Moisture wicking shirts/pants: Is it all its cracked up to be?

I am in the market for some golf clothes and have been looking quite a bit at the Nike/Adidas/Under Armour moisture wicking lines of clothes.

As far as for me, I tend to get too hot in day to day activities if I wear anything other than all cotton shirts.

My question is do these clothes make you hotter while playing (temp wise lol) or is it really breathable and allows you to concentrate on your game and is it really best to spend money on this fabric?

I really dont want to buy into this line of clothes and find out that Im just gonna boil and be miserable while wearing it.

I am on the west coast so temps here in the summer can get mid 90s and 20s-30s in the winter.

Just looking for some insight on this before I decide to spend on it.

What is everyones experience?

Most of my golf clothes are "moisture wicking" and I love 'em... I live in the desert in southern California and I manage to play pretty comfortably even when temps go past the 100° range.

In terms of playing in heat moisture wicking stuff works very well but you'll sweat obviously. This is no joke the stuff is great but if you have cotton underwear on forget about it. Seriously look at getting some "clima cool" or whatever brand compression shorts. I took up running a few years ago and I was wearing them to run then a thought hit me why not wear them to golf. I've never looked back...

Great info everyone.

Thanks for responding.

http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?l=shop,pdp,ctr-inline/cid-1/pid-203211/pgid-158908#l=shop,pdp,ctr-inline/cid-1/pid-158907/pgid-158908

Nike Pro Combat compression shorts are awesome on a hot day. When you sweat a little and have any air hit your legs (walking will do it) then it feels like you have an air conditioner in your pants. Also it doesn't matter how much you move around, these things don't budge on your legs so no bunching up while you're moving about is a bonus.

I agree with the others that both Nike and Under Armor have some great dri fit clothing. I would check both of those out. Even PING and other more golf-focused companies have begun pushing these options. Here in California it's all I'll wear out on the course. Anything else is simply too hot.

The moisture wicking stuff is a must.  My wife got me some pants and shirts in the Tiger Nike line, and I won't play in anything else anymore.  I live in southern California and often play when it's hot, and the new clothes perform so well that I actually prefer playing with the light wicking pants, rather than any shorts I own, since I get less sunned out and am still cool (temp, not hip).

2nd for the no go on cotton underwear.  Get some synthetic wicking underwear too or you'll have a huge swamp leaking through your pants.

I am in California so playing in the heat is common.  I have some of these mystical moisture wicking golf shirts and they work great, much cooler than cotton.  I made the switch and wont look back, no more cotton!  I dont sweat any less but they are much cooler than cotton that is for sure and the sweat does evaporate much much quicker. One thing I have noticed with these moisture wicking shirts, at the end of the day, they are in reality just 100% polyester shirts.  I think that all the claims about special this or that is all marketing b.s.  Kinda like sugar candies labeling themselves as fat free, yes obviously.  I compared my $10 wal-mart polyester polos to expensive nike/adidas golf shirts etc and they were all just 100% polyester.  So it just comes down to price vs name brand.  I like the PGA Tour dry fit polos and they can found online for about $20.

Some polyesters are coated with hydrophobic material on one side (typically on the inside) and hydrophilic material on the other side (outer side for moisture wicking).  So not all polyesters are equal.  Depending on the quality of hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials, you can get a significantly different rate of moisture wicking.  Hence the price difference.

Some polyesters are better than the other...

i definitely think the moisture-wicking materials are cooler in hot weather.  When wearing cotton, you tend to get soaked & stay soaked on humid days.  The new materials breathe a whole lot better.

I do think the moisture-wicking golf shirts I bought at Target for less than $20 do perform just as well as some much more expensive Nike's I have though, so you don't have to spend a ton of dough.

Do note that by wicking moisture to the outside world (to evaporate faster), one does tend to stink of sweat more than in a cotton shirt though.  These new material golf polo's aren't your best choice of collared shirt to wear on a hot summer night's dinner!

I noticed the PGA Tour polos as well as some of the Ping offerings on Ebay.

I also noticed Kohls has a line of relatively inexpensive polos that are moisture wicking.

I think I will start off with some of the more inexpensive ones before spending on the higher end stuff.

There is a lot of talk about shirts and shorts in here..............Where (name brand, store, etc) can I buy moisture wicking pants for golfing for less than $50?

They definitely work, but ive noticed that I flat out stink after a round. They "wick" the moisture, but then its just kinda trapped in the shirt & it really causes the shirt to smell like sweat and dirt. Not so much BO, but just sweat.

Honestly it's really just about finding good deals on the stuff. And they do exist. I buy a lot of my apparel through a place called GPPGolf.com since they do apparel sales that TGW or Golfsmith don't do. For instance their Puma apparel can be on sale as low as 30% off and TGW/Golfsmith are charging full price, but the reverse can also be true. Check sale racks at the local golf shops or end of season ones if you live in the midwest or any other place that has more than 2 seasons :P

I just got nike dri fit pants at dicks sporting goods for $35 off a clearance rack. I got adidas clima cool pants on black friday at an adidas outlet for $25. Usually the clearance rack at golf galaxy will have pants under $50 but sizes are limited. Dicks sporting goods typically has Walter Hagen or Slazenger wicking type pants for around $40 to $50 or if you are real lucky occasionally you will find some at TJ Max or Marshalls for around $20.

I am a shooter, new golfer, hiker and frequent the gym, I have used it for many years and find moisture wicking helps you stay more comfortable while active, one key I believe mentioned that moisture wicking tee shirts, briefs and socks are the first and most important layer of protection, the newer materials will wick away moisture quickly, I notice it with pants especially.

It's the only way to go.......I'll never buy another cotton golf shirt again.  I'm not sure the relevance for pants......if it's hot, I'm not wearing pants to the course!!!