Many golfers take their golf attire very seriously, ranging from shirts to shoes to shorts and pants. For some, it is a way for them to be a little wilder with what they wear than they ordinarily would. For others, they just want to look like a professional golfer, even though they may have intermediate skills at best. Still, others are just trying their best to adhere to dress codes imposed on certain golf courses.
The truth of the matter is, most golf clothes are much more fashionable than functional. Golf shoes are the obvious exception, as the spikes provide grip and traction, particularly during the swing. An often underutilized golf accessory, the golf hat, is another exception. It certainly can serve a purpose as a fashion statement as well as an extension of the rest of your outfit. It also serves several other purposes that many don’t consider. The purpose of this article is to discuss the functional purposes of a hat when playing golf.
Protects Your Face from the Sun While Golfing
One of the most obvious things a hat does is provide your head and face with covering and shade. Playing golf is a great way to get exposure to the sun, something that is known to stimulate the production of vitamin D in the body. Vitamin D provides a bunch of excellent health benefits! But too much sun exposure, as we all know, leads to sun burn, which can be painful in the short term and can lead to potentially more severe outcomes in the long term.
Your head and face are the most vulnerable to sunlight when golfing because they are almost always exposed. Sunburn on the face and head is likely the most common injury sustained on the golf course. Wearing a hat is a sure way to eliminate the risk of sunburn. A hat covers your head and provides shade for your face so you can avoid painful sunburns, even if you happen to forget sunscreen. And forgetting sunscreen is something we have all done. If you haven’t yet, you will. So do yourself and your skin a favor, wear a hat every time you golf. You can check out Golf Treasury for some great golf hat options.
Keeps the Rain Out of Your Eyes
I don’t know anybody that enjoys playing golf in the rain. But when you get serious about golf and start playing consistently, you are going to experience rain. Playing in the rain is honestly not that bad, because you just spend as much time as possible in the cart and out of the rain. The worst part about the rain is as you set up to take your shot and stand over your ball, the rain drips down your face and into your eyes. It is terribly frustrating.
But when you wear a golf hat, the rain stays off of your face, and more importantly out of your eyes. And this makes all the difference in the world. The classic looking bucket hats for golf are especially good at keeping the rain from running into and over your eyes. While playing in the rain isn’t ideal, at least when you wear a hat it isn’t nearly as bad. Now all you have to do is figure out how to keep your grip dry!
Helps You Focus on Your Golf Ball
There are so many things that can catch your eye and distract you. And when golfing, even a split second distraction can lead to a mishit, resulting in a terrible shot. Wearing a hat narrows your scope of vision, which is something that is actually beneficial in golf because it promotes laser focus on the golf ball as you take your swing. A hat also keeps wind, debris, and your hair off of your face and out of your eyes. All of these things can be very distracting and ultimate lead to bad contact.
Golf can be a very frustrating sport, but it is also an extremely rewarding and fun sport. This is especially true when the best golf training aids are used. This is why it is one of the most commonly participated in sports. Wearing a golf hat will help increase the enjoyment you experience each time you golf by protecting your face from sunburn, keeping rain and other elements off of your face and out of your eyes, and helping improve your focus on the ball by narrowing your focus and eliminating many potential distractions. They can also be a way to make a fashion statement through various styles, colors, brands and logos. So go get yourself a hat for golf and get out on the course!
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