Dress Codes

[rosecott]

Rather a lot has been said recently in different threads about standards of dress on the course – and the clubhouse. Anyone who has had anything to do with golf club administration will know that it is completely impossible to put into words exactly what the majority of members would want to be set as the standard.
“No trousers or shorts with outside pockets.
Shirts must have collars
Shirts must be tucked in.
Socks worn with shorts must not have a logo.
Shorts must be 5 inches above the knee.
Only knee length socks with shorts.
Short socks must be visible above the shoe.”
The list goes on and on.
Some seven years ago, my wife came up to the clubhouse to pick me up and went into the lounge for a drink as I was still playing. She doesn’t play golf and was challenged for wearing jeans. These were designer jeans which cost an arm and a leg – I could have bought 4 or 5 pairs of decent trousers and got change back from what they cost.
My point is:
If you were to put a line-up of people dressed in many different ways, I suspect the vast majority of us would pick the same ones we thought were dressed in a reasonable way for playing golf or socialising in a club bar. The unanswerable difficulty is translating that instinct into a club dress code. Perhaps we should have CCTV with an appointed judge at the monitor saying “Yea or Nay”.

 

[daymond]

Put notices in the clubhouse. "As from Jan 1st 2012 members and guests may wear whatever they like on the course or in the clubhouse"
Stand back and wait for the reaction.

 

[sev112]

Here's a really radical one - it's a bit far fetched for a controlling 21st Centruy mindset, but bear with me here ..

Why not let people wear what they want and judge them buy how they behave and how they golf.

So many people say "you cant wear jeans on the course cos then you'll end up with oiks or drunks on the course." Well in that case get rid of the oiks and drunks - it's not the clothes

All the current make up of most derss codes is about, is pre-judging people and trying to keep out people that "Might not fit in and might disrupt how we like to do things." Fine, if you are in a members club, but however you approach it you are being classist and discriminating against people on the basis of what you think they might be like, rather than what they actually are like.

 

[daymond]

Oh and as an old duffer I would'nt recognise the difference between a £5 pair from the super saver shop and a £100 pair from a designer boutique.

 

[connor]

Long socks and shorts 5inches above the knee haha don't think I would play there in summer..... Hell why don't we bring back plas4's lol

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Again though it goes back to the rules of the club. To be honest if the club says no denim, then at some point I owuld have said to the wife about it. Mine regularly meets me at the club and always dresses appropriately. She knows the dress code and sticks to it

 

[connor]

If I went to my club in what I normally wear I'd be banned

 

[hangover]

I think you sholud be able to wear whatever you feel comfortable in. As long as the people are behaving themselves and not offending other people i dont see why there needs to be a dress code.

 

[rosecott]

I think you sholud be able to wear whatever you feel comfortable in. As long as the people are behaving themselves and not offending other people i dont see why there needs to be a dress code.

Can I second you onto our committee?

 

[sev112]

We are a private club, very very friendly, and as well as being beautiful (but very short) i pay my fees year after year because it is so friendly.

You can find a dress code for the clubhouse but you'd have to search quite hard to find it. It does allow "smart" jeans or similar such words.

We allow children in - and unbelievable, without a set of rules, they behave them selves !!!!!???
We allow people to use their mobile phones, and they do so sensibly - we don't need a set of rules to tell them how to do so.
People turn up on their way home from work in their work clothes (from suit to jeans and jumper) and people are very sociable.
We have meals after matches against local teams, most of whom (like us) dont dress up - we still all have a gerat time.

If anyone steps out of line, it tends to get dealt with very well by a quiet word - you;d be amazed how many conflicts can be dealt wih by such an approach.

And overall, it's live and let live, what matters most is how you behave and how you golf

 

[chrisd]

We are a private club, very very friendly, and as well as being beautiful (but very short) i pay my fees year after year because it is so friendly.

You can find a dress code for the clubhouse but you'd have to search quite hard to find it. It does allow "smart" jeans or similar such words.

We allow children in - and unbelievable, without a set of rules, they behave them selves !!!!!???
We allow people to use their mobile phones, and they do so sensibly - we don't need a set of rules to tell them how to do so.
People turn up on their way home from work in their work clothes (from suit to jeans and jumper) and people are very sociable.
We have meals after matches against local teams, most of whom (like us) dont dress up - we still all have a gerat time.

If anyone steps out of line, it tends to get dealt with very well by a quiet word - you;d be amazed how many conflicts can be dealt wih by such an approach.

And overall, it's live and let live, what matters most is how you behave and how you golf

Please don't read this post it's pure anarchy!


Chris

 

[bluewolf]

We are a private club, very very friendly, and as well as being beautiful (but very short) i pay my fees year after year because it is so friendly.

