Custom Nike & Under Armour Polo Shirts: The Performance Polo Guide for Golf Teams

When it comes to custom corporate apparel and athletic wear, co-branding with a top-tier retail name changes the game. According to the 2025 Custom Ink Employee Holiday Gift Survey, 61% of employees name Nike as the brand they most want — outranking Sony, The North Face, and YETI combined. Place that iconic Swoosh on a custom embroidered polo at a golf tournament, and the garment communicates premium performance before a client or player even reads your logo.

However, decorating high-tech performance polos requires a higher level of technical execution than standard cotton workwear. Polyester Dri-FIT reacts differently to a needle than cotton pique. Plus, each brand places its trademark in specific zones, while Under Armour carries restrictions that block certain buyers entirely.

This comprehensive guide serves as your authoritative resource for custom athletic and golf polos. Whether you are outfitting a golf team, hosting an executive retreat, or launching a company-wide apparel program, we break down the exact fabric specs, embroidery requirements, placement geometry, and brand-by-brand rules you need to know when designing custom polo shirts.

In This Article

• Custom Nike Polo Shirts: Options & Specs
• Embroidery on Nike Dri-FIT: What You Need to Know
• Custom Under Armour Polo Shirts
• Personalized Golf Polos: Courses & Tournaments
• Custom Performance Polos for Golf Teams
• Nike vs. Under Armour: Which to Choose?
• Frequently Asked Questions

Shop Custom Polos

Custom Nike Polo Shirts: Options & Specs

Nike’s custom polo lineup is built around variations of the Dri-FIT platform — an engineered polyester that pulls moisture to the surface for rapid evaporation. The Swoosh placement is consistent across the line: embroidered on the left sleeve, leaving the left chest entirely clear for your organization’s logo. Here are the four styles we see ordered most for corporate and golf programs:

For embroidery on Nike polos, we require a minimum of 6 pieces. The minimum exists because each Dri-FIT fabric run requires specialized digitizing and machine configuration — it’s not interchangeable with a standard cotton setup. Most programs we outfit fall in the 12–100 piece range where pricing improves significantly.

Embroidery on Custom Nike Dri-FIT Polos: What You Need to Know

Performance polyester behaves very differently from the pique cotton most decorators calibrate their machines for. The primary risk is puckering — permanent rippling of the fabric surrounding the embroidered logo — caused when dense thread tension fights the natural elasticity of the synthetic knit. Here’s how our production team avoids it:

• Reduced stitch density: Tatami fill stitches are widened to 0.45mm or greater — creating a lighter, breathable logo that doesn’t act as a rigid plate on a stretch fabric. Dense files built for denim will warp a 4.3 oz. polyester knit.
• Ballpoint needles, sizes 60/8 to 70/10: Standard sharp needles slice polyester microfibers and cause permanent structural damage. Ballpoint needles part the fibers rather than severing them, preserving the fabric’s stretch.
• Cut-away stabilizer only: Tear-away backing cannot be used on stretch synthetics — tearing it from a delicate knit permanently deforms the fabric. Only shear-cut backing preserves the fabric’s architecture.
• Thread tension calibrated to 25 gf on the bobbin: An imbalanced pull is the fastest path to puckering. Every production run uses a tension gauge rather than a visual estimate.
• Foundational underlay: A hidden lattice of base stitches anchors the fabric in multiple directions before top stitching begins, giving the thread something stable to sit on without pulling the polyester inward.

Every Nike order gets reviewed by a real Inker before production to verify the artwork file, flag anything too small or too dense for the specific fabric, and confirm placement against Nike’s trademark zone requirements. For the Vapor Polo‘s 87/13 poly-spandex blend specifically, we use heat-transfer as an alternative to heavy embroidery in high-stretch zones like the sleeve — it moves with the fabric rather than fighting it.

“These are four of our fearless HumanTouch leaders braving the green on what is expected to be a very stormy day. We ordered our shirts from CustomInk and have been consistently impressed by the customer service of the T-Shirt Ambassadors and quality of the customized products. The gentlemen are proudly wearing the Port Authority Silk Touch Polos that have been embroidered with our HT logo.”

View full story

Custom Under Armour Polo Shirts: Athletic Performance

Under Armour approaches the polo from a different direction than Nike. Where Nike’s Dri-FIT Micro Pique prioritizes a tight, embroidery-stable pique surface, Under Armour’s performance polos use smoother synthetic weaves built for maximum multi-directional stretch and aggressive moisture management. The brand’s Moisture Transport System actively wicks sweat to the fabric surface, and anti-odor treatment is embedded directly into the yarn — relevant for coaching staffs and outdoor crews on long event days.

Our custom Under Armour polos include several styles suited for corporate and athletic programs:

Under Armour places its logo on the right chest or upper back yoke, leaving the left chest clear for your organization’s primary embroidery. Embroidery is the standard decoration for UA polos; it holds up on their performance fabrics and reads as polished. Most styles have no minimum; some embroidered styles start at 6 pieces.

