Ryder Cup rain gear still topic of discussion

Rick Reimers looked out from his hotel room in Wales and saw nothing but sheets of rain. It was his last day at the Ryder Cup before flying to a business meeting that Friday afternoon, and he didn’t even bother going out to Celtic Manor.

“I thought, ‘No way they’re playing in this thing,”’ Reimers said. “And they did for three or four holes – unfortunately.”

Indeed, it was most unfortunate for Reimers.

He is the founder and owner of Sun Mountain, the Missoula, Mont.-based company that invented the first golf bag with built-in legs and, most recently, provided the U.S. Ryder Cup team with its rain suits.

Two hours of golf was played before heavy rain halted the opening session.

The rain suits, already lampooned for looking like basketball warmups with stripes and names on the back, didn’t seem to be working. It was never clear if they leaked or retained too much water. During the seven-hour delay, U.S. team officials bought a different brand of rain suits from the merchandise tent.

“We were pretty depressed,” Reimers said in a telephone interview. “It was hard to talk directly to anyone using the garment. We didn’t know any more than what was being reported in the press. And it turns out, that was the only thing to talk about.”

With no golf being played, the rain suits turned into the big story on the opening day.

Sun Mountain immediately tried to figure out what happened with its RainFlex gear, unique in that it is waterproof and the knit fabric stretches so that it doesn’t make noise when a golfer swings.

Reimers had an employee put on a rain jacket (that had been made for a player not picked for the team) and stand in the shower for two hours. He said water was coming down the neck and up from the cuffs, but “we couldn’t see that it leaked anywhere.” The company also ran tests at an independent lab that showed the suits were waterproof.

So what happened?

“We think nobody got wet with rain coming through the garment,” Reimers said. “Did the outside material hold more moisture than you’d like? Probably. When something gets soaked, it feels cold on the skin. People might interpret that as being wet.”

Reimers was remarkably honest in the wake of such bad publicity. He said he heard from one prominent Ryder Cup player who told him he liked the rain suit and didn’t understand all the fuss. Several players continued to wear them.

The contract with the PGA of America, which bought the gear, kept Sun Mountain from promoting its role in the Ryder Cup. The only way anyone would know the brand would be if something went wrong.

“If people had loved them, we wouldn’t receive any benefit,” Reimers said. “We just never imagined anything like this would happen. We’ve had people call our tour rep and say, ‘I’ve worn it in the rain and it’s an advantage.’

Reimers expected Sun Mountain sales to take a hit, although he hasn’t seen any evidence of that, only anecdotes. Some longtime customers don’t understand the complaints and continue to buy, while prospective customers have shied away because of the Ryder Cup.

So what’s next?

As it has done for nearly 40 years, Reimers said Sun Mountain will try to make improvements. It is in the running to supply the U.S. Presidents Cup team with rain gear, as it did in 2009. He said the PGA Tour already has asked for samples.

Rest assured, they will not look like the ones in Wales. Reimers said Lisa Pavin, the wife of U.S. captain Corey Pavin, wanted a retro look and was responsible for the design. For the Presidents Cup, he is providing a more conservative look – navy blue, with a small amount of color to accent the garment.

“But no names,” he said. “And no stripes.”