Is etiquette out the window?

[Gvel]

League night was tonight, and we played against two old dudes, about 5 or 10 years older than me.   

Anywho, they were ball mark fixing machines, on every hole except, maybe, number 9.  

Nice to see, and what a coincidence.  

[JonMA1]

I haven't been playing for many years, but I have a notion of how to act on the course. What I've seen in the last 2 months doesn't even come close.

I play on public courses - none of them very expensive, but there's no excuse for:

1. Cigarette butts on the putting greens. Yep... that's where those go when you're done.
2. Lots of  hootin' and hollerin'... Yeehaw!! I'ma play me some golf!!  During my first and likely last league participation, my own partner yelled "##%^ yeah! That's what I'm talking about!!!" after hitting a mediocre shot. There were houses within earshot. Really? You feel so strongly about something... anything, that you have to shout the f-bomb at the top of your lungs? 
3. Beer cans and garbage a short distance from a trash can.
4. Blue tee markers switched with the whites... that's creative.
5. And my all time favorite... was playing a practice round recently and got behind 2 young bros and a bimbo during what looked to be their maiden voyage to a golf course - completely unaware of the concept of letting someone play through. No big deal. With no one behind me, I slow down and start hitting 2 and 3 balls in an attempt to "keep pace". While practicing approach shots at #8, I hear a boat horn coming from the #9 tee box. The kid actually brought a boat horn to a golf course. Let me guess, Jackass is your favorite movie. The best part? They were waiting on that last hole so I could play through.

This isn't just bad golf etiquette. It would be poor behavior at a Walmart parking lot.

What's important to remember is that the vast majority of golfers would never do any of these things. Most of use live and let live while treating others with at least some level of respect. We just tend to remember those who do not.

Edited June 8, 2016 by JonMA1

[mcanadiens]

Cigarette butts on greens? Beer cans on the floor? Displaced tee markers? Hootin and hollerin?

You weren't at my beloved Kittyhawk recently were you?

[cutchemist42]

What do people here think of when you're in a 4some and the others dont help in watching tee shots? I personally really like to watch tee shots as I feel it helps the person who didnt pick up the ball off the club. I know I sometimes dont see the ball off a hit, despite thinking it felt like a good hit.

Edit-Before anyone says anything, I dont mean standing behind them. 

Edited June 8, 2016 by cutchemist42

[xcott]

I think I'm guilty of not watching often and I shoul do it more. 

[RH31]

On ‎6‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 10:45 AM, Fourputt said:

Of the items I put in bold:
1)  Using mix instead of turf in divots.  In the area where I live, the divot just dies anyway so replacing it is wasted effort.  I use sand/seed mix, and only rarely will I actually replace a divot, and only when I take an unusually large one.  Most of my divots don't have enough of the roots attached to survive anyway even if I didn't live in a semi-arid climate.
2)  I don't even know what you mean by sand footprints on greens.  In 40 years of golf I've never seen such a thing.  Sand on the green is a loose impediment and can be dealt with as needed.
3)  I stand well away from a player when he's swinging, but I don't worry about being in his peripheral vision.  If that bothers you, then you play in a very different environment than I do.  I don't move or talk when a player is swinging.  There is often someone still moving when I make my stroke on the tee, in or out of my vision, but that is because I am usually the first of my group to get there, so I just tee it up and go while they are still approaching the teeing area.

I don't think that etiquette has gotten any worse in the last few years than it was when I started playing back in the 70's.  Most of those I see who don't follow good etiquette practices are either beginners or casual twice a year golfers who mostly don't really understand the importance that etiquette plays in the game.  A lot of them have never played with anyone who would teach them those things. 

Then again there are a few jerks out there who simply don't care, and that can make it look worse than it really is.  I play with a lot of strangers when I walk on as a single, and most of them do take care of the more obvious things like raking bunkers.  Not making any effort to repair divots is probably the one I see most often.  

I even admit to not always fixing my own pitch marks, mostly because greens are so firm any more that half the time I cant find one, even though I know that I had to have made one.  The greens on my home course used to be soft enough that my ball would sometimes kick out a little divot when it landed (or even embed), but now I'm hard pressed to find even a small dent.  That is just due to a change in greens maintenance philosophy.

1) In my area (mid atlantic) the pelts(divots) heal better. Lazy ass golfers often won't walk the 20-25 feet to pick it up and replace it.

2) Sand footprints are caused when a golfers gets out of a damp bunker and walks all over the green without tapping his wedge against his shoes after he leaves the bunker. Golfers that follow that mess then have to clear away the loose impediments that he left and slows down the pace of play.

3) I was taught (in the 80's) to stand directly in front(face on) or directly behind the player teeing off.

I was told it's a no-no to be on a near a players line(directly back from the teed ball) as they were about to play a shot.

[Joe92385]

57 minutes ago, cutchemist42 said:

Edit-Before anyone says anything, I dont mean standing behind them. 

