Fair Play for the Fairway - Print & Promo Marketing

By Christen Gruebel

Playing  Polo

Believe it or not, golf has bred its fair share of fashionistas.

OK, two. There are two guys, ultra-preppy Jesper Parnevik and the more irreverent Ian Poulter, known for their on-the-course sartorial senses. But since we all can’t have such a way with argyle (Parnevik) or gold lamé (Poulter), the polo shirt has been the golf mainstay for the masses.

However, though its evolution is slow, that doesn’t mean it’s stylistically stagnant. In fact, Bill Gardiner, vice president at Grandview, Missouri-based Zorrel International, noted that the polo is currently “coming full circle” with a return to the trimmer silhouettes of its forefathers. “The polo shirt in America has created its own space,” he said.

Here, he takes us through the illustrious design history of the garment, and points to where it’s going next:

1950s: Arnold Palmer and other golfers sport extremely trim polo shirts with tighter arm holes so shoulder rotation isn’t limited. This style, said Gardiner, was an example of the classic Lacoste polo, which was designed in the 1920s by champion tennis player René Lacoste. It was later adopted by golfers as a more casual way to meet the “collared shirt” requirement of many private courses. “If you go back to the original polo … it was a white piqué shirt, trim fit, not loose at all,” he added.

1970s to 1990s: Probably the most notable style shift, an oversized design characterized the polos of this time period. With an increase in the shoulder width (close to 19" on a large), players on tour often had to lift their shirts at the shoulder seams to avoid getting the fabric jammed underneath their arms, Gardiner said. The seam got as low as 2" below the shoulder point, which is a lot of extra fabric to maneuver around.

1996: Gardiner credits Johan Lindeberg, a Swedish designer with a desire to merge fashion and sportswear, with the most recent design shift back toward a slim silhouette. The J. Lindeberg line revolutionized golf apparel, he added, by including wicking fabrics as well as trimmer-fitting polos to appeal to a younger, more stylish golfer.

Today: Designers are pulling in the armhole radius to about 10" or 11" (from 13") as well as the shoulder width from 19" to 16" or 17", though they’re still not quite as tight as they were in their infancy. What’s more, said Gardiner, we’re moving toward more functional, technical fabrics, such as double-mercerized styles and those with performance properties like moisture-wicking.

Tomorrow: Gardiner pointed to more modern, fashion-forward design details as being the wave of the future. Raglan sleeves, accent stitching at the placket and distressed styles in different washes are the future of the polo, he said. “That’s where you’re going to see the changes in the shirt.”

… and then the businessman woke up in a bathtub filled with ice only to find his kidney was gone! Eating Pop Rocks and drinking Coke will cause stomach damage! Walt Disney has been cryogenically frozen!

The best urban legends revolve around some rather unsavory themes, don't they? Here's one more you might not have heard: "Golf" is actually an acronym for "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden." Not true.

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