Two days after losing the 150th Open Championship to Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy made a phone call he undoubtedly did not want to make. He called Smith to congratulate him on winning the Claret Jug, and then talked him through all the reasons he should stay on the PGA Tour.

Smith did not heed McIlroy’s advice, obviously, opting instead to sign a reported nine-figure deal with LIV Golf and making his debut at LIV Boston just after the Tour Championship. Those two, along with PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler, owned most of the year in 2022. That trio combined for 11 victories worldwide, including half the major championships.

However, it was what happened off the course that often dominated the headlines. Smith opened up recently about what McIlroy said to him during that post-Open Championship phone call.

“I’ve always had respect for Rory and I’ve liked what he says on the golf course,” Smith told the Sydney Morning Herald. “He said, ‘Congrats’. There were maybe a couple of little jabs in there. He was happy I played well and it was a good tournament. Then we talked about the PGA Tour and LIV. There was a bunch of stuff he wanted me to know before I made my decision. I wouldn’t say he tried to directly talk me out of it, but he definitely wanted me to stay.”

There was good reason. At the time, Smith was the No. 2 player in the world and the reigning Players Championship and Open Championship winner. His recap of the conversation squares with what McIlroy said at the Tour Championship in August:

“I wanted to congratulate him, but also I wanted — guys that are thinking one way or another, honestly I don’t care if they leave or not,” said McIlroy. It’s not going to make a difference to me. But I would at least like people to make a decision that is completely informed and basically know this is what’s coming down the pipeline. This is what you may be leaving behind.”

What’s coming on the PGA Tour is a set of elevated events with massively increased purses — 12 tournaments with an average purse size of $20 million in 2023 — as well as an opportunity to play in the TGL, which is run by a company Tiger Woods and McIlroy own. TGL is essentially televised screen golf in an arena where players will have the opportunity to make some money in conjunction with a PGA Tour-affiliated event. This has not been the case in the past.

Smith was not the biggest name LIV landed in 2022, but he was probably its best player. Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson are all bigger draws than the Australian, but you could argue that only Scheffler had a better year than Smith this year, although he certainly didn’t have a richer one.

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A common question I am asked by expecting mothers is “can you play golf while pregnant?”

Technically, you can do anything you want. The more pertinent question is should you swing a club while pregnant. In this article, I explain whether you should play and until what stage of pregnancy.

In addition, I provide tips and precautions to help keep you and your baby healthy.

Can You Play Golf While You’re Pregnant?

For most women playing golf while pregnant is not a problem, it is actually beneficial. However, that depends on your specific case. While the workout is encouraged, hip and shoulder rotation can put your back out at a time when you need to look after yourself and your precious cargo.

Besides the risk of back, hip, and shoulder injuries, heat poses a threat to a pregnant golfer. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists suggest that pregnant women drink eight to twelve glasses of water a day. If you drink plenty of water religiously, you won’t find it challenging to keep yourself hydrated.

Sufficient water is only one part of keeping yourself safe in the heat, I suggest you avoid teeing off on sweltering days. Firstly, if you catch heatstroke, you put yourself and your baby at risk, and secondly, it causes serious fatigue.

However, if you avoid this advice, it is worth taking a golf cart in warm conditions. The reduced stress lowers the risk of swelling feet and ankles, keeping you comfortable and free of pain.

Ultimately, you can play golf while you are pregnant. You just need to be extra cautious to avoid injuring yourself or risking your baby’s health. Before you pick up your clubs and head out with the girls, consult your doctor to ensure you are cleared to tee off.

To demonstrate that it is possible to play golf while pregnant, we only need to look at Catriona Matthew. In 2009, while five months pregnant with her second child, she stormed to a five-shot victory at the HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup.

Does The Trimester Matter?

Trillium Rose is the Director of Instruction at Woodmont Country Club. In 2018, she wrote an article detailing her experience as a pregnant golfer. Rose explained that besides the physical changes of her body, it was her energy that hampered her ability to play.

She explains that in her first trimester, she had minimal energy and wanted to sleep most of the time. As you can imagine, that impacted her motivation, and she did not have the will to play golf like before.

When she did play, she was cautious not to grip it and rip it, like days gone by. She felt like she needed to slow down her golf swing for low impact to protect her young one. But Rose says that it did not affect her mechanics and required no swing adjustments.

Trillium found she had more energy in her second trimester but could notice the changes to her body. As time progressed in that trimester, she felt her center of mass lower, and the additional weight worked to keep her posture through the swing.

Furthermore, her joints began to loosen at this point, and she was hesitant to over-extend her swing for fear of injuring herself.

