Is the golf rule “hats off in the clubhouse” still in effect? As the Etiquetteist comments

Austin resident Tyler writes:

Here, we have a millennial. Is it still mandatory for me to wear a hat inside the clubhouse? It’s such a strict regulation.

To Tyler, please:

I applaud you (see what I did there?) for bringing up your generation since age plays a significant role in this conversation.

The Etiquetteist’s early years in the Middle Ages, when knights would take off their helmets to identify themselves, is at least as old as the tradition of taking off one’s hat indoors. For almost as long, golfers have made the same gestures of respect with their headgear at the clubhouse.

You are by no means the first whippersnapper to rail against a practice that, a generation or so ago, very few in the golf world would have questioned. Of course, what one age considers “respectful” is another’s “stuffy.” The times have evolved. The game is experiencing an unprecedented boom, and the gap between traditionalists and non-traditionalists is wider than ever. This is demonstrated by everything from arguments over LIV to disagreements over dress codes and the appropriateness of music on the course, all of which occurred more than 40 years after “Caddyshack” made light of the conflict between “snobs” and “slobs.” Many of the fault lines are generational in nature, even though they don’t all follow age trends. Think of it as the Okay, Boomer crowd vs the Centrum Silver set. That is, the more likely you are to think the hats-off rule is dumb, the younger you are.

Although you have the right to that opinion, you aren’t always free to act how you like. You couldn’t get five steps inside most clubhouses in other key golf markets, such the UK, Ireland, and Australia, without someone slapping you off. or at the very least confronting you. The conformity is less strict here in the U.S., where independence that doesn’t trample on others is the closest thing we have to a global religion. However, it’s a good idea to take off your hat inside of a private club. (Apart from those blatantly sloppy, ultramodern exclusive clubs where nobody bats an eye when golfers play without shirts or shoes and with their Bluetooth speakers blasting nonstop.)

A public course gives you greater flexibility. You also have the right to keep your hat on unless specifically prohibited by the written rules.

it implies that not everyone will find it appealing.

You never know when a silver-haired Judge Smails-type person might come up to you and politely request that you take off your headgear. The Etiquetteist advises that you comply in that situation. Being courteous is equally simple. When you’re older, in the future, you can set the guidelines. In the interim, don a cap head. It won’t damage your reputation. No one will upload it on Instagram as phones aren’t permitted either.