After listening to the latest podcast episode of Off Course on THP Radio, the thought about dress codes is fresh in my mind. While the world has gotten more lax with most apparel policy, golf apparel has stayed fairly stagnant.
Simple rules really. Collared shirt or awful Blade Collar and the like, golf shorts and sometimes a course might ask you to tuck in your shirt. Do you think that is too much?
Should it be a free? Would it be more inviting of a game if it was come as you are?
You tell us. Sound off below.
Yes he may do that **** walking to the course from his car, but you won’t see it on the course.
Maybe not during an event but.
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The only thing I think of when seeing some of the things people wear is how do you hit the ball wearing some of that stuff? I don’t think I could physically do it. I much prefer the performance polos, shorts and pants for golf that allow me to move in a way that’s conducive to hitting a golf ball.
I can assure you I can get just as drunk in a t-shirt as I can in a polo shirt, lol.
However, I look like I’m heading to the local CC no matter where I’m at. Grocery store? Golf attire. Work? Golf attire. Mowing the grass? Yup.
It’s all I own really, I don’t have a pair of jeans, and the only t-shirts I have are just the white ones I wear under my polo shirts.
Seems quite petty on hitting the range. The local courses that I play don’t care. I’ve encountered quite a few shirtless dudes on those courses, which is why I said I just hope they’re wearing clothes.
I still wear golf attire but as I explained it’s really all I own clothes wise. Thanks to Budget Golf and their summer closeouts every year!
My home course is a muni (granted, and pretty nice Arcis managed Lanny Wadkins design). While I tend to dress nicely when playing an actual round, when at the range, I’ll often wear gym shorts and and performance fabric t-shirt if I’m not playing a round that day and I’m just out there to practice or work something out.
I think most muni’s, especially in smaller towns where they are usually just struggling to make it, should probably relax the dress code if they want. I wouldn’t want tank tops or something similar but if guys wanted to come out in shorts and a T-shirt then why not? It might help get a few more guys that want to just get out and enjoy a few holes.
I think the adult casual golfer needs to be dressed with a clean shirt, pants, and shoes. Something presentable, that shows personal integrity.
One thing I would allow is denim (blue jeans) They should be allowed, as long as they don’t have any holes, and are presentable. Why denim is not allowed I have no idea.
I have been taken to task over my attire a couple of times. One was just practicing with a sleeveless tank top on. A shirt I had previously worn to practice 100s of time, especially in triple digit heat. A new course manager was going to whip everyone into shape. Luckily I had an approved shirt in my bag. The new gung ho manager didn’t last a month.
The second time as the guy was taking my money he took exception to my tactical high top hiking boots. Said "those look like work boots". I told him that I didn’t work anymore, so they can’t be work boots. He let me slide since the soles were green friendly.
Golf needs to do more to be inclusive, and if a relaxed attire rule does that, I am all for it.
I am not sure why people get bothered by what others wear? If you want to dress in a polo and golf shorts/slacks, do it! But why does it matter if someone chooses to wear athletic shorts and a t-shirt?
I don’t tuck in anything (except for the rare occasion I go to a wedding).
I have been known to wear shorts, jeans, paisley golf pants, and often work pants.
Sandals, sneakers, golf shoes, work boots (within reason).
The easiest way to lose golfers here is to enforce a dress-code. We are a farming area, and seeing people in work clothes on the course is common.
Will I sometimes tuck, wear corny golf pants, color matched shoes and accressories? Heck yeah I will. Do I think I need to be dressed like that all the time? No.
Worth noting, I also don’t play super expensive or really private courses for the reason they are just to "stuffy" for me. A course that says I can’t use my phone during a round is a no for me dawg.
Redneck Games wife beater shirts, cut off jeans, trucker hat & cowboy boots ….. have no place on the golf course :golf2:. (Not mocking the "redneck" because I IS one since I hunt, fish, drive a truck, & wear all of those except for cowboy boots )
But let me untuck my shirt. That’s it.
