Why do people spit around at the golf course?

[kafka01]

Hey,

in one of the golf mags i read a couple of days ago was an opinion of an editor why people/tour players actually spit around on the golf course.

I always wonderd why that is the case if i see it on TV/sometimes on the course that people spit around, even thats kinda seldom where i play.

Personally i find it quite inappropriate in a sport with an etiquette like golf has. And i never even was pushed close to the personal exhaustion you would have if you played 90mins of soccer, running all the time around when playing golf.

So who does it, and for what reasons do you do it?

[iacas]

Personally i find it quite inappropriate in a sport with an etiquette like golf has. And i never even was pushed close to the personal exhaustion you would have if you played 90mins of soccer, running all the time around when playing golf.

It has nothing to do with etiquette. You're outdoors. I don't think it's inappropriate to take a leak off in the woods somewhere if nobody can really see it let alone spit somewhere. My goodness, should we avoid adjusting ourselves too when our boxers bunch up a bit? It's not as if we spit at people, in the cup, or on another player's clubs.

I spit sometimes because I feel like it, because I want to get rid of some extra spit, whatever. Heck, I spit on a golf ball to clean it off sometimes. If you don't spit on the golf course, I bet you're in a very, very small minority.

[Ben]

Working in the golf business, I've come to learn that dipping (chewing tabacco) is quite common place amongst golfers.

[Cooker]

I spit on the course as well, mainly because I drink gatorade on the course and it leaves a film on your tongue, nowhere near the greens or other players, also spit works good to clean your balls/clubs.

[Zexel]

I find myself spitting around the course as well. I used to play baseball, so bad habits catch up. I DO NOT spit on the greens though. Either by myself or with others.

[Everardo]

Working in the golf business, I've come to learn that dipping (chewing tabacco) is quite common place amongst golfers.

Yup

I find myself spitting around the course as well. I used to play baseball, so bad habits catch up. I DO NOT spit on the greens though. Either by myself or with others.

Same here

[countjyro]

With me, the situation is quite different. I tend to spit all over the golf course, but I have quite a good reason! I have Cystic Fibrosis, and it causes mucus to grow in my lungs, and when I cough, it comes out of the lungs, and I spit it out. Thus I spit a lot (I cough a lot). Sometimes I can't manage to walk off the green or tee box due to being out of breath from coughing. I try to be careful about it, but sometimes it's unavoidable.

[InternalGolf]

I generally think it is hard for people not to spit. You spit everywhere else when spit gets into your mouth so you just commonly spit on a golf course. I spit on a golf course but I also do pound it down so that other golfers behind me don't there ball land in it or just walk past it.

[Arsenal Forever]

I spit on my walk from the green to the next tee box after a bad hole often. I don't even think of doing it, I just do it.

[Ben]

Working in the golf business, I've come to learn that dipping (chewing tabacco) is quite common place amongst golfers.

Thought I'd mention that I do not dip. Nor do I spit on the course. I don't spit anywhere under any circumstance other than after brushing my teeth.

[gbk56]

I don't spit unless I am chewing. And never on the greens or fairways.

[TheNextBen]

sometimes when I play bad and get really upset I tend to spit a lot... everywhere. Sometimes on my opponents or in the face of my caddy if he gave me the wrong yardage.

No but seriously. You gotta spit sometimes. It can affect your game to have a lot of spit in your mouth all the time and being forced to swallow.

[kafka01]

sometimes when I play bad and get really upset I tend to spit a lot... everywhere. Sometimes on my opponents or in the face of my caddy if he gave me the wrong yardage.

Well i read about the thing to stick your tongue out to loosen some important muscle groups while you swing - maybe there is also a logical reason behind spitting in golf?

Actually i´m suprised that from the responses in this thread it looks like a very common thing on the course and not an exception - then i probably just have to get over it and look the other way if people do it. Thanks for the responses

[ClintonM3]

I think spitting is just bad manners. I've lived and travel often overseas, and in many cities I've been, spitting is in the same level as littering. And a golf course is not the outdoors like the wilderness. It is a public place like a restaurant, or a shopping mall. I especially would not spit in the presence of women or business associates.

[gaz d]

nothing wrong with it except on the green its disgusting!

[snoodlelvr]

I'm of the camp that spitting is pretty nasty. Yes, people take leaks on the course but at least they go into the woods.

Not that I care too much about it, but if I lose yardage b/c my ball is stuck in someone's mountainous expulsion of a loogie, I'm going to be PO'd.

[T.J.K.]

It's just spit. I don't think it's a big deal. You are outside, it's grass, spit if you want to. If I need to spit, I spit. Pretty simple really :)

[Twan013]

i dip, i spit, its a natural way of a dipper's life... not on the tee's or greens... i thought about it, but since for one, they are high-traffic areas, and 2, the grass is so short that it would easily be noticeable, i changed my mind... so i always at least step off of the green or tee about a foot...