13 problems only public golfers understand

[No Mulligans]

51 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Just wait until American Golf takes over your course and "playership" increases exponentially.

Pasadena, CA only has 140,000 people or so?

On the one hand, I like that there are so many new golfers, on the other hand waiting in line to go on the course or to use the range is kind of a pain. In all honesty, I like all the new people who are golfing there. . .none of these really bother me as I still get to play a lot anyway. I just play in random order and don't post because I don't have partners all the time.

140,000...

What about La Canada, La Cresenta, Alta Dena, Glendale, Monrovia, Alhambra, Eagle Rock, Arcadia... or the entire Los Angeles greater area.  It's all one contiguous population... 18.7 million

Also, Brookside is a nice course.  Players Club there could result in a lot of beginners playing on a pretty difficult course.  That would be a shame for the serious golfers wanting a decent pace.

[BamaWade]

1 hour ago, bmartin461 said:

Though I joined a local CC, my favorite public track (a great place...also the UofA course) is just around the corner, and I've felt the pain.  Thankfully, the place is run well, and only a few apply.  The pains are mostly due to overcrowding...and that the course is "the" course for the HS/University student crowd to play.  The ones I primarily see:

1. Time spent waiting at the driving range...
   Abso-freaking-lutely.  Their range is 4-sided (2 available to public), and still frequently requires waiting.  The 2 practice greens?  Don't even think about it.  And lots of it are the young guys bringing their non-golfer GFs to occupy space.

2. Ball marks...
   Yes, but I've found this true at both public and CCs.  It happens at my CC (a very nice place), and did at my prior CC (semi-nice).  Honestly, I see just as many 'well to do' CC regulars refuse to repair their marks as I do students...maybe more.  Drives me nuts.  A tiny depression that's hard to locate?  Sure.  But a 3/4" deep mud-crater right near the ball?  = AngryWade   Have some pride and take care of your course!  Can I get an amen?

3. Brakes on the golf cart are more for show stomping on...
   Only see it at the public course, not the CC (you'd be gone at the CC).  The carts and their brakes are great...the young a*holes who get a thrill out of jamming them to a loud, screeching stop for a good laugh?  

4. Waking up early to make a reservation, only to find the place is booked...
   I had a guest in town last week and we wanted to play the public course.  Called right at opening to get a 2-some worked in.  February 26th.  The answer?  Not until at least 3pm, and probably more like 4pm, due to a 1 hour frost delay.  So, to the CC and payment of exorbitant guest fee it was.

5. Getting blindly paired...
   If I play the public course as a single, I typically get paired up with UA students.  As bad as I stereotype them, I've actually had overwhelmingly good experiences, with good behavior.  Just a couple of outliers.  So, can't complain, there.

6. That "after-work league" is synonymous with "good luck getting on today, pal"...
   Substitute "after work league" with "local middle and high school practices", and it's spot-on for me.  I had an annual pass there for a couple of years.  I like to work early then get out after work to walk 18.  During school months?  NOPE.   

7. The range balls are older than your grandma’s wallpaper...
   The public course range is fine, as is my CC range.  My old CC range?  Reasonably nice (just old) place.  Some of the range balls?  Virtually dimple-free, haha.  Sometimes they hurt to hit.  But it was fun to watch them double-curve and/or whizzzz through the air and dive.  

Can't really add any.  I'm a fickle dude re: pace of play and complete idiots, so I've abandoned the old tracks where those problems abound.

Hmmm...I may be one 'young people' complaint away from yelling "Get off my lawn!!" at the ripe old age of 41. 

BamaWade

[NJpatbee]

I live in the most crowded State in the Union (NJ) and I have never seen those conditions on daily fee courses.  We are not big in the "muni" area but we do have some county courses that are great.  There seems to be more private courses in the region, many of them legendary and require a home equity loan to join.  I (I should say my company) belonged to a private club for over a decade and it was great.  But in addition, there are quite a few semi-private courses that you have the option to join or pay to play open tee times.  Many of these courses are as manicured as the best private courses.  There are also many resort courses such as Ballyowen and Sea Oaks that cost a bit more but are great also. 

 

I guess it is one of the perks of living in the NY Metro area.

[Lihu]

29 minutes ago, No Mulligans said:

140,000...

What about La Canada, La Cresenta, Alta Dena, Glendale, Monrovia, Alhambra, Eagle Rock, Arcadia... or the entire Los Angeles greater area.  It's all one contiguous population... 18.7 million

It's bad, but not quite that bad.

There are also hundreds of courses for the entire area LA area.

Off hand, I can break down my area as follows. . .

La Canada has a CC for about $600 initiation and I think something like $250/month plus $1000 food per year.

Altadena- they go to Altadena GC or Brookside.

