Tobacco products on golf course

[skydog]

Colon cancer. At age 84.

Neither "coffin nails" nor a Greyhound bus could put Ben down!

I knew a fellow who drank a fifth of whiskey, smoked like a train, and broke horses till the day he died in his mid eighties. He crossed the river like he lived, with a firm will and a sound heart.

Fear mongering seems to be the modern mantra. BULL STUFF! I for one, am tired of the fear mongers, nannies, and busy bodies trying to impose their pansyfied culture on free men. We're all gonna die, die standing up.

. I have that Arnie and Ben picture hanging in my office. Love it

Live and let live people. I'm a big proponent of everything in moderation but I know plenty of people who have lived fantastic, long lives by doing everything to excess. Like Gunther and mcanadiens said, the Obamacare piper is going to get paid one way or the other whether someone dies young of cancer or has to live out the last 10 years of their old age in a nurising home where the government does its best to extract every last dime you worked for so you leave your family with nothing. It's a lose-lose situation folks, might as well enjoy the ride while you can.

[tefunk]

Smoke and drink all you want ... Fools die by any method of thier choosing, it's just natures way of elimating the stupidly that abounds the earth.

Before throwing out statements that use terms such as "fools" or "stupidly"... Check your spelling and grammar... Quite a few errors in your post. Nature will eliminate all of us, including you

[Lihu]

It is a pain killer and was thought treat all kinds of ailments (including bad breath???), maybe if USGA banned it as a performance enhancement drug???

Interesting history of Tobacco/Smoking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_smoking

http://academic.udayton.edu/health/syllabi/tobacco/history.htm#begin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tobacco

I have tried Cuban cigars which are pretty nice, but ,otherwise, I don't smoke.

[ditchparrot19]

Fear mongering seems to be the modern mantra. BULL STUFF! I for one, am tired of the fear mongers, nannies, and busy bodies trying to impose their pansyfied culture on free men. We're all gonna die, die standing up.

I agree wholeheartedly. It's highly unfortunate that the pansy crowd increases in number every single day, and thus nonsensical, utopian notions such as the proposal mentioned in the first post become reality.

Pretty pathetic, indeed.

[isukgolf]

Before throwing out statements that use terms such as "fools" or "stupidly"...

Check your spelling and grammar... Quite a few errors in your post.

Nature will eliminate all of us, including you

Sorry, English is my second language ... didn't realize that we had to grammatically correct to post on this forum ...

But you are correct ... nobody gets out of this alive ...

(hopefully this has no spelling errors, and is grammatically correct enough to post (my iPad thinks it is OK))

[NJpatbee]

I have not done a poll but I would bet that most people do not believe that someone smoking in an open area like a golf course is a threat to their health.  I do not smoke on the course, but often have a cigar afterwards - outside.

The whole second hand smoke health initiative has gone beyond what is reasonable - sure enclosed spaces and the like.  But to show the hypocrisy of some of the zealots like former NYC Mayor Bloomberg - Smoking is banned in outdoor restaurants based on health concerns, yet there are tons of pollutants right next to them from buses, trucks, cars, and taxis.  If you want to ban smoking in your outdoor restuarant because some of your patrons do not like the smell, go ahead, but the health threat is over the top.

Here is an offer to anyone who believes that someone smelling tobacco smoke is more dangerous to their health than the pollution generated on our streets:  I will go into an enclosed room that is 10' x 16' and smoke a good Maduro cigar that lasts over an hour.  You will go into a similar enclosed room with an 8 cylinder SUV.  At the sound of "GO", I will light my cigar and you will start the SUV.  When my cigar is finished I will walk outside - you will be carried out and taken to the morgue.  We would have each taken out a $100,000 life insurance policy on each other.

Easy money.

[Pretzel]

Here is an offer to anyone who believes that someone smelling tobacco smoke is more dangerous to their health than the pollution generated on our streets:  I will go into an enclosed room that is 10' x 16' and smoke a good Maduro cigar that lasts over an hour.  You will go into a similar enclosed room with an 8 cylinder SUV.  At the sound of "GO", I will light my cigar and you will start the SUV.  When my cigar is finished I will walk outside - you will be carried out and taken to the morgue.  We would have each taken out a $100,000 life insurance policy on each other.

The difference is that Carbon Monoxide poisoning doesn't have as many long term issues as tobacco smoke inhalation does. I do agree that it's overboard in some cases with it being outdoors (the golf course being one place), but that's like comparing drowning to smoking a cigar. The carbon monoxide displaces oxygen that is needed, but does not cause cancer. Breathing in levels of carbon monoxide similar to that of working in a mechanic's garage for years will give you some heart problems, but this is because it has to work harder to supply the necessary oxygen compared to someone out in the open air where the carbon monoxide can be dispersed.

On a golf course I don't mind if people smoke, but I have to stay upwind of them due to asthma concerns. Breathing the smoke for more than brief periods throughout a round usually causes a reaction resulting in me coughing uncontrollably. Not only is it detrimental to my golf game to be exposed to tobacco smoke for extended period of time, but it's just plain not fun. I don't mind though as long as people are considerate enough to do it downwind of me.

The long and short of it is that tobacco smoke causes cancer as opposed to "dry drowning" someone. The causes of death are very different, and it's not a great comparison.

[Golfingdad]

Questions like, do you use tobacco products, if so what, and do you support banning them on the courses and how would it affect your playing habits at the courses. Thought it was interesting. What are ya'll thoughts on this? Is it a violation of people's rights? Would it help/hurt the golf course revenue?

