The 7 Golf Traditions That Should Be Retired

Earlier this year, I wrote about how I am more of a golf traditionalist compared to my other MGS colleagues.

I’m a big fan of golf’s evolution to being more progressive but I still have a handful of traditions I never want to let go of (no matter how many commenters call me snobby or elitist).

Today is a much better day for the haters—we’re talking about the traditions that should be retired.

Despite my love of golf’s history and decorum, there are certain elements that no longer have a place in our game. They are beyond outdated at this point and it’s time to put them out to pasture.

Without further delay, here are seven golf traditions we can live without.

1. Making stroke play the default for every round

Don’t get me started here.

Stroke play has its place within golf but I just don’t understand why so many golfers treat it as the only legitimate way to play.

It’s basically the hardest way to play a very hard game. One disastrous hole can hang over an entire afternoon. Someone takes a nine, decides the round is ruined and spends the next three hours complaining about their swing.

Match play gives you a fresh contest on the next tee. Stableford provides a reason to keep chasing points. Alternate shot gives you a teammate to celebrate with.

Golf offers too many ways to compete for every round to become another tedious man versus course battle (spoiler, the course usually wins).

We should all want to try different formats to have more fun on the course.

2. A “round of golf” having to be 18 holes

Nine holes is real golf. I’m even here to defend that six holes after work or a quick three-hole loop before dinner should qualify as a round of golf.

Yet golfers frequently talk about a shorter outing as though it’s an incomplete assignment or not as satisfying based solely on the number of holes completed.

That mindset makes the game harder to fit into everyday life. If you can’t spare most of a day, you start thinking you can’t play at all.

Not all of us have a six-hour block of time to spare, man. I’m sure most of us would prefer more golf if given the option but it’s not something that is feasible for a lot of people.

I’m a big proponent of courses making shorter visits easier to book and golfers should stop apologizing for enjoying them. Short courses and reduced rates for fewer holes are two ways to make that happen.

Let’s normalize a legitimate “round of golf” being various lengths of time and number of holes played.

3. Taking hats off indoors as a test of character

I understand that some clubs have this rule and I follow it when I’m a guest. You go inside a clubhouse and you take off your hat.

But I’ve never understood why a golfer quietly wearing a hat in the clubhouse is considered less respectful than someone who removes it and then treats the staff terribly.

This concept of having to take your hat off indoors extends beyond golf. To me, this is one of those rules that is purely a tradition because someone decided it should be many years ago. There is no functional reason why having your hat on indoors should be considered disrespectful.

I believe courtesy should be measured by behavior. Be polite. Tip generously. Clean up after yourself. Be considerate of the people around you.

Those things tell me considerably more than whether I can see your sweaty hair.

Whereas other private club rules (such as no-phone zones) potentially serve a reasonable purpose, it no longer makes sense for golfers to get tapped on the shoulder every time they forget to take their hat off when walking indoors.

4. Calling them “men’s tees” and “women’s tees”

This is a pretty obvious one to me. There is nothing political about it, in my eyes.

A tee marker doesn’t know your gender. It also doesn’t know your age, ego or what you shot five years ago.

We should describe tees by color, number, animal or playing distance—whatever the case, we should then help golfers choose a set suited to their game. Forget about automatically trudging to the “men’s tees” because it’s a tradition.

A woman who hits it farther than the men in her group shouldn’t feel nudged forward. A man who would enjoy the course more from a shorter distance shouldn’t feel embarrassed about moving up.

The objective is to play an interesting course at a manageable length. Gender contributes nothing useful to that decision.

5. Hyper-specific dress codes that go beyond presentable clothing

A course can reasonably ask people to show up in clean, appropriate clothes. I think that’s totally fair.

Where courses jump the shark with dress codes is when we get into elaborate policies covering shirt collars, sock length, the number of pockets on your shorts and precisely where your shirt must end.

Clothing rules become especially frustrating when they reject something comfortable and functional simply because it doesn’t resemble what members wore decades ago. Come on, man.

While I feel comfortable in a more standard golf outfit, clubs going extremely granular on dress code is a tradition we need to shoot into the sun.

6. A hole-in-one meaning that the ace-maker has to buy drinks for everyone

I’ve written about this before, but one of golf’s most ridiculous traditions is that golfers making a hole-in-one are responsible for paying the 19th hole tab.

Huh? This is like the groom having to pay for everything at his bachelor party.

The hole-in-one tradition is to the point where golfers buy insurance for such an occasion.

Look, I don’t want to be a curmudgeon—making an ace is really cool and it’s a blast to celebrate them. It’s so unlikely (12,500-to-1 odds for mere mortals) that it’s worth making a big deal of every one. 

Enjoy that accomplishment however you want. But doesn’t it seem a little dated for a golfer to make a hole-in-one and then feel obligated to immediately open a tab? 

If anything, it should be the other way around. 

Also, not everyone drinks alcohol. We need some new traditions.

7. Giving the best charity scramble prizes to the lowest score

Well, you know my feelings on charity scrambles at this point.

A charity scramble should raise money and give people a fun day on the course. Yet we often reserve the best prizes for the team that turns in the lowest score—in a format where verifying what anyone actually shot is nearly impossible.

As I’ve written before, cheating in scrambles is a (very first-world) problem. Attaching valuable prizes to the results gives dishonest teams another reason to shave a few strokes. Meanwhile, the honest group that paid the same entry fee gets to applaud a score nobody believes.

Give the winners a trophy and bragging rights. Put the expensive prizes in a drawing open to every participant.

If the purpose is supporting a good cause, your generosity shouldn’t need to come with a 48 on the scorecard.

So those are the seven traditions I want to retire. What do you think? Let me know below in the comments.

Top Photo Caption: Jason Day writes on his scorecard. (GETTY IMAGES/Carl Recine)