History of Golf Attire | From Tweed To Technical Fabrics

Golf attire evolved from heavy tweed suits and knickers into today’s lightweight, moisture-wicking performance wear over roughly two centuries.

The history of golf attire is a story of weather protection meeting social formality, then giving way to athletic performance. What started as practical outerwear for Scotland’s windy, wet links became a strict dress code of tweed jackets, waistcoats, and neckties, then loosened into the polo shirts, slacks, and technical fabrics you see on every course today. Each shift tracks a broader change in how society—and the game itself—treated comfort and movement.

Victorian Era: Tweed, Knickers, And Heavy Leather

Early golf in Scotland had no special dress code. Players wore everyday outdoor clothing: tweed suits and jackets, heavy waistcoats, sturdy leather shoes, and hats or caps that shed rain. As the game grew in popularity during the late 1800s, this practical outerwear hardened into a social uniform for men who played at the new clubs springing up across Britain.

The standard men’s look by the late 19th century was knickerbockers—baggy trousers gathered at the knee—paired with knee-high socks, a tweed jacket, and a tie. Women’s golf fashion was slower to change. These outfits offered almost no freedom of movement, and they stayed the norm far longer than men’s attire did.

The 1920s To 1950s: Casualization Begins

Men’s golf dress started loosening in the 1920s. Knickers gave way to plus-fours—similar baggy trousers but cut four inches longer below the knee—worn with knit ties and cardigans. Slacks arrived in the 1930s, and by the 1940s and 1950s, short-sleeved knit shirts replaced the collared dress shirts and ties that had dominated earlier decades.

Women’s clothing lagged considerably. Trousers on a golf course were considered scandalous as late as 1933, and pants only became common for women golfers in the 1960s. Skirts and hemlines did shorten gradually, but the shift toward real mobility came later than it did for men.

1960s To Today: Color, Synthetics, And Performance Fabrics

The 1960s brought brighter colors and synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon. The loosening continued through the 1980s and 1990s, when shorts and casually colorful apparel became standard on most courses. That decade also marked a technical milestone—

Modern golf clothing is now thoroughly athletic. Moisture-wicking polo shirts, stretch trousers, waterproof outer layers, and sneaker-like golf shoes have replaced nearly all the traditional materials. The two-toned leather saddle shoe that defined golf footwear for decades now reads as a retro style, not the default. The 1950s–1960s were the bridge: as postwar casualization swept sportswear generally, golf followed, and it never turned back.

Where The Style History Leaves Modern Players

Understanding where golf fashion came from matters if you are shopping today. Vintage-inspired looks are popular again, and our roundup of the best 90s golf attire breaks down the bold colors and relaxed silhouettes from that era that have cycled back into style. For most players, though, the modern priorities are stretch, breathability, and weather protection—priorities that would look alien to a golfer in 1890 tweed and perfectly normal to one playing today.

Two cautions when reading any history of golf dress: styles varied club to club, and the timeline always lagged for women. Knickers, plus-fours, and slacks are distinct garments from different eras, not interchangeable terms. Treat the old dress code as a broad trend with regional exceptions, not a single rulebook everyone followed.

Golf attire today is shaped by the same forces as all modern sportswear: fabric technology and comfort. The heavy tweed that protected 19th-century players from Scottish rain gave way to fabrics engineered to keep you dry and cool while the game demands more athletic movement than it ever did.