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Cashmere Keith Mitchell Is Saving Golf Fashion
![Dec 13, 2023](/themes/hestia/images/news-details-icon1.webp)
Keith Mitchell cares about a lot of things. Yes, he cares about his income, and ultimately that is decided by the scores he shoots and how they stack up with those of the world’s best golfers. But to anyone already familiar with him, it should come as no surprise that the PGA TOUR‘s best dressed golfer has a lot more to him than just golf.
Despite the fact that golf is one of the few sports that allows you to express your personality in how you dress, it’s unclear whether most professional golfers have the ability or the desire to display it. But it’s clear that Keith thinks about how he dresses, a lot. In an occupation where your future can be decided by a gust of wind at the wrong time, having other outlets for self expression can be particularly cathartic. One of those outlets for Keith is menswear, which the Tennessee native picked up from his father.
Keith’s clothing sponsor is Sid Mashburn, an eponymous fashion label without much mainstream notoriety, but a ton of credibility within menswear circles. And Keith’s relationship with Sid is quite unique, which is to say that he is far more involved in determining what he wears week in and week out than the average tour pro. While polyester/elastane blended polos, five pocket pants, webbed belts and runner-like golf shoes are dominating pro golf these days, Keith has gone in the complete opposite direction. Think long placket polos, belt-less trousers, high crowned visors and cashmere sweaters, a choice that earned him the nickname “Cashmere Keith.” The colors and silhouettes are understated. The magic lies in the details. As Keith points out, his throwback look isn’t a direct copy of anyone in particular, but rather a collage of different style elements from the 50s, 70s and 90s.
There’s been a lot said about Keith Mitchell, but we wanted to talk to the man himself to learn more about golf’s biggest menswear evangelist. Where does he find his enthusiasm for fashion, how does he view the state of style on tour, what does he do outside of golf and where does he see the game growing? We came away surprised with just how much Keith had to say about all of these things on an off-week ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Christian Hafer
Christian Hafer
Christian Hafer
Christian Hafer
HB: First off, just tell us about how you got into golf, and what made you think you could play professionally?
KM: Getting into golf was organic to me because I went to a preschool where there were only six kids. Both my parents were working, and my best friend in pre-K, his dad was the head pro of the golf course where my dad was a member. At that age, you don’t really have any interest in anything other than just playing with your friends.
So our moms would drop us off with our dads on the weekends at the golf course, and they would just let us run around, they’d put us on the back of the driving range and just say ‘here’s a bucket of balls, y’all just have fun.’ We would do anything from throw ‘em to kick ‘em until we were eventually old enough to have some clubs. And all of a sudden, I think we played our first tournament together in third grade, and we finished one and two in the tournament. We started realizing we’re actually good at this, because it’s just what we did, it was how we had fun.
So fast forward to being a professional golfer, do you feel like you’re able to maintain that feeling of having fun on the golf course, or is it tough when it becomes your profession?
That’s a really good question because I will never forget when it was my second year on the PGA TOUR. I had played something like six or seven weeks in a row and I couldn’t wait for some downtime, because my body was tired and definitely my mind for trying to compete at that high of a level constantly. And I came home and thought to myself, ‘golf has been my hobby my whole life.’ Like as a kid I did it for fun. And then even when I played at my high school and I played at Georgia, you went to school and then you played golf.
Now all I did was play golf and I didn’t really have anything after work. So it took some, I wouldn’t call it soul searching, but it definitely threw a curve ball at me saying like, ‘when I want to take time off from work, what do I do as a hobby?’
And that took a little bit to figure out. I live in St. Simon’s Island in Georgia, and you can fish a lot there and some buddies had been avid fishermen. And then I learned how to fly fish in the Bahamas on just a casual vacation trip down there. I would say that golf is still number one and I still enjoy it, but [fishing] is something that I can do when golf feels like it’s become more work than a hobby.
“[Fashion] brings some personality back into my profession because I enjoy it, and it actually goes with work as well. And that’s a lot of fun because golf’s a very creative game when you’re deciding what shot you’re gonna hit…Is this a fade or a draw? High or low?”
Switching gears just a little bit, the general consensus among people who follow Hypegolf is that when it comes to style, you’re the top dog on tour. How does it feel to carry that mantle?
