A new policy will take effect this weekend on the LPGA, a crackdown on “plunging necklines” (how plungy?) and exposed “bottom areas” (how bottomy?). Last September I wrote a blog post about this very topic, so my feelings are pretty clear. At the time I believed we as golfers were moving into more progressive territory and that we should continue this trend, so as not to look foolish to future generations who would have to google “golf” because it died out due to excess stuffiness.

Unfortunately, LPGA President Vicki Goetze-Ackerman decided to release this chastising memo to female players with these embarrassingly vague yet CAPITALIZED-FOR-EMPHASIS guidelines (via vox.com):

Racerback with a mock or regular collar are allowed (no collar = no racerback)

Plunging necklines are NOT allowed.

Leggings, unless under a skort or shorts, are NOT allowed

Length of skirt, skort, and shorts MUST be long enough to not see your bottom area (even if covered by under shorts) at any time, standing or bent over.

Appropriate attire should be worn to pro-am parties. You should be dressing yourself to present a professional image. Unless otherwise told “no,” golf clothes are acceptable. Dressy jeans are allowed, but cut-offs or jeans with holes are NOT allowed.

Workout gear and jeans (all colors) NOT allowed inside the ropes

Joggers are NOT allowed

Anyone else feel like a school kid again? I wanted to scope out the LPGA President to see how much she resembled a middle-school principal, and to my delight, among a litany of photos of a blonde-bobbed power-mom, an interesting tweet came up. This is a photo of a keen golfer by the name of Vicki Goetze (Ackerman), who is noticeably in bright clothing and astonishingly NOT in a collared t-shirt! Those even might be ‘mom jeans‘ by the look of ’em.

Today in 1990, Vicki Goetze (Ackerman) won her 3rd @JuniorPGAChamp. Today, she's LPGA Player President/ Prof. Dev. pic.twitter.com/vURU5h9PqE — Bob Denney (@pgahistorybug) August 24, 2016

Oh and here’s another snap from Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Vicki “Casual” Goetze SANS COLLAR.

Yeah, I guess things were different in the 80s. It was such a wild time of side ponytails and baggy-as-hell clothing. But if professionalism is your argument, let’s be honest – the baggy tucked in look is a tad more unprofessional than well-fitting racerbacks and shorts that don’t go past your knees.

So let’s just cool it on the regulation train and do what I (and many more) have suggested all along – let women dress how they want on the golf course. We’re not kids anymore.