I must tell you about the fun Golf Monthly shoot last week at West Hill Golf Club in Surrey. Fortunately, it was a glorious sunny day, which was great as we had to take lots of pics. The idea was to create a bank of images that we can all use when we cover various subjects such as clubhouse rules, etiquette, dress code etc. So often we end up searching through image banks only to find cheesy, out-of-date pics that don’t really make the cut.

Now, I’m not saying that some of our pics won’t be considered as cheesy! It was my job to take a pillow and a sheet so my colleague Sam could lay on the 1st tee cosily covered up as a humorous way to illustrate slow play. In the clubhouse we all wore caps, we had a punch up on the tee, looked for balls in the rough, changed shoes in the car park… you get the idea. The funniest pic was the guys teeing up wearing jeans and football shirts. They were like two naughty schoolboys. I’m not saying that we agree with an ultra-casual dress code, but it’s a subject that crops up time and time again, and it was amusing to see the members’ faces, given that West Hill is a very traditional golf club!

Of course, this got me thinking about the incredible number of rules and situations golfers can find themselves in, and for new golfers, this must be a complete nightmare! New golfers certainly need someone to take them under their wing to explain all the dos and don’ts.

Golf is steeped in tradition, I’m sure far more than most other sports. For example, just think of all the young men (and some women) that wear caps nowadays in their day-to-day life. They probably have no idea about the tradition of removing headwear indoors as a gesture of respect, which is a rule that is still upheld in most golf clubhouses.

I still have to think twice about wearing jeans to socialise at the golf club because the no-jeans rule was in place for so long that somehow wearing them makes me feel as though I’m doing something really naughty! The other problem is that some clubs have relaxed some of their rules, while others haven’t, so if you’re a visitor you have to be prepared to cover all bases as far as dress code is concerned.

Personally, while I believe it’s important to uphold traditions, when it comes to golf, some of them are outdated and all they do is confirm the perception that golf is elitist and exclusive, which doesn’t help to encourage widespread interest and participation. Carly Cummins makes some very good points in this article here on the subject of tradition versus elitism.

 Anyway, don’t break any clubhouse or on-course rules this week!

Alison Root

Women's Editor, Golf Monthly