Why stop at golf?
And what are the limits? Do they even have to wear a shirt at all?
I think its a more fascinating topic when you dive in because it appears everybody has a limit.
I totally agree it is an interesting topic.
As for the shirt thing, I guess maybe I would see it as “no shirt no shoes no service” similar to what you see at restaurants and such.
I just find it hard to believe that people can be so bothered by what others wear, but to each their own
There is so much horrendous in this photo. Your handicap had to go up by at least 3 shots just because of this.
I wouldn’t wear jammies out, so no jammies on the golf course.
I bet these pants would breathe nice during the summer….
there are 2 types of dress codes.
you can play either golf course and wear either dress code.
we have 1 country club with dress code (A) and we have a couple muni’s with dress code (B).
if the muni’s decide to go to dress code (A) they’d shut down in a week.
do i support dress code (A) or (B)? i could care less im out there playing my game, just dont act like a jacka$$ wearing either (A) or (B).
and ive seen a ton of jacka$$es wearing dress code (A) in my time.
now which one is worse? jackwagon (A) or jackwagon (B)?
That being said I don’t know why anyone would want to wear jeans or other non-athletic fabric, sweaty and uncomfortable.
They look great, at least they’re in shape. But this is inappropriate for most golf courses. For a nine hole pitch/putt, fine.
$6.90 for this shirt so I don’t think you price argument is going to work
its not a matter of being bothered by it in itself.
Its a matter of the laxed behavior etiquette that has a greater chance of appearing along with that laxed dress code.
No one can ever guarantee what folks will behave like but you can implant things like reasonable dress code which in turn raises the odds that better behavior etiquette will then follow. There is a relation between attire and etiquette. As dress goes from very lax to very formal so does our awareness of etiquette. So the course stands a greater chance of better etiquette being displayed by its customers when they insist on a dress code.
And im sorry but there are many folks who say that public courses shouldn’t have a dress code and i say why not? And yes they should.
This goes back to what I mention earlier. Not everyone has to fit into everything the way they themselves see fit to do so. Not all barriers have to come down. The more and more that happens and the more dress codes become lax , the more I beleive we see less and less good etiquette displayed. I feel that has happened in society and Im all for trying to keep whatever we have left. A simple request on the golf courses imo is not that difficult to comply with, and nothing at all wrong with having it in place even on a public course.
How can you correlate what someone wears and their etiquette on the course? That is a MASSIVE stretch. I have seen plenty of people dressed in Polos and Khakis driving the carts too close to the green, not fixing ball marks, etc.
Dress Code in NO way correlates to behavior on the course. That is just silly
Why? It’s atrocious and ridiculous looking, but who cares? He’s the one that looks like a rodeo clown, unless you call him or for it then you both look like ?
As for the OP Question:
Golf is stuffy and elitist enough, it’s expensive, and difficult. There’s enough to worry about in your own cart. Focus on you and don’t worry about someone else’s fashion issues.
That actually happens in life (not just golf). Many studies out there correlate general behaviour, ettuquette, confidence etc,etc to the attire we wear as having some amount of relation.
Of course one can wear a suit and be a total jerk and one can wear a tank top and be the nicest most respectful person. But our awareness for our own levels of etiquette does lower and raise itself along with how we dress. Dress very lax and one might be more inclined to use foul language while dress up and may not use it as much (just one tiny example).
Put a random crowd together of a few hundred people for a similar reason and require dressy attire at one while very lax at the other. I bet anything the general behavior ettiquette at the dressier event is overall a bit better 9 times out of 10. And that doesnt mean it couldnt be good at the other. But simply that it will be better at the dressier one. Perhpas a tad less foul language, a tad less problems between folks, a tad less questionable behavior. etc..
and imo unfortunately so has common courtesies, respect, and behavior etiquette gone down too in just about everything everywhere and I feel that is no coincidence..