IT MAY sound surprising, but entrepreneur Leonard Wee boasts more golfwear in his closet than regular clothing. But then again, the golf aficionado justifies his buys by using his golfwear in his daily life as well.

'Golfwear is no longer considered boring, and they are classy enough to wear even on weekends or to the office,' insists the founder of technology company Stickkey Security Access. 'The PGA has become very popular over the years thanks to Tiger Woods so it has a lot of influence on what people wear. 'At the same time, inspired by golfers like Jasper Parnevik and Camilo Villegas who are crazy and snazzy dressers, golfwear brands have been upping the ante in terms of fashion.'
 
Incidentally, Villegas is endorsed by Swedish fashion label J Lindeberg, one of Mr Wee's favourite brands and one of the most prolific golfwear brands in the Singaporean market today.

In fact, J Lindeberg golfwear has become so popular in Singapore that its local distributor Transview Golf has had to expand its offerings from the brand to include more off-the-course golfwear to cope with demand.

'J Lindeberg is like the Louis Vuitton of golf. It's expensive but people pride themselves on buying something from the brand,' reveals Transview's regional manager Edward Chua. 'It is definitely one of the pioneers that has merged fashion with golf. It introduced items like pink and purple golf pants that were never before worn by golfers!'

Expensive but worth it

With prices ranging from roughly $150 to $270 for a shirt, and $160 and upwards for bottoms, J Lindeberg is certainly not cheap sportswear. But Mr Chua insists it is well worth the money because on top of increasing fashion sensibilities, J Lindeberg is at the forefront of technology when it comes to materials.

'Unlike normal polo or exercise shirts, golfwear tends to dry much faster, especially J Lindeberg ones,' he insists. 'Men and women like them because they don't get wet and sticky easily which is a bonus in our climate.'

The growing popularity of golfwear is what inspired Isetan to dedicate a considerable amount of space to the sport, stocking a range of fashionable golfwear such as Nike, adidas, Oakley and Vermoge, when it relaunched Isetan Scott's men's department last year.

'(The) trend for golf as a hobby has gain tremendous popularity as the game is more affordable now. People of all walks of life are taking the game seriously, thus the demand for golf wear has been on the rise,' says its sales promotions manager Gerard Goh.

'Although sports apparel are purpose built, the trend for many international labels is to incorporate elements of lifestyle as well as fashion into their design to enhance the appeal of their merchandise to not only golfers but also the young and active in general.

Gaining popularity world wide coupled with big names from sports brands getting into golfing equipment and wear with strong golfing personalities' endorsement, it is now deemed trendy to be associated with golf by wearing golfing apparel.'
'Gone are the days of the solid colour cotton polos matching with a faded cotton chino bermudas/pants. We got to move on, there is also a common saying, if you cannot play well, at least dress to kill,' he adds.