What is proper ediquette when play around the grounds keepers?

[montru]

This is an ongoing argument I am having with my club, most of the grounds crew around here are Latino and don't speak English, several occasions every month I have a problem with the ground crew, on one occasion I had a guy follow me for six holes, coming right up behind us cutting the fairways, he would back off the power on the machine if he was close which wasn't too bad but to have him for six holes was a bit much.
In the end I went up to him and asked him to take a smoke break or something to give us a chance to get away from him, he said he had to finish up so no he could not.
I also asked him if he had ever been told to work the course backwards so he would encounter each group only once? again he said no he had never been told that and it was a good idea!
I called a meeting with the superintendant and the club manager/owner and they said that all their groundsmen had been trained to go backwards and basically said I was mistaken!
On another occasion I was playing in a skins game and a guy came over to trim the edges of the fairway bunker with a weed wacker, rather than wait for our group to move on he started up the weed wacker right at the top of my backswing, I yelled at him and he ignored me so I picked up the bunker rake and threw it at him, he just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

Now if I see a groundsman out in the fairway, I give at least a couple of minutes to move, if he doesn't move that makes him fair game.

[holeinon3]

The way you wrote the story it sure sounds like he was in the wrong. In my experience the greens crews don't give a crap if you're hitting, you just make sure they know you're there and they'll look out for your ball.

[meenman]

I cant remember the last time I ran into the grounds crew at my home course - they have a 1/2 hour before tee times start to get moving (local ordinance is that they can not mow before 7)

But any other course I have played, the crew will always pull off to what they think is a safe area and turn off the mower, usually with a big smile as I drive by.

[brgolf]

i know I am bucking the trend here but golf balls aimed near people can be very dangerous and so it is not a solution to see anyone as fair game if they don't behave in a certain way.

[BigTazz53]

I agree and play as you do, wave and wait for them to depart area then fire away. I've never had a problem, even had one instance where a keeper was watering the green and my tee shot was headed towards the water(pond) and he sprayed my ball to keep it from rolling in, lol. I still took my stroke but appericated keeping the ball.

[aimgator]

on the course that i play.. the grounds crew will continue to work while the golfers shoot...(until your on the green) . however i always flash them a thumbs up before shooting and wait for them to acknowlege or wave back telling us to go........

[DocWu1948]

Perhaps I read the scenario incorrectly, but if another golfer had been standing in the same place either playing an errant shot on the wrong fairway, or just screwing around with his gear for some reason, would you have hit a ball over his head?

[DaSportsGuy]

I play just about every morning and tee off around 6:30am just when the grounds crews are starting up. I've never really had a problem with any of them, but it does get kind of annoying trying to get them to notice you and vacate the green/fairway/sand traps.

In my instances, they've almost always waved me on or vacated the target zone. I wish they would just put a little protective chain or something around the top of the mowers like the range ball pickers have so you can just hit your shot without worrying about them.

[jetsknicks1]

This is an ongoing argument I am having with my club, most of the grounds crew around here are Latino and don't speak English, several occasions every month I have a problem with the ground crew, on one occasion I had a guy follow me for six holes, coming right up behind us cutting the fairways, he would back off the power on the machine if he was close which wasn't too bad but to have him for six holes was a bit much.

You threw a rake at the guy? That seems a bit harsh. He may have been a bit out of line but the guy's just trying to do his job. Plus, the fact that if a grounds crew worker doesn't move fast enough makes him "Fair game" leads me to believe the problem lies with you, not the workers.

[montru]

You threw a rake at the guy? That seems a bit harsh. He may have been a bit out of line but the guy's just trying to do his job. Plus, the fact that if a grounds crew worker doesn't move fast enough makes him "Fair game" leads me to believe the problem lies with you, not the workers.

I didn't actually throw it at him to hit him, it was just in his general direction, to actually come up to a group of players in the fairway and start up a weed wacker without any regard for the players is total disrespect of the players and the game, that is what annoyed me most of all.

Not all the crews are the same on our clubs courses (we have four) but I would say it's about 50/50, it just doesn't take much to wait a couple of minutes for the fairway to clear to work on a fairway bunker. There was one occasion when a guy was driving one of those machines that resurfaces the bunkers after a rain storm, and he refused to wait for the players to finish putting out on the green before doing the green side bunkers, I hardly think the problem is with me when you idiots like that.

[JWL1957]

I always wait on the tee box until they see me and I usually wave to let them know Im playing through. The experienced workers almost always wave back and keep working with a eye on my shot direction. No sense is causing injury to anyone.

On the other hand........ I had a jerk watering the the par 3 green while we were trying to putt out last week. We asked him twice to stop and he blew us off. I walked over and shut his water off.

