Do you turn in groups who break rules?

My wife and I were playing a course last week and they had just finished overseeding a few weeks prior.  There were signs all over the place saying "Carts on Cart Paths Only!"  In addition, when I paid at the pro shop they told me the same thing (as they probably did every other group).

A foursome of guys in front of us either couldn't read, or didn't care.  Not only did they refuse to rake any bunkers (I saw this several times that day) but they were driving both of their carts all over the course leaving very distinct tracks in the new grass.

So here's the question: would you turn them in at the end of the round (or immediately for that matter) or would you just ignore it?

- Dave

I don't let the course staff know. Instead, I tell Batman. Since he's the caped crusader and all, he can track them down and ensure no bunker will ever go unraked again. When the course staff or someone behind you tells you to rake the bunker, you generally ignore them. But when it's Batman, you friggin listen to him.

I'd try and remind the group in case they simply forgot. (Happened last week to the other cart in our group as they simply drove off the path on the 4th hole on a cart path only day.)  If I could not remind them, or if they ignored the reminder, I'd call the pro shop and see if the could have a course assistant remind them. My home course is a public course but it is still "my" course. I don't want people messing it up.

I would remind them of the rules. They might not have seen the sign.

If they continue... end of  the round??? I would have pulled my cell phone out of my bag, and called the pro shop to let them know what's happening.

I'm an old caddie, so I see red when people trash out a golf course.

Well, depending on how bad it was, I would definitely tell the pro shop. Carts on path only is one of the bigger rules to break, but I know some of the ESA rules are just to collect balls that people aren't allowed to retrieve, so I would be lenient on that if it was easily within sight, or not an obvious nesting ground or something that really is an ESA. However, if it's new grass and they're driving all over it, I'd notify the person at the counter, but wouldn't really go any further than that.

I'd immediately call the pro-shop from my cart to let them know some j@ckasses are driving in the fairways and where to find them.

My home golf course is my golf home.  Why would I ignore people trashing it?

I don't even see this as a legitimate question.. Who wouldn't try to put a stop to it? If they didn't, they don't belong on the golf course either.

This!

A few weeks ago a pair of jackwads got to chatting right in front of a green for over 5 minutes and ignored my repeated whistles and yells to get their attention and get them moving.  I spotted a marshal right after I finished that hole, told him about the twosome and asked him to keep an eye on them.  He offered to go talk to them right away, but I asked him just to see how they were doing over the next hole or two and say something to them if they continued to slow down play.  I thought that was a fair way to deal with it, since once they woke up out of their social session and realized they weren't the only ones on the course, they seemed to putt out quickly and I guessed they wouldn't be an issue any further.  That turned out to be the case.  One hole later, they were out of sight; they might have been a pro and a student in the midst of a playing lesson who lost track of time and where they were and then went back to the range.

If it was something a bit more egregious, like actual damage to the course, I'd definitely tell a ranger or marshal about it with the expectation that they'd chew out the bozos.  This summer I was playing miniature golf with my family when this dork teenage boy, who was trying to show off how cool he was to his date, started kicking his leg up and over the rotating blades of a windmill on the course.  The moron got his sandle caught on the blade and down came toolish teen with an 8' tall miniature Dutch windmill on top of him.  When a manager came out to see what had happened, he lied and said "I just kind of backed into it by accident and it fell over."  It looked like he had actually broken the windmill, so a minute later I went up to the manager and told her "If he actually broke the windmill, you should make his parents pay for it because that wasn't just an accident - I saw him and he was deliberately screwing around trying to impress the girl with him."

First I find out if they have permission to do so.  It's possible that they have a handicapped permit to do so.  I've been in that situation when the course was quite soggy in places, with the cart path only rule in place.  I was still allowed to use the 90 degree rule, with no handicap flag on the cart.  The course had carts with GPS, and the starter just made a change in the operating mode, otherwise the cart would just shut off if you left the cart path.  So first is to make sure you know what the deal is, then worry about tattling.

Very good point!  I didn't even think about that one.

In this particular case, they weren't even following the 90-degree rule, but it's definitely something to consider before I shoot off my mouth to a group again.

Depends on the course.  The course I play now is a public course and is reasonably well staffed so I would figure that the staff would see these guys driving all over the fairways.  I would let them worry about it.  The course I used to belong to, however, was a small private course where there wasn't much staff and locals used to walk on and play for free (not allowed but usually nobody was watching and a lot of people knew about it).  If I saw somebody damaging that course I would call it in asap.

This twice.

I would call the pro shop immediately, I have no love loss for individuals that don't respect the course.  You can cheat on the rules of golf, that really only hurts you, but don't destroy the course, that cost time and money for the course to repair and in effect cost me.

You said they weren't even raking traps. I doubt these guys cared much about rules. I'd dime on them in a second.