Opinion
Maybe We’re Still too Uptight About Golf Wear
I’ve always been a big fan of the way Jack Nicholson delivers a line. The man known for his trademark shades and courtside presence at LA Lakers games dropped five words on film for the launch of the modern Batman movie series in 1989 that always made me laugh.
“This town needs an enema.”
No Title
My personal New Year’s message to the hardworking men and women in our nation’s capital.
Fast-forward thirty-one years: I walked into the pro shop to check in before playing an autumn late-Sunday afternoon nine at Skytop Mountain Golf Club, a hillside 18 just minutes from State College, PA. A last minute decision, my playing partner and I really didn’t have a chance to get ready. We grabbed some clothes and said we’ll meet up, get dressed there before catching the day’s last tee time, and roll.
Was I dressed shabby? Nah. I had on a nice but comfy V-neck tee and golf shorts. My partner was tending to the bags by the cart corral in basically the same gear. What caught me off guard was the pro not even mentioning to me I needed to switch into a polo at least.
Wait, I’m in a t-shirt at a very nice public course and nothing was said? I first wondered if it was because we were the last to go out that the staff didn’t care.
I whipped out my phone to the course’s website still on my browser. I clicked the first FAQ and was surprised to read the following:
“We want all our golfers to be comfortable while enjoying the course. There is no dress code.”
Say what? No dress code? Granted we weren’t slobs, but this sure as hell was a lot more relaxed and comfortable. And this meant no extra time finding a place to change was a bonus to roll some pre-round putts.
How did I play? Well, I stunk as bad as the furry bastard we encountered on the 6th hole. I was just glad I didn’t slam a Srixon in this stinker as my game was terrible. But we had fun and the dress code definitely was a fantastic relaxing surprise.
That same weekend was the news that shook the golf fashion world: Tyrrell Hatton and his hoodie. Articles were all over the place about what in the world was a pro golfer doing wearing something so unbecoming of the sport, with some taking the lighten up side of that argument.
Much like our unexpected nine in t-shirts thanks to no dress code, seeing Tyrrell rocking a hoodie and winning was an awesome look in my opinion. It gave the game of golf ‘The Joker’s’ aforementioned enema. It wasn’t stuck up. It was athletic, fit well, and hell, he won.
I personally never tried hitting wearing a hoodie for golf until this week. The temperature in my garage is about 45 degrees, and the new golf net in there (soon to be a simulator, too) required warmer wear. So, I grabbed my favorite hoodie, hit a bunch of short irons, and loved it.
This is no knock to our site leaders as Frank and Mike have clearly defined country club classic style and taste that is “them.” Justin and Riley from Golficity’s The Style Guys have today’s very stylish athletic but still “proper” course looks going and they do them well.
But one thing golf needs to realize: we all just spent a week at work in some kind of a uniform. Business, business casual, or some combination thereof is the norm in most companies. Sometimes grabbing a polo often feels like dressing up again on our day off.
So long as players are not looking slovenly, I say we all need to relax when it comes to “golf course proper.” Try new things, get more comfortable, don’t look like “Pig Pen,” and tee it up.
Cover Image via Instagram
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