PGA TOUR to Allow Shorts During Practice Rounds

During the PGA TOUR season, it tends to get pretty hot, especially in the dog days of the summer.  Changes look to be on the horizon, however, to help relieve some golfers from the heat.

It was announced that the PGA of America voted in favor of allowing players to wear shorts during the practice rounds at the PGA Championship, which will be played at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, NC.  While participants will only be allowed to wear pants during the actual event, allowing shorts during the practice rounds is a big first step to allowing shorts in actual tournaments.

This seems to be a smart move for the PGA TOUR, as other golf associations have allowed shorts to be worn during practice rounds, most notably the European Tour.  And not only will this apply to the PGA Championship, but it will also be applied to the Senior PGA Championship, the PGA Professional National Championship, and the Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

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Caddies will certainly be a fan of this policy because they have been attempting to wear shorts on the Tour for years.  In fact, 20 years ago, some caddies violated the pants only rule when their players teed off at Valhalla during one of the hottest events of the year and were reprimanded for breaking regulations.

Jim Furyk stated why he is fine wearing pants for PGA TOUR events, saying that, “‘This is my job, my occupation.  And we lend ourselves to corporate America, which doesn’t go to work in shorts.”  He is happy to be wearing shorts, however, continuing by saying, “I like the fact that we play in slacks, but it’s a practice round.  It is Quail Hollow.  It’s going to be hotter than can be.  The guys will be happy, and they’ll like it.”

While this seems to be nothing more than a test run for the PGA TOUR it will be interesting to see if shorts are increasingly allowed to be worn during practice rounds, perhaps eventually becoming legal to wear during actual events.

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