Flip on any PGA Tour or European Tour event these days and you are likely to see several players sporting the distinctive ‘db’ logo on their waists that belongs to U.K.-based brand, Druh Belts & Buckles.
Druh has been a fixture on professional tours for years. Former European Tour fashion plate, Simon Hurd, who frequently donned colorful pork pie hats on the course, started the brand. Thanks to its artistic logo, eye-catching buckles and premium leather and exotic skin straps, Druh has experienced a meteoric rise, and Hurd is now better recognized for his range of stylish belts.
“Even as a golf pro, I have always taken an interest in fashion both on and off the golf course, so it seemed a natural progression for me to go into the fashion world. In fact, I have been dressed by William Hunt of Savile Row, London, in the past and I soon realized that looking smart means playing smart.” — Simon Hurd, Director, Druh UK Limited
Lee Westwood has been rockin’ custom and branded buckles and straps from Druh for years. In fact, it is difficult to picture Westy in anything other than a white exotic skin strap and classic slide-style buckle from Druh. Throw in other trendsetters and fashion forward players on the other side of the pond, like Simon Dyson, Robert Karlsson and Paul McGinley, and Druh has established itself as the belt of choice for many of the world’s best dressed players. Not to mention on the ladies’ side, part-time model and Ladies European Tour player, Sophie Horn has turned to Druh for her collection of vivid straps and sparkling rhino-inspired custom buckles. So guys, if you needed another reason to buckle up with Druh, it is safe to say that the ladies love them, too.
After successfully taking on the European golf scene, Druh has a made a serious push into the U.S. market over the last year or two. One of the first U.S.-based players to add Druh’s belts and buckles to his waistline was John Daly. The only thing more eye-catching than Long John’s custom Rasta Lion buckle is his choice of trousers from Loudmouth. Druh entered the winner’s circle for the first time on U.S. soil back in October as Robert Streb captured the McGladrey Classic.
While winning is always good, there is probably no bigger endorsement of Druh’s belts than seeing the always-fashionable, and the No. 6 player on GolfThreads’ 2014 Best Dressed List, Morgan Hoffmann, pair his ultra-modern printed pants with Druh’s belts. Word on the street is that Hoffmann added Druh’s snakeskin straps and classic prong buckles to his wardrobe after starting his own apparel brand, Greyson, with former Ralph Lauren RLX designer Charlie Shaefer just a few weeks ago at Augusta.
“Golf gear has always been perceived as rather staid and dull so I wanted to have a bit of fun designing belts and buckles that were a little bit funky, yet stylish, and certainly they have been an instant hit with pro golfers all over the world. And now it is the chance for all those amateurs out there to smarten up their golf look with one of my Druh belts!” — Simon Hurd, Director, Druh UK Limited
A Variety of Colors, Styles and Skins
Although I’ve followed Druh since the beginning, the first time I saw the brand’s belts and buckles was at the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show. What struck me most about Druh’s offerings was the sheer number of buckles and straps — over 50 buckles and more than 150 leather and snakeskin options! If my high school algebra serves me correctly, that’s…um…we’ll just say a lot of different combinations of straps and buckles, not to mention the custom options available through Druh.
Needless to say, Druh makes it very difficult (in a good way) to decide on a buckle and strap combo. Do I go with a classic prong-style buckle, or do I go bold with a large oval ‘db’ logoed buckle? Do I pair it with a smooth leather strap or an exotic ostrich, snake or alligator strap? This doesn’t even take into account the wide array of colors. Do I match the colors in the buckle to the strap, or opt for complementary hues?
The number of stylish choices proved a bit too much for the grey matter between my ears after a red-eye flight and a day full of meetings at the PGA Merchandise Show, but I eventually decided on a navy crocodile leather strap and a classic chrome buckle with an enamel painted ‘db’ logo in navy. This has become my go-to belt when wearing navy pants over the last year.
At this year’s PGA Merchandise Show, I was slightly more prepared for the abundance of must-have options from Druh, but the decision wasn’t much easier. I knew I wanted to add a bit of color to my game, but would it be red, pink, green, or turquoise? I managed to push through a few sartorial brain cramps to eventually decide on a purple full grain strap and purple oval buckle with a white logo. Yeah, baby, yeah!
Switch It Up
All of this indecision brings me to one of Druh’s biggest strengths — interchangeability. The style that you create with Druh’s straps and buckles can be whatever you want it to be. If you are looking to blend in with classic looks, Druh has you covered with traditional buckle styles and straps. If you are looking to dial up your look, Druh can help you to pump up the volume with eye-catching colors and designs. You can even get creative and switch up your look from day to day since all of Druh’s buckles and straps are interchangeable.
As you know, I’m a big proponent of blending the color of my belt with the color of my pants to create a seamless look and to take some attention away from the mid-section. With Druh’s wide selection, you can easily buy a few straps in various colors to match your collection of pants, and then pair the straps with your favorite Druh buckle. Since the straps are interchangeable, it also means that they can be trimmed for a custom fit at anytime. Those few extra sit-ups at the gym are paying off? No worries. Just grab a pair of scissors and trim away.
The best places to find Druh belts are at your local green grass shop or online at http://www.druhbelts.com. Druh’s website has an easy two step process to help you find the best strap and buckle pairing to fit your personal style. Trust me. This is slightly less awkward than roaming aimlessly through Druh’s booth at the PGA Merchandise Show while juggling multiple straps and buckles.
That being said, it is still easy to spend some time at the office, I mean at home, surfing through the various combos. I can only imagine that the decision making process is exceedingly more difficult for women due to the number of blinged out buckles with Diamanté diamonds and fashionable colors.”
Each of Druh’s belts is delivered in a pink protective pouch, which is just another small detail that separates the brand from others. You can either keep your belts in these pouches for easy storage, or use them as a colorful addition to your bag for storing tees, ball markers and ball mark repair tools, like I do.
Druh Belts & Buckles on the web: druhbeltsandbuckles.com
Druh Belts & Buckles on Twitter: @druhbelts and @DruhUSA
Druh Belts & Buckles on Facebook: facebook.com/druhbeltsandbuckles