How do we feel about wearing Fedoras on the course? I am a huge fan of the fedora, but I traditionally wear the ball cap when playing golf. I would like to better protect my ears and back of my neck from the sun, but I am not a fan of bucket hats (unless it’s raining). Wearing a fedora is old school cool in a Sean Connery way, but I’m curious to hear thoughts on not only the fashion of it, but more so wearing it instead of the traditional ball cap for greater sun protection. Thanks!
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Fedoras are cool.
Famous golfer came to mind immediately is Sam Snead with a straw Fedora most of the time. Regular material would be too thick for warm weather golf.
Personally, I would like a wider brim for protection from the Sun. To me, Fedora is more a fashion statement, a head warmer from the cold weather. My protector from the Sun has 2 1/4" rim in the front and 3" in the back. Still need to apply Sun Screen to the nose cheek and the ears, neck.
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Definitely go with something wide-brimmed. I have a couple ~3” brimmed safari’s. A vented cotton/polyester and a straw. Dewsweeper is right, you still need to apply sunscreen to nose, cheeks, ears (especially) and neck.
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Go with a Greg Norman/Michelle McGann style wide-brimmed straw hat. Make 1995 Great Again!
A la: https://i.etsystatic.com/11570197/r/il/881120/2821033499/il_1588xN.2821033499_674s.jpg
You could always go Tilley, and be that one ‘colorful’ older fellow… (Worldbeat soundtrack/lifetime Utne Reader subscription not included…)
But seriously, the Sun sucks. And a ball cap totally doesn’t cut it. Plus we all know That Guy (and maybe you are That Guy), who’s been playing golf outside forever, thinks “Sunscreen” might be who won the 6th at Aqueduct a few weeks ago, and consequently has a face with skin like the divan in the clubroom…
Better hats could only help.
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Norman should know best, came from down-under with lots of Sun rays ( and also lots of flies, which I had no idea until my first round of golf there).
Ventilation is the key, even with the vent holes on the side of the hat ( or rim of vent around the base of the top ) it’s not enough in a hot / humid weather.
I love my Tilley’s hat with vents on both sides but, it always got soaked through in the Summer. Favorite style was discontinued. One of my kids bought me something close to the old one in the Exchange Store on an Airforce Base.
Why do they always discontinue the favorite style ?
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For those hot & sunny days it’s a floppy bucket hat or a boonie hat, both in khaki color for me.
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Standard Ball cap in the AM. In the afternoon, I switch to my trusty Arnold Palmer Bucket! You can’t go wrong with either. I still have a Tome Kite style Straw, barely worn, It blows off the dome too easily…so it doesn’t get alot of action
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There are the size reducer you could use to reduce the inner rim of the hat but, for really windy days, need to have a hat that has the tie down built in.
Tilley has many model which has the feature. It is expensive, but I view it’s lifetime warranty just as good as having your last hat.
I had one for more than 10 years and the rim shaper poked through the cloth, warranty provide another one.
It had a model which gives ventilation, Model LTM2 is one of the Tilley hat I use. Also have a $15 SPF 50 bucket hat from Costco last Summer which could be easily folded and goes into my pocket temporarily. Very happy with that purchase, may get another one.
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Thanks all. I wear sunscreen (now that I’m in my 40s), and I’ve always worn traditional ball caps. I will look into the Tilley, and for sure try a Fedora…just not to wear on windy days!
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I switched to the safari style hats several years ago. My ears would get so crusty that I had to do something. I have a coulple of Tilleys, but my go to is a Bridgestone hat I picked up in the pro shop at a course I played a few years ago.
Tilleys are great except for the weight. They use heavy stitched canvas cloth for the lifetime warranty. It’ll get hot under the Sun, that’s why I have one with the venting belt for the Summer wear and a regular one for the Spring and the Autumn.
I also love the floppy style bucket hat, light weight and foldable, but not much protection to the face and the neck, only shade the top portion of the ears.
Never thought taking the medication to control high blood pressure will change my perspective of protection from the UV ray.
You should see the extra large Sun hat the caddies wear in Asia ( most of them are female caddies ) It covers not only their head but most of their shoulders. They also use Sun-brella on the golf course. I start to see a lot of the female golfers using the UV rated umbrella around here in the last few years.
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left: 3" brim boonie hat; $5 dollar general, right 1½" brim bucket hat; free at armed forces recruiter booth.
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You think they’ll welcome a senior walking the recruiting booth just to grab a bucket hat ? Similar one with spf/50 rating cost $9.95 at Costco.
Love it, except it does not cover the whole area of the face , ears and the back of the neck. I use mine for spring and Autumn and treated it with water repellent spray.
Fedoras are cool - but only if you can carry it off - I don’t have that kind of style… 
My fav wide brimmed sun shade is from Imperial Headwear …
https://imperialsports.com/styles/sun-protection/
The “cooling sun protection” model has a 4" brim all around … one of the widest that I’m aware of … and on really hot days you can wet it and it will give you an evaporative cooling effect!
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I am not smooth enough to pull off a fedora on the course. And I hated bucket hats - until last year. But I realized I need to protect my head and neck from the sun, so I have embraced the wide brim style. Not cool, but practical.
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I’ve had a couple skin cancer “excavations” so it’s never to soon to glop up and go wide brimmed.
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