What a nice surprise from Webb! Thank you for being a loyal customer of Paul Simon and mentioning us in your interview with Charlotte Magazine.
Putts, prayers, and pranks
Dowd and Webb Simpson at Quail Hollow Club, where Webb will play in this month’s PGA Championship. Dowd wears a Christian Dior dress. Webb wears a Paul Simon custom suit, Eton shirt, and Paul Simon tie.
SEATED COMFORTABLY at a table at Quail Hollow Club—the same club where their wedding reception was held seven years ago—Dowd and Webb Simpson laugh as Dowd describes her wig collection. The tall, slender blond in a fitted Christian Dior dress looks like a runway model (Golf Magazine named her one of the most beautiful women in golf in 2014). The wigs, she says, are a way to have fun. One is suitable for a rock band, purple on top and fire red on the bottom, “and then I have a pink pixie one and a long, black one,” she continues. And they aren’t just for pranks around the house with their four kids. “She wears them out,” Webb interjects with a grin.
The couple laughs easily and speaks appreciatively of each other as they hold hands. Since meeting as students at Wake Forest University, they’ve shared a special bond of friendship and faith. It’s held them close in the fast-paced world of professional golf, where they’ve been in the public eye since Webb won the 2012 U.S. Open at the age of 26. Laughter, Webb says, is a quick indicator of how they’re doing.
Because the family leaves Charlotte to travel for about half the year, it’s easy for hectic schedules to take over. The Simpsons work hard to stay grounded in old-fashioned ways: reading stacks of books, getting together often with extended family, talking to mentors, and, Dowd says, by “daily Bible reading, involvement at our church, (and) having a community of friends where we’re not only having fun together, but we’re sharing our struggles and challenges.”
Staying grounded takes work, and they approach it with seriousness and humor. And such occasional surprises as a pink, pixie-cut wig.
Vintage Sparkle // Dowd’s great-grandmother wore this diamond ring, and Dowd cherishes it because of her close relationship with her grandfather, Graeme Keith of Charlotte. Its simple beauty adds a classic touch of glamour.
Fun Colors // Wide swaths of oil paint define the “Icing Collection,” a series of oil paintings by Dowd’s close friend, Kaitlin Rose. Where colors meet, the paint forms puddles like icing on a cake.
Leather Travel Bag // The weekender bag by Douglas Rose, a Charlotte luxury leather company, epitomizes understated elegance.