What are you wearing? If it’s golf apparel, there’s a decent chance it has a logo on it. A course crest on the chest. A name stitched on the sleeve. A quiet signal to anyone who knows how to read it.
Golf logos are everywhere, and they serve as more than decoration. They’re souvenirs, conversation starters, proof of pilgrimage, status symbols. Pinpointing the psychology behind why golfers wear logos isn’t Seth McWhorter’s job — that’s better left to, well, a psychologist. But McWhorter thinks about logos in all their forms because logos are how he makes his living. He designs them for golf courses. He’s done hundreds of them.
This might seem like a narrow specialty, but its reach is broad. A good logo does a lot of work. It captures a club’s personality and history and projects them to the world on hats, shirts, scorecards, signage and more. In the process, a logo shapes a course’s image. It also affects its bottom line.
These and other topics arose when McWhorter joined a recent episode of the Destination Golf podcast to talk about all things logo-related. Though McWhorter isn’t in the business of telling golfers how to dress, when pressed, he offered a thoughtful rule of thumb: It’s worth considering your motivation.
“You’ve got to dig deep and think, Are you wearing this for the right reason,” he said. “Are you trying to impress someone? And if that’s the case, maybe reevaluate whether you need it.”
He also shared a bit of logo etiquette. If you’ve never set foot on the property, “you probably shouldn’t wear it.”
“I think you’re just opening yourself to criticism if you’re trying to rock a logo (of a place) you’ve never been to.”
McWhorter’s main interest, though, is logo design itself (his credits include the design of the Destination Golf podcast logo), and that is a big part of the podcast conversation, too, including how logos have grown looser and more playful as the game has gotten younger. What makes a good logo? What are the mechanics — and economics — of designing them? The episode delves into that, and more. You can listen to it in its entirety here.
