The Ryder Cup arrives in Medinah, Illinois, on September 28. As the best golfers in the world meet, we are reminded that they are great golfers, not fashionistas.
Golf is a classy sport with a rather goofy fashion sense. Golf may be the one sport where a grown man can wear a sweater vest and not be mocked.
In recent years, golf attire has drastically improved. Take Tiger Woods, for instance. His trademark look (black pants, red shirt, and black hat) looks great on the course or on the streets. While individual choice may be improving, this new fashion sense has not quite taken hold at the Ryder Cup.
Here is a look at some of the worst fashion choices in Ryder Cup history:
1. Team USA 1999: Team USA sported burgundy shirts with a collage of former Ryder Cup teams. While many Ryder Cup uniforms can partially blame the era they were worn in, these have no excuse. The design looks as if it were stolen from the wallpaper that graced my great grandmother's bathroom circa 1977. I believe that Justin Leonard is actually celebrating the fact he can take the shirt off in the picture above.
2. Team USA 1983: Team USA actually agreed to have its picture in these baby-blue plaid nightmares. While they may not have played in these suits, the team formals left a lot to be desired. The photo looks like the graduating class of a questionable clown college.
3. Team USA 2010: Team USA was on the right the track with this uniform. The dark pants and white shirt look sharp, but the lavender sweater looks like the players were headed to a My Little Pony convention.
4. Team Europe 2010: Team Europe sported these blue sweater vests in 2010. The designer apparently could not decide how make the blue-on-blue, semi-argyle design worse. Then you can almost hear him say, "Wait! What if I put a giant yellow spot here for absolutely no reason?" Mission accomplished.
5. Team Europe 1995:
Team Europe slipped on this salmon sweater during the 1995 Ryder Cup. While unattractive, you have to commend them on finding a color less threatening than pink. This would be a trend for Team Europe, as you will see below.
6. Team Europe 2006: The team photo for Team Europe may actually be its low point for that year. Despite the victory, the Europeans were forced to wear these salmon jackets. I am not sure if Don Johnson realizes that someone stole his wardrobe from "Miami Vice," but I am pretty confident that he does not want it back.
7. Team Europe 1989: Team Europe took a shine to fuzzy pink sweaters in 1989. The design was fine, especially if you were going for the Annette Funicello look.
8. Team Europe 1985: Team Europe posed for a group photo in these striped dandies back in 1985. The intermittent stripes proved that a shirt can look busy with no sense of pattern. The photo looks like a class picture from St. Mary's of the Awkward.
9. Team USA 2006:
Team USA used these all-brown uniforms during practice rounds. The monochromatic color scheme manages to be both boring and dreadful at the same time. Even worse, the team looks more ready to deliver someone's package than a victory.
10. Team USA 2002: These lavender long sleeve shirts would have been awkward enough to make this list, but the designer could not stop stop there. Toss in a random red stripe every so often, and viola! Maybe this is why Tiger looks so sad in the picture.
Christopher Beheler has followed golf since his grandfather taught him how to swing a club in 1980.
