Is etiquette out the window?

[Shooting29]

People picking up your ball, not repairing ball marks, hitting into you, jumping in front of you on the back while your putting on nine, not letting faster groups through. I realize today's society is all about looking out for yourself but I thought it would take longer to creep into golf. Guess it was wishful thinking. 

[RickK]

Where do you play?

[DaveP043]

11 minutes ago, RickK said:

Where do you play?

Yeah, I wanna stay away from that place.  I've been pretty fortunate, I don't think I've seen any real issues anyplace I've played in the last few years.

[mchepp]

I haven't experienced much of anything you have recently, except:

46 minutes ago, Shooting29 said:

not repairing ball marks,

I would like to see more repairing of ball marks!

[Dave2512]

Random dummies at our course but not a daily problem or anything and it's just slow play.

[Shooting29]

2 minutes ago, Dave2512 said:

Random dummies at our course but not a daily problem or anything and it's just slow play.

I wouldn't call what I listed a daily problem. I was just aggravated, there was obviously a group there today who didn't fix ball marks. You can look at a mark and see if its fresh and also whether the ball was relatively close and the person was just lazy. a couple Sundays ago I had a guy try to play through my group without asking while we were waiting on the group ahead. I asked him where he thought he was going to go. The problem is not the regulars. 

[Patch]

For a few golfers, ettiquette is not important. However, I think most golfers know what the word means, and apply it properly.

[ghalfaire]

There are some bad apples but on total I think most golfers are considerate of others and the course.

[Gvel]

Etiquette is not up to "par,"  and it's not just ball marks and divots.  Often I see carts way too close to greens and hardly anyone follows the 90 degree rule, when crossing a fairway on a cart.  A lot don't know enough to let fast golfers play through, either.  

Today, more folks can enjoy the game, but few have had any "training." 

[Papa Steve 55]

The problem is that you cant see the repaired ball marks, so you have nothing to compare unrepaired with the ones that were fixed. There may have been 50 that were fixed and 5 that were not, but your perspective is that nobody fix's them.

I wish they all were but its not uncommon for me to fix three or four on a green, or fix a divot as I walk by or pick up a piece of trash blowing around the fairway. I learned that from some of the guys I played with, I hope some of the guys who have watched me, do the same. Its not a perfect world, fix what you can.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Papa Steve 55

[mcanadiens]

All that stuff is par for my courses. Yeah, it might be less than 10% of all the golfers out on a given day, but there are always some of them out.

[Buckeyebowman]

Sheesh, I've seen the ball mark and divot thing for quite a few years, especially on shorter par 5's and par 3's where it's raining wedges and short irons to the green. I've walked up on some greens that looked like the surface of the moon! I've fixed as many as a dozen ball marks while the other members of my group putted. And this is on nice courses as well as the goat ranches.

Apparently, there are some people who can play golf quite well, but who are not "golfers" since they know nothing about the care of the green. I think that maybe golf lessons should include a few tips on etiquette and a free ball mark repair tool!

[mcanadiens]

1 hour ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Apparently, there are some people who can play golf quite well, but who are not "golfers" since they know nothing about the care of the green. I think that maybe golf lessons should include a few tips on etiquette and a free ball mark repair tool!

The irony of this has always hit me. Hacker that I am, I'll go holes at a time without even hitting the green. Then I get to look at the schmucks who did and left the ball marks. I love fixing my own ball marks.

[Gator Hazard]

21 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

The irony of this has always hit me. Hacker that I am, I'll go holes at a time without even hitting the green. Then I get to look at the schmucks who did and left the ball marks. I love fixing my own ball marks.

Me too. Fixing a ball mark means I actually hit the green from some type of a distance!  It's a good feeling. 

[gregsandiego]

1 hour ago, Gator Hazard said:

Me too. Fixing a ball mark means I actually hit the green from some type of a distance!  It's a good feeling. 

Not to mention how easy it is. 

Raking the bunker, on the other hand, can be a lot of work.

[Dan42nepa]

I think it has always existed and cant say it has escalated.. well maybe the jump on the back 9 but I am guilty of that also but only when I play alone and they wont see me past the 10th hole.

[RH31]

It is worse than it used to be. I belong to a private club and it's not uncommon to see;

divots not replaced....or  just dumping the mix in instead of replacing the turf

bunkers not properly raked

sand footprints on greens

golfers standing and/or moving in others peripheral vision while hitting

players not ready to hit when it's their turn

oddly enough, there isn't much of problem with repairing ball marks

I don't know if it's an educational thing or if people are just plain lazier

[krupa]

I play a public course and see all these things and more.  Etiquette is a strange thing.  We know when someone else violates it but are not always aware when we break it.  We also frequently can't agree on what the rules even are.

One night, a couple years ago, I was playing as a single and caught up to another guy playing as a single.  In front of us was a twosome playing very slowly.  The guy (who had a cart) told me that he passed the twosome (who were walking) on the way to the first tee but they insisted that they get to play first because they paid first.  The guy explained that although his wife was in the cart, only he was playing and would be out of their way, etc., but the twosome was having none of that and threatened to call the clubhouse (who would have sided with the single, by the way.)  So the twosome set the pace that night.

While this guy was telling me the story, the twosome moved out of range.  He proceeds to hit his drive, say "well, have a good round" and drive off without inviting me to play with him.  I guess if he had to wait, I had to wait.