Putter & Tweed

Hole 10 · Since 1926

Golf polo: from tennis shirt to clubhouse standard

1926–present: the tennis shirt becomes golf's standard

A short-sleeved collared shirt that started on the tennis court and became golf's default top half. The collar answers most club dress codes; modern fabrics keep it cool through a round.

René Lacoste and Henri Cochet on court in 1926 in white knit shirts and flannel trousers
René Lacoste and Henri Cochet on court in 1926 in white knit shirts and flannel trousers. Agence Rol / Bibliothèque nationale de France. Public domain. Source.

What it solved on the course

It gave golfers a short-sleeved knit shirt that moves with the swing and still has a collar, the one detail most club dress codes ask for.

History

The shirt golfers call a polo is a tennis shirt with a borrowed name. In the late 19th century polo players wore thick, long-sleeved Oxford-cloth shirts and invented the buttoned-down collar to stop it flapping in the wind. John Brooks of Brooks Brothers saw it at a match in England and began making it in 1896. That button-down was the first "polo shirt", and it is a different garment from the knit one on the course today.

The knit shirt came from tennis. Tennis whites of the day meant a long-sleeved button-up shirt, flannel trousers and a tie, and René Lacoste, the French seven-time Grand Slam champion, found them stiff and uncomfortable. He designed a white, short-sleeved shirt of loosely knit piqué cotton and wore it at the 1926 US Open. After retiring in the early 1930s he started La Chemise Lacoste with André Gillier to make the crocodile shirts, which reached the United States in 1952 branded as "the status symbol of the competent sportsman". As golf clothing relaxed in the second half of the 20th century, the tennis shirt became standard golf attire almost everywhere. Ralph Lauren's 1972 Polo line then fixed the older name on Lacoste's shirt for good. Today the shirts are usually polyester, a cotton-polyester blend or mercerized cotton.

Who wore it best

  • René Lacoste

    The French seven-time Grand Slam champion found tennis whites too stiff and brought a short-sleeved shirt to the game, the shirt golfers now wear almost everywhere.[2, 3, 1]

  • Ralph Lauren

    Sold a tennis shirt as a "polo shirt" in his original 1972 Polo line, which is the main reason golfers use that name for Lacoste's design.[1]

How to wear it now

  1. Go with a shorter spread collar rather than the big winged collar, and look for built-in stays if you hate a collar that rolls up mid-round.
  2. Choose polyester or a cotton-polyester blend for hot, humid rounds and mercerized cotton when you want a bit more weight and sheen.
  3. Keep the fit clean through the chest, waist and shoulders; a sleeker cut reads sharper than a loose, boxy one.
  4. Let the shirt carry the pattern and keep trousers or shorts plain, then add a belt and shoes in the same tone.

Where to buy

New

Vintage

Links open the shop's own site. Some may earn us a commission.

Sources

  1. Polo shirt, Wikipedia. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  2. The Story Behind the Lacoste Crocodile Shirt, Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  3. Anatomy of a polo shirt: Your guide to the golf-style staple, GOLF.com. Retrieved 2026-09-29.

Updated .