Best Traditions of the Game

[William_G]

the 19th hole

[Jon Wiggett]

Is taking your hat off indoors really a golf-specific tradition? 

Not in the UK Will, it is/was normal good manners for men.

Jon

[Jason Thurman]

Is taking your hat off indoors really a golf-specific tradition? 

If you're from Toledo, the golf course is probably the only place that you've ever experienced manners. As a southerner, I don't see the same death of decorum that Ben observes among the younger generation. Sure there are a handful of sleeveless rednecks in every diner, but the civilized among us have always left it to ladies to wear hats indoors. I'm personally not a fan of clubs setting rules that enforce what should simply go without saying. I prefer to let everyone dress and behave as they see fit, and thus make it easier to identify and shun the slovenly.

At the risk of complimenting something our own Pat Mucci is associated with, I really do love Garden City's jacket and leather shoes dress code. Mostly, I love that the members embrace the quirk of wearing jackets and leather shoes with shorts and the unique culture of their club.

[Thomas Dai]

Once upon a time, over a century ago, the best player at some clubs, ie the club champion, automatically became The Captain. No longer the case. If it were a few 16 yr olds lads would have reserved car parking spaces.........to park their bikes and mopeds in!

atb

[Ben Sims]

Is taking your hat off indoors really a golf-specific tradition? 

No, absolutely not. What do people expect? A raising of the visor like the knights of old that grew into a salute over the years?

I think part of the appeal of golf for some is the pomp. But calling good dress and appearance a tradition, and then acting as if golf is a bastion of good dress and behavior is pure bull-hockey. It ignores what golf is to many of its participants. It's a game...the biggest and best tradition of golf is that it's fun to whack a ball around a field.

[BCowan]

Is taking your hat off indoors really a golf-specific tradition? 

No, absolutely not. What do people expect? A raising of the visor like the knights of old that grew into a salute over the years?

I think part of the appeal of golf for some is the pomp. But calling good dress and appearance a tradition, and then acting as if golf is a bastion of good dress and behavior is pure bull-hockey. It ignores what golf is to many of its participants. It's a game...the biggest and best tradition of golf is that it's fun to whack a ball around a field.

Pomp, really?  Bull-hockey?  It is a game of gentlemen and is suppose to represent all that is good in sport. 

[BCowan]

Is taking your hat off indoors really a golf-specific tradition? 

Good point, just hope one or a few sports maintains some principles and manners.   

[Mike_Young]

old wire faced lockers and really old "in the floor" urinals...sort of like GCGC.

[Ben Sims]

Is taking your hat off indoors really a golf-specific tradition? 

No, absolutely not. What do people expect? A raising of the visor like the knights of old that grew into a salute over the years?

I think part of the appeal of golf for some is the pomp. But calling good dress and appearance a tradition, and then acting as if golf is a bastion of good dress and behavior is pure bull-hockey. It ignores what golf is to many of its participants. It's a game...the biggest and best tradition of golf is that it's fun to whack a ball around a field.

Pomp, really?  Bull-hockey?  It is a game of gentlemen and is suppose to represent all that is good in sport. 

Ben,

It is a game that involves hitting a ball towards and into a hole, if we're being specific. The game is played by men, women, children, young, old, and all races and creeds. I think it's ridiculous of us to apply a word like "tradition" to the gentlemanly aspects of the game. Particularly as the word "gentleman" itself carries historically exclusionary connotations in many parts of the world. Draw and quarter me, but the pretense of golf as a gentleman's game is just the kind of attitude that ruins it for many of its participants.  

I like wearing clothes that fit the moment and taking my hat off indoors. That doesn't make me a gentleman and its certainly not a tradition.

That said, I do like the tradition of men's only Wednesdays at my club. 

[BCowan]

Is taking your hat off indoors really a golf-specific tradition?  

No, absolutely not. What do people expect? A raising of the visor like the knights of old that grew into a salute over the years?

I think part of the appeal of golf for some is the pomp. But calling good dress and appearance a tradition, and then acting as if golf is a bastion of good dress and behavior is pure bull-hockey. It ignores what golf is to many of its participants. It's a game...the biggest and best tradition of golf is that it's fun to whack a ball around a field.

Pomp, really?  Bull-hockey?  It is a game of gentlemen and is suppose to represent all that is good in sport.  

Ben,

It is a game that involves hitting a ball towards and into a hole, if we're being specific. The game is played by men, women, children, young, old, and all races and creeds. I think it's ridiculous of us to apply a word like "tradition" to the gentlemanly aspects of the game. Particularly as the word "gentleman" itself carries historically exclusionary connotations in many parts of the world. Draw and quarter me, but the pretense of golf as a gentleman's game is just the kind of attitude that ruins it for many of its participants.  Your definition of a gentleman is laughable at best and your using it as exclusion is nonsense as well.  I don't want people playing golf that think they are bigger than the game of golf!  You don't have to have money to have manners or class!  I see you are in favor of dumbing things down to its lowest form.