To be honest, I had no idea this was a breach of etiquette (though neither do the guys I typically play with, I guess).  Good thing I'm learning it now, before I play with someone who would get annoyed, haha.  What's the rationale behind this?  I truly have no idea why that would be bad form.

[paininthenuts]

On 6/6/2016 at 10:44 PM, Shooting29 said:

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. 

I would get rid of golf etiquette and replace it with common sense manners 

[Jaxhacker]

A couple times out my buddy was all over me about etiquette.  I love fixing ball marks.  Bought a cool new jags ball maker and mark repairer.  Only thing I can do well on the course some days.  Found the remains of a cigar still about 2 inches long on the tee box the other day.  Don't know what that was about. Biggest pet peeve to date: Guy lined up straight toward the woods and duffed into the woods.  Repeated this 3 times while we were waiting on his group.  My philosophy is if I'm bad I keep it moving. 

[Osnola]

There was a time when a golfer would wait until his round was over to have a couple of beers and look over the score card, maybe catch part of ball game on tv...Now, it appears that it is a contest to see how much you can drink while playing, and along with that there is an unexplained exit of common sense and courtesy....

[Grndslmhttr3]

17 minutes ago, Jaxhacker said:

Biggest pet peeve to date: Guy lined up straight toward the woods and duffed into the woods.  Repeated this 3 times while we were waiting on his group.  My philosophy is if I'm bad I keep it moving. 

If I put two in the woods I either take an L on the hole or just drop way down the fairway.

The most common issue I run into is people not repairing ball marks. Second most common is unraked bunkers. It's pretty annoying, but it beats having to deal with assholes throughout the round, I suppose.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Grndslmhttr3

[paininthenuts]

On 6/10/2016 at 2:08 AM, Osnola said:

There was a time when a golfer would wait until his round was over to have a couple of beers and look over the score card, maybe catch part of ball game on tv...Now, it appears that it is a contest to see how much you can drink while playing, and along with that there is an unexplained exit of common sense and courtesy....

Absolutely nothing wrong with having a beer out on the course. My friend is a club pro, and also the manager, and he has a buggy driving around the course selling beer on nice days. 

[Braivo]

I've noticed etiquette is far worse on the courses closer to big cities where you get more "weekend hackers" out there. I usually play in rural areas and find it to be pleasant. Every once in a while I will play near my hometown close to Detroit, in a densely populated suburb. It is quite obscene. Lot of idiots out there. 

[tdiii]

I play at a private club in Nor Cal -- my second private club who would have me as a member.  I remain stunned at the number of:  (a) footprints in bunkers; and, (b) ballmarks on greens.  I've never played with someone who didn't rake a bunker. I want to know who these schmucks are. 

[CCC]

Ball marks left on the green and not raking the bunkers are my pet peeves.

And then there are the spent cigars left lying next to the green. That - I just don't get. Looks like someone just took a dump. These guys don't care about our golf course or anyone who plays it.

I will fix a couple of ball marks on the green, maybe it will give me some good green karma. I will also fill in extra divots on the fairway with the sand mix in my cart. More karma. :) I realize that the walkers don't carry the sand mix.

[amoline]

Well, for what it's worth, the other week at my home course, there was a group who was kindly asked to remove themselves from the premises after driving the golf cart directly across greens multiple times, and teeing off without any pants. - No, I'm not kidding. 

[Gvel]

Paulina Gretzky's attire yesterday, was over the top.  Hey young lady, the tournament wasn't about you.  Dress accordingly, or move your tight ass elsewhere!  Honestly, you looked like a skank!

Wayne should be embarrassed, and I hope someone straightens her out!  

[Aguirre]

Oh man I hate it when somebody picks up my ball.  It's even happened when they're like fifty yards away and they can clearly hear me saying "That's my ball!" I mean, just lean down and look at it, idiot. I love it when I see somebody looking and i ask what they're hitting and they don't know. 

But one thing that wasn't mentioned in the OP was people getting impatient and hitting into me.  There are a significant amount of golfers who think that once the flag goes in the hole it's time to start their preshot routine and hit the ball while we're getting in the cart greenside. 

I signal first with hands. The old what the hell outstretched arms with palms in the air.

The second time I'm going to say, "Could you please wait to hit until we completely clear the green? Thank you." Very friendly.

The third time is going to get ugly, though.  That's only happened a couple times in my life.

I always repair my ball mark and at least one other.

10 minutes ago, Gvel said:

Paulina Gretzky's attire yesterday, was over the top.  Hey young lady, the tournament wasn't about you.  Dress accordingly, or move your tight ass elsewhere!  Honestly, you looked like a skank!

Wayne should be embarrassed, and I hope someone straightens her out!  

Oh, you stiff. She looked great and as long as I have a face, she has a place to sit.

Edited June 20, 2016 by Aguirre