Jeans at a country club

[gato_plomo]

I just joined a private club. It's fairly laid back but does still have a dress code. I was wondering, would it look bad if I wear jeans to the club and then change clothes in my locker? I'm an engineer and work in manufacturing, so we wear jeans at work. Is this fairly normal?

[nsxguy]

9 minutes ago, gato_plomo said:

I just joined a private club. It's fairly laid back but does still have a dress code. I was wondering, would it look bad if I wear jeans to the club and then change clothes in my locker? I'm an engineer and work in manufacturing, so we wear jeans at work. Is this fairly normal?

 

No idea, but if you don't want to just come out and ask a member there, wear some nice slacks to the club and look around.

 

That should give you an idea.

[North Butte]

18 minutes ago, gato_plomo said:

I just joined a private club. It's fairly laid back but does still have a dress code. I was wondering, would it look bad if I wear jeans to the club and then change clothes in my locker? I'm an engineer and work in manufacturing, so we wear jeans at work. Is this fairly normal?

That sort of thing is so particular to a specific club, you're not going to be able to get a useful answer asking as a general question. If it were me, I'd ask the head pro, general manager or whoever is there on a day-to-day basis enforcing things like dress code.

 

You could ask one of the members instead but in my experience, you're likely to hear that one member's opinion rather than the actual de facto rules of the club!

 

I've played a private, member owned clubs where everyone in the clubhouse seems to dress better than I did at my wedding (OK, slight exaggeration maybe) and at others where things like jeans or tee shirts were acceptable. It all depends on your club, specifically.

[bluedot]

You need to ask the club’s GM about this.  I’d be a bit surprised if a club that you describe as “laid back” objected to a member wearing a pair of jeans in good condition from the parking lot to the locker room.  
 

That said, the reason that a lot of club dress codes just flat ban denim is because the range of possibilities for the condition denim comes in is incredibly wide; often, dress code rules are made for simplicity and objectivity.  “No denim” keeps the management from getting into non-productive hassles about which denim is and is not acceptable.  One guy comes in with jeans that are new and clean and pressed at the same time someone comes in with ancient jeans with frayed cuffs, holes in the knees, etc.  One is clearly ok, and one clearly isn’t, but try explaining that to the second guy without getting pushback.  It’s easier just to say “No denim” in the club dress code.

[mshills]

Depends on the club. You’re a member, just ask, no big deal. 
 

We allow denim in the clubhouse, not on the course, which is pretty standard. It’s a non-issue anywhere except on the internet, really. 🙂

[North Butte]

1 hour ago, mshills said:

Depends on the club. You’re a member, just ask, no big deal. 
 

We allow denim in the clubhouse, not on the course, which is pretty standard. It’s a non-issue anywhere except on the internet, really. 🙂

Or at traditional member clubs in UK. Oh, I could tell you some stories about that...

[mshills]

1 minute ago, North Butte said:

Or at traditional member clubs in UK. Oh, I could tell you some stories about that...

lol should not be an issue there either. You know in advance no denim, don’t freaking wear denim!

 

I attended an off site business meeting at a fairly stuffy club in the US a few years back. No golf, just a working session meeting in the clubhouse. One of our guys wore denim and was turned away 🤣. 

[bobfoster]

1 hour ago, mshills said:

Depends on the club. You’re a member, just ask, no big deal. 
 

We allow denim in the clubhouse, not on the course, which is pretty standard. It’s a non-issue anywhere except on the internet, really. 🙂

🤣 We do inhabit a peculiar place ...

 

[dubbelbogey]

33 minutes ago, mshills said:

 

I attended an off site business meeting at a fairly stuffy club in the US a few years back. No golf, just a working session meeting in the clubhouse. One of our guys wore denim and was turned away 🤣. 

 

Somebody goofed on that one and it wasn't the guy wearing denim (unless by odd chance he was already a member of that club.) If a business meeting is to be held at a place where the dress code is different than attire normally worn by the employees, somebody better make darn sure everybody attending is informed. I'd say most folks in the non-golfing world don't have any idea about CC dress codes and such.

[Velcade]

Change at work, if you're in manufacturing you should have access to the locker room and even the showers. 

