Pisses Me Off

[Rafcin]

this seems to be interesting discussion. I'll make up a poll out of it

[ragontona]

this seems to be interesting discussion. I'll make up a poll out of it

I'm probably going to be in the minority on this one though. I just think that it wasn't too long ago that golf was tagged as an "elitist" activity, and I think establishing criteria in order for a golfer to be allowed to play would definitely perpetuate that stigma.

[thehillgolfer]

i already posted in the other one, buttttt

does anyone else love fixes divots on the green??? i absolutely love it. like sometimes after i'm done washing carts i'll go to one of the fairways and hit shags balls and i love going around the green fixing 20 divots, its a good forearm work out too. i rake the bunkers too but i dont replace my divots. from my experience the grass dies anyways so theres no point, and unless your in a competition if someones ball lands in it they'll just roll it over so it makes no real difference in my opinion.

[TheShanks]

What pisses me off is the people who ride right up on you while you are on the Tee box waiting for the people infront of you to get onto the green to tee off. When me and my friend were in the middle of the fairway and they teed off and hit a ball right past my friends head and then on another hole hit one next to me when I was on the green on a par 3. Then they asked to play through so we let them then right when they finished the hole they came back and did it agian.

[cdriver]

I'm not sure some kind of schooling on the ettiquette of the game wouldn't be a good thing. I mean, how many times has your round been spoiled because of a group of slow playing, no playing guys in front of you who were taking forever and didn't have the knowledge to know they should let you play through? After all, if you want to play almost any other game in the world, you have to work your way up to it by acquiring skills and learning the rules of the game. Keep in mind that if you decide to play football tomorrow, they are not going to let you on Lambaugh Field. You have to work your way up to that by playing lesser venues until you have earned your way to that level. Well, in golf, if you've got a few hundred dollars, you actually can play where the professionals play. And you can play as poorly as you want and you can spoil the round of other people by your boorish behavior. That sort of thing would never be allowed in any other sport I can think of. The problem with being a gentleman's game is they don't require you to be a gentleman to play it.

[ragontona]

I'm not sure some kind of schooling on the ettiquette of the game wouldn't be a good thing. I mean, how many times has your round been spoiled because of a group of slow playing, no playing guys in front of you who were taking forever and didn't have the knowledge to know they should let you play through?

Yes, it's irritating when my group is held up by a slow group in front of us that won't let us play through. But the reason we have Course Marshals out there is to ensure that type of thing is kept to a minimum. When you see the marshal, you tell him that the group in front of you is holding up play.

After all, if you want to play almost any other game in the world, you have to work your way up to it by acquiring skills and learning the rules of the game. Keep in mind that if you decide to play football tomorrow, they are not going to let you on Lambaugh Field. You have to work your way up to that by playing lesser venues until you have earned your way to that level.

This is true, but we're not talking about playing professional golf on the PGA tour, which is essentially what your analogy is. We're talking about letting your average guy (albeit, in this case, a non-educated one) have the right to play on a public golf course without having to pass some arbitrary test before being allowed to set foot on the course.

I'm not saying I like these guys. If they're going to be complete jerks out there on the course, I'd rather they'd stay home, so they wouldn't mess up my round. But the fact is, we're talking about a public golf course. Those guys have every right to be out there as much as we do. Education of the rules and etiquette can only go as far as each individual allows it. As previous posters have stated -- a lot of these offenders know the rules, but choose not to follow them. In short, they're schmucks, and always will be. So I like the idea of incentive-based policies on play, and I like the idea of stricter enforcement of rules and etiquette by course marshals and club officials. But some sort of rules and etiquette school, or having people pass a test... I'm just going to have to disagree with the concept.

[cdriver]

I see your point and I was not advocating limiting play on public courses, just limiting where you could play based on your skill level. If you are a 100 plus golfer, you just have no business on a course with a 140 slope rating.

I wish the marshalls were more diligent at most courses, but they are not.

Along the same lines, I used to play at a group of courses in a retirement village and had a lot of laughs while waiting on the par 5 tee boxes. It was amazing when a group of old guys had teed off in front of us, hit their longest drive about 175 and they are standing in the fairway 300+ yards from the green waiting for it to clear before hitting their second shots. I mean if you drove it 175 off the tee, what are the odds you are gonna hit into someone on a green 300 yards away??? LOL

[ragontona]

I see your point and I was not advocating limiting play on public courses, just limiting where you could play based on your skill level. If you are a 100 plus golfer, you just have no business on a course with a 140 slope rating.

What's really irritating is short par 4's, when "bombers" wait for the green to clear before teeing off. Then they get up there and spray into the woods. Urgh.

[rembrandt]

I've marshalled at a number of courses and it works both ways to some extent. These courses are out there to make money and turning people away is not a part of their agenda. I've watched regulars (guys that play everyday and think they own the course) drive into a group ahead of them etc and gripe and complain cause another group in slowing them down and thats not the way to play this game either. We need a little more patience out there and slowing down your play isn't all that bad in some cases. This is not polo, it's golf and enjoying the time spent out on the course is important to us all. If we let a group, ahead or behind, bother us to the point that we can't enjoy the day, then golf becomes no fun and golf should be something we can remember with a smile on our faces. Also, as a marshal, I've repaired many a ball mark on greens and there is no excuse for not repairing them. When I walk onto the green I imediately look for the ball mark to repair it. I usually do one or two others while I'm at it.

[Rafcin]

...but i dont replace my divots. from my experience the grass dies anyways so theres no point...

bent grass do grow back in, as long as the root structure is intact (there is a bit of turf with the divot). I believe in Florida the seed mix is exclusively used, because that grass does not re-roots itself (bermuda?) - so my point is - you're not correct for 100% of courses, north-east players definitely should replace their divots, others - when in doubt - check with the pro-shop before teeing off. They know.

[iacas]

bent grass do grow back in, as long as the root structure is intact (there is a bit of turf with the divot). I believe in Florida the seed mix is exclusively used, because that grass does not re-roots itself (bermuda?) - so my point is - you're not correct for 100% of courses, north-east players definitely should replace their divots, others - when in doubt - check with the pro-shop before teeing off. They know.

Plus, I'd rather play from a properly replaced divot than an unreplaced divot.