Golf Cap

[Trey]

Gentlemen:

Having reached the age of 40, I decided it is time to visit various physicians to ensure that all is working properly.

I am mindful of the sun's effects on skin. Nevertheless, I try to keep a little "glow". I had a dermatologist friend check check my skin. Fortunately all is well.

We belong to the same club. We both golf. He surveyed my mane. He noted that I never don a hat. Although all looks fine, he ordered me to wear a cap when I golf.

I take pride in my dress and my game. (Afterall it is easier to dress like Bobby Jones than to play like him!) I do not like the thought of wearing hats of any sort - especially baseball type caps. They do not look good on me, especially when paired with custom golf shoes, finely tailored beltless trousers, sweater and/or high end golf shirt, etc. (You get the idea.)

I am not crazy about spraying sunscreen on my mane. LIkewise donning a lid holds little appeal. Both beat the alternative - cancer. What's a lad to do?

I welcome your thoughts.

Trey

[pvpatty]

A tweed cap? That's what I usually wear when golfing.

[NCW]

I think we would all agree that baseball caps are out, but I am surprised that you think all hats are somehow un-stylish. Until recently, all men of all classes wore hats all the time. The hat you choose would depend on the rest of your clothes, but a cloth cap (linen or even tweed) would be fairly normal for golfing. If you wear a jacket, a trilby or panama would work.

[angelo]

You can get inspired for Your golf cap from the '30 AA/Esky fashion sketch at the following URL:
http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wbd-uMYmb_4/R3h ... attire.jpg

Enjoy !

Angelo

[couch]

In warm weather, I actually find that a straw hat (I usually wear a fedora-blocked Panama or similarly blocked Guatemalan coiled palm) with a medium-wide brim works very well for golf (I often play when back in Texas). I find the fact that the top of my head does not touch the crown to be more comfortable than a cap over several hours of play, and once you're used to the feel of it on your head it doesn't affect your swing (and I have a pretty upright swing plane). Such a plain classic straw (I go with the conservative 1" black grosgrain ribbon) pairs much more elegantly than any cap with wam-weather sporting clothes.

If it's very windy I'll wear a natural linen driving cap shaped more or less like the AA illustration above, and in cooler fall weather a soft suede version from Lock's, or my favorite velour-finish late-60s brown Borsalino 6X Traveler with a downturned stingy brim (thanks, Dopey!)

Depending on the shape of your face and the relevant clothes, you can find one or more hat styles that will look not just elegant, but completely natural on you when you get used to wearing a hat.

As a side note, I commend your physician's advice to your attention. I spent much of my childhood and teen years on the golf course (daily during my years on school teams) or poolside without a hat. Though I have not been in the sun hatless for any length of time for more than 25 years, that early exposure has resulted in far more surgery than I would wish on anyone.

[Sator]

http://www.harristweedshop.com/hat-cap-index.html

Although many others offer tweed caps, I think their tweeds are the best.

[Trey]

Gentlemen:

I apologize if I implied that hats are unstylish. To the contrary, even in this post-JFK world, I find hats quite stylish. The straw/Barsolino/driving caps are particularly attractive - especially for golf. Unfortunately, hats have never seemed to look quite right on me. The fault is more likely attributed to my head than to the hat!

Undeterred, based on your excellent advice, I will again try on several hats. Perhaps I have not yet found the right hat.

FYI - I love the AA/Esky sketch.

Trey

[Bishop of Briggs]

I recommend a cotton or linen cap in classic style e.g. http://www.lockhatters.co.uk/Cotton__am ... s-c62.aspx or a hat such here http://www.lockhatters.co.uk/Cotton__Li ... s-c35.aspx.

Lock is expensive (e.g. compared to Bates) and you can save money by shopping elsewhere.

[Manself]

Michael Alden has, inevitably, already answered this question - if you search the archives of the Cloth Club you'll find he has designed a linen cap that can be ordered from Lawrence & Foster.

www.thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=276

[Jordan Marc]

Trey, baseball caps are not for anyone over the age of a six-year-old, and newsboy tweed caps should be worn only with Barbours. Consider the possibilities of a 'Henry Higgins' style fedora in a tweed or glenuruqart. Herbert Johnson used to stock them. Very stylish, these hats made popular by Rex Harrison in stage and screen productions of 'My Fair Lady'. If plain weatherproof cloth is more to your liking, consider the hat worn by Clint Eastwood in 'Black Heart, White Hunter'. It's similar to the Henry Higgins style, but it has a concentrically stitched brim and it's the color of a beige trenchcoat. M'thinks Swaine, Adeney, Brigg might
carry it.

JMB

[Sator]

Lock have their caps reputedly made by Lawrence and Foster. I find the patterns used for MTO caps by the Harris Tweed Shop vastly preferably to anything from Lock/L&F in their fit and styling. If that isn't enough, every single one of HTS's tweeds are vastly superior to anything I have personally seen from other stores. It is utterly beyond me why anyone would order from anywhere else.

My preference is for tweed to wear with a similarly patterned tweed sports coat. However, the Wild Flaxen lambswool/silk tweed blend is absolutely wonderful stuff. It has nice linen like flaxen feel to it, but luxurious and soft:

http://www.harristweedshop.com/tweeds-breanish-02.html



The colour is lighter than pictured.

[Trey]

Gentlemen:

I ordered a smallish brimmed trilby Panama. It looked silly on me. It is a shame that there are no hat stores in my locale.

Undeterred, I visited several local stores (Macy's, Brooks Brothers) and finally found a department store that carried a few straw/Panamaish type hats. One was a little too large, but actually looked quite good, which makes me think that all is not lost when it comes to my head and how goofy hats usually look on me.

I found a hat that looks similar to Alden's, although I am sure the quality is inferior. I tried it on and it worked. My club championship is this weekend and I look forward to wearing the hat then. I will continue my search for a Panama.

Thanks to you all for your expert and helpful advice.

Trey

[carl browne]

Trey

I don't think you're getting into the spirit of the thing. Why not make a virtue of necessity and learn to enjoy hats and caps the same way you do your clothes and shoes? I have only to look at my poor father, whose regular and sanguinary encounters with the dermatologist lead me to believe that like me, you have no choice in the matter. Why don't you spend some time experimenting with hats and acquire a wardrobe of them that becomes the object of emulation. Hats are not so bad, after all, and they could be fun if only you would let them.