What Men Should Wear to Play Golf at Erin Hills
Erin Hills hands you the whole day on your own two feet, so whatever you put on in the parking lot you are responsible for over 7,735 yards from the back tees, with a caddie or your own bag on your shoulder and no cart basket to dump a layer into. The dress code itself is short and easy to clear. A golf shirt with a collar is required, and the course counts three collars as acceptable: a traditional collar, a raised crew neck, or a mock turtleneck. Denim is not permitted, in any wash or any cut. Gym shorts, halter tops and metal spikes are not permitted. Shorts must be Bermuda length. Cargo shorts, cargo pants and tennis shoes are listed as not preferred rather than banned. A baseball cap has to be worn with the bill facing forward. That is the entire rule. The part that actually decides what you pack is the other policy on the same page: Erin Hills is walking only, outside caddies and pull carts are not allowed, so every layer you take off at the turn is a layer you carry to the eighteenth.
Wear a collared golf shirt, golf trousers or Bermuda length shorts, and soft spike golf shoes. Bring one wind layer you can swing in and keep on. Nothing denim, nothing labeled gym, nothing with metal in the sole, and nothing you will resent carrying for four hours.
What the policy requires
A golf shirt with a collar, counted as a traditional collar, a raised crew neck or a mock turtleneck. Shorts at Bermuda length. A baseball cap worn bill forward. A neat appearance in clothing and grooming.
What the policy prohibits
Denim, gym shorts, halter tops and metal spikes. Cargo shorts, cargo pants and tennis shoes sit one step down, listed by the course as not preferred rather than forbidden.
Convention, not policy
The published rules say nothing about a required jacket, nothing about an inseam measured in inches, and nothing about sock length. Those are habits other golfers carry, not things the course asks of you.
Here is the rule in the course's own words, from its published FAQ page: "Players shall present a neat appearance in both clothing and personal grooming. Clothing worn by guests should be consistent with currently accepted golf fashion." The rules and policies page puts the same idea in harder terms, stating that appropriate golf attire includes a collared golf shirt and no denim jeans, and that metal spikes are not permitted. Two pages, one answer. Collar on, denim off, soft spikes underneath.
Because there is no cart, every layer you take off you carry to the eighteenth
Pack the fewest pieces that cover the widest range, not the most pieces you can think of. Erin Hills has been walking only since 2010 and has no paved cart paths, and its own FAQ states it plainly: "Erin Hills is walking only. We highly recommend using one of our professional caddies or you may decide to carry your own clubs. Outside caddies and pull-carts are not allowed." On a cart course a shed layer goes in the basket and stops existing. Here it goes around your waist, into an already full bag, or onto a caddie who is doing enough already. That single fact should change your packing list more than the dress code does.
So the test for every piece is not warmth. It is this: can I keep it on and still swing, and if I take it off, is it small enough that carrying it costs me nothing? Two pieces pass that test easily. A quarter zip you can leave on through the first eight holes, and a vest that never has a sleeve to fight in the first place. If you want the sizing logic behind either, we covered how long a polo should be and where a sleeve should end in their own posts.
$76
The dress code is written about one garment, and this is that garment. The David has a firm collar that holds a point instead of folding over itself by the fourth hole, which matters more on a walking round where nobody is going to hand you a mirror. It is 84 percent nylon and 16 percent spandex with four way stretch and sweat wicking, cut in a classic athletic fit with a U cut hem and pre shrunk. Navy reads correctly against fescue and stays quiet under a layer.
$98
A seven o'clock tee time in October starts close to the overnight low, and the wind at that hour is already moving. This is the piece you start in. The quarter zip opening is the whole point: you regulate with the zipper for eight holes instead of taking anything off, and when it finally does come off it rolls into a bag pocket rather than riding on your arm. Blue sits under navy or over it without argument.
Once you know what October actually does out there, you can pack less
Plan for an afternoon in the fifties or the low sixties with steady wind, not for a cold snap. The course sits about 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee at roughly 1,000 feet of elevation, about 400 feet above Lake Michigan to the east, on open ground with fine fescue fairways and bent grass greens. It plays as a par 72 at 7,735 yards from the back, designed by Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten, opened in 2006, renovated by Dana Fry and Jason Straka in 2015, and it has held the 2011 U.S. Amateur and the 2017 U.S. Open. The season runs May through October, so an October tee time is the last of it.
