Putter & Tweed

Hole 20 · Since 1970

Golf visors for women: why the LPGA's favorite hat has no top

1970s to now; hugely popular with women from the late 1990s

A golf visor is a cap with the top cut off. Women like it because a ponytail or bun goes straight through the open top. Heat escapes off your head too. It is the most popular hat on the LPGA tour.

Lorie Kane at the 2007 LPGA Championship in a white visor, pale pink polo and white shorts
Lorie Kane at the 2007 LPGA Championship in a white visor, pale pink polo and white shorts. Keith Allison / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. CC BY-SA. Source.

What it solved on the course

A visor keeps a brim over your eyes and leaves the top of your head open. You get shade and glare control without hat hair, and there is room for a ponytail.

History

The golf visor comes from the baseball diamond, where a plain sun visor came before the baseball cap. Many would say its big moment in golf was Arnold Palmer throwing his in the air as he won the 1960 U.S. Open (see golf hats).

National Club Golfer says visors became hugely popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, above all among women. It is standard kit on the LPGA Tour today, and amateur women wear it about as often. Agape Golf gives the women's reason plainly: the open top takes a ponytail or bun with no fuss. Heat gets out, and there's no hat hair.

A few players make one part of how people know them. GOLF.com's roll of notable visor wearers on tour includes Lexi Thompson and Michelle Wie. Alexa Pano's father raised her on golf and Boston sports, and by the time she was one of the most accomplished junior golfers ever, she was known for her New England Patriots visor. Once Titleist took an interest, the visor stayed out of tournaments in favor of Titleist hats.

The trade-off is the scalp. A visor gives it less protection than a cap, so it needs sunscreen.

Liselotte Neumann at the 2008 LPGA Championship in a navy visor and a black sleeveless collared top
Liselotte Neumann at the 2008 LPGA Championship in a navy visor and a black sleeveless collared top. Keith Allison / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. CC BY-SA. Source.

Who wore it best

  • Lexi Thompson

    Named by GOLF.com among the notable visor wearers on tour, alongside Michelle Wie.[4]

  • Alexa Pano

    Became known for a New England Patriots visor as a junior, and dropped it in tournaments for Titleist's hats.[5]

How to wear it now

  1. Put the ponytail or bun through the open top, not under the band. The visor sits flatter and stops creeping.
  2. Pick an elastic strap over Velcro if you have long hair. Velcro catches it.
  3. Look for a brim wide enough to cut glare and a sweatband that wicks. A visor that shifts during the swing gets distracting by the back nine.
  4. Put sunscreen on your parting and the top of your head. On the hottest, brightest days, a full cap or a wide-brimmed hat protects more.
  5. Match the visor to one thing in the outfit, the polo or the belt, and keep the rest plain.

Where to buy

New

Vintage

Links open the shop's own site. Some may earn us a commission.

Sources

  1. Golf Visors: Everything You Need To Know About This Golf Headwear, Sunday Golf. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  2. Imperial's Golf Visor Takes the Crown for the Official Tour Visor, Imperial Headwear. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  3. Why Do People Wear Golf Hats?, Agape Golf. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  4. Add some variety to your headwear game with these 10 ultra-cool visors, Golf.com. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  5. Alexa Pano, first female pro sponsored by NFL team, earns LPGA card, New England Patriots. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
  6. Best Ladies Golf Visors 2026: We pick our Top 3, National Club Golfer. Retrieved 2026-09-30.

Updated .