The golf fashion police are coming.
Look out. The next golf outfit you wear could be the subject of a golf snob who objects to how you look. That person, of course, won't be bold enough to say something directly to you, but they're more than happy to jab at you online.
Golf's fashion wars are being waged everywhere these days - at your muni, at the fanciest private club in town and obviously on social media. It's the world we live in.
It's a battle as old as time: Conservatives and traditionalists vs. liberals and modernists. Golf has been undergoing a significant transformation ever since the pandemic sped up the timeline. Golf has always been slow to adopt change ... technology, rules, fashion, etc. ... but this massive influx of younger players who never played by their grandfather's country club rules are ushering in a new era. Their fresh new outlook on the game is more welcoming to music, casual fashion and a general distain for golf's stuffiness.
When I posted photos of the newly restored Pasatiempo to Instagram, I expected golfers to drop the likes, celebrating that Dr. Alister MacKenzie's best public course had finally been restored for the next generation. Instead, someone was more concerned about what one of my playing partners was wearing than the sexy new greens I was putting on.
"Played Pasatiempo last week while knocking out some other courses," wrote wkndgolf_703. "Conditions and layout is dialed but for $450 I would expect to not see any shenanigans out there like I see here. Untucked shirt and joggers just like here was everywhere. Just sad and disrespectful IMO."
For the record, this old geezer has worn joggers on the golf course and I think UNTUCKit makes a fine golf shirt. I recently gave a positive review to a pair of golf "sweatpants" - the Gamechanger 5-Pocket Pant from Public Rec. Does that mean I'm some heathen destroying the game? Hardly. I'm just not stuck in my ways. I recognize the tidal wave of change that's coming to the game. Get on board or drown in it.
Joggers aren't the only golf attire that gets critics fired up on social media. If BIG LETTER HATS are the devil, then how come people keep buying them and wearing them? They're regularly spotted at hallowed grounds like Augusta National and Pebble Beach.
I even spotted them in the pro shop at Royal County Down, the no. 1 course in the world outside of the United States, according to Golf Digest. I kinda thought they were cool.
Would I wear one? Not likely.
I've got two commemorative BIG LETTER hats from the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club if anybody wants them. Despite my indifference, I won't shame people who do wear them. They usually look pretty good doing it. Wear what you want as long as it's within the boundaries of decency.
Another fashion lightning rod is Jason Day's partnership with Malbon. The bold patterns and big scripts he wears continues to rile up fans who favor solid-color pants and polos only. Malbon's style isn't for me, either. But if he's willing to take the grief for a few sponsorship bucks, that's his decision.
If Augusta's power brokers ask you take it off - which happened at the 2024 Masters - it's probably wise to do so.
I tested the boundaries of golf fashion a few years ago when I wore a pair of golf flip flops during a round with a twosome I had never met before the first tee. It was a fun social experiment. I let them in on the secret halfway through the round. They would have been laughing about me at the 19th hole if I didn't. I could have cared less what they thought.
That's the thing. Golf fashion is personal. Want to wear a T shirt and jeans? Fine. Just bring enough game to prove you belong on the course.
It's not what you wear that determines if you're a golfer or not. It's the respect you give to the game and your playing partners. Play fast with a smile and I'll tee it up with you anytime, no matter what you're wearing.
Where do you draw the line with what golf fashion is acceptable on the golf course? Let us know in the comments below.
I’m not sure exactly how the “Xâ€/Twitter writer comes to the conclusion that venerable old Dornoch has fallen, although he’s entitled to his opinion in any case. Seems to me as if he’s objecting to the word itself. In context, “Foxy†is hole number fourteen at Royal Dornoch, one of the best holes in British golf–and the #1 index on this great course! It does seem a stretch, however, that someone’s wearing of a BIG LETTERED hat means the course has somehow become tarnished? Really? I think Dornoch will survive it.
If a hat wearer is promoting a positive feature of a course, so be it. Nothing wrong with a little advertising for the right reasons. To each his own–and that even goes for the banal Jason Day pullover. Doubtless, though, he has enough game to wear it.