Dress codes... Again

I can understand where the author is coming from, but with respect for the two for one vouchers this has meant that on occasions myself and colleagues have played courses we would usually to play and surely giving the club some income they would not haves received at all let alone at a 50% discounted rate.

The second comment mates perfect sense with regards to nightclubs, there is no reason to have a shoe dress code !

I enjoy getting dressed for golf, nice polo shirt, trousers and the golf shoes all add to the experience, it wouldn't be the same if I could play in jeans and a t shirt!
 
I don't disagree with some of what the old fella says in principle. Dress codes are just the headline message to his article, the main point is that the clubs should reflect the wishes of their membership & not any outside party. If the members want to change the dress code they can vote. I notice he has just retired, I guess he is elderly. I would also guess his attitude his quite removed from that of his younger members.

re his point about a comparision between 2 4 1's and cancer. That to my mind is in poor taste. The 2 4 1 schemes aren't compulsory, the clubs can opt out or tailor their offering and the exclusive use of them is a poor substitute for club membership. They should focus on what a club can offer that being a nomadic golfer can't rather than bemoan visiting golfers getting something for nothing. He also ignores additional spend in the pro shop/bar that these golfers bring in.

Ultimately it sounds like the parting shot of a crusty old chap who has realised he stand in the way of progress no more.
 
Dress code is no problem to me, whats so hard to buy a pair of trousers and a polo shirt to play golf in? You can get them cheap enough from places like sports direct or JJB, so it is not a cost problem. I know one course that has no dress code, the people going round there are all new to the game and the etiquette is generally poor. Playing in groups of 5 to even 10 and the course owner dont care as he dont play there and its all about the money to him.
 
It seems to me that the word standards only seems to apply to some folks these days.
Comparing a night club to a golf club (one of the non concise replies) is wrong also. There is no real membership for most nightclubs so the argument is invalid.
Golf clubs have committees etc who have the power to steer their own club in whatever direction seen fit by the members and on their behalf. If this includes 2for1 vouchers then so be it, it is their choice. Saying that you need twice the footfall just to earn the same income and increases wear is inaccurate also. Not everyone uses these vouchers and when they are used, they are at non peak membership competition times.
Ask any entrepreneur, Income is income, loose money which fills non peak gaps is bettercthan not utilising those times at all. When the market for golf picks up again and memberships increase you may well see less and less clubs accepting the vouchers as the increased membership has less need to rely on external income.
Plenty of guys know members of clubs so can still get to play at greatly reduced fees anyway do I wouldn't call vouchers a cancer. Cost of living is the uncontrollable cancer if there is such a thing, it is the main cause for declining memberships, not silly discount vouchers which the clubs can control the use of.
 
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Oooh tough one - two for one voucher has allowed me to play many a course that maybe i probably i wouldn't have played at the full amount. I see it as a bit of a taster. Many a course now are high on my 'got to play there again list' because it has been made accessible. Such offers in my local area i believe has developed a golfing comunity when in fact society nevermind golf hasn't got two pennies to rub together.
As for the dress code issue - simple - golf clothes on a golf course, smart casual in the clubhouse. Let the scene in the clubhouse relfect the various tastes, styles and cultures of their membership (within reason)
 
An interesting opinion Mike. Overall, as above I sympathise but certain parts of the argument fall down on closer examination. 2 for 1's are mostly utilised by a certain category of golfer who wants to play different courses at a reasonable price. These incluse both club members and casual golfers.... I've certainly used them a few times for the odd day out and I'd guess most on here have. If I couldn't go to another club and play for say £20 then I simply wouldn't go, or chosse somewhere where I could. Most casual golfers would only go to lesser courses and pay the same rather than stump up the full price at say £40. Let's face it there are plenty of courses at all price ranges to choose from. He seems to be saying that if you got rid of 2 for 1's you would double your visitor income??? In reality you would lose a sizable amount of the visitors you get now if you are a £40 club and the associated catering and bar income. The truth is that although the powers that be would probably disagree, most clubs are slowly pricing themselves out of the market for the average Joe. Of course many well off members at these clubs see this as a positive!!

As for dress codes, I've said this on here before, the premium clubs charging the premium prices will keep them the longest. Other clubs will change as they compete for younger members. I'm nearly 50 and wear jeans most of the time. I belong to a private members club attached to a municipal course and we ditched the "no jeans" dress rule about 3 years ago. Now nobody even notices. Before the "....well what do expect at a muni" brigade jump on, several other private clubs in the area have followed suit. We still uphold the traditions of the club, presentations are well attended and winners are always properly dressed, our teams are properly turned out, we still have black tie dinners and the like etc. Dress codes don't need to go but they have to change with the times......not many clubs still have the jackets after 7pm rule for example. I'm sure most did at some point and no doubt there were many objections when the rule was changed from the older contingent. Sometimes this group just have to accept it's time to move over, they have had "their day" and it is firmly in the past.
 