Rose further states that the third trimester is where you realize you need to slow down with any intense exercise.

The excessive weight gain around the belly reduced her ability to optimize hip rotation. As a result, she decided to stand more upright and bend from her knees to increase power on the downswing.

Furthermore, Trillium found that bending down became unbearable to place her tee in the ground and pick up her ball from the cup.

Tips and Precautions to Keep You and Your Baby Safe

Pack Liquids

I have already touched on the importance of keeping hydrated during your round. As ACOG suggests, pregnant women should drink eight to twelve glasses of water per day.

On days that you play, you will likely need more than usual. Blair O’Neal found optimal hydration boosted her energy and limited fatigue while playing:

Pack Snacks

Nine holes only takes two and a half hours, but you are now eating for two. Blair O’Neal found that keeping her favorite snacks in the bag during her round maximized her energy to avoid fatigue and perform to the best of her ability.

Easy Warm-Up

Before you tee off, you definitely need to warm up. However, O’Neal suggests only hitting a couple of balls to loosen the muscles and then making your way to the first tee. A long warm-up is generally encouraged, but it will tire you out and hamper your ability to play a full round.

Putter Suction Cup

A putter suction cup is typically associated with older men with pot bellies. However, it is handy for those going through pregnancies. The instructions are simple. Attach the cup to the top of your putter grip, and press onto the ball to suck it up. All you do is lift the cup to your hand and grab the ball.

Eliminating the need to bend over and collect the ball is one movement less that could impact your health and that of your baby.

Golf Cart

Although walking improves your heart rate and is one of the safe exercises, it is not suggested on super warm days. Exposure to the sun for several hours increases your risk of heatstroke, sunburn, and dehydration. If you already struggle with fatigue, I advise that you take a golf cart instead.

Consult Your Doctor

Golf is certainly not a dangerous sport like downhill skiing, gymnastics, or horseback riding. However, there are still risks associated with the game. That is why, before you pack your bag for the golf course, you must visit your doctor.

While they will likely welcome your enthusiasm to exercise, golf may not suit your condition during pregnancy. However, plenty of women have played golf while pregnant and suffered no complications.

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

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Summer has arrived, so you better prepare yourself for those hot days on the golf course. A hat, sunglasses, moisture-wicking shorts, and a shirt are necessary.

In this post, I prepare you for the heat by unveiling our top 6 best golf shirts that will help you stay cool in hot weather.

You can maximize your comfort levels by wearing shirts that wick moisture and encourage optimal airflow. The golf polo shirts listed below are breathable, comfortable, and offer excellent UV protection to shield your skin from the sun’s rays.

What to Look for in a Good Golf Shirt

UV Protection

Before I discuss the comfort elements of a golf shirt, let me get the protective qualities out the way. When you are playing in warm weather, sun protective clothing is vital. I recommend golf shirts that provide SPF 50+ protection.

Materials that offer this protection block out approximately 98% of type B ultraviolet (UVB) rays. This is the most effective sun-fighting material on the market. If your golf shirts do not possess this level of protection, you may become sunburned during your round.

Moisture Wicking Material

The best golf shirts for hot weather contain material that wicks moisture away from the interior. This keeps you dry, refreshed, and comfortable while on the links. When your shirt fails to wick moisture, you become drenched and large wet patches grace your polo.

That look is neither comfortable nor attractive. However, it can easily be avoided with moisture-wicking fabric.

Breathability

Sticking with comfort. Breathability is the next core factor to look for in a golf shirt. This means that the material encourages maximum airflow through the material to cool your skin down.

Therefore, you do not risk overheating and sweating profusely. If you reach this point, the moisture-wicking qualities of the shirt fail, and you become drenched. That leaves you uncomfortable and miserable and can ruin your round on a beautiful day.

Stretch Fabric

Golf apparel is about more than fashion and comfort. Your shirt and pants can impact your golf swing if they lack stretchability. Golfers require the stretch fabric to optimize freedom of movement while walking and swinging.

This fabric does not restrict your movement on your backswing and follow through. As a result, it helps you maximize your power for a superior strike. Ideally, you should look at 4-way stretch golf shirts for optimal freedom on the golf course. However, these products may fetch a higher price than 2-way stretch material.

Manufacturers typically boost the stretch of their golf shirts by employing a dash of elastane or spandex. These materials outstretch well without damaging, ensuring longer-lasting clothing.

The 6 Best Golf Shirts for Hot Weather

1. Under Armour Playoff 2.0

The Under Armour Playoff 2.0 golf shirt is a blend of polyester and elastane designed to provide comfort and optimal freedom of movement. Plus, the material keeps you cool and dry while you navigate the golf course.

