Golf Shirts
By: Brent Walter

Golf Shirts Buying Guide: You really should consider your options before buying your next golf shirt. With all the new fabric technology available, the right shirt can make a round more enjoyable and help you perform better.

    Golf shirts don't seem to be very important on first glance. You just put one on and head to the course. However, through 18 holes, from every tee to green, that shirt is the closest thing to your body. It affects how hot you feel, how sweaty you get, your mobility and how comfortable you feel. To play your best you need to feel great, and you need the right type of shirt so that you stay cool and comfortable while playing. It's really easy to find the perfect golf shirts. Just keep these pointers in mind while you're browsing what's available.

Moisture Management

    Being soggy and sweaty can make you miserable while playing. And if you feel miserable, you'll probably play that way too. Not to mention how hard it is to get a good grip when you're dripping all over your hands. That scenario has double bogey written all over it. To keep you dry on the course, many companies offer golf shirts that help manage your moisture problems. The fabric is engineered to wick moisture away from your skin so that it evaporates rapidly. The result: you're cool, dry and comfortable. Without being bothered by your sweat, you can concentrate on your game, which will help you play better. Bet you never thought a shirt could not only make you more comfortable, but also play better. So, make sure you check around and find a shirt that helps keep you dry. It'll be one less thing you have to worry about during your backswing.

Extra Air Flow

    Another key to staying comfortable out on the course is keeping your body cool and ventilated. If you wear a thick, heavy golf shirt, you'll be boiling under your collar. Lightweight shirts are a must for hot weather. Lightweight fabric is just the beginning of how golf shirts can keep you cool. You can find golf shirts that are designed to increase airflow over the areas of your body that produce the most heat. The golf shirts' special ventilation zones prevent overheating, and that will reduce fatigue and distraction. The cooler you feel, the better you'll play. Do your game a favor, and look for light-weight golf shirts with improved ventilation.

UV Protection

    You can't avoid being in the sun when you play golf, but you can buy golf shirts that will help prevent you from becoming one of the million or more Americans who are diagnosed with skin cancer each year (American Academy of Dermatology). To keep you safe from the sun, find golf shirts with built in UV protection. The UV protective golf shirts are made from special UV absorbing fabrics that have tighter weaves. The combination of tighter weave and UV absorption shields your skin from the sun's harmful rays (Federal Trade Commission). You should look for golf shirts with Ultraviolet Protection Factors, or UPFs, of at least 15. However, you can find shirts with levels of 30, 40 or even 50 UPF. The higher the UPF, the more protection you get.

Antimicrobial Fabric

    You can stay clean and smell good all day long with antimicrobial golf shirts. That's because they are enriched with chemical compounds that kills microscopic and submicroscopic organisms (Clothes Care Research Center). It's those little organisms that cause body odor by reacting with your sweat. So, once they're out of the way, there's nothing to make you smell bad. And that's reassuring to known as you enter the clubhouse just off the 18th green. You want to have everyone talking about your amazing swing not something else.

    Golf shirts come in all different fabrics, styles, sizes and cuts. Not to mention the numerous other features. But when it comes down to it, the best golf shirts are the ones that are comfortable and make you feel good out on the course. To achieve maximum performance from your golf shirts, look for ones that will keep you cool, dry, protected from the sun and odor-free. If your golf shirts have those features, you'll have nothing to worry about during your round except how to get your ball in the hole.


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