Golf clothing without the country club: the new brands

Golf clothing has for years meant one thing: a dull knitted vest, a pastel polo, and trousers with a sharp crease. That is no longer the case. A new wave of brands has turned golf clothing into streetwear, and suddenly it looks like something you would actually want to wear, off the course too.

If you are young and just starting to look at golf, this is worth knowing. The clothing is a big part of why more young men have started to think golf is cool.

The new wave of brands

A whole string of new golf brands has emerged that thinks more about fashion and culture than about dress code. They see golf as part of the streetwear world rather than as a sport for the club. Here are some of the names that come up most often, as examples of the trend:

• Malbon is one of the biggest and best known. The brand is a big part of why golf and streetwear got linked together in the first place.
• Public Drip makes golf clothing with a clear streetwear attitude, far from the classic club look.
• Local Rule is one of the brands that leans on humour and culture as much as on the clothing itself.
• Quiet Golf keeps to a more understated and clean look, but still with streetwear at its core.
• A.P.C. is a fashion house that has moved into golf, a good sign that the fashion world takes the category seriously.

And it does not stop there. New brands keep arriving, both small independent names and bigger fashion houses, that have spotted that golf has become a place where fashion and culture meet.

Why it is happening

The short answer is that golf has gone young. The stiff dress codes that kept many people away for decades are loosening up, and a generation that grew up with sneakers and streetwear has taken to golf on their own terms. When the clothing looks like something you could also wear out in the city, golf suddenly feels less like a club and more like a culture.

The inspiration comes largely from streetwear: limited drops, collaborations, logos, and a looser fit. It is the same way the fashion and sneaker world has worked for years, and now it has landed in golf. The result is that golf is not only about sport, but also about style, identity, and community.

Golf has gone from something you dressed up for to something you dress as yourself for.

So what do you actually wear?

Even though the clothing has become freer, most courses still have a basic dress code, and it is worth respecting. It does not have to mean anything boring though. At most courses you are on safe ground with a polo or a smart collared shirt, a pair of chinos or smart shorts, and clean shoes with good grip. Always check the course’s own rules first, since they differ from place to place.

For a casual round with friends you can easily keep it modern: a looser fit, a bit of colour, or a brand you think is cool. The point is that you can look like yourself and still be properly dressed for the course.

And one important thing: you do not need expensive brand clothing to play golf. The new brands are fun to follow, but golf is not about having the right logo on your chest. A pair of chinos and an ordinary polo do the job just fine, until you feel like more yourself.

Golf as culture, not just sport

This is really where the interesting part is. The clothing is just the most visible sign that golf is becoming a culture and a community, not only a sport. It is the same idea behind Golfsocial : golf is most fun when you share it with someone. The clothing, the talk about brands, the rounds with friends, and keeping up with what everyone else is up to are all part of the same movement.

So if you are new to golf and felt like it all seemed a bit stiff, take a look at the new brands and the new generation of players. Golf does not look like it did ten years ago, and there is a reason for that.