Course Rule May Be ‘No Shirt, No Spikes, No Golf’ : Burbank: De Bell municipal course’s proposed dress code would require sleeves and proper shoes. Some call the plan elitist.

Some golfers at Burbank’s De Bell Golf Course are teed off and it has nothing to do with their handicaps. It’s the clothing sported by other golfers that they feel is not up to par.

Bikini shorts, tank tops and tattered T-shirts may soon be prohibited under a municipal golf course dress code being considered by the Burbank Parks and Recreation Board.

Although some players are offended by scanty golf attire, which they feel is inappropriate for “the gentleman’s and lady’s game,” other De Bell regulars are up in sleeveless arms over the proposal. The city attorney’s office also feels a dress code at the public facility may be off course.

Board Commissioner Gary Canfield, a veteran De Bell golfer, proposed higher fashion requirements because “a certain amount of etiquette is needed.”

“We would like for men to wear shirts, and would like everyone to wear golf shoes,” which have spikes, Canfield said. “There are some women who find it offensive when a man is not fully clothed. Even some men have complained.”

Although topless men are currently banned from the course, the rule is not vigorously enforced. Canfield has asked city staff to recommend ways to enforce the current code and has suggested a few more regulations.

Canfield insisted that it was not his intention to turn the city-operated course into an elitist facility.

“I don’t want De Bell to turn into a place where you have to wear country-club attire,” he said, adding that he is not elitist for asking golfers to wear sleeved shirts. “It just adds a little more elegance to the game for people to have the right attire.”

But at least some of the five-member board, which will consider the issue Thursday, may be swinging in the opposite direction from Canfield.

A few commissioners, including board President Edwin LaRocque, said they don’t see the need for further restrictions. They point out that the score card players receive at the course specifies that “shirts must be worn at all times everywhere on golf course.”

“I don’t understand what further restrictions we need,” Commissioner Joe Hooven said.

Officials with the Burbank city attorney’s office have also warned that a dress code at a public golf course may be interpreted by some users as discriminatory and could result in lawsuits. However, dress restrictions for safety purposes--such as sturdy shoes and sleeved shirts that protect the body from injuries and scrapes--could better withstand legal challenges, officials said.

Most De Bell regulars playing Tuesday morning said they favor a more stringent dress code.

“There’s no place on this course for half-dressed or sloppy-dressed people,” said George Carr, 75, who has been playing at De Bell for 29 years. “There should be decent golf clothes out here--not skimpy.”

Joan Coggins, who was playing with three friends, said: “If I have to wear a top, then the men should have to. I just don’t think it looks good for men to play golf without a shirt. If they want to get a tan, let them go to the beach.”

But others disagreed.

“Short shorts are OK, within reason,” said Tim O’Connor, 41, a jewelry salesman clad in a white shirt and dark slacks.

“I don’t feel a dress code is that necessary,” he added. “People just want to upgrade the status of the course. Then the green fees go up, and it’s more expensive to play.”

Jack Duffendack, 77, said the dress code should stay as is. “It’s in keeping with the times,” he said. “Lots of girls wear those short shorts. If it’s OK to wear them to the market, it’s OK to wear them here.”

Phil Scozzola, the course manager, said he agreed in theory with a more restrictive dress code at De Bell. “If I had my choice, I would probably agree with it under different circumstances,” he said. “But that’s like comparing us to Lakeside Country Club or some other private golf club. This is a blue-collar golf course. People aren’t spending $100,000 a year to belong.”

Several private Southern California golf courses require men to wear slacks and shirts with collars, he said. Shorts are sometimes prohibited. If men do not have the proper clothes, they might be asked to purchase suitable attire at the course’s pro shop, an often costly excursion. “One guy I know had to spend $125 at the course in Palm Springs when he didn’t have the right clothes,” Scozzola said.

At Lakeside Country Club in Toluca Lake, men are required to wear collared shirts, officials at the course said. Shorts may be worn, but they cannot be short shorts, they said.

City of Los Angeles-run golf courses at Hansen Dam and Griffith Park allow most attire, but men are required to wear shirts. “We don’t allow bikini shorts either, because we don’t want everything hanging out,” said one official at the Hansen Dam course, who asked not to be identified.

Lawrence LeJohn, a starter at the Griffith Park golf course, said the “shirt required” standard is not strictly enforced. “As long as people dress like they have sense, it’s all right,” he said. “Men aren’t supposed to remove their shirts, but that’s real hard to enforce once they get away from the starter’s window. As long as they’re not acting unruly, it’s all right.”