[rwfastrax]

I have such a mental block about hitting a shot in someone's direction...I wouldn't do it. I'd likely blow the shot and then be pissed at everybody. Especially myself because I know I should have waited. But yeah...the courtesy should go to the golfers.

[jetsknicks1]

Just had to rant just a bit. Played this morning at a course I play often and have never had an issue with but today was very different. Teed off at 7:15 and there was a grounds crew member cutting the fairway on #1. Didn't think much of it, figured he'd be out of our way after that hole but was I ever dead wrong. Without any exageration, we were surrounded by grouds crew on every... single...hole. All morning long we had to wait on the tee box while they were mowing right up the middle of the fairway. If there wasn't somebody in the fairway, we were trying to tee off while somebody was mowing the tee box directly behind ours. In the fairway we were constantly being buzzed by tractors heading someplace or a guy mowing the rough and we also had to constantly wait to hit our approach shots because there would be somebody driving thru the bunkers, raking them or they would be mowing around the green.

Not one single time did anybody move out of the way so we could hit or even bother to turn off their machines for us. I didn't sat anything to the guys because I just figured that for some reason, they were just sent out late but it's just totally ridiculous that we couldn't play one single hole without having to deal with that stuff.

Rant over.

[MS256]

Just had to rant just a bit. Played this morning at a course I play often and have never had an issue with but today was very different. Teed off at 7:15 and there was a grounds crew member cutting the fairway on #1. Didn't think much of it, figured he'd be out of our way after that hole but was I ever dead wrong. Without any exageration, we were surrounded by grouds crew on every... single...hole. All morning long we had to wait on the tee box while they were mowing right up the middle of the fairway. If there wasn't somebody in the fairway, we were trying to tee off while somebody was mowing the tee box directly behind ours. In the fairway we were constantly being buzzed by tractors heading someplace or a guy mowing the rough and we also had to constantly wait to hit our approach shots because there would be somebody driving thru the bunkers, raking them or they would be mowing around the green.

Not one single time did anybody move out of the way so we could hit or even bother to turn off their machines for us. I didn't sat anything to the guys because I just figured that for some reason, they were just sent out late but it's just totally ridiculous that we couldn't play one single hole without having to deal with that stuff.

Rant over.

As the grounds crew (of one) representative: I do everything I can do to try to stay out of the way of golfers. Sometimes we even put off mowing until another time if we can when the course is crowded.

If there are players on a hole and an empty hole not yet mowed I can usually work around them. I am constantly keeping track of where the golfers are on the course so I can use a strategy for mowing around them. If there is no other choice (like maybe I'm on the last hole that has to be mowed) I pull off to the side until they hit their shots.

That said, the course has to be mowed and if a golfer is annoyed by the sound of my tractor as I am mowing a place that's not in their line of play all I can say is that they should have played at a different time. The golfer that's annoyed by the sound of my tractor is the golfer that's going to be the first to complain that the course wasn't mowed.

The weather also figures into any strategy we have on how to get the course mowed. if it has been raining for a week and it looks like the only possible window to mow there is no choice but to work around golfers as best as we can. We've never had a problem that I know about.

[wils5150]

Toss a rake at one of my guys or shut the water off when he is syringing and you will be escorted off the course never to return no questions asked.  If you don't want to be around the maint. crew don't tee off really early. sounds harsh I know. Sadly on a public course that gets a fair amount of play you can't shut the mower off and keep waiting. If you do you turn a 3 hour job into a six hour one. I get my guys out the door 1.5 hours before the first tee time and unless there are a few fast playing singles they rarely get caught by golfers. My guys will wave a golfer up when they move to a safe area. seems to work out for both parties. I have run into a few dick head golfers to which I say finish your 9 holes and tell the pro the superintendent  said to refund your money for the back 9. its amazing when you tell a golfer that how friendly they become lol. I little understanding by the grounds crew and golfers seems to go a long way in my book. If it really upsets you that the crew is working to close your other option is to pony up the money and join a private club with a big budget.

[David in FL]

This is an awfully old thread, but it's still worth noting......  I think there are far too many golfers who need to toughen up a little mentally and learn to play with some outside distractions.  I can't imagine being so bothered that I couldn't putt with someone syringing the green around me.

As long as a maintenance crew isn't in physical danger of being hit by your ball, play on.

[wils5150]

amen to that Dave

[guiseppe]

If it really upsets you that the crew is working to close your other option is to pony up the money and join a private club with a big budget.

If you expect to be treated like royalty with the help bowing out of your way as you pass, you have pay for it.

I love playing first thing in the morning, but I expect the grounds crew to be out there.  When they are in my way and see me, they will waive me on and I don't hit until they do.  I don't expect them to stop working, and I tell them so.