taking the entire family to the course

[q7w]

I had to leave the practice facility's early today due to some people's kids acting like total morons. I really don't respect these parents who bring all their un-ruly kids and don't bother teaching them the etiquette of acting on a golf course. Kids banging their clubs on the metal dividers on the range, kids picking up my balls on the putting green, kids yelling and running around like its a daycare, etc etc.

I have to pay money to go and practice. Is it wrong for me to want an environment that is quiet and respectful?

[MiniBlueDragon]

  q7w said:

Originally Posted by q7w

I have to pay money to go and practice. Is it wrong for me to want an environment that is quiet and respectful?

The above is the phrase I would have used to the parents. Unless they are ALL members and paying for the priviledge they shouldn't be there in the first place. If they ARE all members then they should be reported and be told by a staff member to sort out their kids. If we're assuming it's a driving range I'd have picked up the phone to reception and told them that there are a group of kids acting inappropriately and I "fear for their safety" or somesuch so that a staff member came along and spoke to the parents.

Courses like my local 9 hole "academy" course I expect to be filled with kids, people who can't play golf and take 10 shots to hole it on a par 3 (had a 4-ball playing like this yesterday. SO slow!) etc but if I was on a full 18 hole decent course I wouldn't put up with it. As you say, it's not daycare!

[q7w]

Yea, it's not a private course, but that shouldn't matter. If it happens again, I'll take your advice and go report them.

[ochmude]

The only practice facility near me that actually has a chipping area and a practice bunker is a family fun center that also has go-carts, mini golf, and batting cages.  The range has really well maintained grass and the chipping area is awesome, so I have to tolerate all the kids running around.  It helps the mental game, I suppose.

[NI4NI]

I agree with MBD, take it up with the parents/guardians first, and then if the behavior has not improved, take it up with the facility's mgmt.  I bring my two younger boys with me to the practice range, and since they have been taught proper etiquette, there are no issues.  If there is an empty bay, they will take turns hitting shots with their clubs, else they will sit and wait quietly if there no openings.

These loud kids are the same ones that you encounter in a restaurant, movie theater, supermarket,...some parents don't either know how to train their offspring, or care to do so.

[jshots]

I've found that the smaller the child... the further they fly.

[BostonSully]

I feel your pain. I onetime was stuck behind 2 mothers and their 3 kids at a 9 hole course. Normally when I see kids this young probably 5-6 years old on the course they play best ball with the parent and its fine they move along quickly.

However these 2 women were just as bad as the kids and it probably woudlnt have gone any better. I mean does the 5 year old who hits it at best maybe 20 yards need to tee off from the whites with you on a 420 yard hole?

They then let the kids hit every single shot and stood around and talked, im talking like 35minutes a hole. After about 15 minutes of watching I jogged up (no carts here) and asked to play through and they legit got mad at me. Asked why I couldnt wait or something and didnt instruct the kids to pick up or move on faster just cold shouldered me completely. Then I told them that you know this is what the driving range is for.

We jumped ahead of them on the next hole and when we were having a beer in the bar afterwards they came in and reported us for being mean or somethng, but the starter didnt take it seriously at all. The kids seemed nice its to bad that nobody teaches these jerk parents a lesson before they pass it on to their kids.

I also cant stand the kids at the driving range who get 0 instruction from their parents and hit every single ball off the divider or into their pile of balls and send them shooting everywhere. How can I concentrate when your little terror is making more noise then bull in a china shop while you 100% ignore them.

[ochmude]

  BostonSully said:

Originally Posted by BostonSully

I feel your pain. I onetime was stuck behind 2 mothers and their 3 kids at a 9 hole course. Normally when I see kids this young probably 5-6 years old on the course they play best ball with the parent and its fine they move along quickly.

However these 2 women were just as bad as the kids and it probably woudlnt have gone any better. I mean does the 5 year old who hits it at best maybe 20 yards need to tee off from the whites with you on a 420 yard hole?

They then let the kids hit every single shot and stood around and talked, im talking like 35minutes a hole. After about 15 minutes of watching I jogged up (no carts here) and asked to play through and they legit got mad at me. Asked why I couldnt wait or something and didnt instruct the kids to pick up or move on faster just cold shouldered me completely. Then I told them that you know this is what the driving range is for.

We jumped ahead of them on the next hole and when we were having a beer in the bar afterwards they came in and reported us for being mean or somethng, but the starter didnt take it seriously at all. The kids seemed nice its to bad that nobody teaches these jerk parents a lesson before they pass it on to their kids.

I also cant stand the kids at the driving range who get 0 instruction from their parents and hit every single ball off the divider or into their pile of balls and send them shooting everywhere. How can I concentrate when your little terror is making more noise then bull in a china shop while you 100% ignore them.

I was completely agreeing with you right up until your last sentence.  Mythbusters pretty definitively demonstrated that bulls step pretty lightly in china shops, causing almost no damage at all.

[jshots]

  ochmude said:

Originally Posted by ochmude

I was completely agreeing with you right up until your last sentence.  Mythbusters pretty definitively demonstrated that bulls step pretty lightly in china shops, causing almost no damage at all.

That was a great episode. I remember playing with my dad when i was 5-6 years old. If I couldn't keep up I had to pick my ball up, and probably one of the first things I probably ever learned (even before learning to swing) on the course was to be quiet!

[TBurd47]

  jshots said:

Originally Posted by jshots

That was a great episode. I remember playing with my dad when i was 5-6 years old. If I couldn't keep up I had to pick my ball up, and probably one of the first things I probably ever learned (even before learning to swing) on the course was to be quiet!

My first post here. I bet playing with your Dad is a great memory. My Pop didn't play golf so I didn't have that with him. However, I have had the privilege of playing with my 11-year old son for the last 5 years or so. Like your father, I made sure that etiquette took precedence over all else in those early days...don't run, don't yell, one practice swing and hit, etc. The great thing about him is that I really only had to tell him once. When we started, like your father, I had him tee off (NEVER at peak times, I'm talking 6 or 7 pm well behind leagues and any open play), gave him a few chances then we picked up and I had him chip up and outt out. Now, he has a swing I would kill for, he plays only one set of tees ahead of me and is usually good for a few pars and maybe even a birdie or two when we go out. I always tell him, though, that it doesn't matter how many strokes he takes...I am most proud of his behavior and that he always tries his best. Parents who let their kids run wild and say nothing about respect for the game of golf and others playing it are doing those kids a terrible disservice...not just in regards to golf but life in general.

[shades9323]

  BostonSully said:

Originally Posted by BostonSully

I also cant stand the kids at the driving range who get 0 instruction from their parents and hit every single ball off the divider or into their pile of balls and send them shooting everywhere. How can I concentrate when your little terror is making more noise then bull in a china shop while you 100% ignore them.

Just think of it as working on your mental toughness!

[BostonSully]

  shades9323 said:

Originally Posted by shades9323

Just think of it as working on your mental toughness!

lol I try to. But when the Balls are flying like Shrapnel its more like Mental Toughness and Self Preservation.