I don't smoke so I'd be totally fine with a course designating itself as non-smoking.  It's certainly not violating anybody's rights - if you can't play golf without smoking, then just play somewhere else.

On the other hand, I'm pretty easy-going and don't typically mind other people smoking around me.  If it's a cigarette, I will make sure to stay upwind of them, but if it's a cigar or a joint, I won't mind being downwind of them, because I find those smells to be (usually) pleasant.

[Lihu]

I have not done a poll but I would bet that most people do not believe that someone smoking in an open area like a golf course is a threat to their health.  I do not smoke on the course, but often have a cigar afterwards - outside.

Plus, I don't find Cigar smoke all that offensive. A good cigar has a nice aroma like good coffee.

So, if someone was purposely blowing smoke in my face to be annoying, that's a different issue. No one's done that to me, though.

On the other hand, I'm pretty easy-going and don't typically mind other people smoking around me.  If it's a cigarette, I will make sure to stay upwind of them, but if it's a cigar or a joint, I won't mind being downwind of them, because I find those smells to be (usually) pleasant.

Right.

I just wanted to add that if I am having a particularly bad day, the smell reminds me that we're on the course to have fun. It has even improved my mood before.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJpatbee

I have not done a poll but I would bet that most people do not believe that someone smoking in an open area like a golf course is a threat to their health.  I do not smoke on the course, but often have a cigar afterwards - outside.

Plus, I don't find Cigar smoke all that offensive. A good cigar has a nice aroma like good coffee.

So, if someone was purposely blowing smoke in my face to be annoying, that's a different issue. No one's done that to me, though.

Purely a matter of personal opinion.  I don't like the smell of cigar smoke, didn't even like it back when I was still smoking.  I also don't drink coffee, and don't much care for that odor either.  I can't even walk into a Starbucks.

[Golfingdad]

Purely a matter of personal opinion.  I don't like the smell of cigar smoke, didn't even like it back when I was still smoking.  I also don't drink coffee, and don't much care for that odor either.  I can't even walk into a Starbucks.

Totally.  I would even go a step further and say that the opinions of those who are bothered by the smoke do (or should) trump the opinions of those that aren't bothered by it.  I think it's a lot less to ask of somebody to not smoke for 4 hours than it is to ask somebody to allow themselves to be poisoned by others for 4 hours.

Thankfully, all of the smokers that I've golfed with have been very polite about it, asking me if it bothered me prior to lighting up.

[ghalfaire]

I gave up cigarettes many years ago but I can remember "the habit".  I can also remember when I was a young man in the Military oversea the Red Cross just gave them to us (yes they did).   I personally would like no smoking on the course, but think it is a bad idea.  Courses are struggling and I don't think this would help.   At the club I play on smoking on the course is banned, but it is because of the fire danger to the forests.  The smokers don't like it but since it is temporary they put up with it.

[Dave2512]

My only problem with tobacco users are the inconsiderate ones. If someone wants to smoke go for it. Just don't stand right next to me or litter. I don't doubt there are responsible tobacco users but it seems they are the minority. Since the smoking ban here I can't count the times I've had to walk through clouds of smoke near restaurant entrances and other areas that are supposed to be free of smoke. Here I think the law is at least 15 feet. I see people standing just outside doors smoking every day. On course the problems are more litter related. Nothing sucks more than getting into a cart where the cart barn has missed a big spot of chew spit.

[Golfingdad]

My only problem with tobacco users are the inconsiderate ones. If someone wants to smoke go for it. Just don't stand right next to me or litter. I don't doubt there are responsible tobacco users but it seems they are the minority. Since the smoking ban here I can't count the times I've had to walk through clouds of smoke near restaurant entrances and other areas that are supposed to be free of smoke. Here I think the law is at least 15 feet. I see people standing just outside doors smoking every day. On course the problems are more litter related. Nothing sucks more than getting into a cart where the cart barn has missed a big spot of chew spit.

And I find it to be the exact opposite here.  Way more considerate smokers than inconsiderate.  In fact, I've yet to (recently - I'm sure I have in the past) run into a rude smoker on the golf course.  At the very least, they always stand away from the rest of the group, in my limited experience.

And in public, I find it to be the same.  Places like airports and Disneyland (was there this week) have designated smoking areas, and more often than not, the smokers stick to 'em.  (It's kind of a sad, and cloudy, sight) ;)

[BuckeyeNut]

I just had a fun flashback from the Presidents Cup when it was at Harding park in SANFRAN. In a city where public nudity and plenty of obscene behavior is tolerated, the big controversy during the cup matches was Michael Jordan lighting up on golf course grounds.

[newtogolf]

Plus, I don't find Cigar smoke all that offensive. A good cigar has a nice aroma like good coffee.

That's a bit of a reach, but a cheap cigar smells like a$$.  Nothing worse than getting stuck with the guy that loves his $1 cigars and smokes them the entire round cause they are so cheap.

[Slice of Life]

Everyone always says "courses are struggling"...

What courses do you guys go to? Because every time I go, it's backed up with a million people...

[ditchparrot19]

Everyone always says "courses are struggling"...

What courses do you guys go to? Because every time I go, it's backed up with a million people...

Are you sure that's not because other courses in the region are no longer in operation?

Fourteen 18-hole courses opened in the U.S. in 2013, while more than 150 closed up shop. It was the eighth consecutive year that more courses closed than opened, and last year the ratio was more than 10 to 1.

Golf participation numbers are way, way down from their peak in the late '90s. That's not an anecdotal observation – it's fact.

Sure, a lot of courses all around the country are doing just fine, but many are benefiting from a reduced pool of options.