Slice of Lifestyle: The Future of Golf Fashion

by Bill Giering

Close your eyes and imagine that you hear a voice from the future, a distinguished European voice announcing from a crowded first tee: “In our 8:12 match, from Orlando, Florida, wearing Number 7 on his back, and number one in our hearts, the Captain of Team Nike ... Mr. Tiger Woods.”

Welcome to the future. It could happen.

PGA players could be wearing numbers on the back of their golf shirts; Tour players wearing uniforms from Team Nike, Team Trump or Team Ashworth.
Just look at what we can learn from other sports trying to capture our attention while influencing our purchases.

Take running. Watching a marathon can be like watching paint dry — you can’t tell one runner from the next. To spice it up, last year Boston and three other major world marathons decided it would be more fun for the fans to cheer teams rather than individuals, so many footwear companies supplied uniforms. Yep, Team Nike, Team New Balance ... watching a marathon is a lot more interesting now.

And cycling. The Tour de France had a similar spectator problem — all bikers looked alike. Now not only do they have team uniforms, but they also distinguish the daily leader with the honor of wearing the yellow jersey. Fans in the steep hills outside Paris love to see that yellow shirt wheeze past them.

And then there’s auto racing. Certainly the PGA Tour has already learned a lot from nascar. Last week I saw three different ads on a golf hat and four different logos on one golf shirt. Seems to me Tour golf bags are already becoming walking billboards.

So what other strong driving forces will influence the future of golf fashion?

1. Follow the Money: Sponsors are already paying the bills, and their influence on the Tour will continue to grow.

2. The World Stage: The rest of world loves team events like the Ryder Cup, especially against the United States. Plus, team events are much easier to follow for the casual TV viewer. For the new viewer, golf can be endlessly ho-hum, so look for more uniforms as mano a mano gives way to a return to golf’s classic team formats.

3. All Golfers Look Alike: Sorry, but look around — some golf executive will soon recognize that the game is now on the world stage and the rest of the world loves team events and match play, not only stoke play. Could more team events be plugged into the tours? We don’t just think it can happen; we think it will.

And, thus, the ball starts rolling. Certainly, Nike, TaylorMade-adidas and other multi-sport and internationally savvy companies know where the ball is going. First, Nike comes up with a team, then George Steinbrenner tries to buy one, as does Virgin Atlantic Airlines, South African Airlines, Deutsche Bank, Trump. ... If Michael J. Smurfit could pay enough to have The Ryder Cup played at the K Club, he would certainly buy a team, wouldn’t he?

Then the bidding wars begin, the team uniforms are designed, and to easily identify the players, numbers are placed on shirt backs. The PGA Tour starts slowly with a couple team events the first year.

Then the brass at Augusta decides to follow the Tour De France by honoring the daily leader of The Masters with the official green shirt. Then the winner can wear the official Masters shirt all season long (after all, how often do you have the occasion to sport a green jacket in public? But a green shirt ... you could wear that once a week!) And guess what — the other three majors fall in line with their own official shirts.

And you, my reluctant, non-believing golfing friend, will be sucked in and start buying golf apparel you never dreamed about. You’ll have a Team Nike shirt and a Tiger golf jersey (with No. 1 on it, no doubt) and a replica (fully licensed, of course) Masters shirt. Because who wouldn’t want to show support for their favorite PGA team? Or wear the official shirt of your favorite event? Or wear the same number as Tiger does?

NBA superstar Kobe Bryant just switched Lakers numbers from 8 to 24 — do you think he did that because he likes 24? Maybe. But his new “24” basketball jersey sold more than any athletic shirt in the history of sports.

As for the hear-and-now: This summer the bright colors from the runways of Paris, Milan and NYC will continue to drip down onto the PGA and LPGA tours. But the future? Mark our words: You’ll be wearing numbers on the back of your golf shirts.

Even so, I’m sticking with the fashion advice of Yankees Hall of Famer Yogi Berra: “You wanna look good? Loose 10 pounds and get a tan.” FG