What Pants are Best for Golf?

The ideal pants for golf have to do two things at the same time: look respectful and include high performance features. Compared to conventional chinos, golf pants are usually lighter and more breathable. And although wearing a pair of regular chinos might not get you kicked off the course, a performance pant will keep you more comfortable and on your game.

The problem is, many performance pants also look high-performance (not in a good way), which means they don’t fit in off the course. So, the choice becomes: what kind of golf pants deserve a place in your wardrobe?

How do I choose a pair of great golf pants?

There is a way to mix performance and style to find the best golf pants for hours of wear and movement.

• Comfortable - so you can focus on this exceedingly mental game.
• Stretchy - for ease of movement through walking, swinging, and lots of bending down.
• Sweat and moisture wicking - to look cool, even when you’re perspiring, playing in wet grass, or maybe even through sand or mud.
• Full of pockets - for holding tees, balls, and your wallet and keys while you’re out for the day. 
• Classic in style - so you feel like you fit in; especially when there’s a dress code.

How do we make the best pants for golf?

Sometimes, one good thing leads to another.

Our original goal was to build the best pants for an active lifestyle full of looking good for work, easy care for travel, and high performance for the things we love to do. And all of the features we built into our best selling chinos happened to align perfectly for golf; with one big extra benefit -- they don’t look like golf pants.

Bluffworks is known as a pant company, and to make our third generation flagship product we injected modern performance into our no-way-does-it-feel-synthetic fabric to create the ultimate technical pants for your everyday adventures. Thoughtfully designed with 10 useful pockets, these are chinos that make for a hole in one.

Ascender Chino - Asphalt Black

$125

Ascender Chino - Desert Khaki

$125

Ascender Chino - Voyager Grey

$125

Ascender Chino - Midnight Navy

$125

Can't I just use my regular pants?

There is a difference between your regular pants and a pair of performance pants for golf, mostly having to do with fit and materials.

Historically, golf pants have been cut in a looser fit, making it easier to swing because they used old school materials that didn’t stretch.

And in an effort to look good, they used classic materials - like cotton. 

But as technology has improved, a better golf pant can be made more lightweight, with high performance materials and in a more athletic fit. So, although you can wear a classic pair of pants on the course, you probably won't be as comfortable or on your game as you could.

Can I wear suit pants or jeans for golf?

If push came to shove, regular chinos or slacks could work, and would be preferable to suit pants. Why? Typically, suit pants are too formal, don’t stretch and may require dry cleaning after your game, so a chino is a better choice.

However, one of life's remaining taboos is to not wear jeans or cargo shorts on the golf course. It’s a last bastion of pride.

Can you wear golf pants to work?

It depends on your pants. The problem is, you don’t want to feel like you are wearing golf pants to work because they may look too casual or sporty.

This is where our Ascender options excel, because you can own a single pair of pants that happens to be the best for golf, and the office - plus travel and commuting in between.

What is the ideal outfit for golf and travel?

So often our trips end up including a little bit of everything - from work, to seeing friends, and squeezing in a round. And packing a whole additional wardrobe for one afternoon of golf is a drag, periodically made worse when the day gets rained out.

A well curated capsule wardrobe - built around a few, hardworking, elegant pieces that translate to numerous scenarios - can equip you not just for golf, but more of your adventures.

The best outfit for golf is often organized around the polo. But like your golf pants you want a performance polo shirt that is moisture wicking, wrinkle resistant, and breathable.

Our Threshold knit polos are an ideal match, with one extra benefit – they resist odors. Which means you can wear them long after you’re on the course, pack fewer things when traveling, and always feel your best.

For layering on a cooler day, a technical dress shirt is our favorite addition. I wear our Zenith or Meridian shirts on the plane, to a meeting, and as a layer whenever I get cold - all without wrinkles. And I never have to worry about getting it dirty, because it comes out of the wash always looking great. 

In the end - and in the spirit of doing more, while living with less - you don’t have to own a pair of pants dedicated to golf that might sit in your closet for much of the year. 

Especially when this whole post was inspired by our customers telling us our Ascender Pants and Shorts are the best for golf. And, you might already have the best performance pants for golf already in your hands.

I have been looking for a pair of pants that were comfortable, looked good and something that would stretch with movement. I bought my first pair of gray pants for long plane trip trip and a week of golf. These pants were so soft and flexible I was able to play golf in them and hike in them. They did not wrinkle the entire trip and the material was extremely light weight allowing for great movement. I also liked the hidden zipper pockets, they keep all my belongings safe. I will be purchasing another pair. Thanks Bluffworks!! - Bob S.

Let us know how you shoot.