The brand restriction you must know before ordering polos

Under Armour prohibits its products from being decorated with logos associated with golf courses, golf clubs, country clubs, colleges, or universities through standard promotional channels. This restriction protects UA’s exclusive licensing deals with major athletic programs and professional tour partners. If your organization falls into any of those categories, Nike is your path forward — no workaround exists on the UA side.

Personalized Golf Polos: Custom Options for Courses & Tournaments

Golf polo customization involves tighter geometric specifications than most apparel programs. Placement precision matters because course officials, tournament directors, and pro shop buyers all evaluate these garments against professional standards. Here’s how placement zones break down:

The most common sizing error we see with polo shirts: designs below 5 cm that lose resolution in the stitch-to-fabric conversion, and oversized left-chest marks that cross 7 cm and dominate the panel. Our design team checks both before production.

“This is a golf tournament that takes place every year at Sugarloaf Mountain Golf Course in Maine. After nearly 20 years we decided to have shirts made up using the logo that one of the original Marbleloafers designed. Working with CustomInk was a breeze. They cleaned up the digital file we sent and produced 16 beautifully embroidered shirts. The couple of players who did not get in on the order were sorry!”

View full story

Custom Performance Polos for Golf Teams

Running a large tournament or outfitting an entire club roster requires a role-based strategy. The goal is to give each functional group a garment tailored to their job while maintaining a unified, cohesive look across the course.

After managing hundreds of tournament uniform programs, here are the non-negotiables to keep your order running smoothly:

• Specify Pantone colors: Never rely on generic color names like “navy” or “red”—they vary wildly between brands. Lock in exact Pantone codes to ensure brand consistency across different shirt models.
• Request physical proofs for placket alignment: Digital mockups cannot simulate placket shift—the subtle visual drift that happens when a centered logo stretches toward the armpit on a real torso. Always order a pre-production sample to verify placement on actual fabric.
• Provide true vector artwork: Always submit AI or EPS vector files. Low-res JPGs or PNGs require manual redrawing, which adds unexpected lead time to your production schedule.
• Unify with accessories: You can use different polo models or price points for players, staff, and volunteers, but keep everyone visually aligned by pairing them with identical customized hats or visors.

Our group order feature handles size collection, split payments, and individual shipping across the full roster — useful for tournaments where participants are geographically distributed before the event. Standard delivery ships free and arrives in about two weeks; rush options are available if timelines are tight.

Nike vs. Under Armour for Custom Polos: Which to Choose?

The right brand comes down to use case, compliance, and what the shirt needs to do physically. Here’s a direct comparison of the flagship corporate polo from each brand:

According to the 2026 Swag Trends Survey from Custom Ink , 91% of respondents believe their team feels more valued when receiving a recognized retail brand over generic private label. Both Nike and Under Armour clear that bar — the decision between them comes down to the compliance question first, then the physical requirements of the role. If your team is on a golf course, the answer is Nike. If your team is coaching outdoor athletics and needs anti-odor for all-day wear, Under Armour is the stronger functional choice where compliance permits.

Browse our full custom polos selection to filter by brand, fabric, and price. Our design experts are available seven days a week to help you confirm the right embroidery approach for your specific fabric and logo before anything goes to production.

Shop Custom Polos

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I get a custom Nike polo shirt with my logo?

Yes. We carry custom Nike Dri-FIT polos with embroidery on the left chest. Nike’s Swoosh sits on the left sleeve, so your logo gets the primary hero zone. A minimum of 6 pieces is required for embroidered Nike styles.

Q: Can I embroider a golf course or country club logo on Under Armour polos?

No. Under Armour prohibits logos from golf courses, clubs, and country clubs on products sold through standard promotional channels. Nike carries no such restriction — it’s the right choice for golf-specific programs.

Q: Will embroidery pucker on Nike Dri-FIT fabric?

Only if the production setup isn’t calibrated for performance polyester. Our Inkers use wider tatami fill stitches (0.45mm+), ballpoint needles (60/8–70/10), and cut-away stabilizer backing to prevent puckering on Dri-FIT fabric. Every order is reviewed before production starts.

Q: How many custom Nike polos do I need to order?

A minimum of 6 pieces for embroidered Nike styles. Pricing improves as quantity increases — adjust the quantity in our configurator to see live pricing. Free standard shipping applies and orders arrive in about two weeks, with rush options available.

Q: What’s the best custom performance polo for a golf tournament?

For tournaments where players need swing mobility and the shirt reflects organizational prestige, the Nike Dri-FIT Micro Pique 2.0 (4.3 oz., 100% polyester) is the standard choice. It’s embroidery-stable, the Swoosh leaves your left chest clear, and the brand recognition lands well on a course. For high-stretch swing requirements, the Nike Dri-FIT Vapor (87% polyester / 13% spandex, 4-way stretch) is the step up. See our full custom polos selection to compare styles and colors.

Q: Can my whole golf team get personalized names on their polos?

Yes. Our Names & Numbers feature lets you upload a roster and apply a unique name, title, or number to each polo in one batch — one order, one timeline, every shirt personalized.