What to Wear for Golf

A collared shirt, tailored shorts or trousers, and shoes without metal spikes will get you onto essentially any golf course in the world. Everything else is preference. The three things most often turned away are denim, t-shirts and cargo shorts.

What is actually enforced

Dress codes vary from strict at private clubs to non-existent at municipal courses, but the enforced rules are remarkably consistent where they exist at all:

• A collared shirt. This is the one rule that is genuinely checked. A polo is the default; a mock-neck is accepted at most clubs now but not all. A t-shirt is the single most common reason someone is sent back to the car park.
• Tailored shorts or trousers. Flat-front, no cargo pockets, no denim, no athletic shorts. Chinos you already own are fine.
• No metal spikes. Almost universal now, because metal damages greens. Any modern golf shoe uses soft plastic spikes or a spikeless sole, so this is only a problem if you inherited shoes from the nineties.
• Shirt tucked in at many private clubs, rarely enforced at public ones.

If you are unsure about a specific course, the pro shop will tell you in one phone call and nobody will think less of you for asking. That is a far better plan than guessing.

What you probably already own

Before spending anything: chinos or plain flat-front shorts, a polo shirt of any kind, and a pair of trainers with a flat, non-marking sole will get you round a public course perfectly well for your first few rounds. Golf-specific clothing is more comfortable, not more permitted. The one genuine exception is footwear on a wet day, where a trainer's smooth sole will slide during a swing — which is a safety and a swing problem rather than a style one.

The cheapest kit that works everywhere

If you are buying from scratch, the order that gets you the most for the least is: shoes, shirt, shorts, glove, everything else. Shoes come first because they are the only garment that affects how you actually swing — a stable base is what lets you rotate against the ground instead of sliding.

1. Golf shoes. Spikeless is the value pick: grippy enough for most swings, comfortable to walk in, and wearable to the course. See best budget spikeless golf shoes.
2. Two or three polos. Wicking, with a ribbed collar. Our picks are on best golf polos for the money.
3. Two pairs of golf shorts or a pair of chinos. Flat front, tee pocket if you can get it — best golf shorts for the money.
4. A glove. Under ten dollars, and it stops the club twisting in a sweaty hand. Our glove picks.
5. A hat and sunglasses. Four hours in the sun is four hours in the sun.

Weather, which matters more than fashion

Golf is played in whatever the day gives you, and being cold or wet ruins a round faster than being unfashionable. A light waterproof jacket that packs into the bag is the single most useful weather item; a cheap one that lives in your bag beats an expensive one at home. In cold weather, layer thin — a bulky jumper will restrict your turn and cost you shots.

On hot days, the two things that make the biggest difference are a UPF-rated shirt and sunglasses that actually stay on your face when you sweat. Both are covered on best golf sunglasses.

Shorts or trousers — and when the course actually cares

Shorts are permitted at the overwhelming majority of courses, including most private clubs, and the rule that occasionally accompanies them concerns socks rather than the shorts. A handful of traditional clubs require mid-calf or above-the-ankle socks with shorts, and a small number of older clubs still prefer trousers in the clubhouse even where shorts are fine on the course.

If you own one pair of plain chinos, you are covered for every course you are likely to play in your first year. Buy golf-specific trousers when you find yourself playing in cold or wet weather often enough to want the stretch and the water resistance — not before. The shorts decision is covered in more depth on best golf shorts for the money.

Shoes: the one item worth trying on

Everything else on this page can be bought online with a size chart and a shrug. Golf shoes cannot, and it is worth saying why. You spend four hours walking in them across uneven ground, and then you load one foot hard against the ground several dozen times. A shoe that is marginally too short bruises toenails on downhill walks; one that is too wide lets your foot slide during the swing, which is both uncomfortable and a genuine loss of stability.

Golf shoes also fit differently to trainers — many run narrow, and brands are inconsistent with each other. If you can try a pair on anywhere, do; if you cannot, order from somewhere with free returns and buy your normal size plus a wide option. Our how to choose golf shoes guide covers fit and construction properly, and spiked vs spikeless answers the other question every new golfer asks.

What goes in your pockets

Small, cheap and repeatedly forgotten. A handful of tees, two or three ball markers (a coin works), a divot repair tool, a spare glove in case the first one gets soaked, and more balls than you think you need. A new golfer will lose several a round, and running out on the fourteenth is a genuinely miserable way to finish — which is the practical argument behind buying balls in bulk rather than by the dozen.

What not to buy yet

Skip golf-branded trousers, tour-replica outfits, rain trousers and anything with a tournament logo until you are certain you are staying with the game. The clothing budget of a new golfer is far better spent on a decent starter set or on lessons. Golf clothes do not lower your scores. Shoes are the only exception, and even there the value picks do the job.