"Fore Her" Isn't Just The Moment, It's A Movement.

Growing up as girl in golf, who also happened to weigh a bit more, finding the right clothes with the proper fit was always a challenge. It resulted in a lot of unflattering fits, but there were a few tried and true pieces that I stuck to—most of which came from none other than adidas.

The brand with the three stripes had a few select pieces that my parents would purchase and I'd rotate through them. Was I always overly excited to wear them? No, but a simple black stretchy A-line adidas skirt was better than some random, off the clearance rack 18-inch khaki number we'd find at any athletic retail store.

Flash-forward to now, a decade later, and adidas has undergone a bit of a transformation of its own. The global sports brand has maintained its relevance but since its footwear, mainly Sambas, have surged once again; adidas is finding more ways to tap into it's heritage and see how they can continue to push the boundaries of golf to be more...women-centered.

Fashion Week Guest wears Adidas x Wales Bonner Samba Sneakers, blue denim jeans and a khaki puffer coat by Loewe Show during the Menswear Fall/Winter 2024/2025 as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 20, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images)

The phrase "the future is female" isn't just some trendy mid 2010s slogan made for graphic tees. It's born out of the 1970s, the era of second wave of feminism, symbolizing the continued incorporation of the female perspective in society. The importance of this phrase being rooted in and tied to the second wave, is that the concept of parity needed to be introduced first before we can start talking about what comes next.

The same can be said for golf.

Golf's post-pandemic renaissance is a movement to a more inclusive and accessible future. If the game wants to grow, it needs more eyes in all shapes and forms. From TV viewership to the groups of friends gathered at Topgolf on a Friday night—exposure is exposure.

More people than ever before have picked up the game since 2020, and what has followed are brands and communities being born from the booming participation. Newcomers took notice of the gaps and have desires to fill them. One of the biggest gaps? Women and the general absence of women in golf, especially in the recreational space. Over the last five years we've seen more female participation in the game, whether its women-owned golf brands or men's brands branching out to cater to women or organizations finding ways to bring women to golf together through clinics and trips—it's hard not to take notice of the effort.

The recent attempts to prioritize women's golf and women in golf have best taken shape in the form of style. The golf aesthetic has always flirted with pop culture mentions, usually as a status symbol. The look of a golfer often times is connected to affluence—the whole "money talks wealth whispers" kind of thing. News flash! Country club core is in and it's hot—dressing the part of a golfer even if you're just headed to brunch with the girls.

But the "golf uniform" has also changed. Now that golfers are more diverse and have different aesthetics, we now have more options. Though plaid, pleats, and knits are very much apart of the golfing style ethos, the tone has shifted to incorporate performance and technical wear for her.

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This isn't about cutesifying the game (no, I don't think that is a real word but it makes sense, doesn't it?), it's more than that. This movement is about understanding the influence fashion and fashion products have, and how they dictate relevance and spark change.

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Though women's professional golf is very much a part of the larger conversation of golf and its growth—this essay is geared toward unpacking how style and style products have been leveraged to propel women's golf from being an afterthought, to some of the most profitable margins for adidas and brands alike. Women now make up nearly one-third of the golfers in the U.S.—and folks are catching on to ways to capitalize on one of the largest and fastest growing demographics in the sport.

What was once interpreted and merely making a hot pink polo and tweaking the sizes a bit will no longer fly with this generation of female golfers. If you want to be successful and a market leader in women's apparel you have to be intentional with your attention. It's not just enough to offer up the apparel, as if it's a box to check, you have to get creative if you want to stand out—and adidas knows this.

The first instance that adidas golf was changing its tune came in 2022, when the brand signed Rose Zhang to be its first ever NIL athlete ever. Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals are all the rave right not with amateur and college athletes, but for a women’s golfer to be the first of its kind for such a global brand is pretty freaking cool. She was decked out in the three stripes en route to her victory at the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and then a month later when she declared her pro status, Zhang would go on to sign with adidas and take her commitment to the next level.

Today, adidas Golf LPGA roster includes Zhang, Linn Grant, Patty Tavatanakit, Linnae Strom, Grace Kim, and several other top players rock their shoes like Minjee Lee and Charley Hull. They’re building up an elite cohort of young talent in the game to be the faces and voices of a modern day sports brand. Getting the opinions and influence of these athletes is a huge step in the right direction, but adidas isn’t stopping there. In the last two years there's been a subtle, yet noticeable shift in the types of products and lines coming out.

Within the last year, what I’ve seen from the brand is less of a sporting goods display kind of vibe and more drops that are in line with being a lifestyle brand. It all starts with color stories. We’re seeing less of the on-the-nose feminine patterns and florals and more solid, neutral toned color ways that women are able to build upon. The wearability of something begins with its versatility and adidas began creating the same functional pieces but giving them more flair. Y'all already know how I feel about butter yellow and seeing adidas take part in one of the hottest color trends in the current fashion landscape isn't an accident.

