We’ve heard all kinds of feel-good stories about how golf companies have responded to the threat of coronavirus. We’ve seen T-shirts and headcovers where the proceeds go to a good cause, and now, one New Jersey-based golf company has temporarily pivoted from making training aids to making masks.
In normal times, Raymond Rapcavage is CEO of the Golf Swing Shirt, a training aid where golfers slip both their arms through through a single sleeve extending from the shirt’s chest. The goal is to help train the arms to work together throughout the swing. You can see Bryson using it in 2018 below:
But amid the COVID-19 crisis, Rapcavage converted his production line to produce hundreds of thousands of protective masks. The masks are made of spandex and feature a flexible pocket that can mold over your mouth and nose. It’s secured by velcro at the back of the mask, and can be pulled down under your chin to be worn as an ascot.
Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.