The Most Debatable "Rules" in Golf

[The Recreational Golfer]

"" because they aren't from the rule book, but practices you might find at a golf course you play. This is from today's Golf World Monday.  The "rule", my comment .

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. Absolutely. For once, give your complete attention to the people who made the effort to spend four hours with you. It’s good manners, the basis of which is that because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

2. No hats on backwards. Looks kind of childish, but if you want your face to get sunburned, that’s OK with me.

3. No women before 10 a.m. on weekends. You’re kidding. Does this still go on?

4. No collarless shirts. Even my $80 Nike shirt that looks pretty darn sharp?

5. No denim. This shouldn’t be a rule, per se, but if the course isn’t a muddy mess, it’s just as easy to wear your Dockers.

6. Hats off indoors. Absolutely. You learned that when you were six-years-old. Or at least you should have.

7. Jackets and ties in the dining room. Boycott the dining room.

8. Guests can’t purchase in the pro shop; must go on member’s account. So my money is legal tender everywhere in the U.S., except in your pro shop? Am I in France?

9. No pull carts. I thought we were trying to get a little exercise here.

10. No cargos shorts or pants. Oh, good grief. Pull the stick out of your a** .

[ochmude]

Originally Posted by The Recreational Golfer

"" because they aren't from the rule book, but practices you might find at a golf course you play. This is from today's Golf World Monday.  The "rule", my comment.

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. Absolutely. For once, give your complete attention to the people who made the effort to spend four hours with you. It’s good manners, the basis of which is that because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

My opinion on this one depends on what you mean by "no cell phones on the course". I am fine with discouraging phone calls or texts during play. However, if this actually means "no cell phones are even permitted to physically be present on the course", I take issue with that. I put my phone on airplane mode, silence it, and keep it in a small pocket in my bag with my wallet. Sorry, I'm not going to leave it in my car to get destroyed when the interior temperature exceeds 110* in the summer. Also, if you're going to disallow ALL cell phone use, you also have to disallow Sky Caddies as well, as many cell phones can provide the same functionality.

[boogielicious]

I agree you shouldn't use your phone on the course, except for an emergency.  It is in my bag and I will call 911 if someone gets hurt or ill.

I don't get the pull cart rule.  It is not slower than carrying, so what is the issue, $$?

[Double Bogey]

Originally Posted by The Recreational Golfer

"" because they aren't from the rule book, but practices you might find at a golf course you play. This is from today's Golf World Monday.  The "rule", my comment.

3. No women before 10 a.m. on weekends. You’re kidding. Does this still go on?

7. Jackets and ties in the dining room. Boycott the dining room.

Believe it or not these two are still rules at my club... well sort of.  Regarding the women before 10, "only the primary member can make a tee time before 10am."  Women can play but only as part of the foursome.  I think it is in place to stop a member making an 8am tee time and his spouse making the 810am and his teenage son/daughter making the 820.

Jackets and ties... the club is really trying to push this as well.  No one uses the dining room at our club.  Everyone eats in the bar area, called "The Grill" or in the Mens locker room card area.  I think going jackets and ties is just stupid.  No one wants to do that crap anymore.  It is nothing but a PITA

[sean_miller]

Is this from a specific course, or is Golf World's rules?

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. This one must be based on complaints - weird in 2011, but I get it.

2. No hats on backwards. Don't mind hats backward. Form fitted hats are more comforable backward. In the wind this is a must. The brim doesn't really  protect your face that much anyway - maybe your forehead?

4. No collarless shirts. I agree with this one, but at my course it isn't a requirement so I don't always wear one. Shirts like Foley's do not look sharp for golf. Sorry, but they just don't.

5. No denim. Depends on how they define "denim", but I get it.

6. Hats off indoors. As long as there's some place to freshen up first before going indoors - 4 hours with a cap leaves a mess under there.

8. Guests can’t purchase in the pro shop; must go on member’s account. This makes sense if the member has a amount they get charged every month whether they spend or not - it's good to be acknowledged for bringing revenue to the course.

9. No pull carts. Is walking and carrying an option and/or do they have caddies? Trudging through the rough with a pull cart seems like local muni golf to me, but hey, we all have our opinions.

10. No cargos shorts or pants. Potentially worse than denim. Wow look at all these pockets - I don't like the grill room's condiment choices so I brought my own!

[walk18]

6. I have yet to hear a good reason why. You want to see my sweaty messed up hat hair after a round? The hat stays on. If that offends someone that's their problem, not mine. 9. If you want to wreck your back that's fine with me. The wheel is a great invention, why not use it. I still walked the course. At least I didn't ride.

