{"id":413620,"date":"2026-01-16T18:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413620\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T18:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:02:15","slug":"i-dont-understand-why-i-cant-wear-a-hat-in-the-clubhouse-who-does-it-actually-offend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413620\/","title":{"rendered":"I Don\u2019t Understand Why I Can\u2019t Wear A Hat In The Clubhouse\u2026 Who Does It Actually Offend?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Golf has to be the most divisive sport in existence. I\u2019m not sure whether that\u2019s a product of opinionated and sometimes pedantic players or the fact so many areas of the game are highly subjective \u2013 the World Handicap System<\/a>, etiquette<\/a>, rules<\/a>, slow play<\/a>, modernisation versus tradition, course preparation, visitor status and so on.<\/p>\n

But arguably the most polarising aspect is clothing and apparel. Several facilities \u2013 like Bristol Golf Club and Anders Mankert\u2019s <\/a>Leicester Golf Centre \u2013 have removed the requirement to follow any sort of code, opting instead for a do-as-you-please approach that\u2019s perceived to be more inclusive.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Some people, like Golf Monthly editor Neil Tappin, have argued for the removal of dress codes altogether<\/a>, while others, like our Secret Club Golfer, believe that would be a big mistake<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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I definitely come down in support of the latter. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s too much to ask people to respect the traditions of the game and dress a certain way. I\u2019m also wary of pandering too much to the younger generation and lowering standards in the process.<\/p>\n

That said, I find some clubs\u2019 requirement to remove your cap inside absolutely baffling. I just can\u2019t get my head around it at all. Aside from muddy shoes, which I completely understand, why should there be a difference between what\u2019s deemed acceptable to wear inside and outside? It\u2019s bizarre.<\/p>\n

I appreciate other views are available, though, so please leave a comment in the box below the article if you disagree (or agree!).<\/p>\n

\n

\"Sam\n<\/p>\n

I’m not advocating for football hats and jeans<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Kevin Murray)<\/p>\n

‘Outdated and irrelevant’ <\/p>\n

Clearly I\u2019m not suggesting you should be allowed to wear a hat inside if it\u2019s a formal occasion or the dress code is specifically jacket and tie (as much as I don\u2019t like dressing up formally, I understand it\u2019s traditional and some people do). But you should be able to keep your hat on if you\u2019re enjoying a post-round pint or some lunch after coming off the course.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer\u2019s guides from our team of experienced experts.<\/p>\n

I did some research on why you shouldn\u2019t wear a hat inside and the following five themes came up time and time again: showing respect to superiors, military tradition, religious significance, cleanliness and indicating you\u2019re not about to leave, akin to sitting with a coat on. I don\u2019t really see how any of them apply to a golf club setting.<\/p>\n

Everyone is equal, so I\u2019m not about to start taking my hat off and bowing down to the secretary. I\u2019m not in the military and I\u2019m not religious. I\u2019m not sure I follow the cleanliness reasoning (more later) and I\u2019m a paying customer, I\u2019ll leave when I want. All the reasons seem extremely outdated to me.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think wearing a hat inside compromises standards, and if I\u2019m playing at a place that does, I probably won\u2019t be returning anytime soon. And what about wooly hats? If I\u2019ve come off the course on a very cold day, I want to keep it on until I\u2019ve warmed up properly.<\/p>\n

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While wooly hats are seen as more practical, caps are often associated with messiness and casual dress (even though they also have practical use). Again, I think that\u2019s outdated. Lots of golfers \u2013 especially those in the younger generation \u2013 see them as a key accessory and put effort into colour matching with their outfit.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not just pulling a creased, random hat out of their bag and sticking it on their head. Most people are more fashion-conscious these days and plenty put a good deal of thought into their choice of headwear.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not frowned upon to wear a cap in a cafe, pub or bar \u2013 places where frequenters eat and drink \u2013 so why should it be in a golf clubhouse, where they\u2019re doing exactly the same thing?<\/p>\n

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\"golf\n<\/p>\n

Golf fashion has evolved since the early days<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a practicality issue. If you\u2019re just popping in for a quick post-round pint, where does your hat go? Balanced on top of your driver or squashed into a pocket in your golf bag?<\/p>\n

If you take it off inside, it often ends up on a table, which doesn\u2019t feel overly hygienic to me. Some people are also conscious of having messy \u2018hat hair\u2019 and would prefer the simplicity of keeping it covered.<\/p>\n

And who does it really bother? If you\u2019re someone who gets offended or riled when someone wears a cap inside, I\u2019d suggest you\u2019re a much bigger problem than the person who keeps their hat on. I\u2019d urge any club that mandates a removal of headwear for a casual drink or lunch in the clubhouse to reconsider.<\/p>\n

As far as I see it, there should be absolutely no judgement whatsoever for wearing a cap inside. It\u2019s not 1950 and there\u2019s nothing wrong with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Golf has to be the most divisive sport in existence. I\u2019m not sure whether that\u2019s a product of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-413620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}