{"id":790846,"date":"2026-07-09T16:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/790846\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T16:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:06:15","slug":"theyre-the-best-dressed-golfers-in-the-world-and-theyre-just-getting-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/790846\/","title":{"rendered":"They\u2019re the best-dressed golfers in the world, and they\u2019re just getting started"},"content":{"rendered":"

The year is 2026, and the driving range at Riviera Country Club is packed with the best female golfers in the world for the United States\u2019 national open. They\u2019re wearing pleated pants, sweater vests and knitted polo shirts. Some are in ruffled skirts, others Bermuda shorts; a few are sporting long sleeves, others tank tops.<\/p>\n

The No. 1 player in the world, Nelly Korda, is wearing a U.S. Men\u2019s National Team soccer jersey, and Ina Kim-Schaad, the Mid-Amateur champion, has already gone viral for her wide-leg, high-waisted trousers, argyle cardigan and matching neck scarf.<\/p>\n

What we\u2019re seeing at events such as the U.S. Women\u2019s Open and this week\u2019s Evian Championship is only the beginning, and the women\u2019s golf fashion space still has a long way to go in terms of variety, function and style. But those within the industry agree there is a window of opportunity, as companies are finally gathering the resources and utilizing the avenues needed to take off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just amazing to get the outpouring of support that I did,\u201d Kim-Schaad, a former Wall Street trader turned sports psychologist, says. \u201cAnd I do think that does signal, to some degree, that there is that craving for something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

There comes a time in every woman\u2019s experience in golf when her attire is called into question. Whether it is the length of her skirt or the amount of her shoulders that is showing, country clubs and golf organizations have been policing women\u2019s clothing since the moment they deigned to let women enter.<\/p>\n

Professional players are increasingly buying into fashion choices that take full advantage of the freedom Michelle Wie West led the charge for during her LPGA playing days, from a creative and comfort standpoint. Now, the questions are shifting from \u201cIs that allowed?\u201d to \u201cWhere\u2019d she buy that?\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019d think it was the other way around. But the PGA Tour has more stringent attire policies than the LPGA Tour. Male touring professionals on the PGA Tour are required to wear long pants during competition and may wear shorts during practice rounds only if they are \u201cknee-length, tailored and neat in appearance.\u201d There is a 3-by-5-inch limit on logo size. The women on the LPGA are not subject to the same restrictions regarding their apparel or sponsorship logos.<\/p>\n

The LPGA\u2019s dress code is exactly one sentence: \u201cPlayers are expected to dress in a professional manner and reflect a positive image to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nelly<\/p>\n

\n Nelly Korda is one of Nike\u2019s signature athletes. (Warren Little \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Stephen and Erica Malbon, the couple behind the streetwear-inspired golf clothing company Malbon Golf, are never surprised when one of Jason Day\u2019s splashy outfits gets flagged by the governing bodies in men\u2019s golf. At the 2024 Masters, Augusta National famously asked Day to remove his sweater vest. So Malbon has naturally gravitated more heavily toward women\u2019s golf fashion in recent years. Those same rules do not apply, and Malbon Women, with popular Englishwoman Charley Hull as its lead athlete, has been growing faster in popularity than they ever expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe PGA (Tour) is like the no-fun police,\u201d Stephen Malbon says. \u201cThe LPGA is like, be who you are, have fun, play and just get out here. I love that about women\u2019s golf. The men look like sh\u2013 compared to the women, and it\u2019s because the men can\u2019t look good. What are you going to do with a polo and pants?\u201d<\/p>\n

As the women\u2019s game has grown recreationally, so, too, has its fashion ecosystem. According to the National Golf Foundation, women account for 60 percent of the growth in on-course participation in the U.S. since 2019, aided by the sport\u2019s boom during the pandemic. There are a record number of female golfers in the country, 7.9 million, topping the previous record of 7.1 million set in 2006, before participation dipped from 2007 to 2011 due to the recession.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s been a trickle-down effect of OK, it\u2019s not just old white guys playing golf anymore,\u201d Erica Malbon says. \u201cFrom our perspective in the industry, we want to make clothes that show people\u2019s personalities, make a better offering for them to play golf and also feel fashionable and like themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheer number of women\u2019s golf businesses that have been founded within the last five years \u2014 such as A. Putnam, Renwick, Fore All and Sierra Madre \u2014 coincides with this surge of activity. There is a strong belief that fashion doesn\u2019t have to be a barrier in golf, but it can actually serve as the opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrands are trying to bring out their personalities a little bit more. It\u2019s another way to get girls interested in the game of golf, right?\u201d Korda says.<\/p>\n

