PART I: Why You Must Know Your Audience

As the former owner of a women’s golf apparel line, I remain very much into golf fashion.  And I am always in search of new and different lines.  I’ve seen many companies come and go which makes it even harder to find great looking yet functional stuff.  It’s just a tough biz making cute golf clothes while pitted against the mega-monster importers for rack space and online prominence.

One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is that middle-age women golfers gravitate toward a more conservative look, while the younger players don’t have any issue, for lack of a better word, expressing or showing themselves.  I never thought I would be one of the middle-aged women golfers, but alas, I clearly am now.

A dear friend of mine once gave me the best advice ever.  We were talking about what to wear to a (non-golfing) event.  She said to me “You know you’re dressing for women, right?.”  Right.  One thing to take into consideration ladies, please.  KNOW.  YOUR.  AUDIENCE.

I know I’ve pushed these boundaries, but I believe I have learned my lesson over the years.  I came from a course in Denver where skort lengths were strictly enforced when I was just taking up the game.  As my game improved, so did my confidence in pushing the dress code rules.  At that time, there was only one style of golf apparel and it was long (to the knee) and frumpy.  (I’m sure I’m dating myself.  There are many great boutique lines now and I review them on this blog.).  I knew there had to be a happy medium which would reflect my individual style and flatter but conform to guidelines without being outrageous.  Eventually boutique lines did emerge including one that I founded.  It was good to be young when the golf dress codes began to relax slightly allowing shorter and more flattering silhouettes.

Today, you see high school and college girls wearing their Lululemon skorts to play golf.  God bless them and their young bodies!  Interestingly, I had a situation last summer where one of my (middle-aged) playing partners insisted on wearing a super short (we’re talking 13″ Lulu) skort to a ladies league play day — boy, did the behind-the-back catty remarks and texts fly!  But let’s be real here.  There’s honestly nothing worse than being uncomfortable with what you’re wearing — instead of thinking about your upcoming shot, you’re more concerned whether or not your bootie is hanging out!

If you are new to golf and/or new to a ladies league, please remember that your fellow women players don’t care to see your butt, cellulite or hooha!   I don’t want my point to be misunderstood — I am all for short skorts but there is a time and place for everything.  If you are playing with your spouse and are relatively unknown at a resort, it’s perfectly fine to wear that shorter skort.  There is a balancing act with dressing on the course.  Again, as my friend told me:  know your audience.

Stay tuned for Part II next week!

Have a question or a comment, please shoot me an email.  I’d love to hear what you think!