Can You Wear A Hoodie On The Golf Course?

Can You Wear A Hoodie On The Golf Course?

Whether you can wear a hoodie on the golf course depends upon the golf course. Dress regulations are set by the golf cubs themselves so what is permissible at one club may not be allowed at another.

There was a social stigma attached to hoodies, relating to how the hoods can envelope the head and mask facial features. Some shopping centres banned people entering wearing hoodies, in much the same way banks banned people entering wearing motorcycle helmets. David Cameron, before he became UK Prime Minister, gave a speech urging more tolerance, in which he said: “We – the people in suits – often see hoodies as aggressive, the uniform of a rebel army of young gangsters… For some, the hoodie represents all that's wrong about youth culture in Britain today.”

Golf clothing has at times closely mirrored everyday clothing, and at other points in history diverged strongly from it. Just think of those pictures of early golfers on the links playing in their tweed jackets and ties. Researching pictures for a piece on the top amateur golfers, it was striking how the early women champions played in everyday attire, even down to their shoes. Then there are periods, such as the 70s, when golfing fashion was distinct from everyday wear. It was still the era of men in dark suits going to work in offices and it seemed, consciously or otherwise, on days away from the office golfers were going to dress for a day off.

But golfing fashion is again mirroring everyday attire. I remember, sometime around the turn of the century, playing with a teenager who got thrown of the golf course for wearing trainers. Nowadays many golf shoes look like trainers, and a marshal won’t be able to spot who is wearing trainers or not. Or indeed how to determine where the line between trainers stopping and a golf shoe starting is.

Thus it was always inevitable that golf clothing manufacturers would start making golf hoodies and what they make the pros wear, either from choice or from the requirement of their clothing sponsorship. This it is that we have seen hoodies worn at top pro tournaments. There was quite a stir when Tyrrell Hatton won the European Tour’s PGA Championship wearing a hoodie in 2020. It was perhaps unfortunate that it was Hatton, as he is not always reknown for perfect behaviour on the golf course. Some clubs were keen to make it known that hoodies were not welcome on their courses; other clubs equally keen to say they were.

That is very much where the issue still stands.