Here’s a lesson from Wimbledon every golfer can learn from

Golfers are no strangers to dress codes. But even the Wimbledon dress code makes some players shudder. The famously strict mandate of all-white attire dates back to the 1880s, when it was considered bad form to boast sweat stains. To this day, you can still only show a trim of color on the court. You must wear crisp white. Not eggshell, or seafoam, or sand dune. (In 2022, the board did update its rules to allow women to play in colored undershorts, provided they don’t show beneath their skirts.) New data collected by SportsHandle, a betting analysis site, has found that in golf majors, even when there is no shirt-color requirement, winners most often wear white. For example, 20 percent of winners from 1964 (with the dawn of color photographs) to 2023 at the PGA Championship wore white shirts, and a whopping 40 percent wore white hats to boot. Data from the U.S. Open confirmed the trend, finding that 23 percent of winners wore white on the last day of the round, and nearly half of all winners—that’s 48 percent—wore white hats.

And at Wimbledon, where every winner has worn the required majority-white look, researchers found that most players took advantage of an asterisk in the rule which allows for slight color accents along the hem or neckline. Interestingly, men were most likely to add black detailing, via a statement trim or colored logo, to their otherwise monochrome look, while women were most likely to add blue or red accents.

We know why Wimbledon winners wear white, but why do so many golf champions? Is it a coincidence or a self-fulfilling prophecy? Color psychology would say that the color white exudes control and calm, perhaps playing a not-inconsequential role in maintaining a player’s game time mindset and score. Either way, there’s a lot to be learned from Wimbledon athletes’ mastery of the monochrome look. We’ve assembled these winning looks for golf that make the most of summer whites. Each piece has been selected for its performance, fashion sense, and versatility. You can wear them altogether, a la tennis stars, or as separates with any existing colors or neutrals in your closet.