Elevation
1,000 ft
About 400 feet higher than Lake Michigan to the east, on open ground rather than in trees.
October highs
65F to 52F
Daily highs decrease by 13F across the month, so a late October afternoon is a jacket afternoon.
October lows
46F to 36F
Daily lows decrease by 10F across the month. An early tee time starts near this number.
October wind
10.7 to 11.6 mph
Average hourly wind rises through the month, out of the south October 1 to 3 and the west October 3 to 31.
Climate figures are for Hartford, Wisconsin, the nearest town the Weather Spark record covers, about eight miles from the course, not for the course itself. Course details are from the GolfPass course page.
That wind number is the one to sit with. It is more than twice the October average we quoted for the October round at The Greenbrier, and unlike that course this one has no tree line doing any work for you. Fescue on open ground in an eleven mile an hour crosswind is a different dressing problem. It is not really about temperature. It is about the wind pulling heat off your chest and arms for four straight hours while you walk into it.
A cart course lets you own four layers. A walking course only lets you own the ones you are still willing to carry on the fourteenth.
On packing for a walking round
When you read the policy at the bag drop, three sentences do all the work
Every line in the published dress code has a plain consequence, and none of them are hard to meet. The table below puts the course's own language next to what it means on the morning and what to actually do about it. Nothing in it is interpretation of a rule that does not exist.
| What the policy says | What that means at the bag drop | What to do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Appropriate golf attire includes a collared golf shirt and no denim jeans. | The shirt is the only garment anyone will actually look at. | Wear a polo whose collar still stands after a season of washing. If yours does not, read why polo collars curl. |
| No denim permitted. | Dark denim does not pass because it is dark. It is still denim. | Golf trousers, or Bermuda length shorts. Leave the jeans in the car for the drive home. |
| Shorts must be Bermuda length. | Bermuda length is the standard golf short. Gym shorts are named and excluded. | If your tee time sits near the October low, wear pants instead and skip the decision. |
| Metal spikes are not permitted. | Soft spikes only, and you will be standing on them for 7,735 yards. | Turn a shoe over tonight. Tennis shoes are not prohibited, but they are listed as not preferred. |
| Cargo shorts and cargo pants are not preferred. | Not preferred is not banned, but it is still the course telling you something. | Plain front, plain pocket, no flaps. It costs you nothing. |
| Baseball caps must be worn with the bill facing forward. | Exactly what it says, all round, no exceptions written in. | Forward on the property. Do what you like in the parking lot. |
| Erin Hills is walking only. Outside caddies and pull carts are not allowed. | There is no basket. Every layer you remove becomes cargo. | Two layers you can keep on, one that packs down to nothing. |
Since the wind runs steady out of the west, cover the core and leave the sleeves out of it
A vest is the correct outer layer on a walking course, and it is not a compromise. Wind pulls heat off your chest and back faster than it does off your forearms, so a vest buys you most of the warmth of a jacket for a fraction of the bulk. More to the point on this property: it is the layer you never have to take off. There is no sleeve to bind at the top of the backswing, no cuff riding over a watch, nothing to argue with on a full shoulder turn. And on the one warm October afternoon where you do want it off, a vest is the smallest thing in the bag.
$78
The layer you keep on through the swing. It covers the core against a steady west wind without adding a sleeve you have to fight, and it is the least bulky thing you will carry if it does come off at the turn. On a course with no cart basket, that second sentence is the whole argument. Black under a navy collar is the least fussy combination in golf.
The layer that stays on
Until you are off the property, the collar rule covers the practice areas too
A hoodie is a drive and a parking lot piece here, not a golf shirt, and not a range shirt either. The rules and policies page says appropriate golf attire shall be worn at all times while on the golf course or practice areas, and appropriate attire is defined as including a collared golf shirt. So the hoodie does the ninety minutes before you check in, the walk from the car, and the cold end of the drive home. It comes off before you hit a ball, not after. We are stating that plainly because plenty of guides get it wrong and tell men the range is a free zone. At this course it is not.
