Tailoring a Poly Golf Shirt

[BCULAW]

Hello to all! I hope everyone is safe and well.

I have a bit of a habit that I am starting to recognize. I got to golf shops frequently on my lunch break, try on a few shirts or pairs of shorts, and rarely buy any of them. The reason is fit. I am a former athlete. I'm not in the shape I used to be in, but I still have very large shoulders and chest relative to my waist. Size large shirts in most brands is restrictive in my shoulders. XL fits my shoulders, but leaves a lot of extra material around the torso. I'm a big guy, so anything loose makes me look that much bigger.

I've had many dress shirts tailored to remove the excess fabric around the torso. Can I have the same done with an athletic golf shirt? Has anyone done this successfully?

[drn92]

Yes. BUt your tailor needs to be comfortable working with the fabric. IT is easy to mess up, especially if there is any elastane or spandex in the shirt.

 

An alternative is to find a brand that works better I’ve had luck with lululemon and Uniqlo

 

drn92

[hurley999s]

Not worth it IMO. Just find brands that have something like “athletic fit”...it tapers in the body a bit while keeping the shoulders as is. FJ, Greyson, and a number of the sports brands (Nike, adidas, etc) have this

[Righty to Lefty]

I am in the same boat as you are as I have a 50 inch chest measurement and a 35.5 inch waist. I have recently lost weight to get to the before mentioned measurements and thought that I was going to have to get rid of all my XXL shirts because there was so much fabric in the midsection as I now wear a U.S. spec XL and Asia and European spec XXL. Being that I have the same issue with slacks because I have big legs and and a smaller waist I have always had to buy slacks with a 40 inch waist and then tailor them down to fit. I figured that there had to be a solution for my shirts also and I was correct. I took a few test shirts to my tailor and told him my issue. He asked me if they needed to be reduced in the sleeves and I told him no, he then flipped the shirt inside out and sewed a seam starting right at the armpit that curved inward and then straight down on both sides of the shirt reducing the midsection of the shirt by about 1.5 inches on the sides. The fit was perfect and he didn't cut off any fabric or anything and you can't even tell that it was done. It took him a grand total of about 10 minutes. It was so simple that I am convinced that I could do it myself but he only charged me 2 dollars per shirt so I had 25 of them done!

If the sleeves need to be reduced then all he was do is start the seam at the end of the sleeve and basically follow the same seam that was already there. Of course you can make a big shirt smaller but you can't make a small shirt bigger so I always error on the side of bigger when I buy golf shirts online now because I know they can be adjusted quickly and economically. It also isn't in the least bit bothersome and a I don't even notice it while wearing the shirt and if you gain weight back then you can take the seam out and the go back to the original size! Moving a shirt down a size is no reason at all to get rid of the shirt if you liked it because there isn't a lot of excess fabric at all. I wish I had some examples with me to show but I am moving and have shipped all of my golf gear back to the states. Of course if they have your size then that is great and it is best to figure out what size you wear with a particular manufacturer but if you like a particular shirt, and it is in a bigger size, you have a good option to adjust the shirt. Hope this helps.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Righty to Lefty

[chinaski]

You should have no problem doing this with a good tailor. I have had a couple shirts done(Have not had a spandex blend done, but I don't see it being a problem.)The biggest problem is the cost effectiveness. You can easily turn a $75 shirt into $125+. A fitted shirt looks great, but finding a brand that works well off the rack is ideal.

Could always do a military tuck in the meantime, haha!

[BCULAW]

Thanks so much for the tip. You are describing precisely my problem. No one makes shirts to fit me because very few people have my proportions. Same issue with pants/shorts unless I buy pleats (which my wife has banned!!!). I’ll definitely take a shirt or two to the tailor with this description.

[BCULAW]

Military tuck is key!! Works great for pictures. Not so great for golf!! Ha ha!!

[ckay]

Not worth the cost IMO. You’re better off going with a more premium brand that pays attention to cut and fits you off of the rack. $2/shirt, I don’t know what part of the country that is. Last time I had a dress shirt tailored(wide shoulders narrow waist) it was $40 on top of an expensive shirt so I just go custom now.

[Righty to Lefty]

Kuwait is where I am currently located and yes tailoring is cheaper here because of the sheer amount of work that they receive but I wouldn't pay anything over 5 bucks a shirt to have this done in the U.S. I do pay 27 to get my slacks done because they take them apart and put them back together to my specs and put the golf slit in them. Now if you pay 27 dollars to have the torso of a polo adjusted that tailor ripped you off. Here is a video of it being done and there is no way that a tailor should charge 27 dollars to do this to polo!

Like I said this is not rocket science and I am sure I could do this myself but for the sake of speed I let my tailor do it. Also there is no such thing as a premium brand really as all clothes are dirt cheap to produce and it is just the brand label that they try to use to market the gear. No shirt is much more than a few dollars to produce but boy does that logo skyrocket the price! A Hugo Boss COTTON polo for $120 dollars is borderline insulting! There is no reason that you can't economically tailor a shirt just like you could buy club heads only and then tailor the rest of the club to fit you exactly. If you don't have them cut off the excess fabric then the shirt can be brought back to it original size by just removing the seam.

[BCULAW]

JI agree that, ideally, I would find a brand that fits better. That brand simply doesn't exist. Believe me. I've looked!!! Ha ha!

I wouldn't go so far as to say my proportions are freakish, but I don't know many people built like me. I joke that I'm built like Shrek! I'm not fit enough to be willing to wear things skin tight, but my shoulders and chest are large/muscular enough that I have to "size up" to fit them. Even in athletic cut brands, I still have a lot of billowing in the torso. There may be no good fix, but I'm curious to find one if there is.

[Chamwow]

I have a few shirts from the Masters I would like to get tailored but scared to ruin them. I lost a bunch of weight so they look huge on me now. Maybe I should just gain the weight back?

[Righty to Lefty]

Then don't get the extra fabric cut off it then and just get the seam sewn on it and if you want to go back then you just remove the seam and it is back to the way it was. I had 25 shirts done this way and you can't tell that it was done on any of them. This is being blown out of proportion that people think that a shirt will be ruined by getting a seam that is already on it sewn over in a couple inches on both sides of the shirt. You will not ruin the shirt just tell them to not cut out the extra fabric after they have made the seam. The video I posted above clearly shows how it is done and that it isn't going to damage the shirt. No one would bat an eye to take a suit in to get altered but people are freaking out about getting polos tailored?!! Come on people!! R to L

[bmrowe]

I haven't tried them, but I'd give mizzen + main a call. If they can build a shirt that fits JJ Watt, they probably have something for you. Maybe its a gimmick and Watt has two shirts sewed together, but it can't hurt to try.

[MikeStinson]

Sew a custom T-shirt, then everything will fit perfectly.