A few weeks ago, the latest Golf Monthly article ‘6 ways golf etiquette needs to modernise’ came across my social media feed, offering some insight on the traditions that are holding the progression of the game back. One of those was long socks…
The article makes some fair points, many of which I support, however part of me can’t help but wonder if we are missing the real elephant in the room here.
‘Following the honour’ on a casual Wednesday fiddle, groups oblivious to their own slow play, ‘unwilling to call a group through’ are all painful to see, however dress codes (in particular long socks) are coming in for an unnecessarily hard time of late. It has become a flashpoint in a murky crusade to ‘grow the game’, shorthand for the homogenisation of the sport and cashing in on commercial opportunities for brands.
This is the part I take exception with: Golf has always been a bellwether of diversity – 1st tee initiatives for those less likely to come to the game organically, mini-putt venues, pitch & putt for a quicker game, Bentley-driving-Barry playing 9-holes with Jim who has no driving license: golf doesn’t practice identikit politics. Let’s not even start with the clothes. Faldo in his Pringle jumpers and John Daly winning the Open at St Andrews in a green Reebok sweatshirt…each happy with their dress and happy to be afforded the choices.
Golf is the one sport that stands out as being vast and expansive in every possible way. Courses of all lengths and shapes, to suit players of all abilities and at every budget. At its very heart it is an accessible and diverse game. There are endless forms of the game, just as there are equipment options, subcultures and sadly, potential scores you can amass when standing on the tee.
To suggest we should standardise dress codes across all public and privately owned clubs is not only naive, but overlooks the key issues.
Dress codes matter – but why? It isn’t just golf clubs; dress codes dictate much of how we interact as humans. It helps us define an occasion, or create a sense of…
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