifestyle photographer Rob Howard and decided on, hmmm, let's see, a sufficiently scenic course within driving distance of the Big City. It so happens that the choice is one of Jack's more talked-about, written-about recent designs.
The selection: Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton. You may already know Sebonack as private, super expensive and a place where Nicklaus, in a rare collaboration, shares design credit with acclaimed designer Tom Doak. Sebonack, which opened in 2006, sits on land between National Golf Links (1911) and Shinnecock Hills (1891). Fifteen of 18 holes have views of either Great Peconic Bay or Cold Spring Pond. One supposes that finding an inviting vista to stage a photograph brought back the high school conundrum of infinity.
Nevertheless, photographer and crew spent a day scouting and a day photographing two male models on the property last week. While it may sound easy, these photos can become surprisingly complex when the clothes are supposed to occupy the foreground but the background is so overwhelming it begs for a bigger role.
Either way, the course-design legacy that Nicklaus has built is sort of a constant wellspring of inspiration for anyone involved with Jack, particularly on the apparel front. For a few seasons running, the designers and merchandisers behind Nicklaus Sportswear have taken to adopting and channeling different courses in far-flung locales to inspire color choices. For instance, Turtle Point Golf Club at Kiawah Island Golf Resort brought to mind a color palette of grass green, khaki and chocolate brown. For fall 2008, a sportswear offering of emerald greens and blacks was named for The Cliffs at Keowee Falls (in Salem, S.C.), while another was named for Valhalla, site of the recent U.S. team victory in the Ryder Cup. The latter came in shades of cardinal, navy and white, better known to the rest of us as red, white and blue.