Ryan Moore goes his own way. Or dances to the beat of a different drum. Or whatever other metaphor you’d like to use when describing a professional golfer who doesn’t have any equipment sponsors and who buys all of his clothes with his own money from thift stores and Urban Outfitters. There’s no denying that Moore is a different breed, but is it possible that his anti-establishment proclivities may be setting the stage for a change in the professional golfing landscape?

After being plagued by wrist problems and inconsistent play for most of 2008, Moore entered the 2009 season without a single sponsor. Looking for a more simple and pure approach to the game, Moore decided to forgo the distractions, rules, and pressures that come along with major sponsorships. This decision also allowed him to wear whatever clothes he wanted on the course, free of logo’s, brands, and ad space. As is evidenced by the above pictures and many others circulating the internet, the former Seattle/Tacoma prodigy and UNLV amateur legend has, let us say, an interesting style. Ill-fitting shirts, ridiculous train conductor hats, and skateboard style shoes are just some of the unique numbers Moore has been known to showcase on the links. While a rather compelling argument can be made that Moore at times looks quite, uh, very silly, you’d be hard pressed to critique his individuality and intestinal fortitude (and mark me down as someone who digs the golf bag). In comparison to other players out there, who look more like Nascar racers than professional golfers; or others, who sport dyed hair, polo’s featuring sunsets, and aboniations such as these (do you think we can get another Daly jab in here somewhere? I think we can!), is Ryan Moore really that outlandish? Shouldn’t we be praising him for sticking to his guns and being his own person, no matter our own personal tastes? My vote is yes.

Strange clothing aside, the more intriguing and awesome aspect of Ryan’s decision is that he gets to play whatever equipment he wants. No contracts, no advertising, no pressure from major companies. He  just plays equipment he has personally tested and trusts to perform. About his new approach, Moore says: “I pick a club now because I want to play it, not because I have to use a club because of a deal I have, and then I have to make the club work for me … There’s a better confidence and comfort level this way.” Isn’t this the way that 99% of the golfing population functions? Us normal hackers only wish we were so lucky to have a large manufacturer signing our paychecks and throwing free gear our way, but the fact of the matter is that we make equipment decisions on our own, and chose clubs that fit our game best.  Ryan Moore has chosen to forgo the pay-day and join the rest of us, and as of late, it’s hard to argue with the results. When he won the Wyndham Championship, it was with a mix-match bag of clubs: The Adams Speedline 9032LS driver (the man must have good taste), an Adams Speedline 9032 Ti 3-Wood, two Adams Idea Pro Gold hybrids, Ping S59 irons, a Ping Tour sand wedge and Titleist Vokey lob wedge (say what? mixing wedges?), and a Titleist Scotty Cameron putter. To confuse brands even more he played a Callaway Tour i golf ball and wore a Callaway golf glove. His shoes? Some kind of Puma’s (golf issue or normal shoes infused with spikes is hard to tell, as he’s rocked both from time to time). After the result he was able to achieve, is there any doubt that Ryan Moore had all his gear dialed in to fit his game perfectly? And how strong of an endorsement is it to the above equipment that an elite professional golfer chose each club personally without his hand being forced and without a paycheck to influence him?

After watching the walking billboard for Adidas and Taylormade that was Sergio Garcia struggle through yet another Sunday just a few groups back of Moore, I couldn’t help but wonder how The Surge might do were he to break away from the all TaylorMade mold. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a world class golfer and I’m sure he’s forgotten more about golf equipment than I will ever know, but what if there’s a Cobra driver out there that suits his swing just a fraction bit more than his current stick? What if he gets a better roll from an Odyssey putter? This is all pure speculation, but I think the Ryan Moore model raises an interesting question: What if professionals were able to mix and match like the rest of us? If I play a Titleist driver, I don’t have a piece of paper telling me I have to follow suit and game the AP2′s or else I’m in real big trouble, I’m free to test out any other brand of iron and choose for myself. Would other professionals benefit from this same strategy and freedom? I don’t think we can argue that it’s worked out splendidly for our boy Ryan Moore. And as long as he doens’t start rocking the Daly pants (ha! you thought I forgot, didn’t you?), and as long as he’s able to fend of the many offers that are no doubt incoming, I’d like to tip my normally shaped hat his way and wish him godspeed on his non-conformist quest.

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