Korean LPGA Players - What's up with the long sleeves?

[ejimsmith]

Originally Posted by Yukari

The good ones are made of moisture wicking fabric.  Suppose to keep you cooler by keeping the sun off the skin and cooling your body by evaporation of moisture.

Of course there are cheaper ones that just block the sun.

i golf every summer in palm desert, and i usually wear long pants as well.  main reason is coverage from the sun, second reason is the wick away keeps me a bit more dry, otherwise my clothes stick to me and its a bit uncomfortable.   the addition of long pants or sleeves, if you have the right material, doesn't make it any hotter, and in fact, is a bit cooler as you're a bit more sheltered from the sun.   when i surfed a lot, i used to wear long sleeve rash guards for the same reasons.  this thread reminds me i need to get a couple shirts as i'm heading to the desert in 2 weeks.. can't wait!!

[Sticky]

my Japanese mom was very sun sensitive and was always very careful in the sun.  I tan really easily though.

[Wisguy]

GaijinGolfer, I disagree.  I was born in the 60's and I've never in my life heard anyone use the term "Oriental" in any fashion other than to distinguish a person of southeast Asian ethnicity from someone of different ethnicity and no, I've not lived in a prejudice-free bubble.   I've heard older family members and their friends refer in a derogatory fashion to "Japs" but I had a great uncle who fought in and was wounded in the Pacific in WW II; I never heard these not-exactly-prejudice-free relatives use "Oriental" in a similar manner, but have heard these people who lived through the Second World War refer to Germans as "Krauts." In a group of around eight people born in the 60's through the 80's, I once asked a friend whose parents are from Korea why the term "Oriental" had become so politically incorrect and no one else had really heard it used in a derogatory fashion, either, certainly not as a slur.

Your argument makes as much sense to me as someone who demands to be call "a person of northern European ancestry" because he once heard someone say "those *(&(%%! whites" or "that damn Caucasian."  It was not clear if you were labeling me ignorant or intolerant, or were making a more general proclamation, but if the former, well, that's a bit of an ironic statement since you do not know me at all.  The analogy between Oriental and Scandanavian is a perfectly fitting one since the terms both refer to origins in a particular part of a continent.  The comparison between Oriental and Coloured is not so fitting because everyone has heard people use the latter term in a derogatory fashion, even though it once was sufficiently acceptable to be used in the full name of the NAACP.

Like it or not, sometimes we have to describe other human beings.  When I can, I try to use neutral descriptions like "The guy in the light blue shirt" or "that tall woman with the long black hair" but sometimes we do not have that luxury.  It can be difficult to distinguish between peoples of one southeastern country from another, even for people whose ancestry is from that part of the world.  To do so relies on stereotypical facial feature differences - is that a good thing?  And how do you distinguish people from Singapore, Indonesia or Malaysia apart from those from other parts of Asia?  Say you've got two people in a room in identical uniforms with similar body shapes and sizes, one with southeastern Asian ancestry, one with southern Asian ancestry.  If you identify one of them as Asian, there will be confusion as to which one.  If you identify one as Korean or Japanese, what if you're wrong about their country of origin - I don't think many Koreans like to be called Japanese or vice versa.  And what if the person is a fourth generation Californian - calling him Japanese or Korean may be even more insulting, even if you have the family ethnicity correct, as the person may very well prefer to be known for what he is, an American.  The term "Oriental" as a neutral, descriptive term about regional ethnic ancestry simply makes sense.  But making sense doesn't always make sense to some people.

But turning back to the main topic, I was within about a dozen feet of Amy Yang and Na Yeon Choi on Sunday both as they walked off the practice green and as they later walked to the first tee (one of the things I thought was most interesting about an LPGA event - the public can easily get a feeling of real close proximity to the athletes, more so than when I saw the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and more so than with any other professoinal sporting event I've attended)  and their sleeves were rather tight and did make me wonder if they had some sort of mild compression effect on muscles.  I"m sure the fabrics do have some wicking functionality, but the thought of wearing long sleeves that day (let alone a few days earlier when the temperatures were 10 degrees hotter) really did not seem too sensible to me.  I suspect that the primary function of the long sleeves must be cultural, to prevent tanning, rather than cooling, or athletes from every country would start wearing them.  When do modern athletes avoid accessories, clothing, etc... that are legal to use and can enhance their performance?  You don't see world class sprinters wearing baggy shorts and singlets or tennis players wearing cotton any more, do you?  When I play golf on hot sunny days, I put on generous amounts of sunscreen everywhere I think I'll be exposed and I can't ever recall my arms feeling like they were overheating (unless they were clearly getting burnt because I didn't have enough sunscreen), in comparison with, say, my head, neck, or torso.   The arms move around enough that I think that movement tends to cool them off naturally.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Wisguy

