Time was when the term "golf fashion" was an oxymoron.
Golf clothes, those geeky plaid ensembles seemingly designed for old codgers, were about as unfashionable as divots on a putting green.
And who, except those who actually knew how to blast their way out of a sand trap, really wanted to walk around looking like a golfer anyway?
But that was all B.T. -- Before Tiger.
Since the young golf sensation Tiger Woods drove, chipped and putted his way to superstardom, breaking records, drawing huge galleries, winning the Masters, all of sudden, the look of the links is more than just hip. It's what's happening.
"Golf wear is no longer square wear," declared Neal Orman, co-owner of Golf America, a five-city chain of golf boutiques in upper-end malls.
Even company officials are surprised at how many people who wouldn't know a 9-iron from a sand wedge are coming in looking for shirts like those Woods has worn during tournaments, people just wanting the trappings of a golfer -- minus the clubs. There are plans to open 12 Golf America stores a year for the next few years, a plan that crystallized when Woods' wins put a tiger in the tank of golf merchandisers.
"Tiger Woods has exploded the market," said R. Mike Matthews, Golf America's director of marketing. "He's taken it from the typical golfer, an older white male, to everyone."
The company opened its first store in King of Prussia, Pa., outside Philadelphia, two years ago, and in the last few months saw its sales boom beyond all expectation. Golf America is being flooded with customers from all age groups and all walks of life; customers include African-American, Hispanic and white teen-agers, white suburban dads with their teen sons in tow and college students.
Everyone from young hip-hoppers to skater or surfer dudes is hitting the scene all done up in colorful designer golf duds from the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, while sophisticated corporate golfers are donning expensive Arnold Palmer threads.
"It really is all about Tiger Woods. He is the key," said Bud Konheim, president of the Nicole Miller company, which introduced a golf collection this season, advertising it with photographs of leading New York doctors in the printed Miller attire.
Nike obviously believes Woods is key, because the company locked him up for a multiyear endorsement deal.
