RANT - etiquette!

**pjsnyc** · August 13, 2008

OK, so this actually happened this past Sunday.

It was an extremely overcast day in the Bronx, but I decided to chance it by going to the 9 hole course so that I wouldn't get pissed if I couldn't finish 18.

Sure enough, it began to rain - but not hard. There were still groups out ahead of us, but what pissed me off is what the 2-some behind us did.

A well dressed man (probably in his 40s, with his wife - also well dressed) apparently asked one of the guys I got paired up with if he could play through (we were in a group of 4). Though I didn't hear him, my playing partner told me that the 2some behind wanted to play through while we were walking the fairway after our tee shot. He said he told the guy that there are groups in front of us and that it wouldn't make any difference - so no, you can't play through.

What does he do as I'm lining up my approach? He tees off and the ball comes crashing into the tree to the right of me. WTF?!?!? It's raining, we're all trying to finish at least 9, no one said you could play through - yet you decide to hit into us?!???

After tapping in for a 4, the guy is in the trees looking for his ball that almost hit me and my playing partners. As I walk by towards the next tee I yell - 'Hey guy! Don't hit into us!'

To which he responds - 'Don't you know the rules?'

I give him a ????? face...these are my eyes - oO...and I reply 'What? Like not hitting into someone after no one said you could play through?' Ugh, just disappointing if you ask me. Whats more - we COMPLETELY LOST HIM! I mean he was probably spraying the ball all over the place! Imagine if we had let him play through only to have to play through him again?

RANT OVER - I ended up playing my finest round ever - 10 pars, 5 bogeys, 2 doubles, and 1 triple. Glad he didn't ruin it for me!

**Fraser** · August 13, 2008

I think of the things newbies to the game misunderstand is about playing through, or the theory vs. practice side of it.

If I'm in a group I'll sit behind a slower group ahead for a couple of holes just to get a gauge for whether they're just slow (in which case they should let you through) or whether they're being held up themselves in which case you might as well sit tight. If they're just slow and we catch up with them on a tee we'll ask if it is busy ahead, and then they'll usually get the hint and invite us through.

A few weeks back I was playing on a real beginners course with my wife (she is learning) and as we were teeing off on the first I could see a grandpa and grandson (or they looked like that) finishing the second hole. Even though we were slow they were holding us up by the time we got to the third tee. They invited us to play through but then decided not to. We ended up being stuck behind them for the rest of the nine holes at EVERY SHOT. It didn't help the grandson who was I'd guess around five or six years old was using his grandfather's clubs which were, and I'm not joking, talling than he was

**pjsnyc** · August 13, 2008

Not only that - he didn't yell FORE! All I heard was the driver clink and the tree next to me getting hit by a ball. I mean I understand why people want to play through (and in many instances I will let them through), but to blatantly tee off after none of us said he could play through AND THEN have the audacity to ask me if I knew the rules? Gimme a break!

**Fraser** · August 13, 2008

Not only that - he didn't yell FORE!

Oh dear, not just bad etiquette, plain dangerous...

**dave s** · August 13, 2008

Glad you still managed a very fine round. Congrats!

Etiquette on a golf course? It's just as well everybody is pretty much 'separated' on a golf course. Makes it kind of nice not having to deal with others, I guess.

In FL several years back playing with my son who was probably 10 at the time. He was a big kid even then and hit the ball well ... when he hit it. Weekday, early afternoon and we pretty much had the course to ourselves until a band of senior 'speed-golfers' showed up as we were leaving a par-4 tee box.

My son rolled a couple in the fairway then one came flying past us in the fairway. I was STUNNED. I sent my son on toward the green and I stood by the ball that nearly hit us.

The old guy drives up the ball and says, "No way a foursome should be catching up to a 2-some. You guys are playing too slow."

Now, I'm not a big guy, overly agressive toward anybody and usually the first to size up a situation from a rational point of view and act accordingly.

So the old guy got out of his cart with a club intending to play through. I blocked his way and told him, if he hit ANOTHER shot anywhere near my son and me, I would beat him to a pulp ... "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME????"

I think it was then that it occured to him he wasn't being invited to 'play through' as expected.

