Women's golf style
Dresses, skorts, shoes and shirts, and the players who changed what women could wear on the course.
Since 1890
Golf dresses: from petticoats to the course-ready dress
Golf dresses started as whatever women wore at home: crinolines, bustles and long skirts that made a full swing hard. It took a century of rising hems, and a few rule-breakers, to get to a dress you can actually swing in.
1920–1979
Vintage women's golf fashion: the 1920s to the 1970s
Vintage women's golf fashion runs from Joyce Wethered's tailored blouses and skirts to the loose polos and cotton shorts of the 1970s. In between, in 1950, 13 players founded the LPGA.
Since 1931
Golf skirts and skorts: a skirt on the outside, shorts underneath
Golf skirts and skorts: a skort is shorts with a panel on top that reads as a skirt, or a skirt with shorts built in. You get a skirt's shape, the cover of shorts, and pockets in the shorts for a ball and tees.
Since 1933
Women's golf outfits with pants: from a 1933 stir to cropped capris
Pants (trousers) and shorts are now what women golfers wear below the waist more than anything else. Nobody on record had seen a woman play golf in trousers before 1933. Here is how women's golf outfits with pants got from there to slim, stretchy and cropped cuts.
Since 1950
Women's golf polos: from collared blouses to sleeveless tops
Women's golf polos came after decades of collared blouses and cardigans. Golfers began adopting sleeveless tops in the late 1950s. Today collared sleeveless tops are generally accepted, and since 2017 the LPGA has required a collar.
Since 1970
Golf visors for women: why the LPGA's favorite hat has no top
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.
Since 2000
Women's golf attire for summer and winter: sun sleeves to thermal layers
What women golfers wear changes a lot between summer and winter. Summer is about covering up from the sun, with UPF shirts and sun sleeves. Winter means three layers, thermal pants and warm hands.
Since 2009
Women's spikeless golf shoes: grip without the spikes
Women's spikeless golf shoes grip through molded studs on the sole instead of screw-in spikes. They went from about 1% of golf shoe sales before the 2010 Masters to about half of all models today.
Since 2017
Women's golf dress code: collars, hem length and the leggings question
A women's golf dress code turns on three questions: what counts as a collar, how short a hem can go, and whether leggings count as golf wear. The LPGA tightened its answers in 2017. Club rules vary, and some are far more relaxed.