Soft, anti-pill fabric is ultra-lightweight, which promotes increased airflow through the shirt. Therefore, it is incredibly breathable to keep you dry and cool during your round. In addition, the material is quick-drying to avoid drenching you on a warm day.

Moreover, the fabric wicks away moisture from the interior, preventing the build-up of sweat. This keeps you dry, refreshed and comfortable for 18-holes.

Under Armour created the Playoff 2.0 line with 4-way stretch material to encourage maximum range of motion during your swing. The stretchable material prevents arm restriction on your backswing and follow through. This enables maximum clubhead speed generation.

Ultimately, this is a relatively pricey shirt and for a good reason. It keeps you comfortable and promotes excellent freedom of movement. Lastly, it is moisture-wicking and breathable.

Pros

• Breathable
• Moisture wicking
• 4-way stretch
• Machine washable
• Multiple colors and patterns

Cons

• Moderately expensive
• It does not contain anti-odor technology

2. Puma Golf Grill to Green Polo

The Puma Golf Grill to Green Polo is packed with technology built to keep you dry, cool and protected from the sun. This design keeps you comfortable on the links and prevents your skin from roasting under the summer sun.

Puma employed DRYCELL technology to ensure dryness throughout your round. Technical performance fabric extracts the moisture from your skin, maintaining dryness and comfort.

Further enhancing your experience is a performance fit design that contains wider shoulders, sleeves, and a chest area. This allows you to produce optimal upper body rotation during your swing without restrictions. As a result, it helps you boost the power of your swing for a straight, long golf shot.

UPF 40+ material means that the shirt blocks out 1/40th of the sun’s radiation to which your skin is exposed. Therefore, you stand a higher chance of walking off the golf course with limited sunburn. Lastly, the Puma Grill to Green Polo is easy to maintain thanks to its machine-washable fabric.

Pros

• UPF protection
• Drycell technology
• Moisture wicking fabric
• Maximum freedom of movement
• Moderately affordable

Cons

• Reduced breathability
• It does not contain anti-odor technology

3. Nike Dri-Fit Victory

Nike constructed their Dri-Fit Victory golf shirts from recycled polyesters to highlight the company’s commitment to reducing emissions.

This moderately priced golf shirt features Dri-Fit technology to wick sweat away from your skin, keeping you dry during an outing on the golf course. Furthermore, the lightweight polyester materials welcome airflow through the shirt to cool you off when sweating.

In addition, the polyester material encourages a maximum range of motion, preventing upper body restriction on your swing. Plus, the performance fit of the shirt frees up your shoulders and chest to produce excellent rotation on your backswing and downswing.

Furthermore, the Dri-Fit Victory is a machine washable shirt promoting hassle-free maintenance. Simply throw the shirt into the washing machine after every round to keep it spotless and smelling fresh.

Pros

• Sweat-wicking material
• Crafted from recycled polyester fibers
• Stretchable
• Freedom of movement
• Breathable

Cons

• Moderately expensive
• It does not possess anti-odor technology

4. Adidas Performance Primegreen Polo

Adidas kept up with their apparel rival Nike by crafting the Primegreen Polo. Like the Nike Dri-Fit, this Adidas golf shirt is crafted from high-performance recyclable materials. Adidas suggests that shirts constructed from Primegreen comprise 40% of recycled materials.

The Primegreen features a rib-knit collar. Plus, the shirt is constructed with lightweight jersey fabric to encourage airflow through the material. The constant airflow cools your skin down, which goes a long way to keeping you dry.

Moreover, the material possesses moisture-wicking qualities to remove sweat from your skin and the shirt’s interior. This keeps you and your shirt dry for 18-holes. The combination of moisture-wicking and quick dry qualities leads to exceptional comfort.

Pros

• Constructed from recycled materials
• Breathable
• Moisture wicking
• Quick dry
• A wealth of color options

Cons

5. Columbia Omni-Wick Drive Polo

The stand-out features of the Columbia Omni-Wick Drive polo are sun protection and moisture wicking. Therefore, the outdoor apparel giant presents a golf shirt that is protective, comfortable and offers a host of colors to select from.

The star of the show is the Omni-Wick technology which extracts sweat from your skin and the shirt’s interior. As a result, the technology helps you remain dry, even in the hottest conditions.

Aside from keeping you dry, this shirt is fitted with Omni-Shade protection to shield your sensitive skin from the sun’s harsh rays. The Omni-Shade technology deflects 1/30th of the fire ball’s radiation to prevent burn and permanent skin damage.

Finally, the Columbia Omni-Wick Drive Polo is machine washable and available in 26 colors.