He and his partner sped off in their cart toward the clubhouse and returned with a starter by the time we're putting on #9. The old man is acting like a mouthpiece for the starter (who didn't appear happy to be involved) spouting 'course rules' on allowing people to play through, etc. Note: He never DID ask to play through ... just hit into us before we were 150 off #9 tee!

I cut the old man off and again stated, 'we're playing 18. Your group is behind us and if you hit another ball into us I will BEAT YOU TO A PULP. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!!!' GREAT!! NOW GET AWAY FROM ME!!!

They took off for hole 12 or 13 and we never saw them again. Had a great time with my son but definitely let that jerk get to me. Actually, I was embarrassed to behave that way in front of my son, but allowing someone to behave that way toward us was wrong and that man needed to hear it in no uncertain terms.

When we finished, the starter was waiting on us and tried to apologize for the way some of his 'course regulars' behaved. Told him it wasn't his fault and explained that we were just short of 2 hours into the round and were on 9 already. No way anybody can defend golfers hitting into the group ahead of them for ANY reason.

Sadly, golf contains the same proportional number of jerks as any other group of society. I'm sure we've ALL had them behind us one time or another.

dave

**pjsnyc** · August 13, 2008

...In FL several years back playing with my son who was probably 10 at the time. He was a big kid even then and hit the ball well ... when he hit it. Weekday, early afternoon and we pretty much had the course to ourselves until a band of senior 'speed-golfers' showed up as we were leaving a par-4 tee box...

Oh the irony! Senior golfers needing to be told golf etiquette! I almost felt bad when I replied to his 'rules' remark/question. His wife was right there and it appeared she was embarrassed!

Edit - to be honest, this thread should have been named "RANT - common sense!"

TheRedeemer · August 13, 2008

Oh the irony! Senior golfers needing to be told golf etiquette! I almost felt bad when I replied to his 'rules' remark/question. His wife was right there and it appeared she was embarrassed!

Unfortunately I've found Common Sense isn't so common.

**Fraser** · August 13, 2008

Oh the irony! Senior golfers needing to be told golf etiquette!

I found the rudest players when I was in the junior section at my old course were the senior players, they did have some really good guys but most of them seemed to be on some kind of headmaster/principal powertrip.

I mentioned on the 'ever been hit by a golf ball thread' about when a single player (a senior) teed off on a par 3 and hit my brother as we were on the green.

**$2 Nassau** · August 13, 2008

I found the rudest players when I was in the junior section at my old course were the senior players, they did have some really good guys but most of them seemed to be on some kind of headmaster/principal powertrip.

I agree. Not to turn this into an age discrimination party or anything, but I guess you reach a point in life where you simply don't give a sh1t anymore. Unfortunately, these people then decide to go play golf.

Personally, I've never seen a senior play fast and hit into us, quite the opposite actually. Usually it's a Sunday walk in the park, 20 practice swings before each shot, a couple balls off the tee box if he's not satisfied with the first one, etc. Who tees off on a par 3 with people on the green? Unreal.

**pjsnyc** · August 13, 2008

I found the rudest players when I was in the junior section at my old course were the senior players, they did have some really good guys but most of them seemed to be on some kind of headmaster/principal powertrip.

To be fair - the person in question for me was not a senior...but he was definitely older than I.

**JaY_B** · August 13, 2008

I agree. Not to turn this into an age discrimination party or anything, but I guess you reach a point in life where you simply don't give a sh1t anymore. Unfortunately, these people then decide to go play golf.

Most seniors and women at my course act like they own the place, especially towards juniors, I saw a bloke shouting at some younger juniors on the golf course recently, so I walked up to him and shouted him down, I don't get why people feel the need to be so angry on the golf course, its a place for relaxation and enjoyment not for impatience, aggressiveness and complaining.

**Smallville** · August 13, 2008

I guess just because you dress the part, doesn't mean you KNOW the part. Too bad you had nicely dressed people not behaving correctly.

**$2 Nassau** · August 13, 2008

Most seniors and women at my course act like they own the place, especially towards juniors, I saw a bloke shouting at some younger juniors on the golf course recently, so I walked up to him and shouted him down,

You are wise beyond your years my friend.

**misty_mountainhop** · August 13, 2008

I'd heartily agree with most of the posts here. I know it's tarring everyone with the same brush but senior players often seem to have problem with thinking they own the course.

