Devil Ball Proving Ground: Qore Performance shorts and sleeves

Welcome to Devil Ball's Proving Ground, where we put the latest golf gear through its paces. Today we look at the Qore Performance shorts and sleeves.

Tester — Shane Bacon — Handicap: +0.3

Target Golf Audience — All golfers

Initial thoughts

The funny thing about testing golf equipment is you get all sorts of stuff tossed your way to look at, some being awesome, and some being a bit strange for the average golfer.

The first time I heard about Qore Performance, I was equally as excited as I was confused. Something I can wear on the golf course that can both cool me off and heat me up? I feel like I've heard that before!

But living in Arizona, a place where the temperature routinely pass the 105-degree mark over the summer, I'm always down to try out something that can cool me off while sweating around the links.

When summer hits in Phoenix, most people long for the morning tee times with the hope that they can get a full round of golf in before the sun really starts beating down on them, but me and my friends tend to look at the noon tee times because we can get around in under three hours even if that means sweating a lot more.

The first look at Qore Performance was a good one. The shorts aren't as much a short as they are a slider, something you wear under your shorts that won't be visible to anyone not in your dressing room.

The sleeves are always a cool addition to a golf outfit, almost making you look like Ryo Ishikawa out on the course.

All in all, the look was sleek and I was excited to see if this thing actually worked when I was out on the course sweating bullets.

On-Course Thoughts

I'll be honest, I had absolutely no idea what to think of this when I first put them on. The shorts were a fit feel and made me feel more athletic right away. But the technology is in the two small "pockets" in the front of the shorts where you can slide in one of their PlasmaQore inserts, the things that are there to actually cool you off.

The idea is brilliant in its simplicity; the PlasmaQore slots in the shorts line up perfectly with your Femoral artery, meaning you are being cooled off on the golf course without even knowing it at first. Sure, the cool packs are cold to the touch, but your body acclimates quickly to the temperature of the packs, meaning your body is being cooled off instantaneously.

What are these PlasmaQore pockets? They are super light packs that can be reused and will be 100 percent ready for use in 20 minutes. Each pair of shorts you buy comes with four of these little packs, so if you're playing a golf course with a cooler on the cart, you just toss two in the cooler while the others are cooling you off.

All of this sounds pretty advanced, but I'm sure you're wondering if it works. The answer is yes. Absolutely. I love wearing the shorts on the course because you really do have the option of tossing in a cooling pack whenever you want. That's the beauty of these things. If you have a place to cool them off, you can put all four in ice and just put them in whenever you're ready.

As for the bicep sleeve, this might be my favorite piece of Qore technology.

Much like the shorts, the bicep sleeve is set up to focus on your brachial artery, with a sleeve for one PlasmaQore pack coming with each sleeve. Basically, it's a tight sleeve absorbing to your bicep and cooling you off at the same time.

The reason I like the bicep sleeve the best is simple; shorts can get dirty, smelly and need to be washed. While I'd advice people to clean the sleeves occasionally, it's definitely something you can toss in your golf bag after the round and bring back out when you get to your next golf destination. It's a smart, simple way to cool yourself off on the golf course, and it doesn't take a lot of time and effort (just a couple of the PlasmaQore inserts and you're ready to rock).

Also, why we haven't touched on this as much because of summer, the best part about the Qore line is you can also use it in the winter. The idea is very much the same, it's just heat-warming packs instead of the PlasmaQore inserts. The process in winter is much like it is in the summer, although the heat-warming packs are not reusable, they're just the type you can buy at a Walgreens or Target, so having a couple in your bag to bust out when the temperature drops is a smart way to stay warm in the golf course as well.

Final Verdict

I love it. I absolutely love it. Cooling off on the golf course is something me and my friends have been working on for years. I have a buddy that brings a squirt gun with him in the summer to fill up with water and mist himself when the temperature gets too high, and I have other buddies that will "water slap" each other (basically just throw a small cup of water in your partner's face when he isn't expecting it to cool him off while cracking up your group).

This is all that with a ton of technology behind it. The Qore idea is to find a way to make all sports more comfortable, but it makes the most sense for golf, and I think if you give it a look and a try, you'll grow to love it, and use it more than you know, especially when the weather is making you waiver on that afternoon tee time you made in early August.

www.qoreperformance.com, Shorts — $95, Sleeve — $40