TaylorMade-adidas Golf pink out at The Players Championship

In support of THE PLAYERS Championship’s “Pink Out” on Sunday, May 13, TaylorMade-adidas Golf ambassadors will be wearing in custom pink apparel and footwear and will have with pink TaylorMade accessories on display in celebration of Mother’s Day and to draw awareness to breast cancer research via the 26.2 with Donna Foundation.

2008 Players champion Sergio Garcia and PGA Tour star Jason Day will wear pink adidas Golf TOUR360 ATV footwear and a Fashion Performance pink pique polo, while Justin Rose will pair a pink Fashion Performance polo with a unique pair of pink adicross footwear.

Martin Kaymer, Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen will sport custom adiPure footwear and a Fashion Performance pink pique polo, while Sean O’Hair’s Ashworth Cardiff shoe will be highlighted in pink accents while wearing an Ashworth pink polo.

All TaylorMade athletes will carry a pink TaylorMade headcover, pink TaylorMade towel and wear custom pink TaylorMade headwear.

Canada's Sligo gaining serious momentum

Brian Gay has traditionally lead the way on the PGA Tour for Canada's fashion forward golf apparel brand Sligo, but he has some company alongside for 2012.

Canadian Graham Delaet, playing on a medical exemption due to back surgery in early 2011, and Scotsman Russell Knox both made some noise wearing Sligo at last week's Zurich Classic in New Orleans, where Delaet finished T4 and Knox tied the course record with a second round 64.

CNG has always been a fan of Sligo for the great fit and feel of their trend setting polos, and now comes a new fave -- the Preston pant, as worn on Sunday at the Zurich by Delaet.

The Preston comes in a variety of colors, including black, yellow, reef blue, and orange. $100.

On the polo front, CNG always leans toward the understated, those highlighted with detail, such as the Sligo Hudson with its satin pocket, placket, and collar detailing. Top notch.

Color coordinate Chance Manning's Swing Blind with your golfing outfit

Chance Manning's Swing Blind might just be our favorite new training aid for 2012.

As you know, CNG only showcases products we would actually use, and what puts Chance Manning's Swing Blind over the top for us is the 'flair pack', a glorious bonus set of six tour colors, hand picked by Chance himself! You'll not only be more focused on the golf course than ever before, but you'll look great too.

Take it to the next max, with Chance Manning's Swing Blind.

Versatility makes ECCO Golf Street Junior a viable option

Check out the ECCO Golf Street Junior, a collection of hybrid golf sneakers for boys and girls. Inspired by Golf Street Premier – the shoe that started the hybrid revolution – Golf Street Junior is available in a variety of colors to appeal to the junior golfer in your family.

CNG has never been big on golf shoes for his kids, primarily because of the short shelf life shoes tend to have with the younger set -- for some reason kids feet are constantly growing.

ECCO isn't able to help us out with that, but what we love about the ECCO Golf Street Junior is exactly what we love about the adult version -- and that is, their versatility. Junior can wear their Golf Streets for more than just golf, making the purchase that much more attractive to parents over soft spiked rivals.

Golf Street Junior retails for $100 at www.eccousa.com, and comes in black, sepia, white, silver and white base colors with corresponding lime green, fanta orange, royal blue, purple and candy outsoles, respectively.

Linksoul by John Ashworth is as philosophical as a brand can be

Our fascination with brand philosophy was recently heightened here at CNG when we had a chat with industry icon John Ashworth.

Ashworth is a name that's certainly familiar to anyone who has followed golf or has purchased a golf shirt in the last 20 years. Ashworth of course is the founder and creative mind behind Ashworth, a brand that now resides under the care of adidas Golf and is still worn today by long time brand ambassador Fred Couples.

In January of 2011, having first spent time working on Fidra, and then few years consulting at adidas Golf, Ashworth ventured out to start Linksoul, the brand philosophy he had mused on for years, one that he felt destined to execute. For Ashworth, golf is about heart and soul, and he needed to return to that ideal.

CNG and Ashworth spoke about how it feels to be able to play golf. It's the feeling you get when finishing your round late in the evening when air is still and the flag is barely visible. It's setting out on your own for nine before anyone else is even at the course, leaving behind only your dewy footprints as evidence of your presence. It's about walking, and carrying your bag. It's about the sensation of a perfectly struck three iron.

We also spoke of what it's not about. It's not about golf carts. It's not about corporations. It's not about score. And it's most certainly not about having the latest driver with endless adjustments, nor is it about looking like you're wearing a uniform when you play.

CNG connected with what Ashworth was saying about the game, and about how we have all perhaps strayed from what golf is really all about. We've become increasingly fixated on technology and as such feel we can spend our way to lower scores, rather than feel our way. Perhaps as a result we've stopped enjoying the game for what it is -- as a lifestyle, and a way of resetting our clocks, as a way of rejuvenating our souls.

Thiis is all very zen like to be sure, but there is a more than a small amount of truth in there.

Linksoul is somewhat of an anti-brand -- an alternative golf lifestyle brand if you will. Neither loud nor techical, Linksoul is laid back sophistication, helping you feel comfortable and relaxed in what you're wearing, allowing you to be who you are, and to play your game, the way you need to play it. Just as it should be.

As soon as you touch a Linksoul shirt you'll know it's something you'll want to wear over and over again, because Ashworth went to great lengths to choose only the best quality fabrics that would be easy to take care of, and craft them in such a way that you will appreciate the subtle detailing.

CNG loves what Linksoul represents, and we're looking forward to seeing how the brand evolves -- and by evolve we mean, don't change a single thing.

2012 Masters lookbook, part two

A quick apology for the delay in my follow up post to 2012 Masters lookbook, part one. I was unavoidably detained.

At this point you may be asking yourself, how long will CNG keep linking to clips from Caddyshack? The answer? In perpetuity, be the clips relevant or otherwise. So, if you're ok with that, and if you're also ok with that very same guy dispensing personal opinion on golf style do's and don'ts, then we shall carry on.

Do you have to be fit for the slim fit?

Watching the fine play of Swede Peter Hanson yesterday during the third round of the Masters got us to thinking -- does one have to be fit to wear slimmer fits?

Sweden's Peter Hanson leads the 2012 Masters after three rounds (Cannon / Getty)The answer is no, not necessarily -- all that's required is a bit of body self awareness.

Hanson wears Galvin Green, a prestigious brand that may be best known for their high end Gortex outwear. Galvin Green is on the slimmer side of golf apparel when it comes to fits, and while Hanson far from being someone who we'd categorize as overweight, he could do with moving one size up on the rack to remove all doubt.

After all, there's nothing wrong with having a healthy apetite and maintaining a high style quotient -- just ask Miguel Angel Jimenez, who has likely never said no to a fine meal and a bottle of wine, but has been rocking the finest selection of slim trousers and Italian golf shoes from Nebuloni we've ever seen, topped by right-sized polos from Lacoste that give Miguel room to move.

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez plays to the second green during the final round of the 2012 Masters. (Lecka / Getty)

2012 Masters lookbook, part one

While there are no hard and fast rules, CNG believes that when it comes to tucking or untucking your polo collar when worn with a sweater, there is one very basic guideline one should follow -- keep it neat.

Keeping it neat most often will dictate that the collar stays under the sweater, with just the top button and edge showing through. However, professionals must take corporate sponsorship obligations into account, and in doing so collars tend to flap unattractively in the breeze.

Those of us without such concern should endeavour to stay tucked.

Friday's cool temperatures at Augusta National gave us the chance to judge what looks better -- tucked, or untucked? Enjoy exploring this and other elements of golf style in part one of CNG's 2012 Masters lookbook.