Golf Shirt Manufacturers Creating Modern Performance Polos

Golf shirts in the past required an easy wearing collar, a clean fit and some positive ease for the swing. Today‘s golfer demands far more. Now golf shirt manufacturers with the use of technical fabrics, stretch construction, wicking properties, sun protection and a more sophisticated silhouette maintain the character of the traditional polo.

The Golf Polo Started With a Simple Idea

Classic golf polos had their appeal because they were straightforward. A collar elevated the shirt from a plain T, while a modest short button placket kept the design functional on the golf course. Cotton piqué established itself as the fabric of choice; its textured surface both felt and looked the part.

That classic form is still very relevant. While today‘s performance fabrics have moved into golf apparel, many of the current polos still have collars, short sleeves, button plackets, and tight body lines. Its just now that the manufacturers build each of these parts off how people move instead of just classic designs.

Current trends in the polo category also reflect how much the category has grown. According to industry press from PPAI, the modern polo is a “cross over” garment that can be used for golf, work, social activities, and leisure.

Performance Changed the Fabric

The technical responsibility of golf shirt has now shifted largely to fabric. Golfers are out for hours, repeatedly moving through a golf swing, and experiencing the fluctuating conditions of being on the course. This requires a shirt that breathable and allows free movement.

Polyester and polyester blends with spandex are common in the performance polos that are currently available. Callaway features one of the golf polos with 95% polyester 5% elastane and another with 92% polyester 8% spandex. Both provide stretch and wicking.

Other brands, while not necessarily using bandanas, adopt similar approaches of making more performance oriented golf pants with different fabric constructions. Donald Ross goes with a polyester spandex performance jersey which has 4 way stretch, moisture management and UPF 50 protection. Lacoste combines recycled polyester and elastane with moisture wicking and UPF 50 protection.

The choice of fabric is thus more problematic than just deciding the amount of polyester in the fabric. The feel of the finished shirt during play is affected by the yarn, knit structure, fabric weight, stretch recovery, feel of the surface and finishing.

Movement Changed the Pattern

A golf swing imposes incredibly different stress on a shirt than an ordinary walk. Shoulders spin, arms spread and the upper back has to have room to be able to move without pulling the upper body up.

Callaway encompasses this need by offering a roomier golf fit with modestly longer sleeves, though all other performance golf polos tend to have athletic or tailored shapes with a bit of stretch fabric.

Pattern development must follow that motion. If a company is designing a polo, they can use a pattern like the original shape, then widen the shoulder, change the shape of the sleeve, increase chest ease,alter the length of the body and modify the side vents.

The fit alters the way the shirt looks, as well. The relaxed golf polo can appear a classic country-club style, while a tighter athletic shape can create a more modern look to the same old shirt. Not all options will fit everyone.

Small Details Carry More Weight Than They Seem

Collars, perhaps more than anything else, are a good indicator of the quality of any golf polo before anyone even feels the fabric. A collar that will not stand up to many washings to come makes a great shirt look cheap. The same can be said for a placket, width, button size, stitches, sleeve openings, and hem.

Contemporary performance polos demonstrate a variety of solutions. Some have two button plackets, some have three or four, structured collars and collar stays help keep a crisper look. Existing lines from G/FORE, Johnnie-O and Callaway highlight how manufactures are combining these finishing touches with stretch and performance materials.

Branding adds another finer element. Big chest logos work well when representing a team or tournament collection. An all over tonal mark can also look more high-end for retail. PPAI suggest there is a trend toward small logos and tonal branding and appliqué to appear a greater part of the garment.

One Golf Shirt Can Speak for a Brand

Color can speak as loud as the logo as well. A golf company that employs subdued greens, cream color, navy, and earth tones will give a different impression than a company that employs bright contrast panels and technical specs.

The design team can also alter the personality of a polo without redesigning the entire silhouette. Texture can lend dimension in a solid color. Contrast piping is a sporty embellishment. A custom collar can elevate the shirt‘s quality. Embroidery, heat transfers, silicone accents and woven labels each can have a different effect.

Golf apparel now also blends into lifestyle apparel. PPAI defines the increasing linkage between golf, the athleisure category, and everyday apparel, and few current performance polos from various brands show their polo outside of golf.

Sampling Reveals What the Design Drawing Cannot

A tech pack can define the measurements, fabric makeup and color, stitching and artwork, but cannot accurately determine how a golf shirt will feel when swinging.

Sampling provides the design team with something that is far more useful: a tangible object that people can try on, take off, touch, and adjust. Moving the shoulders might expose an issue that measurements missed. The collar might need more support. The sleeve might feel fine standing, but tug while swinging.

Development on this stage thus requires the co-operation to be able to be flexible to modify the tiny details. Modification in shoulder or sleeve can affect the balance of the entire shirt, thus pattern development and sample evaluation should complement rather than be completed in isolation.

Bulk Production Tests the Original Idea

As soon as the sample is on the way to production, the main problem is consistency. All sizes need the same pattern logic, all colors have to be the one we wanted, details like collar, placket, embroidery, seams have to be consistent throug the whole order.

Production crews must also be able to monitor fabric behavior. Stretch fabrics may behave differently during cutting/sewing operations as oppose to the traditional woven fabric. Seam tension, fabric handling/feeding and pressing could affect the end shape.

Quality control can refuse products on much less than defects. For instance a shirt could be dispatched from the sewing line without defect but be rejected because it “felt” different from approval sample, this may be its measurements, fabrics hand, shape of collar or stretch recovery.

Golf Shirts Have Moved Beyond the Course

Maybe the most interesting transformation has been in the locations for golf apparel. A performance polo can now go from an early tee time to lunch, to travel, to work, or to a night gathering.

This opens the door for apparel companies to create collections of multiple styles. One style of polo can cater to the golfer looking for technical performance and another can shift focus more toward lifestyle styling and quality fabrics. Finding the same manufacturing partner that is able to do both without having the product look exactly the same may be the key.

In the end a modern golf shirt is successful if function and fashion compliment each other. The materials should assist the body as it moves. The pattern should flow with the swing. The collar should retain its form. The branding should be incorporated seamlessly. The construction should preserve the original design through manufacturing and repeated use.

JiuvelWear implements custom golf shirt development from the product-oriented approach. JiuvelWear, which is run by Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co., Ltd, can cooperate with brands through fabric selecting, mold developing, sampling, customized details, mass producing, quality controlling. It aims to realize the original brand idea into a golf shirt with rightfeel.