At the 37th Ryder Cup, being held this weekend in Valhalla , Kentucky, the European Ryder Cup Team are wearing Polo Shirts made with Coolmax, a high-tech smart fabric for enhanced performance and comfort.

The Ryder Cup is a great sporting event between golf teams from Europe and the United States. The first match was played in 1926 with a team from the United States competing against an all British team and in 1979 the British team was extended to include European players. The Ryder Cup has become one of the classics of the international golfing calendar, eagerly awaited by golfing fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

This year the European Team has chosen to enhance their performance and comfort by wearing polo shirts made with Coolmax fabric, supplied by Scottish-based golf clothing company Glenmuir Ltd. Marketing Director Andy Bough understood that the benefits of using Coolmax would be essential in reducing the effect that the heat and humidity would have on the player’s performance.

With this in mind it was an easy step to convince European Ryder Cup team Captain, Nick Faldo, of the benefits to the team. Coolmax is a high-tech fabric that helps to improve comfort and freshness for wearers by moving perspiration away from the body towards the exterior of the fabric, where it evaporates quickly. This effect called evaporative cooling, will help keep the players feel cool and comfortable, allowing them to concentrate on their game, while the special cross-section fibres used also protect against harmful UV rays.

There were a number of very constructive meetings with Nick throughout 2007 resulting in signing off designs and colours in early 2008; net result has been a comprehensive collection for the team as well as the support staff. Nick is very keen to achieve a consistent look right across the board.

“In Nick’s mind, the team isn’t just the 12 players, it’s everyone who is involved.” says Andy Bough. “Nick was very clear that he wanted a consistent look for everyone connected with the team – players, caddies and other support people.”

With Coolmax, the look for this year’s European Team is sport fashion: technical and functional, all at the same time. Silvia Toledo of Advansa commented: “We are really excited that Coolmax fabric will be used in the Glenmuir collection for Europe’s Ryder Cup Team and hope it will contribute to the team’s success.” During the Ryder Cup, golf fans can buy official replicas with the Ryder Cup logo and golfers can experience the cooling and comfort benefits as Glenmuir have extended the use of the Coolmax fabric throughout their Autumn/Winter 08 and Spring Summer 09 collections.

Functional clothing made from Coolmax fabric can be recognized by the labels bearing the Coolmax logo. Coolmax is a high-performance fabric that helps to improve comfort and freshness of wearers and is made with specifically engineered fibres with a  4- or 6-channel cross-section, giving an increased surface area. These high-tech fibres transfer moisture quickly to the textile surface and ensure that moisture evaporates fast, thereby helping to maintain a balanced body temperature. In addition, the specialised fibre structure provides results in better UV Protection. Advansa, a leading polyester producer, has the exclusive brand rights for Coolmax in Europe.