Glendale people usually go to Hansom Dam or Wilson, Monrovia people go all over the place like Gendora CC

Alhambra has Almansor

Eagle rock go to Brookside as well. . .

Arcadia has Santa Anita/ Arcadia GC (par 3). Whittier Dam just south.

Then we have the exclusive CC as well.

 

Quote

Also, Brookside is a nice course.  Players Club there could result in a lot of beginners playing on a pretty difficult course.  That would be a shame for the serious golfers wanting a decent pace.

True, it's got a long and short course. Two weeks ago I got behind some people and it turned out that two dimwits were playing the long course and backing things up to the 13th hole as they piddled on the 18th hole. I can only laugh at that type of stuff, since I didn't play hole by hole like everyone else***. . .

 

***I never do that any more. I didn't want to be all the time. I just wanted to have fun playing a hole at a time.

[nevets88]

Events can put a damper on your plans. Whether it be a sanctioned tournament, corporate outing, whatever. Even if you have a calendar of events, you might arrive to find barely any tee times left or none at all.

Also getting through via telephone to speak to a human not as good as privates, semi-privates, more expensive publics.

[NCGolfer]

It doesn't happen nearly as much but one of the worst for me was a sub 2 hour front nine and then a 3 hour back nine.  Double tees.  The bane of public weekend golf.

[krupa]

Apparently, my biggest problem is that someone stole my course's lockers.

[Jakester23]

5 hours ago, bmartin461 said:

From Golf Digest.  

Country club members don't know how sweet they have it. Here are 13 problems that only public golfers understand.

1. More time is spent waiting at the driving range than actually hitting balls 

2. Ball marks are just as hazardous as water or out-of-bounds

3. Knowing the 5th tee box could serve as your camp site

4. Recognizing brakes on the golf cart are more for show than safety

5. Smacking your drive onto another hole likely means your ball will be picked up. Actually, your ball’s not safe on your fairway, either

6. Waking up at 6 AM on a Saturday to make a reservation for next weekend, only to find all the good tee times are already gone

7. Marshals are as effective in speeding up play as cookies are in promoting weight loss

8. Getting blindly paired with someone who could end up being A) your new best friend or B) a fugitive of the law

9. That "after-work league" is synonymous with "good luck getting on today, pal"

10. Hitting out of sand traps that are more dirt than sand

11. The range balls are older than your grandma’s wallpaper...

12. ...And that mats so worn down that you’re basically hitting off concrete

13. There's a 50/50 chance your belongings in the locker room will be there after the round

 

What would you add?

1 hasn't actually ever happened to me but I have squeezed into the last spot once or twice.

2 Definitely a problem on the lower end courses in my area

3 For some reason it usually ends up being the 1st par 3 that backs up

4 This one makes me laugh Ive been smashed into by my own group due to faulty brakes

5 This is why I play Snell's 

6 Hasn't ever happened to me thus far

7 This one drives me crazy.  If I'm even lucky enough to see a marshal

8 Yep

9 Yep

10 Ha ha ha Yep

11 Mostly correct

12 Luckily most of the courses I play have grass practice areas

13 I don't see many locker rooms but I sure wouldn't leave anything in the ones I do see

I would add 

14 The one guy so drunk he can't hit his dam ball off the tee by the 4th or 5th hole and all his buzzed buddies think its funny

15 A random cart coming back down the fairway to pick up a club they left 3 or 4 holes back. (This has been me a few time)

16 Guy in the clubhouse at the turn telling you he finished in 3 hours why weren't you hear earlier

[Buckeyebowman]

There are some points in the article, but where I live we don't have to play munis very often. We don't have many of them, but we do have plenty of public, daily fee courses. I have seen showers and lockers at some of them, yet have never seen a single person use them!

And the point about carts hit home with me, but not because it was at a muni. It was at a new, upscale daily fee course, the newest course in the area. Beautiful design, and for the first couple of years featured carts that would just go like rockets, but were a little short on braking power. This course has a lot of elevation changes and at one point our first time there, we found ourselves flying down a steep slope toward a bridge that crossed a deep ravine! I was standing on the brake pedal, we weren't slowing down, and there was a sharp right turn required at the bottom of the hill just to make the bridge! Due to driving skills worthy of NASCAR I managed to get us to the next tee in one piece, although the cart was briefly on two wheels!

Scared the living crap out of me, and I drove nice and slow from then on!

Edited March 7, 2017 by Buckeyebowman

[MuniGrit]

110 degrees does wonders for pace of play. 

[CCC]

7 hours ago, bmartin461 said:

From Golf Digest.  

Country club members don't know how sweet they have it. Here are 13 problems that only public golfers understand.

