America has become a nation of golfers, and U.S. interest in this popular outdoor recreation continues to grow. There are 14,648 golf courses in this country, no fewer than a dozen golf magazines being published and an estimated $780 million in golf-related apparel was purchased last year, according to the National Golf Foundation.
Though once the exclusive province of middle-aged men with a penchant for madras plaid and polyester, golf is becoming the hip pastime of a new generation. While the sport itself is more than 200 years old, the average age of first-time players is getting younger. According to the foundation, participation in the sport has increased from 16.5 million to 24.5 million since 1983, and 63 percent of those currently trying the game are between the ages of 18 and 39.
With twenty and thirty-somethings crowding the green, fashion is making a comeback on the fairway. Gone are the sanabelt slacks, the tropical prints, the man-made materials. In their place are attractive, all-cotton sportswear separates created especially for use on the links.
"Golf is an activity you engage in outside, so you're subjected to the elements," says Ira Livingston, senior vice president of U.S. marketing for Cotton Incorporated. "The standard synthetic golf wear -- the butt of so many bad jokes -- was impractical. Synthetics aren't absorbent. They trap moisture against the skin. Cotton breathes. It allows your body to adjust to changes in temperature without making you feel hot or sticky."
Livingston attributes the present boom in the better golf wear market to the ever-expanding groups of people who have embraced the sport as well as consumer demands for comfort. After all, style conscious yuppies are not about to be caught teeing off in dad's double-knit duds. Accustomed to wearing high-quality, natural-fiber clothes in their daily work lives, these discerning individuals won't settle for anything less during their leisure hours.
A recent study conducted by the Professional Golfers Association reveals that the upwardly mobile, under-40, male golfer typically spends $1,149 annually on golf products and services. These days, it seems it's not whether you win or lose that counts, but how good you look while playing the game.