Can the color of your clothes affect your golf performance?

Outfits are one of the most striking characteristics of the game of golf, and most golfers dress for success on the course. Choosing golf ball colors is also something that people consider when playing. This has brought success to brands featuring striking colors like Jamie Sadock and golf balls like the Volvik Vivid, but how do the colors we use affect how we play?

Experiments involving color are often difficult to conduct because of how many different variables there are. For example, one must control the time a person has been exposed, the exact color (rather than just red), how the subjects perceive color, and much more. This makes the results from experiments to be limited, but nonetheless, they are conclusive.

Red

Red is one of the more commonly tested colors, so a variety of effects have been discovered. One is that red has an attentional advantage when compared to other colors, so people are more easily able to distinguish red than they are most other colors. The biggest effect is that in athletic performance wearing red can enhance ones’ ability. Maybe Tiger Woods was onto something the whole time, because by wearing red, you will perform better. However, similar studies showed that seeing red before a test of intellectual performance can hinder a person’s ability. Since red is a dominant, intimidating color in nature these results make sense, wearing red would bring confidence, and seeing red would be intimidating.

Blue

Blue is another common color in tests and is notable since it is the most liked color in the world. Blue is significant in nature, because it ignites a process in our brains that makes us more awake, which is why you are likely never to be tired outside on a sunny day, or why staring at electronics makes it harder to sleep. This is why in experiments the results have shown that the color blue increases alertness. So maybe on an early tee-time, wearing blue might help wake you up and keep you alert.

Green

Green is a color that has been known to make people feel relaxed. It is one of the most common colors we see everyday due to its prominence in nature, so it’s no surprise that, like nature, green helps us feel more relaxed and at ease. This is why before going on TV, people commonly wait in a “Green Room”, or a place to help people relax. Green also can help people feel refreshed and secure, also deriving from nature.

But what do the Pros think?
We asked a few of our golf pros if they think color affects how they play, and here’s what we got.

Tim: “I think that if a player begins a round wearing a bold shirt and they struggle in their first few holes, that will snowball since they have drawn attention to them and their outfit.”

Chad: “If you wear a darker color on a hot day you will probably struggle more since you will absorb more heat.”

Nick: “If you can focus on the game, the color you are wearing won’t affect you.”

Conclusion
There is definite scientific backing to the idea that colors affect your performance, but will they be noticed? That might take a little experimentation on your own to see what colors do and don’t affect you. Who knows, maybe bright pink will be the color you’ve been waiting for to achieve that next goal.

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