How Women's Golf Fashion is Evolving

Abby Parsons entire closet these days is full of golf clothes.

Her day-to-day gear is cute and on trend and can be worn seamlessly between on the course – where she is the head golf professional at Scottsdale’s Pinnacle Peak Country Club – and off.

“I always joked I have every man’s dream closet,” Parsons says with a smile, “and now it’s moving towards having every woman’s dream closet.”

Golf outfits for women these days have firmly pivoted from a linear, less-than-flattering style into a modern look and feel – and PGA of America Golf Professionals like Parsons couldn’t be happier to see the change.

At the PGA Show earlier this year, for example, Parsons was thrilled to see how many women-owned golf brands had popped up (like Fore All, for example, which won ‘Best in Show’ at the PGA Buyers and Education Summit last year) and she and the buyer at her club were like kids in a candy store.

These days Parsons says she sees so many members wearing outfits that are from small boutiques. They’re showing up at the course with golf sweaters and knit patterns and Parsons admits she is often left asking, “Where did you get that?”

“The PGA Show had so many women’s brands and boutiques and we were trying to find which ones to go to – we wanted to buy everything from everyone,” Parsons explains. “It’s so rare for us to go into a space and be able to be like, ‘Oh my gosh – I want everything.’ And, 10 years ago, you literally wanted nothing.”

With the LPGA Tour celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, it’s easy to see how much women’s golf fashion has changed over the last century. But the pivot has been more pronounced just over the last decade, Parsons says.

There’s been a strong move to athleisure recently which, Parsons says, is a big positive. It’s also beneficial for the golf swing, too. It’s easier to swing in the modern athleisure pieces than it ever was in khakis.

“Right now, I’m at work wearing Jordan golf shoes, Puma joggers, and a Nike golf shirt. I do not probably look like what most people think as a golf professional – but, style, especially on the (LPGA) Tour, a lot of the golfers are starting to make statements with what they wear versus just wearing clothes,” Parsons says. “Look at Charley Hull with Malbon – her outfits are awesome. They are so cool and they’re a reason people watch golf. Like, ‘What is Charley going to wear today?’ Which I think is super fascinating.”

Parsons says, for women, they would walk into a golf shop a decade ago and there would be a pretty limited selection on offer. Now there are plenty of different designs and styles that are on-trend.

And of course, there are the women-led boutiques that are making a big impact.

“You see so many more women-made golf brands because they step up and the founders are saying, ‘I don’t want to wear the lame clothing, I want to start wearing what I want to wear.’ You can ask anyone 15 years ago what it was like trying to shop for women’s golf clothes and you had to just wear what you had to wear,” Parsons says.

“Now you can actually have stuff that you find cool and attractive and stylish versus just any other collared shirt and skort.”

Parsons is quick to say it’s not just the new brands that are bringing some heat to women’s golf fashion. The legacy brands – like Nike and Puma – are doing a great job in keeping up with whatever fashion-forward ideas exist outside of the golf space. What Nelly Korda is wearing with Nike," Parsons says, is “simple and still cool.”

“The fits fit women,” she states.

A final underrated benefit of having golf clothing play multiple roles is that there is immediate and real value in buying a piece that can be found in the golf section – but can just as easily be worn in two or three other places
without issue.

“A lot of golf shops are turning into lifestyle shops,” Parsons says. “There are so many places to wear these items and for so many different reasons.

You do feel a little bit more like you get your money’s worth versus in the past you get a golf shirt and it’s just for golfing.”

Times have changed, and so has women’s golf style.