lee-westwood-shorts

Shivering our way to work this morning, the thought of wearing shorts to play golf was little more than a distant dream. For the game’s elite, however, it’s a hot topic. 

The temperature at last week’s EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur led European captain Darren Clarke to ask permission for players to wear shorts during practice rounds, a request new European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley was happy to acquiesce.

That decision has carried over to this week’s Abu Dhabi Championship, where several players have taken advantage of the right to sport shorts during practice rounds.  

“It makes perfect sense to me,” Ian Poulter told Golfweek. “There shouldn’t be a problem with us wearing shorts to practice. So I’ll be baring my legs tomorrow. In fact, I really don’t see a problem with wearing shorts during tournaments. I mean, it is 2016.”

Caddies have been permitted to wear shorts for over 15 years, and Poulter’s caddie, Terry Mundy, sees no reason why players shouldn’t be allowed to do the same.

“When it’s hot, just about every golfer in the world, on a hot day, will wear some shorts,” says Mundy. “I don’t see why it looks bad on TV, I don’t know where that rule came from or what it’s all about. I can only assume it’s a smart thing – you need to look smart on a golf course – but I don’t think that somebody in a nice pair of tailored shorts and golf shoes looks scruffy. It was the rule for caddies for quite a long time, but they eventually gave caddies a break and said caddies could wear shorts. I don’t see why players shouldn’t be allowed to wear them.”

Former Alfred Dunhill Links champion Oliver Wilson conducted a Twitter poll to gauge the general feeling towards shorts on tour. 

At present, the vote stands 75% in favour of players being allowed to wear shorts on tour. 

Edoardo Molinari is certainly in favour:

Do you think professional golfers should be allowed to wear shorts?