First of all, I would say thank you to those who think that. But it’s always been something in the back of my mind, even growing up that I enjoyed. For whatever reason, it may be my dad always dressed for the occasion, and my mom is in the design business itself. But it all kind of opened up when I got the opportunity with Sid Mashburn, and he’s given me so much runway in choosing what I wear. And it’s been a lot of fun because with a lot of clothing sponsorships, they send you a pack of, ‘hey, this is our stuff that we’re promoting right now, this is what you need to wear.’
But with Sid it’s a lot more collaborative of saying like, let’s look into the future and let’s design what you want to wear together. Whether it’s a shirt with different button patterns, button downs, colors, pants. Whether they have pleats, cuffs, belt loops or side tabs. You know, the material they’re made out of, the patterns. We put a lot of attention to detail in that, and it’s something that I enjoy.
And I think that’s the difference is I have a passion for [menswear] and Sid is incredible in his space already, and I think it helps streamline the process. Because there’s plenty of things in life that I don’t care about. And a lot of guys on tour don’t have that same passion for it that I do.
Similar to fishing, it seems like this becomes another way to express yourself outside of just the scores that you write down at the end of the day. No?
Absolutely. It brings some personality back into my profession because I enjoy it, and it actually goes with work as well. And that’s a lot of fun because golf’s a very creative game when you’re deciding what shot you’re gonna hit. You know, is this a fade or a draw? High or low? What club are you gonna use? There’s a lot of creativity in golf, and I think another alleyway for me to experience that creativity is through the work with Sid.
Without calling anyone out specifically, how would you describe the current state of golf fashion on tour? Because when people look at some of your peers, they tend to see more loud prints, patterns and bolder colors, and it’s quite a contrast to how you present yourself.
I would say that a lot of companies are pushing whatever can draw attention. And so a lot of companies will try to do things extremely different, whether it’s through loud colors or prints, or unique takes on a pant or shirt. You don’t really have that many opportunities to try to stand out.
And it can take some individuality or some personality out of the player depending on what kind of deal they have. I think that if everyone was on a blank slate, you would really know who cares and who doesn’t. But I think some companies actually lift some people’s style because they don’t really have any interest in it, and they actually look better than they might have otherwise.
“What’s so cool is a vintage look can be anything from the past 20 years, but 100 years ago it’s still a throwback look…so I’m kind of just cherry picking from each individual generation that had really unique things and building it out from there.”
A lot of tour pros see clothing as almost an extension of their clubs, which is to say that performance and function is their number one concern. But do you feel like you’re getting both style and function even though you’re wearing natural fibers rather than polyester?
It’s a great question because that is spot on to what the majority of tour players feel. ‘As long as it works, as long as it’s comfortable, I don’t really care.’ And I would simply say that with the fabrics that I wear, I am not lacking in any department, if not gaining in some. I would say the only downfall of a cotton shirt is that people think it’s hot in the summer because it gets heavy. But the moisture on your shirt against your body is actually what keeps you cool. If something’s wicking away, it’s actually not cooling you down as much.
And then in the pants, I just try to wear light colors and seersuckers or linens in the summer, which are perfect. They actually might even be cooler than a lot of these performance pants because their breathability is better, the air can go through ‘em. The seersucker barely touches your skin because of the ruffles and the linen is so light and wavy that you don’t feel it. In the winter, I have some really deep thick wool blends with some cashmere in the pant. And then Sid has three layers of cashmere sweaters. He has a really light layer of cashmere, a medium, and then a thick heavy. So I can layer depending on the weather, whether it’s in Scotland at the British Open or on the West Coast with Pebble Beach.
Who are some of your style references from the past? Because your look is very much a throwback.
It’s another good question, and I always like to think about how much time we’ve had in the past. To me that’s what’s so cool is a vintage look can be anything from the past 20 years, but 100 years ago it’s still a throwback look. So you can cherry pick from each generation what you liked and what you thought was the coolest look. Because there’s plenty of things that I don’t like, like the bell-bottom pants that guys wore in the 60s and 70s. But I love the collars and the plackets on their shirts from that period.