1. More time is spent waiting at the driving range than actually hitting balls

2. Ball marks are just as hazardous as water or out-of-bounds

3. Knowing the 5th tee box could serve as your camp site

4. Recognizing brakes on the golf cart are more for show than safety

5. Smacking your drive onto another hole likely means your ball will be picked up. Actually, your ball’s not safe on your fairway, either

6. Waking up at 6 AM on a Saturday to make a reservation for next weekend, only to find all the good tee times are already gone

7. Marshals are as effective in speeding up play as cookies are in promoting weight loss

8. Getting blindly paired with someone who could end up being A) your new best friend or B) a fugitive of the law

9. That "after-work league" is synonymous with "good luck getting on today, pal"

10. Hitting out of sand traps that are more dirt than sand

11. The range balls are older than your grandma’s wallpaper...

12. ...And that mats so worn down that you’re basically hitting off concrete

13. There's a 50/50 chance your belongings in the locker room will be there after the round

 

What would you add?

This is why I NEVER/EVER play golf on Sunday. Because, everyone, and their brother is out on the course.

I do like playing on Saturday afternoon/evening. Seems, most other players have better things to do - on Saturday.

[David in FL]

1 hour ago, MuniGrit said:

110 degrees does wonders for pace of play. 

But it's a dry heat....  

[Groucho Valentine]

#5 and #9 are so true 

[Marty2019]

For me, 10 and 11.   Dirt bunkers and old range balls. 

[Bucki1968]

It's funny...I moved to Florida 20 years ago and I was so excited to be able to play golf year round. I have now come to the point where my "golf season" is the same as it was up north (about March until November). I understand that golf courses have to make their money when they can (in season) so the courses are going to be packed and the play will be very slow so I don't even bother playing when the snow birds are around. Not to mention that the course I play in the summer cost about half as much as they do right now. I used to work in the golf business and I can't tell you how many times someone in the shop would radio out and ask me If I could get a foursome out somewhere without a tee time when they could plainly see the tee sheet is completely booked. So I would cram them out and piss off all the groups behind them. I would go out to ranger and listen to them complain about how slow it was but there was literally no where to push the groups because there would be two to three groups on every hole. So I just gave up on winter golf in Florida. Hopefully with the weather being nice up north, I can get the clubs back out here in a couple of weeks! 

[nevets88]

Also parking. At Bethpage, the lots can get so full, you're a 10 minute walk from the clubhouse. Some munis charge for parking, annoying and a pain finding the cash.

[Jeremie Boop]

18 hours ago, bmartin461 said:

From Golf Digest.  

Country club members don't know how sweet they have it. Here are 13 problems that only public golfers understand.

1. More time is spent waiting at the driving range than actually hitting balls

2. Ball marks are just as hazardous as water or out-of-bounds

3. Knowing the 5th tee box could serve as your camp site

4. Recognizing brakes on the golf cart are more for show than safety

5. Smacking your drive onto another hole likely means your ball will be picked up. Actually, your ball’s not safe on your fairway, either

6. Waking up at 6 AM on a Saturday to make a reservation for next weekend, only to find all the good tee times are already gone

7. Marshals are as effective in speeding up play as cookies are in promoting weight loss

8. Getting blindly paired with someone who could end up being A) your new best friend or B) a fugitive of the law

9. That "after-work league" is synonymous with "good luck getting on today, pal"

10. Hitting out of sand traps that are more dirt than sand

11. The range balls are older than your grandma’s wallpaper...

12. ...And that mats so worn down that you’re basically hitting off concrete

13. There's a 50/50 chance your belongings in the locker room will be there after the round

 

What would you add?

I'm not sure I can relate to much of what you listed. If there is a range where I go it's typically pretty empty most of the time. Ball marks can be a bit out of hand sometimes, but I don't have too many instances where they cause too much trouble with a putt. I chose to play later in the day which helps me avoid a lot of the backups on the course, though sometimes it can get a bit slower than I like. Most golf carts I drive have pretty good breaks, though there are those few that are dodgy. I have had my fair share of golf balls picked up by others though, regardless of where they are at. I rarely have any trouble getting a tee time, but like I said, I tend to play later in the day so that's probably a major factor there. Marshals? What marshals rofl! Only been blindly paired up a couple times and never had a bad experience thankfully. After-work league typically is more of a "good luck finishing before dark". I can concur with the sand trap with the caveat that if there is sand there are typically a lot of rocks. Range balls are typically salvaged from ponds and other areas on the course so they aren't too bad on the courses that do actually have a range. No mats, actual grass, though a bit patchy and a bit longer than it should be. Lockers? Hahaha, even if they had them I'd never use them anyway. Main things I would say is disappointing at most public courses I've played, lack of beverage cart and/or water on the course. It used to be I'd see the cart going around regularly, but in the last few years it's gotten to where if I see the cart go around 1 or 2 times while I'm out there it's a good day.

[chilepepper]

Ball marks, slow play and neutered marshals I can relate to. The private course I worked on the members did not fix their ball marks though.....the par threes looked like the moon