$98
For the drive up, the coffee, and the hour before you check in. Not for the course and not for the practice green, because the published dress code requires a collar on the golf course and the practice areas alike. Beige is the quiet one, which is what you want in a piece whose entire job is happening before anyone is watching you swing.
Drive and parking lot only
After eighteen holes on foot, the piece you want is the one that never went in the bag
Leave a clean crew in the car and thank yourself at the clubhouse. You will have walked a long way in a shirt that has been working, and the fastest way to feel human again is a dry layer that owes the dress code nothing. The Alec Crew in black is the right shape for that job, and the reason we are not putting it in a card here is that it is not a round piece. It is a clubhouse piece and a drive home piece. Buy it for the parking lot, not the first tee. If you want the same thinking applied to a warmer, wetter course, the Harbour Town guide works the opposite problem.
Before you book the next one, settle the shirt supply
Two collared shirts in rotation is the minimum for a golf season, three if you play weekly. Everything in this guide lives in the polo collection or the layers collection, and both are built on the same idea: a small number of pieces that hold their shape, in colors that do not date. PILLAR also builds decorated and fully custom apparel for teams and clubs. Logo embroidery on stock polos runs about 14 days, which from today lands Thursday October 8, 2026. Full custom built from the fabric up runs about 45 days door to door, with production alone at 30 to 35 days, landing Sunday November 8, 2026. We quote against the garment, the decoration, the quantity and the date rather than publishing a program price. PILLAR has produced for AO, the WM Phoenix Open and Progressive Roofing.
What is the dress code at Erin Hills?
Erin Hills requires a golf shirt with a collar, counted as a traditional collar, a raised crew neck or a mock turtleneck. Denim, gym shorts, halter tops and metal spikes are not permitted. Shorts must be Bermuda length. Cargo shorts, cargo pants and tennis shoes are listed as not preferred. Baseball caps must be worn with the bill facing forward. The course also asks that players present a neat appearance in both clothing and personal grooming.
Can you wear jeans at Erin Hills?
No. The course's published rules state that appropriate golf attire includes a collared golf shirt and no denim jeans, and its FAQ lists denim among the items that are not permitted. Wash and color make no difference. Wear golf trousers or Bermuda length shorts instead.
Does Erin Hills allow shorts?
Yes, shorts are allowed and must be Bermuda length. Gym shorts are named as not permitted, and cargo shorts are listed as not preferred. The published policy does not state an inseam measurement in inches, so anything sold as a golf short in Bermuda length is fine.
Are metal spikes allowed at Erin Hills?
No. Both the FAQ and the rules and policies page state that metal spikes are not permitted. Soft spike golf shoes are the answer. Tennis shoes are not prohibited, but the course lists them as not preferred, and you will be walking 7,735 yards in whatever you choose.
Can you wear a hoodie at Erin Hills?
Not on the course or the practice areas. The rules and policies page requires appropriate golf attire at all times on the golf course or practice areas, and defines that as including a collared golf shirt. A hoodie is fine for the drive and the parking lot, and it should come off before you hit a ball.
Is Erin Hills walking only, and can I bring a pull cart?
Erin Hills is walking only and pull carts are not allowed. The course's FAQ states that it highly recommends using one of its professional caddies, or you may decide to carry your own clubs, and that outside caddies and pull carts are not allowed. The course has been walking only since 2010 and has no paved cart paths.
What should I wear at Erin Hills in October?
A collared golf shirt, golf trousers, soft spike shoes, and one wind layer you can keep on while you swing. In Hartford, Wisconsin, the nearest town the Weather Spark record covers, October daily highs fall from 65F to 52F, daily lows fall from 46F to 36F, and average hourly wind rises from 10.7 to 11.6 miles per hour, mostly out of the west after October 3. Because there is no cart, choose two layers you can wear all day and one that packs down small.
Eighteen holes on foot, and only what you will carry
A collar that holds, a layer that stays on through the swing, and nothing you will regret carrying at the fourteenth. Decide it tonight so the only thing you are weighing at the first tee is the tee shot.