And I might not love the patterns from then, but I love like a more simple pattern of solids. You know, I like to throw patterns in my pants, but like subtle patterns. And then the tour visor was huge in the 90s and early 2000s, but not now. But the side tabs on the pants might’ve been big back in the sixties, so I’m kind of just cherry picking from each individual generation that had really unique things and building it out from there and trying to make sure it all works. But if you look at Arnold Palmer, he always wore a lot of solids, and Ben Hogan was the same way.
Christian Hafer
Christian Hafer
So we discussed polos, pants and tour visors, but when it comes to shoes you’ve been wearing FootJoy and some of its NRG releases this year. Why is that?
I’ve always loved the original FootJoy Classics. They’re just the most iconic golf shoe throughout the years. If anybody thinks of what is the golf shoe, I would imagine most people would say the FootJoy Dry Premieres. So back a couple years, I went on eBay when I was able to wear whatever golf shoes I wanted, and I purchased multiple pairs of new deadstock Premieres. And I contacted FootJoy and asked if I would be able to wear ‘em, and they said absolutely. I even found a company that resoles old Dry Premieres into their original soles.
So I tried to go down that route and go full old school, leather bottom, just immaculate pairs of shoes. But that is when I felt like there was a performance lag because we’re walking 18 holes four days a week, plus a pro-am and a practice round Tuesday, Wednesday. That was where I drew the line of style over performance was when it came to the weight of those shoes and the performance. So then the Premiere Series came out, and it captures the look of the old shoe that I love, but it’s a lot more lightweight and a lot more day-to-day wearable. If something happens with a pair of shoes, I can replace ‘em fast. I’m not having to worry about searching eBay or sending ‘em off.
“It might be Sunday at the Masters, but if somebody invites you to go play a really cool golf course at that time, you might go play instead of watching…That’s just the difference with our sport.”
On a different note, pro-ams have been around for a while but it feels like some of the celebrity amateurs taking part in them now are less washed up comedians and more current athletes and entertainers who are at the peak of their careers. What do you think that says about golf right now?
I think it’s great, golf is such a great hobby that people are starting to understand and appreciate more. People used to think it’s stuffy and slow. But if you take that out of it and say, do you want to spend a couple hours with your pals outside, maybe even listen to music and have a few pops. No one would ever say no to that, right? Oh, well then we’ll add some competition and an activity, by the way, that’s golf. That changes people’s mindsets dramatically. And I think the pandemic really helped that. I think the popularity on social media and the internet where you have more access and kind of understand what it is helped it as well.
And I think it’s only gonna continue to grow. I think the sport itself is growing dramatically in terms of participation, and that’s really all that we can do. Yes, it’s nice for the tour to have different formats with pro-ams. Like that’s all great. But I want people to be out playing more than I want ‘em to be watching. That’s just the whole point.
Like, football is my favorite sport to watch when I’m not playing golf, but I can’t go round up 22 guys and get pads and get a field and actually go play it, right? And it might be Sunday at the Masters, but if somebody invites you to go play a really cool golf course at that time, you might go play instead of watching. So that’s just the difference with our sport.
How do you see your role as a professional golfer in that? Because we’ve seen you do live interviews during tournaments, is that something you’re happy to do in the name of “growing the game?”
I would be careful with using it in terms of growing the game because I think that the game is gonna grow by people understanding what golf is and can be. So whatever we can do to correct that is gonna help more than anything I can do on TV. I think that it’s just providing the highest level of competition in a sport that people enjoy watching, and then any sort of entertainment value that you can add on top of that is best for our product on the PGA TOUR. Maybe doing interviews walking is one of those things. Maybe it’s not. As long as it doesn’t affect my performance on the course, I’m always open and willing to explore some fun and creative ideas.
Would you say that fashion is a place where the game is growing?
It’s really the only sport that you can express fashion on any level. I would say the music side and the fashion side are a little bit newer. People felt like they had to wear khaki pants and a white collared shirt, but that’s not the case anymore. All these companies are pushing new styles in golf across the board, and then you add it to an activity with some competition. I feel like that’s kind of the blueprint for golf now. And the more people can understand the points of entry that we’ve talked about, the more people are actually gonna get into golf.
A post shared by Keith Mitchell (@k_m_mitchell)
You mentioned social media, it’s a chance for you to interact with these new people who are paying attention to golf. And more than a few people may have noticed this year that your content has gone to another level. But they might not know Christian Hafer, the guy who’s been behind it.
