Fall golf and the trouble with golf trousers

Here in the Midwest we've been blessed with a beautiful fall golf season. Mother Nature's magical combination of unseasonably low rainfall and warm temperatures has given us several bonus days of perfect golf weather.

And one of the great pleasures of playing crisp fall golf is that we get to upgrade from our normal summer golf attire to our spiffy new pro-style golf trousers.

There's a little magic that comes with playing golf in long pants. Unfortunately with this onslaught of nattily clad golfers comes a fresh, but often misguided, sense of increased golf capability.

It's easy to ascribe an added sense of golf competence when you catch the reflection of your favorite khaki and chocolate shirt combination in the pro-shop window. After all, pro golfers wear high grade golf trousers throughout the entire season.

But the real trouble begins on the first tee. As you revel in your dapper foursome's style, someone invariably suggests the unthinkable...

"How bout we launch'em from the tips today, boys?"

And so begins the long and irreversible eighteen hole grinder that finds these overdressed aficionados in the trees, long grass rough and other off-course hazards that they wouldn't normally see.

So what is this false promise of greatness that comes with a snappy shirt and pant combination? Why do we imagine an improved swing plane once long pants are on the course?

I believe we all suffer from a bit of the old "I play as well as I look" syndrome. And much has been written about how a good mental pre-game strategy consists of setting your mind up to play well.

Unfortunately, looking good on the course has never guaranteed an exceptional score. In fact, this particular foursome has distorted this pre-game mindset well beyond it's intended conclusion.

Just ponder how many well-dressed pros flame out of big tournaments when they miss the Friday cut. Those stylish new trousers didn't count for diddly-squat that week.

So as your pouring over which shirt/slack combination will look best for this weekend's round perhaps you should have another look at this treasured 2008 video featuring a shirtless and shoeless John Daly and focus simply on having more fun.

Comments

[Greg D'Andrea]

Play from the tips???? You should have made the person who suggested such nonsense to play the first hole with their pants around their ankles. Now that's a fall fashion statement!

[socalgolfergal]

Daly... put a freakin' shirt on. Gross me out.

[left handed golf]

Very funny and very true, people tend to "think" they play better when dressed smarter. I dont know about you but I also play better when I pay a bit more for a round of golf - I dont know what it is but when I'm forced to shell out 3 figures for a round I tend to concentrate a bit more.