I have a golf uniform.
This was not intentional.
I didn’t sit down one day and decide to develop a signature look for shooting 102.
It just happened.
And I can tell you one thing for sure: it is not an ill-fitting polo shirt and khaki pants.
Yuck.
For a long time, women’s golf clothes seemed to be designed around the idea that we should dress exactly like men, only with everything slightly more fitted and occasionally pink.
A polo.
A pair of shorts.
Maybe a little argyle if somebody was feeling wild.
No thank you.
I want to play golf.
I do not particularly want to dress like the assistant manager of a regional bank’s charity scramble.
Comfort Has Entered the Clubhouse
One of my top five values is comfort, which I didn’t even realize was something you were allowed to choose until I did a values exercise.
And once you discover that comfort is an actual value and not a character flaw, it’s pretty hard to go back.
Especially on the golf course.
Golf is already four-ish hours of standing, twisting, walking, bending over, sweating, occasionally climbing into prairie grass looking for a ball I absolutely saw land somewhere around here.
Why would I add uncomfortable clothing to the experience?
So over time, I’ve developed a formula.
A cute golf dress, shorts or a skort.
A comfortable top if I’m wearing separates.
Sometimes a hat.
Sunglasses. Progressive prescription of course.
Shoes I can actually walk 18 holes in.
And enough stretch in everything to accommodate both my golf swing and whatever I order at the turn.
That’s the uniform.
I Want to Look Cute. I Just Don’t Want to Work That Hard at It.
This is becoming a theme in my life.
I like clothes.
I like looking pulled together.
I do not particularly enjoy the process required to achieve either of those things.
Which is why when I find an outfit formula that works, I will repeat it until someone stages an intervention.
Golf is no exception.
I don’t want to stand in my closet at 7:15 in the morning wondering whether something is “golf appropriate.” I already get rushed enough by my husband to be 30 minutes early for our tee time.
I want to grab the thing.
Put it on.
Go play.
Bonus points if I can wear some version of it to lunch afterward without looking like I’m about to announce the winners of the member-guest.
The Best Golf Clothes Don’t Feel Like Golf Clothes
That’s probably my biggest requirement.
I want golf clothes that work on the golf course without screaming GOLF CLOTHES everywhere else.
Give me a dress I could wear with white sneakers.
A skort I’d happily wear running errands.
A quarter zip I want to throw on for a walk.
Pieces that happen to perform beautifully when I’m swinging a golf club but aren’t sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in the golf section of my closet.
Because I have enough clothes.
I don’t need an entirely separate wardrobe for every version of myself.
Golf Is Also Where I Get a Little Brave
Here’s the funny part: for someone who has developed a pretty reliable uniform, I’m actually much braver with clothes on the golf course.
Patterns? Absolutely.
Polka dots? Yes.
Stripes, loud colors, a print I might normally walk right past on the rack? This is where I’ll try it.
There’s something about golf that gives me permission to turn the volume up a little. Maybe it’s because everyone is already wearing brighter colors. Maybe it’s because we’re outside. Maybe I just figure if I’m going to hit a ball directly into the woods, I might as well look cute doing it.
But there is a line.
Flamingos are on the other side of it.
So are martini glasses, tiny golf carts, repeated little golf balls, and most things that could also appear on a pair of men’s novelty boxer shorts.
I want bold, not themed.
Give me the great pattern. Give me the ridiculous color. Give me something I wouldn’t necessarily wear to the grocery store but suddenly feel completely confident wearing on the first tee.
Golf is one of the places where I feel like I can be a little wild with what I wear.
Just not country-club gift-shop wild.
There’s a difference.
So, Yes. I Have a Uniform.
At this point, if you see me on a golf course, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be wearing some variation of the same thing.
Cute. Comfortable. Stretchy.
Probably sneakers.
Definitely sunglasses.
Absolutely no ill-fitting polo.
And honestly, having a uniform has made me enjoy getting ready to golf almost as much as I enjoy actually golfing.
Almost.
Because there’s still that tiny thrill of standing on the first tee thinking:
Maybe today’s the day I suddenly become really good at this.
It hasn’t happened yet.
But at least I’m dressed for it.