I like wearing clothes that fit the moment and taking my hat off indoors. That doesn't make me a gentleman and its certainly not a tradition.
Agree with not making you a gentleman
That said, I do like the tradition of men's only Wednesdays at my club.  that is hilarious, just like a progie.  I don't play men only clubs!  ''The game is played by men, women, children, young, old, and all races and creeds.''-- You are a beauty!  

[Mike_Young]

I love Men Only clubs and see nothing wrong with such unless they mow their Women's tees.

[Ben Sims]

Ben,

I'm glad you see the humor in my post.

Would you consider yourself a gentleman?

[BCowan]

Ben,

I'm glad you see the humor in my post.

Would you consider yourself a gentleman?

Working on it. 

[Brent Hutto]

Once again, this group conflate "rich-guy country club" with "golf". They are not the same.

[Ben Sims]

Ben,

I'm glad you see the humor in my post.

Would you consider yourself a gentleman?

Working on it. 

Then I'm sorry, your Mike Young Society application has been denied.

[Ben Sims]

Once again, this group conflate "rich-guy country club" with "golf". They are not the same.

Brent,

Outstanding words. I guess I should've called on you to make my point for me.

[BCowan]

Once again, this group conflate "rich-guy country club" with "golf". They are not the same.

   Don't play at a CC Brent.  Once again your statement misses the mark.  You prob think dressing down to play muni's is cool too.

Ben

''Then I'm sorry, your Mike Young Society application has been denied.''

 

[Brent Hutto]

I dress how I dress, it matters not where I play. I don't have any desire to dress 'down" or "up" for anyone.

Go to a "muni" some time and see how many people do the hat-and-glasses-off, hand-shaking thing on the greens. See how many of them pull their hat off when they go in the grille to get a hot dog and a beer. See how many of them are wearing "leather shoes" nowadays. The number will be very close to, if not exactly, zero.

All these "traditions" are private club traditions, not golf traditions. Millions of golfers have never used a caddie and never will. They're still playing golf.

[Brian Finn]

It's a game...the biggest and best tradition of golf is that it's fun to whack a ball around a field.

+1

Even if you love many of the other items mentioned on this thread, you must agree with this statement.

[BCowan]

I dress how I dress, it matters not where I play. I don't have any desire to dress 'down" or "up" for anyone.

Go to a "muni" some time and see how many people do the hat-and-glasses-off, hand-shaking thing on the greens. See how many of them pull their hat off when they go in the grille to get a hot dog and a beer. See how many of them are wearing "leather shoes" nowadays. The number will be very close to, if not exactly, zero.Played two muni's this year and yes i saw people taking their hat off to shake hands.  Hats in grille room are problems at many privates now.  Now you are going to extremes with leather shoes.  My Grandpa was a plumber and sported a blazer to some dinners, it is a change of culture.  I make fun of logo blazers and elitist, but doesn't mean I want to see golf turn into every other sport!

All these "traditions" are private club traditions, not golf traditions. Millions of golfers have never used a caddie and never will. They're still playing golf.That is BS, it is the culture.  Caddies don't have anything to do with it.  Caddies shouldn't be forced on anyone

[Brent Hutto]

Brian

I wouldnt dream of doing away with anything. But none of this stuff exists to be done away with...not for the vast majority of golfers. It only has value to the minority of golfers who choose to play in rarefied circles.

[BCowan]

Yeah but that's not the point of the thread. It's to celebrate these traditions - traditions you yourself have access to (and I dare say enjoy) - you're exaggerating massively in your claim of it being rarified air. Enjoy it and buy into it - you seem to be resisting something that should be cherished.

Well said Brian! 

[Mike_Young]

For me it's the pond.....hoping for the pool one day

[Garland Bayley]

Yeah but that's not the point of the thread. It's to celebrate these traditions - traditions you yourself have access to (and I dare say enjoy) - you're exaggerating massively in your claim of it being rarified air. Enjoy it and buy into it - you seem to be resisting something that should be cherished.

"that doesn't cost much - 20 quid for the lunch and a few extra for the bottle of wine"

$34 for what you deem an inexpensive lunch and you don't think it's rarified air? And what kind of swill are you drinking in that extra cost for wine so that you can keep the price down?


If hat handling is the "best" tradition of the game, why are you guys playing and patronizing this website?

Is taking you hat off in church, one of the best traditions of being religious?

IMO the best traditions of the game is playing over natural ground with quirks like blindness, steep slopes, unusual obstacles inherent in the location. The ruination is the homogenization of golf courses for medal play. The best tradition is match play, where blowups due to such quirks cost you 1/18th of the game instead of perhaps 90%

[Paul Gray]

Brent, Brian et al,

Reading through this thread I ended up concluded that you're all right.....and wrong.

Different people in different environments have different traditions. Surely that's not too hard to understand.

If Brian considers his amuse bouche, starter, sorbet, main, trou normand, cheese, dessert and an apparently cheap and cheeky little Chateau Lafite '45 to be his definition of tradition, good for him. That doesn't diminish or contradict somebody else's tradition of playing in the medal on Saturday and returning to the bar for a pint of cheap Australian lager and pained analysis of the afternoon's football results.

Jees kids, vivre la vie.