The Evolution.

The evolution of women’s golf wear has been on a steady rise and golf fashion has come a long way. As someone who studied Fashion Design and History of Fashion. I appreciate the changes that women’s golf apparel has undergone. Traditionally, golf as a whole has been rigid since the Stone Ages with its rules on attire amongst other things. Those rules of course have some what changed in the past 10 to 15 years.
Golfers are a lot more colourful, daring with their attire, funky if we can call it that. The women are leading the men on that regard but there are also those guys that stand out like Rickie Fowler. Who caught my kids eyes earlier on in his career purely because of his colourful gear. They started to watch him play and wanted to see what he would be wearig next. Which then followed by them wanting him to win and loving his game.
He grabbed their attention just by looking like someone they could relate to on the golf course. I could mention a few other names of really stylish, fashionable male golfers but I am not here to speak about the men. This piece is dedicated to the ladies.

The women’s golf fashion trends are possibly the fastest growing trend in fashion at the moment. The choices have shifted and changed drastically from the conservative old fashioned look and have entered a new school lifestyle fashion trend. Women have become more adventurous with colour choices, shorter shorts, tighter shirts, the introduction of the skort (a personal favourite) over a decade ago by Golftini.

The skort in my opinion, is a sexy edition to women’s golf apparel. What is probably the greatest thing, is how comfortable the gear has become too. The fabrics that designers are using, me included, are durable and super flexible. This is one of the most important factors because, in spite of trends and wanting to look good out there, it is still a sport and one must try and perform at the highest level without interference from unsuitable gear. The other trend I find appealing and rather great is the golf leggings, tights seen worn by the likes of Michelle Wie. Michelle has been one of the biggest trend setters in women’s golf fashion. She has been voted the most stylish female golfer several times. She is spunky and relevant in terms of fashion for female golfers out there. Her outfits have gotten her into some trouble and maybe even banned on some greens but the younger golfers get it and love her bold style.

Other female golfers I find extremely stylish are Korean golfer Soo Jin Yang and Russian golfer Maria Verchenova who both have their own golf clothing ranges. I find that a lot of our South African lady pros are still very conservative with their gear.

We now enter the topic of body shape and the struggles of finding golf gear that is suitable for my body shape as an African women. We require a little extra room around our hips and my research has shown me that most garments have been made to a typical European size, figure and shaped woman. I have found this to be one of the biggest problems with the amateur lady golfers and friends, who might be a 32 waist but a 36 bottom.
Hey, the heritage calls for it and it is pride for us but a disadvantage when trying to find suitable, comfortable golf gear. I also realise that in the past not many women with this type of figure, if any, played golf, so it is to be expected that we will only find European sized garments at any golf shop. Garments that when you buy, you still need to go out and find a tailor to resize and custom fit. Yes, its a huge problem. You do have some brands that are actually trying and understanding the African woman’s figure like Greg Normans range and Clubhouse Collection just to name a couple.

Most women I’ve spoken to sometimes have to go to a regular retail store to get a pair of pants or shorts for a guaranteed fit. The problem with that is you then lose all the necessary details needed for golf gear, like the extra pockets and tee holders. There is still a lot of improvement and necessary changes that need to happen with regards to sizing. Sometimes it takes someone who understands the struggles of any situation to change it.
I know, through my own experience that most times when I’m out there looking good, feeling comfortable, I’m going to play some good golf and I’m pretty sure some of the ladies will agree with me. I’m achange interested to hear from the ladies which brands they prefer and find are the most comfortable
Thank you to everyone who has sent me messages and taken the time to send me encouraging words and relatable stories about starting out on this golfing journey.

Catch you on the fairways. 🏌🏾‍♀️

Welcome!

Welcome to This Girl’s Golf Diary blog. Here I will talk about good golf, bad golf, amateur golf, professional golf, women’s and men’s golf and mostly South African golf. I am here really just to give a different perspective on the game. I will focus on golf travel, some equipment from an amateurs point of view and golf experiences from all the courses I get to visit and play. I hope to chat to some professional golfers and get some insight on their lifestyle outside of their day job.

South Africa has some of the worlds best golf courses and we are so lucky to have access to them. Unfortunately most people still feel that golf is an exclusive sport. Understandably so. Golf has been for a very very long time and elite sport and still percieved to be that to some extent. Although things are changing and the amount of diversity that is happening in our golf clubs is something to celebrate and document. Golf still can not shake that seemingly bad reputation of being a sport for the few select and majority white.

Personally, I am happy to be a part of that diversity, I get super excited when I see the number of Black folf on the golf course, especiallywomen and children. Even if they are not playing with me on that day, there is still that “hey gurlll” thing that happens when we cross paths. And we will talk more about that in the future. The future looks bright too on the Black amateurs circle. So my aim is to create as much awareness as I possibly can on the changing dynamics in our golf circles, accessibility and the influence of social media on golf as a whole.

I get asked all the time, “why golf”? Of course I always have a few answers ready but my main answer is..”golf is a way of life.” It teaches one, how to manage your time, honesty, manners, an enormous amount of patience and respect for your fellow golfers. Which translates into your daily life. It’s a great way to connect with people.

I remember when I started playing golf. I had moved to Harare, Zimbabwe with my family and we were going to be there for four years. I was a new stay at home mum and knew no one. I soon realised Harare had some beautiful courses and I always wanted to play golf but never had the time. Well, turned out I had the time and needed to make new friends who were not my husband or his work colleagues. I bought a beginners box set from Dunlop clubs from a Sportsmans Warehouse. Not even a Proshop. 😅 I didn’t even know Dunlop made golf clubs, I thought they just made tennis balls.

I joined Borrowdale Brooke Golf Club and showed up on the ladies Thursday game like it was the first day of school. I found such a welcoming bunch of ladies and soon enough the golf course became home to me. Of course I had to have a good bunch of lessons on the basics before venturing out there. Anything less would have been suicidal. I was lucky enough to get lessons from the wonderful Tim Price, who happened to be the club pro at the time. I soon played in the ladies silver division and club champs. The rest is history. When you’ve spent almost half your life playing sports like I have. At some point you can’t take part in most if not all the sports you used to take part in. With all the injuries one accumulates during those years, your body starts to sing a different tune and is no longer in tune with your mind. At some point it requires you to retire from your action sports. Golf has allowed me to remain competitive and active, even if its on a social level. I am hoping to inspire more women to play, especially more black women to play.

This will be my fun but sometimes serious golf blog. I plan to collect as much flags as possible.

Catch you on the fairways.

Felicity Shiba