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Craig Matthew is on a roll this season. The professional golfer from Point Claire, Que., won an event on the Eastern Links Golf Tour a couple of weeks ago. He placed second on the Quebec Golf Tour a week before that. Some might say the 29-year-old player owes a big thanks to Chuck Cook, the legendary swing coach who has been helping him overhaul his game down in Austin, Tex., during the off-season. But Matthew, who is also an avid music fan, singer and songwriter, says part of the credit goes to country superstar Tim McGraw.

"It's not a bad attitude to 'Live Like You Were Dying,' " says Matthew, referring to the title of McGraw's latest CD. And when Matthew stepped up to the tee at The Times Colonist Open in Victoria last week, he was wearing that motto on his sleeve -- and his back. For the third year in a row, Matthew is sporting custom shirts printed with the graphics from his favourite album covers as part of a uniquely untraditional sponsorship by EMI Music Canada that leans on the game's growing groove factor with the kids.

This year's campaign is called Country Swing, a reflection of the music Matthew's been listening to lately. In addition to McGraw, Matthew has selected LeAnn Rimes (This Woman), Jo Dee Messina (Delicious Surprise), Lisa Brokop (Hey, Do You Know Me), Keith Urban (Be Here) and Dierks Bentley (Modern Day Drifter) as his muses. The five albums were all recorded by Nashville's Curb Records, which has joined the partnership, along with music retailer HMV, who will be giving away a pack of Acushnet golf balls with the purchase of each CD on Matthew's list.

"Music has always been a big part of my game," says Matthew. "It helps me relax between shots." For many years, Matthew has actually been compiling mixed tapes that he uses specifically to loosen up for tournaments.

As soon as he mentioned this to Dave Morris, EMI's national marketing manager and Matthew's long-time friend, the ball starting rolling.

"It all came together very naturally," says Morris, who sees potential for similar sponsorship opportunities with NASCAR and snowboarding. "Initially, there were some raised eyebrows about changing the shirt so dramatically. But most organizations know that golf is trying to get younger, so it was all okay as long as things were kept in good taste."

Each shirt features a 10 centimetre by 10 centimetre replica of the band's album cover on the back.

This year, the band's name and album title has been moved from the left breast to the more prominent left sleeve.

At first, Matthew's fellow players all wanted to steal his shirts, but no one's copied him yet. "I think I'm a little more free-spirited than some," explains Matthew, who also plays guitar and harmonica and has even cut a few demo recordings.

"They call him Rock Star," Morris laughs out loud in the middle of the conference call. "It's going to have to change to Country Star this year."

Matthew says he sincerely believes there is a direct correlation between the type of music he listens to and the way he plays his game. When he was young, for instance, he used to listen to a lot of Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson whenever his father and friends got together for a big, old country jam.

"Country is very feel-oriented music. And as a kid, you play a lot by feel. Then you realize that feel can't take you all the way. You have to make technical improvements, which I've been doing with Chuck. I got very technical for a while, with my swing plane and posture and things like that."

At the time, his partnership with EMI Music Canada was just getting under way. He says it was no coincidence that the music he was listening to and touting, bands such as Radiohead and Massive Attack, was also much more technical.

"Now I'm trying to regain that concept of playing by feel again. I'm definitely getting that rhythmic feeling back and the music definitely ties in. With country music, there's always a story. And these records kind of suit the feeling I'm going for," Matthew says.

"I hope you don't feel like Tim McGraw every day if you plan to keep winning," Morris interjects.

"I've always got Jo Dee Messina," Matthew counters, nodding to Delicious Surprise. "That whole record has got a really optimistic feel. And I'm feeling really good these days. It's kind of like the soundtrack to my life."