By Harvey Silverman, Contributor, Golf Business | Silverback Golf Marketing
I make it a practice to visit and tour a golf course when I take them on as a marketing client. Seeing the course in action and observing and meeting the people who play it gives me a sense of the course’s personality, which helps me develop the tone of marketing messages and the structure of marketing programs. One size never fits all.
As General Manager Kevin Coombs, PGA, took me on a tour of the now defunct Green Mountain Golf Course near Vancouver, WA, years ago on a warm summer day, I noticed golfers dressed more for comfort than for style. Lots of denim, cutoff shorts, men in tee and sleeveless shirts, and hats worn backward prompted me to ask, “Kevin, do you have a dress code?” He responded, “Yes. Stay dressed!” That attitude fit Green Mountain’s personality perfectly, if not humorously. Kevin admitted he had yet to implore a golfer to put their clothes back on – but why take a chance? In fact, “Stay dressed” might be Topgolf’s dress code, given some of the videos on social media.
Jay Karen and Don Rea’s recent Golf Business LIVE conversation with new NGF CEO Greg Nathan veered into how golf will keep its new customers and continue to add new ones when so many barriers to entry still exist. One of these is the ubiquitous “dress code,” a term I’ve always despised because of its military-type connotation. It creates the vision of golfers lined up at the first tee and inspected by a drill sergeant-like staff member, eyeing each played head to toe and barking, “Tuck in that shirt,” “Straighten that hat,” “Turn in those jeans for a pair of pants you can buy in the golf shop.” Follow the code, or go home.
Removing this barrier is incredibly easy. Words matter. Let’s call it “attire preferences” or “appearance preferences.” Restaurants use a variety of preferred attire terms to maintain a certain appearance of their clientele, including “casual,” business casual,” “smart casual,” “upscale casual,” “resort casual,” “cocktail," and “formal.” I went to a restaurant in Las Vegas during TechCon that asked for “business elegant.” I have no idea what that means unless it’s James Bond going out in his white dinner jacket and black tie.
But I think if golf courses asked for “golf attire preferred,” most people would understand. Those who don’t could Google for images or watch a few minutes of pro golf on TV. Golf attire has become very cool with everything from staid country club apparel to, oh my god, cargo shorts, hoodies, and hip-hop-styled brands. They’ll all be at the PGA show and displayed prominently online and in retail stores like Nordstrom, Macy’s, and others. They wouldn’t be there if people didn’t like wearing them.
The casualization of wardrobes and appearances has been happening for a while. The trend originated from Hawaii’s mid-century custom of Aloha Friday, which slowly spread to California (of course), continuing around the globe until the 1990s when it became known as Casual Friday. (Wikipedia)
Don’t get me wrong – I like looking nice when I play golf, and I think most other golfers do, too. Private clubs will likely always have dress codes to maintain a sense of decorum and dignity. But those aren’t the places where new golfers first appear, and instead, they find dress codes as a stiff arm by the industry that thought they didn’t belong, even at the local muni.
I think golf can succeed with sartorial preferences being suggestive rather than demanding. We can and should forbid things like tee shirts printed with hateful or suggestive language. But rather than trying to impose one’s will with a “code” that turns your staff into the wardrobe police, let’s update the terminology and remove this barrier by using the words of the Beatles, “let it be.” Or Fernando Lamas, “It’s better to look good than to feel good.”