Can't see anything wrong with what he's saying but wonder why he felt he needed to say it. Surely with his experience he realises clubs change when they decide to change and not when a 3rd party says they need to change.
 
So you ring up to book a two for one round and the pro says "by the way dress code in the clubhouse is dinner jacket and bow tie" would you go? Or if instead he said "the dress code is Speedo swim trunks" would you go?

With those extreems what is so wrong with the average club dress code?
 
I can see the author's point (particularly regarding dress code issue) but I don't fully agree with the 2 for 1 comments. A number of friends and I use these to try new courses and on a number of occassions we have played them again paying the full green fee, in addition to recommending said clubs to others. Surely a good thing for the club in question and great for golfers given the current state of the economy.

Back to the dress code, I don't have any issue with this being maintained and don't ever recall anyone I know presonally questioning this. My club relaxed the dress code for a trial period this year but it simply didn't go down well at all, particularly with the more senior members. The encouraging thing was the club at least looking at this, even if nothing changed.
 
therod said:
I don't disagree with some of what the old fella says in principle. Dress codes are just the headline message to his article, the main point is that the clubs should reflect the wishes of their membership & not any outside party. If the members want to change the dress code they can vote. I notice he has just retired, I guess he is elderly. I would also guess his attitude his quite removed from that of his younger members.

re his point about a comparision between 2 4 1's and cancer. That to my mind is in poor taste. The 2 4 1 schemes aren't compulsory, the clubs can opt out or tailor their offering and the exclusive use of them is a poor substitute for club membership. They should focus on what a club can offer that being a nomadic golfer can't rather than bemoan visiting golfers getting something for nothing. He also ignores additional spend in the pro shop/bar that these golfers bring in.

Ultimately it sounds like the parting shot of a crusty old chap who has realised he stand in the way of progress no more.
Click to expand...

Why do you need to have such an ageist viewpoint. It's no better than someone suggesting young people dont know what they are talking about.

You will get old one day, do you think you will be different than current older people when you do? Or do you think that you are born of a generation that is different from all that has gone before, one that will have 'Peter Pan' qualities and never grow up.

Your post did you no justice. You could have made your valid points without the insults.
 
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I myself am a member of my local club. But i hope to be a member for only one more year. Why you ask? Well quite simply when my wife and i are lucky enough to get through a full pregnancy i doubt £460 for golf would go down well. Pay as i play will be the plan for a while anyway and hopefully some 2for1 vouchers will make things easier.

To say 2for1's are a cancer is absurd. Would those people become members without 2for1.

As for dress codes well i have moaned on this topic too many times. I simply do not buy in to the 'dress up for golf' mentality. I want to play golf not walk down the catwalk. However, i do normally play in specific golf clothes but have also been known to sneak a quick round in whilst on the range wearing smart jeans and a polo. It is peoples behaviour that counts not what they wear. Although any attractive 20 something females who wish to play with me are certainly encouraged to wear shorts and tight tops thanks. A simple dress code of golf trousers and polo with appropriate shoes should be adopted by all and get rid of the OTT rules such as shoes only in clubhouses, black shoes with long white socks when wearing shorts and tie's are 7 (especially in the summer when you can easily play at that time of day and nip in for a drink and a snack after.)
 
1st gripe why do we have to wear white socks with shorts in a summer????, afterwards i can go either to work or the supermarket,now if your a golfer you understand but if your not a golfer and you see some1 with white socks and shoes on walking round the supermarket in middle of summer you think they have something wrong upstairs

i think 241 s are great saved me many a penny on golf trips, end of the day the course is still there, and a tee time is a tee weather its a 1 ball or a 4ball,and most people have a bite to eat and a drink so they get abit of extra revenue off that, more and more clubs will be going 241 before long, its the 1st time my club in a 100 years has dropped the joining fee,at 1 time 20 or 30yrs ago you had to pay to go on the waiting list, with alot of people struggling its only a knock effect
 
Just to pick up on one specific part of the dress code debate i.e. being allowed to wear jeans on the course.

I cannot understand why on earth anyone would actually want to walk 4 or 5 miles wearing a pair of jeans. To my mind, they are nowhere near as comfortable as more "acceptable" trousers and, if they get wet,they stay wet.
 
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