Saying PGA Tour players are well branded is a bit of an understatement. It doesn’t take much effort to flip on a Tour event and know which apparel brand each player is sporting. Between the chest, collar, sleeve, back yoke, belt buckle, rear pants pocket, front pants pocket and sometimes even the cuff, brands have run out of places to display logos.
Really, the only apparel mystery is what players are wearing under their clothes, and this is a good thing. Thankfully, most players have more modesty than Henrik Stenson and Ian Baker Finch, who have been know to strip down to their tighty whites to play a shot out of a water hazard. (It is still baffling while they didn’t opt for rain gear instead.)
One of the best kept apparel secrets on the PGA Tour, though, is that many players wear 2UNDR’s Swing Shift underwear under those high tech trousers. Sure, you are probably shaking your head with astonishment that there is golf-specific underwear, but I’m here to tell you that the Swing Shifts are the real deal.
Typically, I don’t like to throw superlatives around. There are so many great golf apparel brand’s producing killer products with innovative technologies, it is difficult to identify any one brand or product that is the best. That being said, 2UNDR’s Swing Shift is the best pair of underwear I’ve ever slipped on. You may buy your first pair to keep your man parts comfortable while walking 18 holes, but you’ll soon want to wear them off the course, too.
Prior to discovering 2UNDR, I always wore a pair of those high tech briefs from one of the sneaker companies under my J.Lindebergs. Sure, they were functional and the performance was what you would expect, but they always felt a bit too technical to me. They were basically compression shorts with a fly. Why did I need to feel like I was wearing gym clothes on the course?
This question leads me to my favorite aspect of the Swing Shift — the fabric. 2UNDR uses a modal fabric with a top shelf beechwood fiber that is extremely breathable. It feels as soft as cotton and as smooth as silk. The touch of spandex allows the Swing Shifts to move with you, allowing you to effortlessly crouch to read that big money putt. 2UNDR calls this fabric “heavenly.” I call it the perfect shroud for your most valuable assets.
The comfort features of the Swing Shift extend well beyond the fabric, though, as 2UNDR has left no stone unturned. The roll-resistant waistband is fabricated from a top quality yarn that is just as soft, silky and stretchy as the modal fabric that it is attached to. It also prevents the Swing Shifts from riding up even when you are wearing those trendy slim-fit trousers.
There is a funny thing about seams. They are somewhat important for holding a garment together, but they also have a tendency to rub and irritate the skin, especially when they pick up some moisture. 2UNDR has taken a smart approach to the stitching on the Swing Shift to prevent the dreaded chaffing scenario. First, the seams have been moved away from the most sensitive of potential rub zones. Second, 2UNDR uses flat lock stitching. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, a flat lock seam is, well, flat. (Check out the image above.) The benefit is that it reduces rubbing and offers a seamless look.
Sure, all of these comfort features are great, but what really sets the Swing Shift apart from other athletic briefs is the Joey Pouch™. At risk of having the FCC sending me nastygrams and GolfThreads being labeled as ‘Not Safe For Work,’ I will now attempt to finesse my way through a description of the all-important Joey Pouch. Better yet, a picture is worth a thousand words; so take a look at the picture above.
If you still don’t get it, just think of a couple of baby kangaroos hanging out in mama kangaroo’s pouch, except I’m not really talking about kangaroos. In a nutshell, the Joey Pouch is one of the great inventions by man. Seriously, a Noble Peace Prize should be given to the folks at 2UNDR for this. It not only keeps your boys in their neighborhood, but it is also lined with a mesh fabric that increases airflow. Yes, it is similar to having air conditioning in your pants, or at least a fan.
Now that I have so eloquently taken on the Joey Pouch, the No-Drip-Tip™ is the last minefield that this writer has to navigate in this post. (Yes, No-Drip-Tip is trademarked and no, I’m not kidding). At this point, I’m just going to quit while I’m ahead. I’ll just say that the No-Drip-Tip is a brilliantly thought out feature. It is designed to wick away unwanted (or accidental) moisture while saving you the embarrassment of claiming that, “it is just water” on your pant leg after that pit stop in the bushes.
The Swing Shift is available in a variety lengths and colors. They fit true to size and range from $24-$28 depending on the length, and they feel just as good under a pair of jeans as they do under technical golf pants.
After seeing more golfers in the professional and amateur ranks hitting the gym, 2UNDR took the unique features of the Swing Shift and created the Gear Shift — a more technical, compression fit short. The main difference between the Gear Shift and the Swing Shift is the fabric. 2UNDR uses Coldskin™, a high performance fabric from Garmatex™ in the JoeyPouch along with a silky smooth high performance poly/spandex blend in the rest of the short. Coldskin absorbs heat and moisture from key heat sensitive zones and moves them away from the skin. The brand says that the Coldskin technology can actually reduce skin temperature by 3 to 6 degrees.
How good is the Gear Shift? I have a lot of brand loyalty when it comes to workout gear. I’ve worn Nike’s Pro Compression Shorts for as long as I can remember, but I’m phasing those out of my lineup in favor of the Gear Shift now. The support, feel and performance are top notch.
The Gear Shirts are also available in a variety of colors and are priced at $28.
Quite simply 2UNDR’s Swing Shift and Gear Shift skivvies are total game changers, but did you know that they are life changers, as well?
The American Cancer Society estimates 250,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. As if battling cancer isn’t difficult enough, almost all these men are faced with very traumatic side effects involving incontinence, but 2UNDR’s JoeyPouch offers a life changing solution.
“[2UNDRs] Were a problem solver! I had already spent hundreds of dollars each month buying countless brands of adult diapers and other underwear that failed to hold an adhesive pad in place to keep me dry throughout the day,” said prostate cancer survivor Tim Branco.” With 2UNDR™, it was simple. The JoeyPouch™ provided a comfortable solution that gave me back something that cancer had tried to take from me — my dignity and quality of life.”
We are just days away from the calendar flipping to the month of November, which means we will soon be seeing hairy caterpillars sprouting on the upper lips of men around the globe for the annual Movember event. The goal of the Movember Foundation, that runs the Movember charity event, is to “change the face of men’s health” by raising awareness of prostate cancer and other men’s health issues. Yes, there is more to Movember than seeing which of your friends can grow the sorriest mouth brow.
To get in on the act, 2UNDR is donating 10% of the proceeds from its custom “Blue Ribbon” colorway to help raise funds for cancer research and care during November. Wearing the most comfortable underwear on the planet and helping to beat cancer is what GolfThreads calls a win/win.
2UNDR on the web: 2undr.com
2UNDR on Facebook: 2undr
2UNDR on Twitter: @2undr
2UNDR on Instagram: @2undr