PGA tour 'good grooming' policy

[joekelly]

I read the following comments in the NYT

“Billy Horschel often turns his cap backward upon holing out at No. 18. He has pondered playing an entire round with that slacker look, even after being advised that the PGA Tour might assess a fine.”

Am i correct that the tour policy forbids backwards caps?  Does anyone know the policy wording, like a copy of the contract?  Must players accept the policy or be fined?  Fines are known to be secret in assessment and value so i suspect this kind of 'non-transparency' is extensive. RFowler wears a funny cap, as did the Swede Jenson??  Perhaps a personal statement which conforms yet stretches.

And i, secretly, suspect this asinine grooming policy, aka 'unbecoming conduct' pushes some players to tee off with 3 days of beard and some looking pretty grubby. I recall when baseball players were told to shave it off or sit for a week.  Until the players got a Union, then the whiskers grew.  And JDaly does wear long trousers and even if they belong on clowns, he obeys  the policy. I suppose even BWatson riles the bosses by using a pink shafted,  pink driver head.  How very unbecoming.

One final thought. Since BHorschel holes out at 18, the match is over, then he turns his cap. Does the PGA have influence even after the match, off the course, etc?  These guys are 'independent operators' not under contract so must have some rights, i would hope.

Here's to the 'slacker' look!!

[David in FL]

Horschel's a Florida Gator.  Heck, he was even doing the "Gator Chomp" on the 18th green.

You just can't expect any kind of class out of a background like that......

[newtogolf]

Other sports fine players when they don't conform to the dress code policies so not sure why golf would be any different.  You can express yourself, just be prepared to pay for the freedom of expression

[iacas]

I suppose even BWatson riles the bosses by using a pink shafted,  pink driver head.  How very unbecoming.

I highly doubt this. Please stop just making stuff up. What inevitably happens is that I post something like "Uhmmmm, no." to highlight that you have no evidence to back your statement up at all, and you make a rude wisecrack about how "Erik has spoken" or something.

What's your point and/or question?

As others said, every sport fines players for not conforming to an established standard dress code. Unlike those other sports… Guess what? The PGA Tour is a player-run organization. They make their own rules. They've made the rules they have because it's what's allowed them to play for a bunch of money.

If there was widespread support for playing with backwards caps, the rules would change. Simple as that.

[WUTiger]

Concerns over PGA pro on-course attire go back to the Sixties.

During the Sixties, the nation endured a decade-plus of turmoil - the Civil Rights movement, the Women's movement, the Vietnam War and related protests, and finally the Watergate Scandal which brought down the Nixon presidency. Long-haired hippies and people of color started pushing into the mainstream.

In the aftermath, corporate America looked upon the PGA Tour and the country clubs as the last bastions of oldstyle "culture and proprietry." So, you weren't going to see shorts and collarless tee shirts and beards and moustaches at PGA golf events! Breach of the on-course equivalent of button-down collars might drive away the corporate sponsors.

Today, we see the debate in whether cargo trousers or shorts, or denim, or tee shirts should be allowed on the course. Many oldline country clubs still have rules against this. A local college president got put on probation for six months by his club for having shirttail out on a hot day.

At public golf courses, it's a balancing act between being snooty and requiring some rules for attire and proper conduct. For example, I bristle when some yahoo shows up with a tee shirt containing profanity or proclaiming insulting remarks about women.

Here's a 2010 Golf Digest feature on golf course rules (including attire):

http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2010-10/rules-survey

As for the PGA tour, the grooming and beards aspect emerged as a hot topic in the mid-1970s, but I lost track of the discussion once I quit caddying.

Here's a recent feature on PGA grooming rules - long on stories, short on specific dictums:

http://golftips.golfsmith.com/pga-rules-facial-hair-20697.html

[nick1998bunker]

I have never been to a course that allows denim or a shirt with no collar.

[boogielicious]

Should the Italian Restaurant Association of America fine Billy for wearing one of their tablecloths as pants?

[Wally Fairway]

I have never been to a course that allows denim or a shirt with no collar.

Are you serious - Tiger made collerless shirts very popular a few years ago.

And to the OP, I believe it is Jesper that you were meaning to include in your original post. He wore his hat with the bill flipped up, to allow more advertising space

Also how have JD and his Loudmouth outfits not been mentioned, some of those pants look like the curtains from cheap motels.

