Like most 2008 Masters participants, Ian Poulter comes to this year’s Tournament with a certain game plan. One the international veteran golfer thinks will work very well.

While he’s willing to talk about birdies and bogeys, speed of the greens and slope of the fairways, Poulter, perhaps the most noted clothes horse in professional golf, is happiest to talk about the definite plan for his clothing at Augusta.

“The Masters is always a big tournament and you want to be playing well, but you also want to be looking well,” he said.

“That’s why I will be wearing new pieces of my spring and summer ’08 collection which will be available in the UK.”

Several, mainly international, players said they take nearly as much care on what they will wear at the Masters as how they will play.

“Golf has had a kind of drab image in the past, and I’d like to inject some color into it,” said Columbian Camilo Villegas, who will be playing in his second Masters this year.

“I don’t mind the extra attention I get and the people I may see. I think it’s exciting.”

Like his Masters colorful clothing forefathers, Doug Sanders and Jesper Parnevik, Poulter said he is doing all he can to inject some color into his on-course golf outfits.

“Can I play good in drab clothing? Of course, I can. But it is not as much fun.”

He founded his own clothing company in 2007 and wants to make this year’s Masters, his fourth, a showcase for his style.

“I want people to want to wear what I have in my shops.”

Poulter, who once wore a pair of long white pants with an oversized Claret Jug pattern on them during a British Open, declined to give specifics about this Masters clothing, other than to say he has one color already picked out.

“Of course, green fits very well at the Masters, but green isn’t the only color I have. I’ve got a lot of different colors with me.”

Australian Adam Scott is another young international Masters participant who doesn’t mind a little color in his Masters clothing, as long as it doesn’t go too over the top.

“Ian certainly pushes the boundary, that’s for sure. He's worn some stuff that I definitely wouldn't wear out there, but he can carry it off. He's got that kind of personality.”

Scott, like four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, works with one of the larger international golf and clothing companies and knows months ahead of time what he will be wearing at Augusta National Golf Club in April.

“It's not too hard to feel good when they’re giving me nice clothes like that,” Scott said. “Maybe, I'm a little more subtle than Ian.”

Scott said English 2008 Masters participants Nick Dougherty and Luke Donald have the proper Masters Tournament clothing style.

“I think they’re pretty sharp dressers. Those guys wear some nice clothes.”

England’s Lee Westwood said while clothes may make the Masters man, it takes the right body type as well.

“Those clothes are only for the young, skinny guys. I couldn’t wear them. I’m too stocky. I just play golf.”

Poulter said he’s given up on advising other players on their on-course clothing, now only hoping to lead by example and influence a new generation.

“I can’t tell the guys what to wear on the course or they will even give me more stick than they do,” he added.
“We have a couple of guys on the (European) Challenge Tour wearing the clothes right now and the goal would be to get them here.”

Just a bit of on-course golfing color amidst the multi-color splendor of August National Golf Club in April.