HEAD Brand, the sports equipment and apparel brand that sponsors Novak Djokovic and Lindsey Vonn, recently started a golf arm, HEAD Golf, and a high-fashion insider, Ka Ho Kam, is at the helm of the company\u2019s creative direction. Kam arrived at HEAD Golf from a role at fashion house Marc Jacobs, and one of his first missions was to consult 1860s archival photographs at the New York Public Library to inspire his golf designs. He does not come from a traditional golf background but is classically trained in fabric development and has dedicated himself to learning what female golfers in particular need out of their clothing to perform. This type of expertise has long been missing from the women\u2019s attire space.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs character,\u201d Kam says of today\u2019s women\u2019s options. \u201cI don\u2019t want everyone dressing up exactly the same way. It should be a fun thing. When a majority of brands are producing the same fabrics and styles, you lose something. That\u2019s why when Jason Day or Ina (Kim-Schaad) wears something, it\u2019s really popping. It\u2019s carrying people\u2019s eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Charley<\/p>\n

\n Charley Hull and Malbon have been unafraid to take chances with her on-course looks. (Sean Haffey \/ Getty)<\/p>\n

The biggest equipment companies in the game are starting to follow suit. Two years ago, Nike\u2019s women\u2019s golf line did not have dedicated golf designers \u2014 the individuals who worked on developing the golf selection were spread across multiple departments. But Nike has entered a new era of intentionality with golf apparel, especially women\u2019s, and the public will get a full view of them in spring 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has happened now is they\u2019ve co-located us into one team,\u201d Caroline Rogers Abero, senior creative director of Nike Golf, says. \u201cWe really had a moment to kind of look back and say, if we are a golf brand, what do we stand for? There was a real opportunity to make it feel more considered head to toe, inside to out. We sat back and looked at it with fresh eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mastering women\u2019s golf attire goes beyond keeping up with current styles or trends. It can be successful only if it prioritizes function while also providing options for differing preferences.<\/p>\n

The sporting goods powerhouse considered new details, from certain silhouettes creating unwanted tan lines to the way a skirt drapes when a woman bends over to pick up her tee.<\/p>\n

Any female golfer will tell you that women\u2019s apparel has been plagued by one particular issue, which Nike has also addressed: pockets. The game is still figuring out how to incorporate pockets that are deep enough for yardage books, balls and tees. One tiny coin pocket placed on the very back side of a skirt or pair of pants just isn\u2019t going to cut it.<\/p>\n

Female golfers are especially in tune with the way clothing feels and looks on the body, too. Korda says she\u2019s hyperaware of movement in her apparel \u2014 does it flow in the wind or stay stationary? Wie West says she isn\u2019t fond of clothing that creates noise, so she avoids certain fabrics that cause her to hear herself while swinging.<\/p>\n

\"Michelle<\/p>\n

\n Michelle Wie West fought to wear what she wanted during the prime of her career. (Scott Halleran \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Kim-Schaad says the majority of her golf wardrobe is not purchased from golf brands. She\u2019d rather dress in styles that make her feel comfortable and confident than blend in with the rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s the biggest thing. Guys have no problem all wearing the same polo. But for women, it\u2019s actually very different,\u201d Kim-Schaad says. \u201cIt\u2019s how we show our own personal flair.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more diversity of design we have, the more women will feel like, wow, they\u2019re really speaking to me, this feels authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n

A stroll down the Evian driving range this week will reveal a tapestry of powerful professional athletes, who hail from Europe, Asia and North America, and will have differing opinions on what represents style. What are they seeking? Sincere expressions of themselves on the course \u2026 with properly placed pockets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The year is 2026, and the driving range at Riviera Country Club is packed with the best female…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,569,622,82,575],"class_list":["post-790846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-culture","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-sports-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}