Pros

• UPF 30 sun protection
• Omni-wick moisture removal
• The shirt keeps you dry in hot weather
• 26 colors to choose from
• Machine washable

Cons

• Reduced breathability
• The material does not possess anti-odor qualities.

6. Callaway Ottoman Performance Polo

Our final golf shirt pick for warm weather is the Callaway Ottoman Performance polo. Callaway crafted a comfy, moisture-wicking, sun protective shirt to use in the summer. Therefore, it takes longer for the sun’s rays to burn the skin on your upper body, and you remain refreshed and dry.

Opti-Dri technology features to extract sweat from your skin and the interior of the polo. This performance avoids large sweat patches from building up around your shirt.

Furthermore, the material possesses UPF 15 sun protection, which blocks out 1/15th of sunlight rays. Although it is better than nothing, it is a far cry from the UPF 40 and 50 protection of competitor golf shirts.

A ribbed texture material offers a stylish look to improve your fashion sense. Plus, it pushes airflow through the shirt, ensuring all moisture is removed from the skin. In addition, the Ottoman consists of stretch fabric designed to enhance your range of motion during your swing.

Finally, the Callaway Ottoman Performance Polo features a generous, comfortable fit to improve your experience.

Pros

• Moisture wicking
• Sun Protection
• Breathable
• Comfortable fit
• Maximum stretch

Cons

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

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The two best players in the field at the LIV Golf event in Chicago remain the top two players on the leaderboard after 36 holes. However, they switched positions on Saturday. Dustin Johnson followed his 63 on Friday in Round 1 with a 73 on Saturday — his first over-par round in LIV Golf — and fell back to 8 under. He’s two back of Cameron Smith, who backed up his 66 in Round 1 with a 68 in Round 2 to get to 10 under and take the lead going into the finale on Sunday.

Smith and Johnson are the class of the field by almost any measure, and they have dominated the first two days of LIV’s first event in Chicago (or at least the first event near Chicago). They should be the two that duke it out on Sunday as they play in the final group starting on the first hole.

The task ahead for Johnson is formidable. Smith is the reigning Players champion and Open Championship winner, and in his three victories this year he has shot 65-66-64 in those final rounds. D.J. is looking for his second consecutive LIV victory, but his play has been inconsistent so far this week with one round in the low 60s and the other one ballooning over par. It’s unclear what’s in store for Sunday, and Smith is the only player in the field to shoot 68 or better in each of the first two rounds.

“It was tricky out there today, and I think I got a couple of breaks and D.J. didn’t quite make the putts he usually does,” said Smith.”It’s going to be tight, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

When asked if there was any part of his game that needed work going into Sunday, Smith declined.

“It all feels pretty good to be honest.” 

It all looked pretty good as well. Smith went out in 32 before making an early bogey on the back, which he erased with two birdies on his final two holes. When he’s driving it accurately — which he was for the most part on Saturday — he is perhaps the best player in the world. Every other part of his game is world-class.

Fittingly, D.J.’s team (4 Aces) and Smith’s team (Punch GC) are fighting for the top spot in the team competition this week as well. For the first time since LIV started, D.J.’s score was not used for his team — only the top two scores are used in the first two days — but Pat Perez (-1) and Patrick Reed (-3) picked him up on Saturday. The 4 Aces are -15, one shot ahead of Punch GC, which used Smith’s 4-under 68 and Matt Jones’ even-par 72.

As for who could challenge Smith and Johnson on Sunday, the list is not lengthy. Peter Uihlein shot the best round of the day on Saturday to slide into third at 7 under, and he’s three back of Smith and one back of Johnson. Beyond that, Laurie Canter and Charl Schwartzel are 6 under, and Bryson DeChambeau, Charles Howell III and Lee Westwood are all 5 under.

Sunday is likely going to be what Friday and Saturday were: a Johnson-Smith showdown for $4 million and the fifth LIV Golf title of the year. LIV Golf has been (rightfully) criticized in a lot of ways, but it’s undeniable this week that it’s a league providing a strong Sunday clash between two of the 10 best players on the planet currently. Even though it remains difficult to contextualize what a win for either would mean as it relates to the bigger picture, it should be a fun final 18 holes as Smith and Johnson try to do what they’ve done for the first 36 holes of this tournament: stay ahead of the rest of the pack.

Individual leaderboard

1. Cam Smith: -10
2. Dustin Johnson: -8
3. Peter Uihlein: -7
T4. Charl Schwartzel: -6
T4. Laurie Canter: -6
T6. Bryson DeChambeau: -5
T6. Lee Westwood: -5
T6. Charles Howell III: -5

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