Old Course Dress Code: What to Wear at St Andrews

The Old Course at St Andrews has a dress code, and it's enforced. The starter at the first tee will check your attire before you begin. Getting this wrong after winning a ballot place — or after travelling thousands of miles — is a miserable way to spend a morning. Here's exactly what's required.

What you must wear

Upper body

• Collared golf shirt — a polo shirt or similar. Crew-neck T-shirts are not permitted, regardless of brand or material.
• Turtlenecks / roll-necks — permitted as a base layer in cold weather, but an outer collared layer should be visible.
• Waterproof jacket — worn over a collared shirt is fine. The collar must be visible at the neck.

Lower body

• Golf trousers — tailored golf trousers (not jeans, not tracksuit bottoms, not jogging bottoms, not cargo trousers)
• Golf shorts — tailored golf shorts in a similar style are permitted. Not denim cutoffs, not basketball shorts, not swimming shorts.

Footwear

• Golf shoes mandatory — soft spike or spikeless golf shoes. Metal spikes are prohibited.
• Clean trainers — some courses accept clean, flat-soled trainers. The Old Course requires proper golf shoes. Do not assume trainers will pass.

What is not permitted

• Jeans of any colour
• Round-neck T-shirts (including branded sports T-shirts)
• Tracksuits, joggers, or athletic bottoms
• Cargo shorts or combat trousers
• Football strips or replica shirts
• Swimwear of any kind
• Metal-spiked shoes

The clubhouse and R&A

The St Andrews Links Clubhouse has its own dress requirements for the restaurant and bar, which are slightly more formal:

• Golf attire acceptable in the café / spike bar
• Smart casual required in the formal dining room — collar, trousers (not shorts), ideally a jacket
• No hats indoors — a convention observed in most traditional Scottish golf clubs

The R&A clubhouse (separate from the Links Trust facilities) has very traditional dress standards. If you're invited into the R&A, jacket and tie are the expectation.

Practical preparation

If you're flying from the USA or elsewhere and unfamiliar with UK golf attire expectations, the golden rule is: dress like you're going to a smart-casual event, not a gym. Golf brands (Ping, FootJoy, Peter Millar, Adidas Golf) all make collared shirts and tailored trousers that are unambiguously acceptable.

What to buy if you're caught out: St Andrews town has several golf shops — the Links Clubhouse pro shop and several independent shops on Golf Place and South Street — where you can buy appropriate attire on the day. It's not ideal, but it's better than being turned away.

One final note

The dress code applies equally to caddies and scorers in competition play but is also enforced for ballot players, advance booking players, and walk-up singles. There is no exception for "I've come a long way" or "it's my birthday." The starter has heard both.

Dress appropriately, arrive a few minutes early, enjoy the most famous first tee in the world.