Retief Goosen is playing with them too. This is a new generation of grips that is going to take over from traditional rubber grips. They are a bit more expensive, but thanks to their durability, if golfers play a lot they will save a tonne of money over the course of eight years.
In the bag
I play Adams clubs and Cleveland wedges. Turnberry pretty much took the driver out of my hands. When I can hit my driver eight or nine times in a round I am okay with it, but when I am only hitting the club twice in a round it is kind of hard to get in a rhythm. The day before the Open, Adams made me up a hybrid that I hit really well. I had the hybrid
1-iron bent to a 12° loft and that was hitting the ball far enough. We cut the shaft by about an inch to get it a little stiffer to hit the ball straight. I hit about 200 balls on the range with the club the day before the Open and I fell in love with it.
Stride for stride
My trousers are made by Loudmouth, based out of Orlando. They have been going for about eight years and now business is really starting to take off, which makes me feel good. I have 28 to 30 different styles and by the end of this year we will be coming out with a whole bunch of new ones. It's great - I can match five or six different shirts with each pair of pants. If you are a bit late getting dressed it's okay - you put on the first shirt you find and you know you it is going to match!
I have just a done a deal with Druh belts too, and they have made me a lion buckle. Simon Hurd plays on the European Tour and he is a good buddy of mine, and his belts have the quality and colours to go with the Loudmouth pants.
Riding the recession
I am riding the recession just like everybody else, man. It is brutal. Obama is not doing much better with it - that's just the way it is all over the world right now. It's tough, but we'll get through it.
The amazing thing is that even while things are bad this stuff still sells - whether it's through Johndaly.com or Loudmouthgolf.com - and I am proud of that. The goal with the pants and belts is to get them into a lot of stores. These trousers are less than $100 a pair - you can't buy a pair of trousers for less than that and expect to get the same quality. The galleries here have been great and we are starting to see a lot of fans wearing Loudmouth pants. People should not be embarrassed to wear them. It's just different and very bright. The shorts, kilt and skorts will be out for women in August.
I don't know why I am so popular. Maybe it's because people understand that I've never hidden anything, good or bad. My mum raised me to be honest and I think people relate to that. There are no skeletons in my closet because the media know about it all.
We are having a lot of fun right now. I don't have any guaranteed money with my deals - it's all from royalties - but it is nice to start at ground level and get something going, and to be a part of it rather than just using it.
