Want to be comfortable while looking put-together and stylish? Golf shirts and polo shirts are a sophisticated option that is great for both everyday wear and for outdoor sports, such as golf.
They allow for a great range of motion, so you can get that perfect swing! The best golf shirts are made from lightweight, breathable, and sweat-wicking fabrics.
In this article, we will walk through 7 of the best fabrics for comfortable golf shirts you’ll love to wear.
Cotton
Cotton Jersey
What is it?
Cotton jersey is a soft, stretchy knit fabric that is lightweight and comfortable. It’s made from natural cotton fibers that are spun into yarn and knitted together to form fabric with stretchability built in.
Features
The way jersey fabric is knitted gives it good elasticity without the addition of synthetic, stretchy fibers like spandex. This elasticity makes it easy to move around in a jersey knit golf shirt, a major plus! It’s also a very lightweight knit with a nice, relaxed drape that is comfortable to wear.
Cotton fibers are soft, breathable, and able to pull sweat away from your body, keeping you cool during all your activities. However, keep in mind that cotton does not dry as quickly as synthetic fibers, so if you will be doing strenuous exercise and sweating a lot in your golf shirts, you may want to consider a sweat-wicking, quick-drying option instead.
In addition, cotton is not as durable as a man-made fiber, so it may not be the best choice if you tend to wear your golf shirts extensively until they’re thread bare.
Cotton Pique
What is it?
Pique fabrics can be woven or knitted, and are characterized by a textured geometric or ribbed design across the fabric, such as a honeycomb or waffle design. It is often made with cotton fibers and can range in weight from light to heavy, though light and medium weights are typically used in golf shirts.
Features
Cotton pique is the quintessential polo fabric – a true classic. It has all the benefits of a cotton fabric – breathability, softness, and sweat-wicking abilities. However, the geometric texture brings some additional benefits, such as increased airflow through the fabric and the ability to hide perspiration marks.
In addition, cotton pique is usually heavier than jersey knit fabric, so it has a more structured look and more durability. This also brings a more sophisticated vibe, whereas golf shirts made from jersey fabric tend to appear more casual.
Pima Cotton
What is it?
If you love all the advantages of a cotton golf shirt, but it just doesn’t have the luxury feel that you want – you may love Pima cotton. Pima is the absolute highest quality of cotton available, and you can feel the difference!
Features
Pima cotton actually comes from an entirely different species of cotton plant than standard cotton (which is made from Upland cotton). The fibers harvested from Pima cotton are much longer than their Upland cotton counterparts, making them softer, and giving them a silkier feel.
In addition, the long fibers of Pima cotton create a much more durable fabric that resists tearing, pilling, and fading over time. Pima cotton makes for lightweight, breathable, hard-wearing, and comfortable golf shirts with a luxurious look and feel.
However, Pima cotton will still hold sweat longer than a quick-drying synthetic fiber – so if you plan to use your golf shirts for intense workouts, you may want to go with a different option.
Performance Fabrics
Quick-dry Nylon
What is it?
Nylon is a man-made fiber that was developed by DuPont in the 1930s. Quick-dry nylon is a performance fabric that is specifically manufactured and chemically treated to be sweat-wicking and ultra-fast drying – they are usually able to dry in less than 30 minutes.
Features
Quick-dry nylon is a lightweight fabric that is comfortable to wear. It does a great job of wicking sweat away from your body and allowing it to evaporate, not absorbing and holding onto sweat like cotton. It’s also extremely hard-wearing and durable.
This fabric is a great choice if you like to wear your golf shirts for intense exercise or sports where you will be sweating a lot and need to stay dry and comfortable. However, keep in mind that these synthetic fibers are not very breathable, so it may feel humid and hot inside the shirt, even while keeping you dry.
Quick-dry Polyester
What is it?
Polyester is another synthetic fiber, also created by DuPont – though it came onto the scene later than nylon. The polyester version of quick-dry fabric is very similar to nylon, just made with polyester fibers.