Absolutely. I have to give him all the credit. And I’ll never forget when I met Christian for the first time. We were playing Hickory Sticks at Pinehurst No. 2 at a BMW outing. And we talked about pizza and how he was trying different waters in his dough to see if it really made a difference in his pizza dough. And I was like, this guy and I are gonna get along really well. We have similar passions, he understands me and my tastes. I appreciate his work, I like how he presents his style. I feel like it’s very similar mine. So I sat down with him and we had a talk last November or December, I was like ‘how can we make this better?’
Can we collaborate on this and try to figure out how you can extract all the things about me onto my page in an efficient way, so I wasn’t spending a lot of time trying to understanding social media and how to do it. And also in a very authentic way so it doesn’t feel like I just hired somebody to do it.
So we spend a lot of time talking, collaborating, figuring out how to do it. He’s like, ‘you gotta send me all your favorite songs. You know, you gotta send me the kind of vibe you like.’ To the point where he just takes me and does a much better job of putting it on my page.
So it sounds like music is another way to express yourself.
Yeah I tend to send him stuff that he’s like, ‘what in the world?’ It’s like an old blues song or a newer kind of folk country and then some sort of electronic thing. He can’t figure me out yet. I don’t think anyone will, including myself.
Music to me is another one of those things that I love and I’m very passionate about. I tend to categorize my music into whatever mood I feel, or the situation that presents itself. I really like blues and that sort of guitar vibe. Whether that’s Marcus King, which is like a modern blues to an old B.B. King. Then recently I put one up that had a little bit of house, like tropical house kind of vibes. I love that kind of stuff.
Lastly, we have to ask you for some style tips. What would you tell the average golfer?
I would say subtle patterns. If you want to go bold in color, be sure to offset that with a white or maybe a navy. I feel like if you do a big heavy pattern and a bright color, it looks like you’re trying too hard. I try to do a little bit more understated, but using the details as the emphasis points.
So I might have a pair of navy pants on and a white shirt and it looks clean and classic. But you get up to it, it’s got an extra button on the placket on the shirt, the buttons are buttoned down, and then the navy pants have a very fine little kind of plaid or a herringbone in ‘em, and then you have some cuffs and some side tabs. So from 30, 40 yards away it’s ‘oh, that guy looks nice.’ And then you get closer and you see each individual detail, and that’s where you need to pay your attention to. Pay attention to the small details that make something simple look great, instead of trying to outdo yourself with a bold color or pattern that distracts from what you’re actually trying to do.
HB: First off, just tell us about how you got into golf, and what made you think you could play professionally?So fast forward to being a professional golfer, do you feel like you’re able to maintain that feeling of having fun on the golf course, or is it tough when it becomes your profession?Switching gears just a little bit, the general consensus among people who follow Hypegolf is that when it comes to style, you’re the top dog on tour. How does it feel to carry that mantle?Similar to fishing, it seems like this becomes another way to express yourself outside of just the scores that you write down at the end of the day. No?Without calling anyone out specifically, how would you describe the current state of golf fashion on tour? Because when people look at some of your peers, they tend to see more loud prints, patterns and bolder colors, and it’s quite a contrast to how you present yourself.A lot of tour pros see clothing as almost an extension of their clubs, which is to say that performance and function is their number one concern. But do you feel like you’re getting both style and function even though you’re wearing natural fibers rather than polyester?Who are some of your style references from the past? Because your look is very much a throwback.So we discussed polos, pants and tour visors, but when it comes to shoes you’ve been wearing FootJoy and some of its NRG releases this year. Why is that?On a different note, pro-ams have been around for a while but it feels like some of the celebrity amateurs taking part in them now are less washed up comedians and more current athletes and entertainers who are at the peak of their careers. What do you think that says about golf right now?How do you see your role as a professional golfer in that? Because we’ve seen you do live interviews during tournaments, is that something you’re happy to do in the name of “growing the game?”Would you say that fashion is a place where the game is growing?You mentioned social media, it’s a chance for you to interact with these new people who are paying attention to golf. And more than a few people may have noticed this year that your content has gone to another level. But they might not know Christian Hafer, the guy who’s been behind it.So it sounds like music is another way to express yourself.Lastly, we have to ask you for some style tips. What would you tell the average golfer?