The Ever-changing Fashion of Golf
From golf’s inception in the 15th century until now, the clothing trends within the sport have changed significantly. Golfers have always had a clothing style that stood out among others. What one wears on the golf course is very important due to the wide range of motions in the golf swing, making comfort of upmost importance. Unlike most other sports, there is no uniformity required by golfers on the course, but instead it tends to run with the clothing trend of the times.
As with other clothing, golf clothes of the 1930’s were different than the golf clothes of the 1950’s; therefore, the golf clothes of the 1950’s were different than the golf clothes of the 1980’s. In the 1930’s the golf clothing trend for men was the breek or “plus two” which were pants, in the style of knickers, that came two inches below the knee and knee socks. Sometimes long pants were tucked into the knee socks to create that look. The complete ensemble usually included a patterned sweater, collared shirt, bow tie, and a capas hat. This is the style that the Late Payne Stewart liked to sport on the green even in the 1980’s and 1990’s. For women, the trend included long skirts and dress blouses.
In the 1950’s, the trend changed to the more comfortable khaki pants and polo shirts, thanks to the likes of well known golfer, Arnold Palmer. In the 1980’s the more popular golf clothing trends included bright colors, such as yellow and orange, in polos, socks, sweaters, and even pants. These were commonly worn by the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo.
Today, the most common styles that are seen on professional golf tours are loose fitting polos, mock tee shirts, and either khaki or black loose fitting slacks. These are usually made by major brands like Nike, Adidas, or Polo and are worn by the modern professional golfers such as Tiger Woods, who also has his own golf clothing line, Veejah Singh, and Phil Mickelson. The women on the professional tours usually sport loose fitting polo shirts and slacks or skorts, again made by the brands Nike and Adidas. For both men and women, the ensemble usually includes either a sun visor or baseball style cap usually made by Nike or Adidas as well as a waterproof saddle style shoe with short spikes on the soles for traction on the sometimes damp and uneven greens. Three of the most common brands of shoes are Oakley, Nike, and Callaway.
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