[Kieran123]

No hats indoors? Sorry, over the top.

No hats at the dinner table, sure. Indoors? Meh.

[Quinn07]

Just my 2 cents:

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. I bring my phone with me for emergencies only.  I am out there to play golf not to text or follow tweets.  I agree to a point.

2. No hats on backwards. Agreed...not sure why the hat would be backwards, not what it was designed for.

3. No women before 10 a.m. on weekends. I prefer to play behind most woman groups because 8 times our of 10 they aren't messing around.

4. No collarless shirts. Agree....

5. No denim. I agree...I don't think you should be able to wear jeans on the golf course, even if they are black.

6. Hats off indoors. I completely disagree with this...it's an archaic manner that has no relevance in today's society.

7. Jackets and ties in the dining room. Fine if there are other areas to eat in the clubhouse like a lounge or sports bar type area.

8. Guests can’t purchase in the pro shop; must go on member’s account. Seems rather stupid, but I guess the visitor can just give the member the cash for it.

9. No pull carts. HATE this one...I have a clicgear...I refuse to use a electric cart and my back can't take 18 holes of lugging a bag around.

10. No cargos shorts or pants. Agreed!

[newtogolf]

As a business owner, cell phone is a necessity for texting and e-mail.  My usual golf partners are also business owners and understand that business pays for golf and has to come first during the week.  Weekends are a different story, I carry it then for emergency purposes only.

Originally Posted by The Recreational Golfer

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. Absolutely. For once, give your complete attention to the people who made the effort to spend four hours with you. It’s good manners, the basis of which is that because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

[rebby]

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. I disagree 100%. I have a lot going on in my life. Golf is my hobby and needs to be secondary to my family. If my wife needs to contact me about something, at any time, she knows how to get a hold of me. Having a phone on me, that I'm willing to use when REQUIRED, is a much preferred alternative to having her call the proshop and send somebody out in a cart to find me.

2. No hats on backwards. Was this supposed to be some sort of backdoor rip on Fowler?

3. No women before 10 a.m. on weekends. Whoa there!!! How about no old people before 10am on weekends, or nobody with a handicap worse than 10, or nobody who owns a dog? Give me a break. What is the "basis" for this rule? What is one solving by implementing something so absurd?

4. No collarless shirts. A dress code item I guess. Personally, I don't care either way but fully understand if some clubs want to implement a rule like this. However, I believe that the dress code should fit the course. While this rule is fine for an upscale establishment, it's pretty absurd for a $25/round muni.

5. No denim. See my comments for rule #4 (which would also apply to #2, I suppose). Again, I have no problem with a dress code (for the most part) but the code should fit the establishment.

6. Hats off indoors. Indoors where? The dining room or the pro shop? I have no problem with hats indoors. In a very large way, hats have become part of golf attire. Golfers are expected to wear hats and there should be no problem with a golfer grabbing a sleeve of balls or a Coke from the pro shop while donning a Titleist lid.

7. Jackets and ties in the dining room. This, once again, goes back to my comments about dress code. Once again, I don't have an issue with how a given club wants to run it's establishment. Chances are however, that I'm not going to a dining room that enforces a rule like this at a GOLF COURSE. IMHO, acceptable golf attire should be acceptable at all club facilities, hat included.

8. Guests can’t purchase in the pro shop; must go on member’s account. Alright, a business owner can refuse to do business with whoever he'd like. I'd rather see a "rule" that states members get such and such a discount, blah, blah. That's what my club does, 15% across the board discount for all members, non-members pay full price. It's a nice break for members and adds additional incentive to purchasing a membership.

9. No pull carts. I'd rather see a rule that says no motorized carts. Remember what a golf course was like before they were littered with cart paths, hundreds of little rope fences, signs and damage caused by carts? I do. Alas, motorized carts have become part of the game of golf and they are a great benefit to a lot of golfers (ex: my dad has 2 hip replacements and knee, he would be unable to golf without a motorized cart) so I'd never even attempt to push a "rule" like that. Seriously though, what's the issue with a pull cart? Do we need to further disincentivize people when it comes to exercise?

10. No cargos shorts or pants. Talk about a dress code Nazi. Dang, people, where what's acceptable for the club that you play at and leave it at that. There's nothing wrong with wearing cargo pants and a flannel shirt at Billy Bob's Golf & Bar over on RR #23. However, that same attire just might not be acceptable at Minneapolis Golf & Country Club. No big deal!