Creating interesting, bold colors all while applying new technologies that modern golfers seek (think UV protected and moisture-wicking fabrication) isn't an easy feat. Not every fabric holds color well, so for a sports brand to actively choose more fashion-forward yet difficult shades to work with isn't nothing, it's actually a big thing and it shows a sense of awareness. Blues, greens, and whites in golf aren't going anywhere, so how do we create more nuance through color? Through texture? We’re seeing signs of experimentation.

And then came the resurgence of Originals, the brand's lifestyle arm, to golf. A few months ago, I went to Germany and experienced the three stripe life in the flesh—deep diving into the brands archive, its makers lab and seeing all the golf products for 2025 that would hit the market—including the reimagined adidas Originals Golf. What I saw was a preview of what was released in April of this year, ahead of the Masters, and what's to come this fall...and man get ready for some interesting and rather unexpected color combinations and fabrications.

But through the glitz and the glam of being surrounded by the adidas of it all, my gears began turning. It's rare for a brand to bring outsiders in and expose them to their process—to let us behind the curtain for us to see things with our own eyes. I got to witness how golf fits in within the sports and lifestyle framework at global home. And spoiler alert—golf functions like the stepchild of adidas. It's loved, of course it is, but it's not viewed the same as soccer or running or another major global sport.

Adidas golf, much like golf itself, is finding ways to prove itself and they're doing so by leaning into the product specifically made for women. I mean no offense to the fellas, but men's golf apparel feels more limited, reduced to a polo, some trousers, shorts, and a handful of layering pieces. But women get to dabble in a little bit of everything. Polos, both sleeved and sleeveless, dress, skorts, shorts, rompers—the list goes on.

This shift/thing, whatever we want to call it, goes back to spring of 2022—signing Rose, it’s a domino effect. Her success and the rise of these other athletes, compounded by the growing state of adidas overall popularity felt like this catalyst to not just stay relevant but find ways to become a conversation leader within women’s golf apparel.

What I learned during my time in Herzogenaurach was that adidas likes to play. I mean when you have an archive filled with 40,000 pieces of product from the brand's history you can reference at any time, a dedicated prototypes lab equipped with every material you can think of, and hundreds of creatives itching to do more—you better be willing to experiment. The amount of resources and tech at their disposal adidas is just doing shit over there and it was so cool to see.

So we got cool athlete ambassadors, new colors, turning beloved styles golf-appropriate—but what else?

Earlier this month, I caught up with the team in Laguna Beach, 45 miles up the road from adidas Golf HQ in Carlsbad, Ca., and sat down with the female leaders of the product teams to discuss all the ways the brand is making this shift towards creating more for women while also including more involvement of women in their apparel and footwear development. Because how can you make things for women without women?

Germany was the appetizer, a small taste for what’s to come. But Laguna Beach was three days of programming dedicated to bringing women in golf together to interact with new products, chat with the team who designed what we’re playing around with, and get face time with their LPGA athletes to pick their brains a bit. And what I walked away with was the sense that women's golf apparel is the leveraging point that will elevate adidas above its peers.

Jennie Ko, Director of apparel design said it to me the best, “The shift in golf [is happening]. There's more women playing it, but also in our company. [Women] are in positions where they're speaking up and leading, it’s a total vibe shift. It’s important not just for women to see that and be like, oh, okay, that's this is real, but also for men to see it and not ignore it or forget about it.

We have a great crew that is predominantly female and being able to bounce off each other makes a big difference. From what I’ve seen, from 10 years ago to now, it's different for sure, [golf] has shifted absolutely.”

An event like the retreat wasn’t something on adidas radar five years ago because it didn’t have to be. With more demand now, they want to bring together women in golf media, influencers, ambassadors and other industry experts for collaboration to take place. We were engaging in conversations like how to avoid make-up transfer on clothing and which adidas fabrications make for the easiest clean up.

We’re asking these athletes about which scripting they are more likely to wear during certain stages of their menstrual cycle—and yeah, that matters. No woman would be caught dead in a white bottom while also competing on her period.

It’s these very pointed, female-driven conversations that will make for more well rounded products in the future. The team was taking notes—trust me.

As for what we can expect in the near future…well Michelle Mulligan, Senior Product Manager provided a few gentle hints for what’s in the works. “Just more. There's more technology that will be embedded in the product. More comfort, more confidence, like for the athlete who is wearing the apparel. So I, I'm really excited for that— more silhouettes, new silhouettes. We’re pushing for different things—experimenting!”

The overarching sentiment in women’s golf right now seems to be more, and adidas is aligned with that.