The Penfold Seve Glove Set – A Masters Special

Penfold Seve Glove – Key Takeaways

Penfold releases special-edition glove set to honor Seve’s first win at Augusta 40 years ago. The two-glove set was co-designed with Seve’s children. Seve was a Penfold staffer in the ’70s and won the ’79 Open Championship with a Penfold ball Proceeds will benefit the Seve Ballesteros Foundation, supporting brain cancer research and junior golf in Spain.

Amid all the Masters hullabaloo, you may have missed an interesting announcement from Penfold Golf. The reboot of the classic British golf brand is releasing a special commemorative glove set honoring the late Seve Ballesteros. The new Penfold Seve glove commemorates the 40th anniversary of Seve’s first win at Augusta. According to Penfold, a portion of the proceeds will go to support the Seve Ballesteros Foundation.

“Seve Ballesteros was part of the golden generation of Penfold staffers,” says Penfold co-owner Gavin Perrett. “Seve, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and others. This is a way of keeping Seve’s legacy intact and celebrating his achievements. How he burst onto the scene was really a defining moment.”

Seve’s connection to Penfold goes back to the early stages of his career. And it was that connection that gave Perrett the idea to partner with the Seve Foundation.

The Penfold Seve Glove – Back to the Beginning

Seve’s very first professional event in the U.K. was the 1975 Penfold PGA Championship. Seve was just 17 years old but didn’t take long for Penfold to see he was their kind of guy.

“Seve’s style, his flair, and his creativity, that’s what Penfold was all about back then,” says Perrett. “So, when he rocked up in ’75, I’m sure he caught the eye of the people who spent the money on Tour staff. The next year he was set up with Penfold gear. And you have that famous image of him on the range at Royal St. George’s with a Penfold staff bag.”

Seve was a Penfold staffer throughout the rest of the ’70s and won the ’79 Open Championship with a Penfold Tradition ball.

He also wore Penfold gloves throughout the decade, and the Penfold Seve glove design is a collaboration between Penfold and Seve’s children, Miguel, Javier and Carmen.

“I approached his son Miguel and shared some insight into stuff he may not have known about his father from that time,” says Perrett. “Then I suggested we could perhaps do some sort of partnership to help the foundation. That’s where it began. I sent him some design ideas and he loved it. He showed it to his sister and brother and they loved it. So here we are.”

Family Collaboration

Perrett’s first design ideas for the Penfold Seve glove were for navy and red gloves, similar to Penfold’s current GX offering. “The actual finishing touches were designed by the family. Miguel, Javier and Carmen wanted a traditional white glove,” says Perrett. “So we went with colored piping.”

The set includes two Penfold GX Cabretta leather golf gloves. One glove features red piping while the other has blue piping. Both have a classic Penfold diamond logo on the strap.

“The reason for the diamond logo is Seve’s first-ever victory on U.K. soil was the Uniroyal International Championship in 1977,” says Parrett. “He beat Nick Faldo in a playoff and he won it with a Penfold Ace golf ball with a diamond logo. It’s a little memory of his first U.K. win.”

In addition, the label on the Penfold Seve glove features the Seve Ballesteros silhouette logo.

The Penfold Seve glove set comes neatly presented in a nice-looking box with navy and red highlights and Seve’s silhouette across the front. The set will sell for $55 in the U.S. and £45 in the U.K, with a portion of the proceeds going to support the foundation. It’s a slight increase from what Penfold normally charges for its GX golf gloves.

Cancer Research and Junior Golf

Seve set up the Seve Ballesteros Foundation in 2009 after he was diagnosed with brain cancer. According to the foundation’s website, its purpose is to honor the “life, the achievements and professional career of Seve, and preserve his legacy supporting his passion – golf – and what this sport can do for young people.”

The foundation raises money for brain cancer research in both the U.K. and Spain. It also supports junior golf in Spain. The goal is to help instill in youngsters the values most closely associated with Seve, including “humility, effort, perseverance, resilient spirit, determination, integrity, tolerance, and respect.”

We tend to live in the moment, so it’s hard to remember just how big Seve was in his heyday, especially in Europe. He posted more than 90 victories worldwide, including five majors and four Ryder Cups, plus one as captain. And he had a legion of fans that rivaled anyone not named Tiger Woods.

This past weekend marked the 40th anniversary of Seve’s first win at Augusta, which was also the first by a European player. And at age 23, he was the youngest Masters champ ever – a mark he held until 1997 and the aforementioned Mr. Woods.

Seve also played PING putters throughout his career. He has more golden clubs in the famous PING Golf Vault than any other player.

He died of brain cancer on May 7, 2011, at the age of 54.

“We’re going to continue working with the foundation,” says Perrett. “We’re going to supply golf gloves to the Seve Ballesteros Junior Tournament next August. It’ll be nice to give back like that and give out gloves to the kids playing in the event.

“Seve was such a gift to the game. We should never forget.”

Penfold Hearts and Our Man Bond

This one’s just a coincidence, but Penfold has also released its updated Penfold Hearts golf ball. The Penfold Heart, you’ll recall, was made famous by Sean Connery’s James Bond in the big match in Goldfinger. The new Hearts remains a three-piece ionomer ball but with a new, softer cover called Procyber. It’s thinner and softer and, says Penfold, has a bit more spin than the previous model.

“We aren’t out there saying this is the best golf ball you’ll ever play with,” says Perrett. “There are golf balls coming out left, right and center all saying they’re the best ball in the world. But how many balls can be the best ball in the world? Our ball is a good ball and we hope people who play it will enjoy it.”

The new Hearts is made by Nassau in South Korea (as was the old one) and it features what Perrett calls throwback 1970s’ style branding. Penfold’s four-piece urethane ball, the Dual iD, will also be getting a makeover soon.

“We’d also like to do a three-piece urethane ball,” he adds. “Identical to the Hearts but with a urethane cover.”

The Penfold Seve Glove – Part of the Brand

As golf brands go, Penfold is little more than a speck. But it does deserve a high five or two for creativity and for brand resurrection.

“This brand isn’t about marketing, money or even ourselves,” says Perrett. “It’s about the enjoyment people are going to get out of this brand. It’s about that nostalgic, vintage feel and how we can bring that into the modern era. We want to respect every last tradition of what this brand stands for and we want it to be something our customers absolutely love and appreciate as opposed to something we’re just trying to sell.”

And while Seve was popular in the U.S., he was an icon in Europe. How well the Penfold Seve glove sells will depend on how you look at it. By all accounts, it’s a nice Cabretta glove with distinctive styling. Is it the best glove you’ll ever buy? Or the best value? I’m guessing even Perrett would say probably not. But that’s not the point.

“What we’re doing is supporting Seve’s foundation,” he says. “We’re really keen to do that and we hope we can continue the partnership in the future. Perhaps we’ll have a full Seve line in the future to continue that support.”

The Penfold Seve glove set is available now on Penfold’s website.

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