Thrifty Style

I’ve always had the philosophy that even if you play badly on the course, you still need to look good. Many famous golfers can be identified by the way they “dress the part.” There was Payne Stewart and his knickers, Gary Player’s black shirts, Jasper Parnevik’s hat and, of course, Tiger Woods and his Sunday red shirt. The cost of dressing the part can be expensive. Seeing as I’m not a wealthy man (yet! I’m banking on The Sand Trap becoming an international success!), I began to look for ways to stretch my money further. I headed to thrift stores to see what I could find.

Although not for everyone, consignment shops, thrift stores, and garage sales can offer you some high-quality items with reasonable price tags. For example, I’ve picked up three Ralph Lauren Polo shirts (navy, yellow, and orange – $3/each) a pair of Ashworth khakis (with tags – $5), and a sweet RAM Tour Grind 1-iron (vintage, baby – $3). The clothing items look great and fit well.

If you decide to try second-hand style, my experience has taught me some things I’d like to share:

1. Go with an open mind. If you go only looking for navy blue, GAP, pleated shorts—well, you probably won’t come home with them — at least this time. Always have an idea of what you ultimately want, but look at everything.
2. If you find something you like, you’d better buy it now. The turnover in these shops is fast for nice items. You don’t usually get second chances. Better get it while the getting is good. Investigate return policies.
3. Develop a good sense of the sizes you wear and what looks good on you. Many locations don’t offer a place to try things on. For example, I normally wear a ‘medium’ shirt, but in Polo, I like a ‘large.’
4. Examine purchases carefully! Remember there’s a reason why someone got rid of these things. It could be it didn’t fit, didn’t match or was missing a button. Or, maybe it has a stain or a hole or the zipper doesn’t work. Some things can be easily repaired, others can’t.

Be particularly mindful when purchasing golf shirts to check both sleeves. What appears to be a great golf shirt on the rack may turn out to have an unappealing logo on the sleeve.

Additionally, many places offer more than clothing. You might find golf bags that would be good for a beginning youngster or as a bag for extra clubs. I’ve seen all types of practice equipment. As noted above, I recently purchased a forged 1-iron because I loved the square toe and had hit the short irons years ago. There are always old clubs and although you wouldn’t purchase them to play with, there’s always a use for them as home décor in your own 19th hole.

Thrift shopping is cheap entertainment for me. I tend to look for items out of season, so currently I’m looking for shorts and golf shirts, but as spring and summer get closer, I’ll start looking for sweaters and corduroys.

I still shop retail, but one of the disadvantages of second hand shopping is that it’s hard to pay retail when what you admire today is what you will eventually see at a second hand shop!

Photo Credit: © Value Thrift Store Tulsa, OK