You can find a dress code for the clubhouse but you'd have to search quite hard to find it. It does allow "smart" jeans or similar such words.

We allow children in - and unbelievable, without a set of rules, they behave them selves !!!!!???
We allow people to use their mobile phones, and they do so sensibly - we don't need a set of rules to tell them how to do so.
People turn up on their way home from work in their work clothes (from suit to jeans and jumper) and people are very sociable.
We have meals after matches against local teams, most of whom (like us) dont dress up - we still all have a gerat time.

If anyone steps out of line, it tends to get dealt with very well by a quiet word - you;d be amazed how many conflicts can be dealt wih by such an approach.

And overall, it's live and let live, what matters most is how you behave and how you golf

Sev, whilst I agree wholeheartedly with what you have written, I have to be honest and state that "I like to dress up to play golf". If my course allowed people to wear what they liked, I would still wear what I currently wear. It wouldn't change my habits, escept that I would use the range a bit more. I do object to having to get changed to use the practise facilities. I suspect that there are a lot of people who like to wear golf specific clothing...

 

[rosecott]

Again though it goes back to the rules of the club. To be honest if the club says no denim, then at some point I owuld have said to the wife about it. Mine regularly meets me at the club and always dresses appropriately. She knows the dress code and sticks to it

Homer

It never crossed my mind. Of course I knew the dress code but, rightly or wrongly, my mental image of someone transgressing the code was a bloke either in torn jeans or coming straight from work as a painter/decorator, car mechanic or any job where you don't wear a suit. Without bias, I would say that, on the day in question, my wife looked elegant with a capital E.

Another nonsensical dress rule is that shorts for blokes must be no longer than knee length but any length goes for ladies.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Again though it goes back to the rules of the club. To be honest if the club says no denim, then at some point I owuld have said to the wife about it. Mine regularly meets me at the club and always dresses appropriately. She knows the dress code and sticks to it

Homer

It never crossed my mind. Of course I knew the dress code but, rightly or wrongly, my mental image of someone transgressing the code was a bloke either in torn jeans or coming straight from work as a painter/decorator, car mechanic or any job where you don't wear a suit. Without bias, I would say that, on the day in question, my wife looked elegant with a capital E.

Another nonsensical dress rule is that shorts for blokes must be no longer than knee length but any length goes for ladies.

I fully take your point. Having seen some of the fashion police in operation though it just seemed simpler to tell the wife to wear smart trousers and a polo etc if she was coming up. Even if she's just waiting to give me a lift and gets caught short there's no issue about her going into the clubhouse and any embarrasing comments. Just makes life easier. A lot of ladies wear jeans with panache and they can look wonderful and I'm sure yours does but sometimes you can't take into account the die hard attitudes of dinosaurs

 

[Pants]

I really can't understand why anyone would choose to wear denim jeans for a round of golf. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite happy to wear mine socially or lazing about but for walking 4 or 5 miles around a golf course??

I do a lot of walking as a hobby and one of the first things I learned was that denim was a no-no. Apart from being rather (how shall we put it?) stiff, if it gets wet, it stays wet. Not really what you want with a few miles and hours still to go.

Sensible troos for me every time but, hey-ho, whatever floats your boat.

 

[SocketRocket]

If you put a pig in a Tootoo it's still a pig.

Not directed at anyone personally.

 

[rosecott]

Why no comment from Smiffy on dress code?

 

[ivan]

just started playing at my current club earlier this year and turned up in my shorts and short white socks for the seniors weekly knock about - nothing said in the clubhouse, but when i walked to the first tee area 7 people told me i had the wrong socks on - some just quietly, others taking great delight in beng clever to show that i didn't know how to dress! really good start to the day and i felt really welcomed.

 

[stevie_r]

I really can't understand why anyone would choose to wear denim jeans for a round of golf. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite happy to wear mine socially or lazing about but for walking 4 or 5 miles around a golf course??

I do a lot of walking as a hobby and one of the first things I learned was that denim was a no-no. Apart from being rather (how shall we put it?) stiff, if it gets wet, it stays wet. Not really what you want with a few miles and hours still to go.

Sensible troos for me every time but, hey-ho, whatever floats your boat.

fully agree mate, normally in jeans when lazing at home or out down the pub but not on the course, not when hill walking and not when sailing - just not practical

 

[Smiffy]

Why no comment from Smiffy on dress code?

I was asleep.
It's been done to death and I think you know my feelings on dress code.

There is a time and a place for jeans. I personally don't think the golf course is either.
I remember watching the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in 1985 when Sam Torrance sank the winning putt.
All around the green people were going mad and celebrating. And in amongst them was Sam's wife Suzanne Danielle in a tight pair of jeans! I thought it was wrong then....