It was Sam Ryder (USA)’s ‘purple tracksuit’ that became a hot topic at the Farmers Insurance of the US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour held last month. The dark purple pants, which are rarely seen in the quiet and formal PGA tournaments, and the length of the pants, revealing the ankles, were the best cut of the day.
In principle, it is possible to wear tracksuits on the PGA Tour. This is because the PGA only has regulations on pants length, but no other regulations. After Rickie Fowler first tried sweatpants in 2016, Eric Van Luyen followed suit. However, there is a high possibility that it will be difficult to see a player like Rider in Korea.
According to the Korea Professional Golf 메이저놀이터(KPGA) tour dress code on the 3rd, all players participating in the tournament must wear collared shirts and long pants. Long pants referred to here are limited to ‘golf wear’ excluding training clothes. Shirts must be neatly tucked into pants, and colors other than green camouflage patterns are acceptable. Slippers and sandals are also prohibited.
So far, there have been two cases of disciplinary action for violating these regulations. In July 2014, a fine of 300,000 won was imposed on Pro Kim for wearing a round tee at the KPGA Frontier Tour, which was a three-part tour at the time. A fine of 50,000 won was imposed.
Unlike the PGA, which allowed shorts to be worn for the first time in 90 years, the KPGA has much stricter regulations on length.
In March 2019, the PGA revised its dress code to allow shorts to be worn during pro-am matches and practice rounds. The reason was that the existing culture, which tabooed exposing leg and armpit hair, had already faded. However, the length of the shorts did not rise above the knee, and the leggings worn under the shorts were limited to solid colors without patterns.
Despite this global trend, the KPGA only allows shorts to be worn during practice rounds. Even this is only possible after consultation with the golf course for tournaments held in July and August. Shorts cannot be worn shorter than the knee.
The situation for amateur golfers is similar. Some membership golf courses maintain a stricter dress code than professional competitions. A typical example is not allowing shorts at all, or even if allowed, wearing long socks that reach to the knee.
A KPGA official said, “Nowadays, there are many apparel companies and golf wear designs are diverse, so it is true that the dress code is being relaxed a lot.” true,” he said.