Happened to me a lot as a junior and they lord it over you so you can't do a lot but two of the several times it's happened in the not so distant past I've let someone get away with it the first time but you can guarantee they'll do it again so when they have, I've pulled out a wedge and fired the offending ball into the rubbish. If they want to argue the t**s I've always been happy to oblige. I have _NO_ time for idiots who behave like this on a course. They never know the local rules or observe etiquette.

**Billiam** · August 13, 2008

What does he do as I'm lining up my approach? He tees off and the ball comes crashing into the tree to the right of me. WTF?!?!? It's raining, we're all trying to finish at least 9, no one said you could play through - yet you decide to hit into us?!???

Hahahaha that's classic

**MrKadash** · August 14, 2008

I feel it's incredibly unfortunate for people to get 'hit into' regardless of circumstance. Having been in the business for almost 20 years, I have seen 17 people get hit over that span, 3 of them because they were hit into. I know that's not a large percentage considering the thousands I've seen play, but if people would stop and think about the physical damage that can be done by a golf ball maybe they would think twice. To me, the possibility of serious injury always should outweigh the desire for the group ahead to speed up play. It truly is not worth it. I have been hit into before (but not hit), and due to past experience with witnessing injury I have never acted in a respectful manner. I don't think etiquette has much to do with it, but simple common sense.

**JessN16** · August 14, 2008

Two quick stories...

* Playing No. 10 at Vanity Fair Golf & Tennis Club in Monroeville, Ala. : Hole is a par-5 that is virtually unreachable by anyone with a brain, because they'll never go for it. To go for it, you either need to hit 350 off the tee so you can get around the trees at the dogleg, or you need to hit into what used to be the No. 8 fairway, then launch one over the trees from about 200 out and try to stop it on a two-tiered green that slopes away from you down to a ravine. In fact, it's such a bad idea that the club finally let that area grow up and staked it as OOB.

Well, we're on the green putting and all of a sudden, a ball comes crashing onto the green, one-hops under one of my friends, nearly giving him a cheap vascectomy in the process, before screaming off the back of the green. My friend is dancing like his pants were on fire and we all stared back at where the ball came from. No "fore," no nothing. The guy who hit the shot is grinning like a mule eating briars and his friend calls down, "He's sorry about that." So we finish the hole and go onto No. 11, and wait.

About five minutes later, those guys get there and before we ask them if they're intending to play through, the guy who hit the shot goes to the tee box. His buddy is apologizing profusely and thanking us for letting them go ahead. Dude who hit the ball never said a word. Unless he was mute, he needed a beating. We were just too shocked to administer it.

* Playing at Frank House Memorial in Birmingham : We teed off on a Saturday and Frank House is overplayed, badly. Rounds take 5 hours all the time. First hole, we're in the fairway waiting to hit to the green, and we hear a ball hit the fairway behind us. Turn around, ball comes rolling to within 10 yards of our carts. I'm playing with the same guys I was in the first story.

Second hole, we're in the fairway and the same thing happens. About two holes later, the final straw: We're waiting in the fairway, and just about the time I walk away from our golf cart, they hit our golf cart on one hop. I went over and picked the ball up and stuck it in my bag and made sure they saw me do it.

Predictably, they met us on the green. There were four of them and four of us. Guy asked me what I was doing and I told him, "keeping your ball. Don't hit into us." He then proceeds to tell us that we'll either let him play through or we can expect to be hit into all day.

I didn't know it, but one of the other guys in our group had already taken off -- he'd seen a course marshal. The marshal came over and took the guys completely off the course. When we made the turn, we saw them back on the course, but looking like they had a nice case of the redass. Stupid people!

Jess

**wilbur.kay** · August 14, 2008

I do certainly agree that when people get hit into and the person half expects to make the distance or makes it on purpose to 'speed up play' it is certainly the wrong thing to do. From my experience it is generally the minority of times though. Most people when they have hit into a group I have been apart of are as surprised to hit to shot as we were to see it dribble up to our bags. I once hit a pull hook and chipped out three times to the fairway before knocking it 270 yards onto the front edge of the par 5 I was on. The guys on the green were only disappointed because the putt I holed was a good up and down for a par and not an eagle! Obviously I never expected to hit the shot and they knew it. I guess that is the most important bit.

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