Over the course of golf history, players have gone from wearing heavy woolen tweed coats and knickers in the Scottish highlands to short sleeve shirts and slacks. If you’ve played golf in the summer heat of Texas, Florida or Arizona, you might be sweating just thinking about wearing truly traditional golf apparel.
Even today, everyone is thankful that the days of baggy, heavy cotton polos (think Tiger Woods at the 2000 U.S. Open) are long gone. Or at least they should be. If your golf polo selection still features thickly woven cotton, it’s definitely time for an upgrade -- not only in style, but also in function.
You may laugh, but today’s golf polos often feature just as much ‘tech’ as the latest drivers. While these types of polos won’t help you hit the golf ball farther and straighter, they will enhance your wardrobe and keep you cooler and a bit less smelly than those cotton polos from a couple decades ago.
PUMA Taylor Shirt
PUMA Taylor Shirt
Whenever you think of a well-dressed professional golfer, who comes to mind? We immediately think of Rickie Fowler, who has been wearing PUMA golf polos for a number of years now. While Rickie has matured from his days of blinding orange from head-to-toe, PUMA still outfits him with classic, but on-trend, golf polos week in and week out.
What you may not know is PUMA’s golf polos for 2020 come packed with new technology. Called CloudSpun, the new collection of polos and layering pieces are the softest, most lightweight, breathable and stretchiest fabric the brand has developed to date. Why is this important?
According to Puma Golf Apparel senior product line manager, Chris MacNeill, “The moisture-wicking, four-way stretch fabric delivers the softness of cotton and the performance of polyester without simply looking like a golf top.”
In other words, these golf polos have all the technology to keep you cool and dry without the luster of other golf shirts that scream “GOLF POLO!” which makes them that much more versatile.
Indeed, you’ll actually want to wear these CloudSpun PUMA golf polos on and off the golf course. Each golf polo feels just as comfortable as your favorite soft, cozy T-shirt, yet looks like a sophisticated, classic golf piece designed to perform well with you on the course.
Adidas Sport Heat.RDY Shirt
Adidas Sport Heat.RDY Shirt
If you have any recent Adidas golf polos in your closet, they’re probably made with the company’s prior generation sport fabric known as ClimaCool or ClimaLite. While these golf polos were nice, Adidas came out with a brand new line of technical fabrics for 2020.
Adidas’ new technical fabric ‘platform’ is called READY and features responsive fabrics and intuitive design to help athletes perform, whatever the weather. Adidas READY apparel uses a layering system that allows athletes of all levels to build outfits that address seasonal needs, selecting different pieces that can be worn together without bulking at the seams, allowing for maximum movement, comfort and ventilation.
For golf specifically, this means if you have a polo shirt, there’s an accompanying quarter-zip or a long-sleeve item that works in concert with that polo to keep you warm without restricting your swing. For the summer months, this means selecting from the Heat.RDY line of golf polos.
Heat.RDY is powered by cooling materials, sweat-wicking tech and intuitive fits to keep the air flowing and you moving.
The Heat.RDY materials are designed with body mapping tech that features precise ventilation zones to keep your body cool when your body heat rises. The Heat.RDY polos are made from 100% recycled polyester to save resources and decrease emissions. This lightweight fabric is key for golf polos as it encourages maximum airflow while even the stitching is designed for more flexibility and ease of movement during your golf swing.
Nike Vapor Wing Jacquard Shirt
Nike Vapor Wing Jacquard Shirt
Ever since Tiger Woods began wearing Nike polo shirts, they have been on the forefront of innovation to keep golfers feeling their best. On top of styles to suit every taste, there’s no denying the functional elements of their golf apparel is top-notch.
Nike has continuously refined their Dri-FIT fabric technology. If you have any other Nike performance apparel, it’s likely made with Dri-FIT.
Nike Dri-FIT technology is an innovative polyester fabric designed to help keep you dry so you can more comfortably sweat for longer periods of time. Dri-FIT's unique high-performance microfiber construction supports the body’s natural cooling system by wicking away sweat and dispersing it evenly throughout the surface of the golf polo so that it evaporates more quickly.
Dri-FIT clothes are most effective either as a base layer or on their own -- direct contact with your body means you stay dryer. And Dri-FIT's sweat-managing properties are permanent for the life of the clothing -- no need to worry about washing away any special finishes on your new golf polo.
Johnnie-O Mashie Prep-Formance Shirt
Johnnie-O Mashie Prep-Formance Shirt
Now, if you’re looking for that laid-back, cool SoCal vibe in your golf polo rotation, you should look no further than Johnnie-O polo shirts. By their own description, Johnnie-O men's apparel “combines east coast preppy with west coast casual for the ultimate in look and feel.”
All Johnnie-O PREP-FORMANCE polo fabrics are innovative, wick moisture, are super movable and have UPF 50 built in. These polos feature three- or four-button plackets with Johnnie-O’s patented Tweener Button. It’s simply the button you didn’t know you needed on your polo shirts -- the one that doesn’t choke your neck but also doesn’t make you feel like Burt Reynolds with it undone.
As any golfer knows when you play in the summer, you’ll more than likely deal with the blazing sun each round. These Johnnie-O golf polos thankfully have UPF-50 protection built in so you can avoid harmful rays while staying cool and dry. Additionally, the lightweight technical fabric allows for all-day comfort and just enough stretch for as many (or as few) golf swings as you’d want to take.
FootJoy ProDry Performance Shirt
FootJoy ProDry Performance Shirt
There are few golf polo companies more synonymous with on-course fashion than FootJoy. Pros ranging from Jimmy Walker and Webb Simpson to Peter Uihlein and Bud Cauley all wear FootJoy golf polos. The FJ logo is ever-present in pro shops and, most likely, on your local golf pro. As far as tech goes, FJ polos today feature ProDry®Performance tech.
These golf shirts from FJ are the ultimate high-tech performance apparel to wear on the course. FootJoy golf polos offer contemporary styling with UV sun protection and easy-care fabric. Meaning, you can toss these in the washer and not worry about ruining them, as we all do on accident from time to time. These golf shirts wick moisture away from the body and regulate body temperature, keeping you cool and dry.
The FootJoy golf shirts also come in a wide range of colors and styles, from simple solids to bolder prints and designs. Additionally, the golf polos are wrinkle-resistant to keep you from looking like you pulled the polo out of a dresser for the first time in a month. The fabric is also engineered with antimicrobial properties to eliminate odor build-up. So, if you’re hanging out at the 19th hole after a hot round, you’re less likely to offend your neighbor.