In this edition of The Niggle, Alex Perry, Steve Carroll, Mark Townsend, James Savage and Dan Murphy discuss the pros and cons of wearing golf clothing away from the confines of the club…
Alex: Most golf clothes aren’t acceptable on the course, let alone off it. I’m talking to you, man in your 50s wearing the orange Puma outfit that even Rickie Fowler has grown out of.
Steve: Under orders to root through the wardrobe, I discovered something my wife later said was quite disturbing about my character: I wear golf clothes EVERY day. Now I’m not turning up at the gym in a pair of freshly pressed trousers or going out to the shops in a set of spikes, but at a conservative estimate I probably own about 50 golf polo shirts and not a morning goes by where I’m not sliding one over my head.
Related: Have golf dress codes reached a new low?
Alex: Everyone in this conversation is a dad, so I know that, like me, all of you opt for comfort over style each morning. And more often than not, your golf clothes are the most comfortable you own.
Mark: It is unacceptable and I’m as guilty as most of looking like a failed assistant pro quite often. A decent/fashionable/inoffensive pair of spikeless shoes and possibly an unobtrusive zip top are just about OK, a pair of bad trousers – with even worse piping – is horrific.
James: I own a silly amount of golf clothes and golf shoes. I wear them all the time to basically preserve the two pairs of jeans and two non-golf t-shirts that I own. I’m really tight and don’t like spending money on clothes.
Dan: There shouldn’t really be any such thing as golf clothes that are distinguishable from other clothes. Sadly we are not quite there yet.
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Alex: Now I think about it, I’ve never seen any of you in anything but golf gear.
Related: Which dress codes irritate you?
Dan: The exception is technical gear that is designed with a certain set of conditions in mind. If I am out in the rain, I’d be better off in my Galvin Green suit regardless of whether I am playing golf or watching my son playing football or going for a walk.
Steve: I’ll wear my waterproof jacket whenever I’m out. I don’t feel ashamed. I feel comfortable. And dry.
James: In our job it is, of course, acceptable but sometimes I get home from work and catch a glance of myself in the mirror and feel a bit silly. Or when I stop at the petrol station and someone asks me where I’ve been playing.
Mark: To be fair to them, you did have a glove hanging out your back pocket.
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