[meenman]

"" because they aren't from the rule book, but practices you might find at a golf course you play. This is from today's Golf World Monday.  The "rule", my comment .

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. Disagree - with all the comments about slow play, maybe some tempers would cool if reading tweets or posting on facebook made waits seem less. I have stopped playing with people that cant get off of the phone during a round.

2. No hats on backwards. No need for a rule, one person doing it will feel out of place and turn it around.

3. No women before 10 a.m. on weekends. Never experienced a problem with the female groups on the weekend. Weekday ones are another story but we all know they have the course Thursday mornings so we stay away.

4. No collarless shirts. 95% agree with, however there are golf shirts without collars

5. No denim. Agreed - there are courses that allow them - let the denim crowd hang out together there

6. Hats off indoors. Ridiculous, unless the club is set up a 5 star restaurant

7. Jackets and ties in the dining room. See answer on #6

8. Guests can’t purchase in the pro shop; must go on member’s account. A little over the top, at our club, members pay one price and guests another, so guests are going to give me cash to buy something for them anyway.

9. No pull carts. I play at a club that does not allow walking, but if walking is allowed, so should a pull cart

10. No cargos shorts or pants. Generally agree, but there are cargos that hide the fact that they are cargos well. Where do you draw the line?

[iacas]

Reminds me of this: http://thesandtrap.com/b/trap_five/five_sacred_rules_of_golf .

[zeg]

I'm not going to touch the dress code ones, but the first three are worth comment.

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. There's no problem with cell phone use on the course as an absolute. However, just like a conversation with a playing partner, it needs to be done appropriately. That means it should not delay play at all, and should not interfere with other players---turn your ringer OFF.

2. No hats on backwards. This is dumb.  If I'm wearing a baseball-style hat and the wind picks up, I am going to turn it around to keep it from blowing off (since it has a lower profile with the brim against the back of my head/hair).  It still covers the top of my head.

3. No women before 10 a.m. on weekends. Ok, this one has to be pure flamebait.  No slow players, sure.  How about no bigoted morons before noon?

[jamo]

1. No cell phones on the course, even for texting. I've never gotten this rule. I don't use my phone on the course, but as long as you aren't loud, I don't care.

2. No hats on backwards. Again, I don't do it but I don't really have a problem with it. I think with this one they (whoever they are) are trying to ban the people who wear hat backwards, not actually the backwards hat itself. Same with most of the dress code ones.

3. No women before 10 a.m. on weekends. Que? It seems to me like unless it takes them 140 to get around the course, a lot of times women are faster than men.

4. No collarless shirts. Don't mind this one, as long as a mock turtleneck counts as a collar.

5. No denim. Again, I wouldn't do it for a variety of reasons, but at less-than-fancy courses, I see no reason for a ban.

6. Hats off indoors. When you're eating, yeah, take it off, but just going through the pro shop or into the locker room or something, who cares?

7. Jackets and ties in the dining room. That must be a damn fancy dining room.

8. Guests can’t purchase in the pro shop; must go on member’s account. If it's a private club I actually don't mind that one. They want people to become members, after all. Things like water or Gatorade might be exceptions though, or at least let guests use a vending machine.

9. No pull carts. Stupid. Encourage walking.

10. No cargos shorts or pants. See number 5 about denim.

[clubchamp]

1. No cell phones - I don't totally agree or disagree with this rule because having one in your bag is not a big deal. However A LOT of people don't know how to turn off their ringer or just don't turn it off which is a problem.

2. No backwards hat - I understand this rule but I'm not a fashion guy so it doesn't bother me either way

3. No women before 10am - I didn't even know this was still going on but it makes no sense

4. No collarless shirts - 100% agree

5. No denim - 100% agree

6. Hats off indoors - I could see select areas the don't allow hats but not just indoors

7. Jackets and ties in dining room - 100% disagree

8. Guest can't purchase in pro shop must go on members account - I understand this rule but my club allows people to make purchases in the pro shop and food/drink has to go on my account.

9. No pull carts - Stupid

10. No cargo shorts - In country club setting I'm ok with this rule but at a public course it's not a big deal.

[LankyLefty]

You know Agusta national actually has a rule against "Running"on the golf course.

They also prohibit the signing of autographs on the grounds.

My Personal favorite though is that they get all uppity when someone asks about "Tickets" to the masters and will inform you that the proper term is "Patrons Badge" and that they must offer you the opportunity to buy one