Features
Quick-dry polyester is very much like its nylon cousin, the main benefits being the sweat-wicking capabilities and lightweight nature of the fabric.
However, polyester is more absorptive than nylon, so it’s able to soak up more sweat faster – and it dries more quickly than nylon. Because of this, if your main priority for your golf shirts is keeping you dry and limiting sweat stains, quick-dry polyester will be your best option.
Polyester is quite long-lasting as well; however, it doesn’t hold a candle to nylon in terms of strength and rugged durability. So, if you are looking for a golf shirt fabric that will hold up to years of intense use, nylon may be the better choice.
In addition, polyester fabrics are also the best partner for all-over digital printing. No matter how you wash it and how many times you wash it, the sublimation printing on polyester fabric can last forever. Are you interested to make full-printing floral and full-printing logo designs for your next golf shirt collection? Polyester fabric with customized digital printing is your best option.
Synthetic Blends
What is it?
We discussed the two most common synthetic fibers, polyester and nylon. These synthetic fibers can be blended with other fibers, natural or synthetic, to bring out the best qualities of each fiber type. Some common synthetic fibers found in these blends include polyester, nylon, rayon, and spandex.
Features
Synthetic blends are usually great performance fabrics that are lightweight, yet strong and durable. Many are treated to be quick-drying and rapidly wick sweat away from your body.
The specific blend of fibers included in the fabric will make a huge difference in how it performs. When a synthetic blend includes spandex, it will be stretchy and have good elastic recovery, meaning that when stretched it can quickly return to its original shape. A blend with rayon will have a silky hand-feel and a high-end look.
When blended with natural fibers, the strength and fast-drying abilities of the synthetic fibers can be enhanced by the breathability and softness of natural fibers.
Bamboo Viscose
What is it?
Bamboo viscose is a semi-synthetic fiber that is made by chemically extracting and breaking down wood pulp from bamboo plants and turning it into spinnable fibers. However, as the main component is a natural material, it has many of the benefits of a natural fiber combined with those of synthetic fibers.
Features
As with any viscose fabric, bamboo viscose has a beautifully silky, luxurious feel that is a joy to wear against your skin. It’s also lightweight and has a great drape that makes shirts made from this fabric quite flattering on the body.
Bamboo viscose has the strength and resistance to pilling and tearing of synthetic fibers, while still being breathable and soft against the skin. This fabric truly has the best of both worlds!
However, unless chemically treated, it’s generally not quick to dry, so keep this in mind if you need a sweat-wicking fabric.
In addition, because the fibers come from a natural source, bamboo viscose is biodegradable – something that nylon and polyester are not.
Modal Fabric
What is it?
Modal fabric is quite similar to bamboo viscose in that it is made from chemically extracted wood pulp – but from beech trees!
Features
Modal fabric has a soft, silky texture and gorgeous drape much like bamboo viscose that makes it very comfortable to wear. The main difference from bamboo viscose is that it has some natural elasticity built into the fibers; this bit of stretch makes it ideal for clothing that you need to move around in – perfect for a golf shirt!
Modal is extremely hard-wearing, even more so than bamboo viscose, and can hold up to extensive use and repeated machine washing. It’s also very breathable and even more absorbent than cotton, meaning it can soak up more sweat! However, it’s not a fast-drying fiber, so will not evaporate sweat as rapidly as a quick-dry synthetic.
When looking for the right fabric for your golf shirts, lightweight, comfortable fabric is a must. These 7 fabrics fit that bill – but each has its own unique characteristics that may make one the best choice for you over the others.
We are a China golf shirt manufacturer who has worked with many clients to make their perfect golf shirts, so if you need help deciding which fabric is the right choice for you, feel free to get in touch with us – we would love to help!
2 Responses
Hello!
My name is Donte Walker
And I am looking to get some samples for a golf shirt that I want to eventually want to sell on my future website.
I love you wide variety of materials and want to do business.
Thank you for your time!
Hi Donte, thanks for your interest in our products. Our team have contacted with you via email. Have a nice day!