Eighteen Holes

Wearing the right clothes for a game of golf looks good and feels good. But are the correct clothes just for show, or is there a good reason behind what you wear? We investigate.

The traditional view of the golfer heading out to play in his cap, plus fours and knee high socks is probably well engraved in most golfer’s minds and I do know a club or two locally in which they would certainly prefer their players to head out to play like that. Nearly all clubs impose dress codes about what you can and cannot wear, but are we right to be worried about what we are wearing when we go out to play a round of golf?

Aside from this stuffy view of what we should wear, if you watch the professional players on tour they conform to the basic dress code, but take particular notice to their top halves. Look around the best payers at your favourite course and see what they are wearing.

There is a definite golf fashion to be seen, if we ignore the plus fours brigade! Long sleeved polo base layers, specialist t-shirts, over the head type coats etc. If you look around a golf shop it is not hard to pick up the same types of clothing that the professionals wear.

So is there any point copying these top players? Doing so might certainly make you feel the part, but is there a reason to copy them? Of will being dressed as a copy of the top players just make you feel even worse at the first tee when you duff your shot or the ball shoots off to the side, watched by a four ball of top players?

There are reasons that these top players dress as they do. And the basic answer is that these specialist golf clothes have been developed with the golfer in mind.

The polo neck long sleeved base layer keeps you warm in cold weather. A decent one will also help to wick away sweat from the surface of your skin, the way that the clothing that distance runners wear does the same. This wicking action keeps you more comfortable when you start to warm up, but it is also important in cold weather.

In cold weather you can still sweat a little when you exert yourself. So if during a game of golf you exert yourself briefly and then rest again, this sweat is removed from the skin. If it wasn’t removed, you would feel yourself starting to chill. Therefore, by wicking away sweat the clothes are not just making you more comfortable but also warmer in the cold weather.

The other layers also have reasons for their shapes and materials. An over the head type showerproof coat not only protects you from slight showers, it is also shaped to allow you to take your swing without restrictions and the lack of a zip down the front prevents that swinging out during the downswing.

So dressing up for the game is part of it. It should make you feel more ready for the game and keep you more comfortable whilst you play.

Keith Lunt

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