'It’s Overly Prescriptive And Patronising To Tell Golfers What They Must Wear' – Is It Time To Abandon Dress Codes?

Do we still need a prescriptive code of dress for golf? Isn’t it time for clubs to let everyone make their own choices about what to wear on the fairways?

Golfer in traditional dress
Should we all still dress like this?
(Image credit: Getty Images)

To grow the game, golf needs to be forward-thinking. All of us who love this game must be open-minded and accepting of changing times and trends.

Golf doesn’t need to be exactly the same as it was in 1975. Golf can be traditional, but there’s no reason it can’t also be relaxed, fun and modern. There’s space for the world hickory open and there’s space for TGL.

Young players will be more attracted to golf if it’s less regimented and if there’s more opportunity to be expressive and individual within the sport.

That is basically why we should abandon the archaic concept of the dress code altogether, especially given it's a barrier to entry for some new golfers.

Who wants to be told what to wear? If you hit the ski slopes, you wear the clothing that is appropriate for the conditions and the activity. Nobody stops you at the bottom station to say you can’t ride the lifts because your salopettes are designed to look like jeans.

The lift ops wouldn’t stop you if you were actually wearing denim jeans, but they might shake their heads and worry for your comfort.

That should be the case with golf. It’s common sense that those who take to the fairways should and will wear clothing that’s suitable for the activity and the conditions.

Nobody is going to turn up on the first tee in high heels and a pair of speedos. People will dress for the occasion, as they do in every element of their lives. It’s overly prescriptive and patronising to tell them what they must wear.

Golfers in hoodie

A more modern golfing outfit

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Evolution over time

Modern golfing apparel has changed considerably since the bad old days of voluminous pleated trousers and argyle tank tops.

If you still want to wear them, fair play to you. But if you want to wear something more athletic, something with a hood, something with stripes or something you feel sporty and ready to play a sport in, then I say go for it.

One of the great things about golf is its variety. The variety of courses we play on, the variety of ways to navigate those courses, the variety of playing styles and abilities that you’ll see on any given day. We should celebrate the differences within golf and that should include differences in dress.

Some will opt for a more traditional golfing look, others (particularly younger players) will look to emulate the golfing stars they see on the PGA or LPGA Tours. Those stars now often dress in a way that wouldn’t conform to the old-school golfing dress code.

If someone turned up at a club wearing an outfit they’d seen sported by a top player in top level competition and were told they couldn’t play, something would be rather wrong.

I say, ditch the dress code and trust golfers to make sensible choices. They will want to look good and if they’re comfortable in their choice of attire, they’ll enjoy their day on the fairways far more as a result.

Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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