[Golfingdad]

Are you serious - Tiger made collerless shirts very popular a few years ago.

Yeah, most places still say the same thing, but I think at this point they really mean "no tee shirts."

And to the OP, I believe it is Jesper that you were meaning to include in your original post. He wore his hat with the bill flipped up, to allow more advertising space

While I agree that Jespers is sillier, I think he was probably meaning to say Freddie Jacobsen and his goofy painters type hat.

Also how have JD and his Loudmouth outfits not been mentioned, some of those pants look like the curtains from cheap motels.

It was mentioned in the OP.

[jamo]

[lenman73]

Per-Ulrik Johansen

[nick1998bunker]

Are you serious - Tiger made collerless shirts very popular a few years ago.

Yep, I've even been denied service to my old range for having one of those fake collars. I've only played 1 fully public course if that makes any difference.

[Archie Bunker]

Years ago, PGA players were forbidden to wear sunglasses. It was said that they made them look like robots, since you couldn't see their eyes. Now they're part of "standard equipment" for most golfers.

[Kieran123]

Can't wear a hat backwards, but can look like this?

[whatwoodtigerdo]

I read the following comments in the NYT

“Billy Horschel often turns his cap backward upon holing out at No. 18. He has pondered playing an entire round with that slacker look, even after being advised that the PGA Tour might assess a fine.”

Am i correct that the tour policy forbids backwards caps?  Does anyone know the policy wording, like a copy of the contract?  Must players accept the policy or be fined?  Fines are known to be secret in assessment and value so i suspect this kind of 'non-transparency' is extensive. RFowler wears a funny cap, as did the Swede Jenson??  Perhaps a personal statement which conforms yet stretches.

And i, secretly, suspect this asinine grooming policy, aka 'unbecoming conduct' pushes some players to tee off with 3 days of beard and some looking pretty grubby. I recall when baseball players were told to shave it off or sit for a week.  Until the players got a Union, then the whiskers grew.  And JDaly does wear long trousers and even if they belong on clowns, he obeys  the policy. I suppose even BWatson riles the bosses by using a pink shafted,  pink driver head.  How very unbecoming.

One final thought. Since BHorschel holes out at 18, the match is over, then he turns his cap. Does the PGA have influence even after the match, off the course, etc?  These guys are 'independent operators' not under contract so must have some rights, i would hope.

Here's to the 'slacker' look!!

The Yankees still don't allow players to have beards.

I do find it sexist that because the LPGA allows skirts they also allow shorts but the men cannot wear shorts. I guess it's wrong way sexism though so it's cool.

[turtleback]

The Yankees still don't allow players to have beards.

I do find it sexist that because the LPGA allows skirts they also allow shorts but the men cannot wear shorts. I guess it's wrong way sexism though so it's cool.

Or maybe it is just 2 different organizations?

Anyone remember what the PGAtour did when women played in PGAtour events?  I do not.  Did they allow Annika, for example, to wear shorts?  If the tour made them wear pants then I don't see any sexism.

[Golfingdad]

The Yankees still don't allow players to have beards.

I think it's unfair that the PGA allows beards but the LPGA doesn't.  What' the heck is up with that?!?!?!

I do find it sexist that because the LPGA allows skirts they also allow shorts but the men cannot wear shorts. I guess it's wrong way sexism though so it's cool.

I don't think it's sexism, I think it's more like who-gives-a-flying-****-ism.  Seriously, other than a couple of people on this board, is there really anybody out there that has a big problem with the PGA Tour's dress code?  Sheesh.

[whatwoodtigerdo]

I think it's unfair that the PGA allows beards but the LPGA doesn't.  What' the heck is up with that?!?!?!

I don't think it's sexism, I think it's more like who-gives-a-flying-****-ism.  Seriously, other than a couple of people on this board, is there really anybody out there that has a big problem with the PGA Tour's dress code?  Sheesh.

Does the LPGA not allow beards? Can you point me to where that rule is listed. Also, the last 2 posts prove my point. If the PGA allowed short and the LPGA did not, you could bet your house there would be a huge stink about it. What if they said all the LPGA had to wear skirts? Not that I truly care what they can wear on the PGA until I make it there but it doesn't make it not sexist. Again though it's just the wrong side of sexism for certain groups to care.