How golf fashion got cool: polos, sweater vests and celebrity collabs score a hole in one

• 'Golfcore' hits come from Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren, but also collabs between Bape and Adidas Golf, Travis Scott and Nike, and Macklemore's Bogey Boys

Mark Twain once quipped that a round of golf rather spoiled a good walk. Golf, however, is enjoying something of a makeover.

Perhaps eight-time PGA champion Chi-Chi RodrIguez was right when he said that "golf is the most fun you can have without taking your clothes off". Today though, the clothes are not only being kept on - they're better than ever.

Forget the days of regulation polos and plaid trousers (though in many cases dress codes on the course remain). In 2024, the influence of celebrity, luxury, and cool, emerging brands is shaking up golf's image.

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There's several reasons to explain golf's glow-up - it's not just Theo James playing a round in Guy Ritchie's dapper crime show The Gentlemen or the seemingly unstoppable rise of the sweater vest.

Louis Vuitton spring 2024 men's capsule collection by Tyler, The Creator

As was true of many outdoor pursuits, the pandemic drew large numbers of new players to the sport. Not only that but more women, more people of colour, younger people took it up.

Sinead Cutts, style director of online retailer The Outnet, says that with the renaissance of outdoor activities and sports, and with tennis and hiking getting style revivals, it was only a matter of time before golf got a new image.

"[N]ow golf is slowly experiencing a similar thing. Brands are catching up with this new trend, as seen in the recent collaborations between Pharrell Williams' Louis Vuitton and Tyler, the Creator; Bape and Adidas Golf; and even Travis Scott and Nike, with his Air Jordan 1 Low trainers specially designed for golf enthusiasts," she says.

Travis Scott Air Jordan 1 Low Golf trainers

As for golf style icons? Cutts says a few players immediately spring to mind.

"Seve Ballesteros with his classic 70s style, Tiger Woods with red as his signature colour, and Arnold Palmer, the golf king of cool."

It's not only luxury brands like Tory Burch, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren offering elevated takes on golfing essentials such as sweater vests and polos. There's also new ones such as Macklemore's Bogey Boys. The rapper's unlikely love for the sport led him to create his own golfing fashion label in 2021. The MO behind the brand? As Macklemore told British GQ, "You look good, you play good. That's the theory - it's not true, but it does help! I love pulling up to the golf course in an outfit that I put together, walking to the driving range and thinking, 'You know what, my swing might be trash compared to all these other dudes that have been playing their whole life - but they're not touching the fit'. I love that."

An outfit from rapper Macklemore's Bogey Boys brand

Other brands challenging the status quo (and the dress codes) include Bad Birdie, which started with irreverent polo shirts and has since expanded the range for men and women. Bill Murray is another celebrity in the game with his tongue-in-cheek brand William Murray Golf, cool girl wellness brand Sporty & Rich has a golf range, while Sydney-based tailor P. Johnson - which has showrooms in New York and London - offers an elegant take on attire for the golf course (and golf club). Online platform Hypebeast has an entire subsection devoted to the sport, and recently the cult cashmere brand cashmere Lingua Franca released a top featuring Larry David's stolen advice on how to improve your game from Curb Your Enthusiasm: "vertical drop, horizontal tug".

Jimmy Choo Malbon collection

Malbon Golf is another brand to disrupt the sport. In part because of its celebrity following, which includes the likes Justin Bieber and Travis Scott. But also because of its Californian twist on golf staples, with graphic prints and pop colours. The husband-and-wife-owned brand recently poached Australian golfer Jason Day from Nike to become its first ambassador, proof that the sport's (fashion) game is changing. Its latest project is a collaboration with luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo on a range of golf trainers that work both on and off the course.

For Jimmy Choo creative director Sandra Choi, surprising people in the collaborations she chooses to do is essential. Finding synergy is about "unexpected pairings that underscore shared values and expertise". She adds: "Malbon are the masters of fusing fashion with function in golf wear. Blended with Jimmy Choo's inherent glamour, you get a collection that's playfully glamorous.''

Playfully glamorous? Sounds like a hole in one.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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