Fashion Insider: TOUR players put their best foot forward

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Charley Hoffman is among the growing list of players on TOUR who employ a special brand of socks.

With only one official tour event left on the 2010 PGA TOUR calendar and only 52 days left until Christmas, it's time to start taking stock of the year that was, from a fashion perspective.

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Ryder Cup rainsuit debacle
Worst Ryder Cup outfits
Grading Captain Pavin's picks
Adam Scott off the course
Top dressers for the Playoffs
About Ryan Moore's ties
Charley Hoffman goes green
Loudmouth Golf and John Daly

The Man's blog

Want more of The Man in the Black Hat? Visit his golf fashion blog, chapeaunoirgolf.com.

This week The Man In The Black Hat takes time out to focus solely on the lowly foot, the very appendage that connects the golfer to the ground. The equipment choices a player makes at this level must be both functional, and fashionable.

Here are five of the most noteworthy foot-related golf developments for 2010, ranging from the obvious, to the not so obvious.

Swiftwick & Kentwool: Socks, you say!? Yes indeed. PGA TOUR professionals make their living on their feet, and are constantly on the lookout for any edge they can find. Subsequently, Swiftwick and Kentwool are now on the scene at PGA TOUR events, outfitting pros left, right, and center.

With a history in performance endurance sports like cycling and triathlon, Swiftwick's sock uses compression technology to promote better circulation while keeping the foot dry and blister free.

Considering how may times a typical PGA TOUR player cracks open a new box of shoes every year, a blister-free foot is gold. Kenny Perry, Brandt Snedeker, J.B. Holmes, Charley Hoffman, Ryan Moore, Kevin Streelman and Ian Poulter are said to be among Swiftwick converts.

The Kentwool charge is being lead by Bubba Watson, Jonathan Byrd, Brendon de Jonge, and Kevin Johnson on tour, Kentwool employs a proprietary blend of super fine merino wool yarn they call 'Windspun' creating an integrated foot technology system that controls the temperature of the foot, which reduces abrasion and muscle fatigue.

FootJoy: FootJoy's MyJoys online shoe customization tool has been around for a while, but when FootJoy decided to phase out the much loved Classics in 2009 in favor of the FJ ICON, there was some skepticism from even it's most ardent of fans on Tour. Turns out that the FJ ICON is a rollicking runaway success, and is heavily favored on tour and is worn by the likes of Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy, and Camilo Villegas.

adidas Golf: Now on board with their own spikeless golf shoe in the Traxion Lite, adidas threw down the 'lower is better' gauntlet in the spring, cutting up competitor shoes with a variety of exotic implements and measuring the results against their own with winning results. No word on what Gallagher thinks of this practice.

Moore

TRUE Linkswear: Asking us to 'feel the course', Dallas-based startup TRUE Linkswear counts Ryan Moore as both investor and front man. TRUEs are positioned as the alternative to traditional offerings that desire to 'nail you to the ground', giving you a relationship with the course you never knew you could have, using memory foam and a generous toe box.

Ecco Golf Street: Fred Couples rocketed Ecco's Golf Street to the top of the sales charts early in the year, and essentially set the tone for what was to come in 2010. Out with the brogues, in with the casual cool (ironically, the name of another Ecco offering). With Fred Couples the ultimate personification of relaxed and laid back, everyone wants to be like Fred again, circa 1992.

Nike Lunar Control: Five Nike clients -- Paul Casey, Anthony Kim, Carl Pettersson, Francesco Molinari and Charl Schwartzel -- will debut the new shoe this week at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Championship. Casey was instrumental in the development of the shoe, which combines stability and comfort with lightweight design and uses materials similar to those found in the company's running line. The shoe becomes available to the public on Jan. 1.

BLACK HAT TICKER
Ben Crane is not only a multiple winner in 2010 and a YouTube sensation with his quirky workout habits, but he has taken it upon himself to bring back the bucket hat. Somewhere Kirk Triplett is smiling.

Moore showed that although the heat of Malaysia could not hold back the tie, a tie clip certainly could do the job on both day one and two at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic.

Speaking of heat, does anyone look cooler and more comfortable under the giant heat lamp in the sky than Luke Donald in Polo RLX?

The Man in the Black Hat is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.