[ChipNRun]

6 hours ago, North Butte said:

If it were me, I'd ask the head pro, general manager or whoever is there on a day-to-day basis enforcing things like dress code.

 

 

[mshills]

23 minutes ago, dubbelbogey said:

 

Somebody goofed on that one and it wasn't the guy wearing denim (unless by odd chance he was already a member of that club.) If a business meeting is to be held at a place where the dress code is different than attire normally worn by the employees, somebody better make darn sure everybody attending is informed. I'd say most folks in the non-golfing world don't have any idea about CC dress codes and such.

I know who goofed….the person in question knew better but he wanted to be Mr. Cool and Edgy and it did not work out for anyone. 

[North Butte]

I actually don't give a darn about people who give a darn about how other people dress. But I'm sure they don't give a darn about that...

[Schulzmc]

I'd second and third the advice above about asking the pro or the GM. Ask a member and you may well get their opinion. 

 

At our club jeans are fine in the clubhouse but not on the course, so it would not be an issue. But I have also visited clubs where that might have been a problem. Just ask.

[st1800e]

Often on the club website, there’s a section for Visitors and/or dress code.  Easy to look up. If it’s not there just call and ask.   

[sui generis]

Then there's the club down the road with no denim and no pickup trucks. 😉

[North Butte]

1 hour ago, sui generis said:

Then there's the club down the road with no denim and no pickup trucks. 😉

Judging from the parking lot on a typical day, if my club didn't allow pickup trucks we'd have to close up shop for lack of members.

 

In all seriousness, it's amazing how that has changed over the past decade. Used to be the parking lot was 50% cars, 30% SUV's and 20% pickups. Now it's just about 50/50 pickups versus everything else. And most of them are of the big, giant type.

 

I think the difference between a private country club and a typical public course is the public course parking lot will be full of normal sized, mostly older pickups. The country club parking lot will be full of oversized $80K shiny new pickups. Ford F350 is the new Lexus!

[Soloman1]

how about slacks that have a print that looks like jeans?

 

maybe change into a hula shirt in the pickup before going to the locker room? or just throw on a cocktail dress to cover the jeans?

 

sorry, the whole thing about dress codes at a place i’m paying to go to is, well, funny.

 

 

 

 

[bluedot]

5 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

how about slacks that have a print that looks like jeans?

 

maybe change into a hula shirt in the pickup before going to the locker room? or just throw on a cocktail dress to cover the jeans?

 

sorry, the whole thing about dress codes at a place i’m paying to go to is, well, funny.

 

 

 

 

This will be coming from a guy who taught and coached in the public schools for 40 years.  There is ALWAYS a dress code of some sort, even if it’s just shirt and shoes.  And there is a really simple way to avoid dress codes that you don’t like; don’t go there!  
 

My club doesn’t have a rule against denim, except on the golf course.  We also require collared shirts on the course.  We don’t have rules about hats in the clubhouse, or changing shoes in the parking lot, or cellphones, but I’ve been places that DO have those rule, and I never resented for a second.  It is THEIR club, nd they have every right to make rules that suit them.  

 

90% (or more!) of the clientele at a school or office or club do NOT need a dress code, or many rules at all, really.  They are going to wear the right thing and do the right thing all the time without being told.  But that other 10%…

 

Having conversations (sometimes heated!) about what you’re wearing is a colossal waste of time for a teacher, a boss, or a club GM; it has dead zero to do with the mission and function of the particular institution.  So dress codes are put in place to get rid of those discussions.

 

I suspect the OP is talking about relatively nice jeans in good condition, and that’s not a problem.  BUT that 10% is going to wear denim that is in terrible condition, with holes in the seat and the knees, frayed cuffs, etc., which is why some places go ahead and just ban denim, period. It’s just easier to make “No Denim” rule and be done with it, as opposed to a subjective, in-the-moment judgement that is likely to be unpleasant for all parties.  
 

Speaking ONLY for myself, I would never wear jeans to my club, ever, even though there’s no rule against it.  But I also ALWAYS take my hat off in the grill, and there’s no rule about that, either.  So I guess I’m one of the 90% that probably doesn’t need a dress code at all, but I get it because I spent a lot of years dealing with that 10% who couldn’t self-regulate.