About a month before seven lifelong friends and I set off for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for an early-September buddies trip, our text-chain chatter shifted from its usual ridiculousness to a gravely serious matter: rainwear. Spurred to action by the wet and windy forecast for the week we’d be on the ground, one of our travel mates alerted us that he’d been bargain-hunting for outerwear at a big-box golf retailer.
“I asked the guy if that was their cheapest rain jacket and he said yes,” my friend wrote of one of the models he was eyeing. “And then totally unprompted, he says, ‘It’s not Ireland proof though.’”
Therein the lies the rub with rain gear: Sure, you can skimp and save but sooner or later — usually sooner — it’s going to cost you. Especially in Ireland, where hell hath no fury like getting caught in a squall on an exposed peninsula.
Not that I was one to talk. I’d had the same rain gear (matching jacket and pants) hanging in my hall closet since Bush II was in office. I used the gear so infrequently that it ranked low on my “SHOULD PROBABLY UPGRADE” list, but it was still in dire need of replacing. In the wake of my pal’s text, I tried on my rain pants for the first time in years and was reminded that they hung so low off my waist that it looked as if I were toting sand bags. The jacket wasn’t much better: baggy and restrictive.
I asked a couple of trustworthy (and trendy) golf insiders for recs. One wasn’t especially helpful, sending me a link to an article that reviewed a half-dozen or so offerings. The other vouched for the rainwear he stuffs in his own bag: Peter Millar’s Shield line, which includes a Half-Zip Rain Shell ($200) and Pull-On Rain Pants (also $200). The gear kept him dry, he said, but he was most impressed by the modern cut. He had me at modern. I put in my order.
In my mind, there are three key ways by which you can and should judge golf apparel: style, fit and performance, so let’s let dive into how the Peter Millar kit fared in each category.
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Peter Millar Shield Half-Zip Rain Shell, Navy
Engineered from a highly technical 2.5 layer performance fabric, the Hyperlight Shield Half-Zip is a go-to security piece offering fully waterproof, seam-sealed protection and optimal coverage in inclement weather. The lightweight Tour-tested fabric is supremely soft and comfortable with two-way mechanical stretch and easy-care benefits. A separate stow pouch allows it to be packed down tight and easily stashed in a golf bag or carry-on. Product Details: Men’s 100% nylon with PU Laminate rain shell Classic Fit Waterproof, windproof, two-way stretch, quick-dry and easy-care Packable pouch Machine wash cold with colors; tumble dry low. Do not iron. Do not dry clean Imported
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STYLE
No surprise given they’re Peter Millar pieces, but both the half-zip and the pants are classic in their styling. The top comes in navy blue or pine brook green, and the pants only in navy. If you’re looking to channel your inner-Rickie Fowler, go elsewhere. The design also leans traditional, with a gray zipper that extends to the sternum (but is shielded by navy flaps), and a subtle Peter Millar logo just below the right shoulder. I’m not big on flash so, for me, the understated style was ideal.
The jacket is nylon with a thin polyurethane film bonded to the inside of the shell. These materials will keep you dry but, crucially, also are super-lightweight. Heavy, unyielding rain gear can feel like knight’s armor; in these jacket and pants, you feel almost as if you’re not wearing an additional layer at all. A+ for maneuverability.
FIT
This is where the pieces really shine. No wasted material. No bagginess. No frump. The jacket and pants fit more like a work suit than a rain suit. It’s hard to look stylish in rain gear, but these pieces somehow make you look and feel good. (I’m 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds and ordered a small in both the shell and pants. The top was form-fitting (bordering on snug) but the two-way stretch material still allowed me to move and swinging freely, and I think a medium would have been too roomy; the pants, pictured below, fit perfectly.
Peter Millar Shield Pull-On Rain Men’s Golf Pants
Engineered from a highly technical 2.5 layer performance fabric, the Shield Pull-On Rain Pant is a go-to security piece offering waterproof, seam-sealed protection and optimal coverage in inclement weather. A vented pocket construction allows easy access to the pockets of your first pant layer, and a zipper and velcro closure at the ankle allow for them to be pulled on over your shoes. The Tour-tested fabric is supremely soft and comfortable with two-way stretch and easy-care benefits.. Product Details: Men’s 72% nylon / 28% polyester pull on rain pant Classic Fit 32″ inseam in a medium Elasticized waistband Waterproof, windproof, two-way stretch, quick-dry and easy-care Machine wash cold with like colors; Tumble dry low. Do not iron. Do not dry clean
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We got with hit with three sustained rain showers on our trip. The heaviest stuff came toward the end of our first round, at Ardglass, hard along the ocean just east of Belfast. As often is the case on the Irish coast, the storm came in quickly.
The pants, when fully unzipped at the ankles, were a synch to slip on. Same for the half-zip, with one caveat: On at least one occasion on the trip, I caught my hand and arm in the mesh pocket pouches that extend, on the inside of the jacket, from the right pocket across to the left. Because this mesh is unattached to the shell, it’s easy to accidentally slip your hand under it, requiring you to restart the process of slipping the jacket over your head. Not ideal when you’re trying to beat the wet stuff!
When the suit was on, though, it was stellar in the rain. I encountered no leakage thanks to the sealed seams, and an elastic pull cord at the waist allows you to tighten up the jacket for extra snugness (and dryness). Note: the pants have a back-right pocket but no side pockets. Instead, the side zippers give you easy access to your pant pockets underneath.
Another bonus of the lightweight materials: drying speed. Even after our soggier rounds, my pants and jacket largely had dried out by the time we’d downed a couple of pints in the clubhouse. I also dig the handy storage bag that comes with both the half-zip and pants. Rolled up and zipped up, each piece can be compressed to the size of a couple pairs of socks.
BOTTOM LINE
Playing in the rain is a bummer but much more tolerable when you’re in outerwear that delivers on both performance and style, as the Peter Millar Shield line does. If the half-zip and pants survived — nay, excelled! — in Ireland, I’d trust them anywhere.