I suspect that the primary function of the long sleeves must be cultural, to prevent tanning, rather than cooling, or athletes from every country would start wearing them.  When do modern athletes avoid accessories, clothing, etc... that are legal to use and can enhance their performance?  You don't see world class sprinters wearing baggy shorts and singlets or tennis players wearing cotton any more, do you?  When I play golf on hot sunny days, I put on generous amounts of sunscreen everywhere I think I'll be exposed and I can't ever recall my arms feeling like they were overheating (unless they were clearly getting burnt because I didn't have enough sunscreen), in comparison with, say, my head, neck, or torso.   The arms move around enough that I think that movement tends to cool them off naturally.

I think you are right that it's a cultural thing (consider that those Korean women with the long sleeves are also usually wearing pants, aren't they?), but so what?  The long sleeves certainly don't hinder their performance.   It also makes loads more sense than slimy sunscreen for a golfer trying not to throw their clubs in the river on every swing.  (I actually own a shirt like that and it absolutely keeps you cooler by wicking the sweat away. Ironically, I bought it thinking I'd wear it on cooler days to keep me warmer and the first chilly morning I wore it I froze my ass off)

Additionally, considering how ridiculous farmer tans look, I'm surprised that more women don't cover everything up like that.

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by Wisguy

{...}  The term "Oriental" as a neutral, descriptive term about regional ethnic ancestry simply makes sense.  {...}

I do not think "Oriental" is a substitute for "Asian." I visited the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago back in the 80's. It was a nice cocktail party event in this place that is basically a museum. I expected to see things from China and Japan. Instead it was mostly stuff from Egypt. Ever since then, I have not used "Oriental" to describe people -- even Egyptians.

[nevets88]

I'm Asian American and once in a while, I have to correct my Mom not to use the term "oriental". IMHO, it is not as bad as g*** or ch***, but is a head scratcher, because when it is used, you don't know if the person is using it in a derogatory way or just not aware of its history.

Oriental: Rugs or People?

Even the dictionary says that when used to describe a person, “Oriental” is “now often regarded as a term of disparagement.” When did the word become so loaded?

from: http://journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/archives/livewire/archived/oriental_rugs_or_people/

[kevin.chan]

The sleeves are prenting from sun burn and it helps to cool the body down too.

Over here in Asia ( Pacific Rim ) , a lot of male and female golfers are wearing this .It is less oily compare to putting on the Sun Block .

You can get these sleeves from big brand like  SKIN , MIZINO , Nike , TM etc .

I only wear them when i play at noon time when the day it is really hot.

[joekelly]

Guess where?

[joekelly]

Look over these photos.  Sorry i was unable to copy photos.  You will see the next wave of protection, surpassing even David Duval's sunglasses.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304141204577510904268987774.html#slide/4

Yeah, i see many women and a few men wearing arm covers, even sun face masks, here in Asia.  Mostly protection from sun but not only skin cancer protection but also the darker skin color discrimination.  Seems totally reasonable to me.  Ask Greg Norman about skin cancer since even his hat did not help him completely. Even as much as i love golf and the practice, I know that i could never have followed Vijay's path of 2 years in Borneo pounding balls from 9 am to 5 pm.  Skin cancer would have killed me off in 6 months.

I have recently read that some folks, in usa, even pros and commentators dislike the big sun umbrellas which are very common and ultra sensible.in the tropics.  You guys, and gals, from the NE USA have little notion just how fierce the midday sun can be at near the equator.

Sometimes it really seems the americans are overly arrogant in their ideas.  I mean what the hell do you care what someone else wears on the golf course?  Do your thing and leave others alone if they are not affecting you; that's the best policy.

[iacas]

I know of some other people who wear sleeves in the summer. They claim they help keep them cooler and obviously they don't have to worry so much about the sun.

I've seen them called sun sleeves or other things like that. You can use your favorite search engine to find out more.

[Liteenie]

(korean female here..) I like to wear long sleeves, either a long sleeved shirt or a short-sleeved shirt with solar sleeves because:

1) I don't like weird tan lines

2) I want to protect my skin from cancer

3) I want to fend off wrinkles for as long as possible

4) It feels cooler to wear light, long clothing than to have the sun beating on my bare skin

5) I almost forgot..to prevent sunburn!

And to agree with previous posters, many Koreans value lighter skin tones. When I was young, I was pretty tan from swimming and when I went to Korea for the summer, some mean kid called me "dirty" because of my tan. *sniff sniff* scarred me for life