Common sense and etiquette trashed?

[altos]

I went to the driving range yesterday.   A guy shows up, gets balls, hits a few, then turns on his cell phone to play his favorite music, loud enough to be hear several spots away.  I went over and briefly noted that it's disturbing me (and others who wouldn't say anything).  He turned it off.

Upon reflection, it's not exactly what he did that bothered me.  It was his self absorbed attitude that he should be able to do anything regardless of others.  Sadly, I find this more prevalent by the day.    Simple common courtesy seems to be absent.  Hummm.... maybe a brass band playing next to the 18th at the Masters is in the future?  

[Patch]

My guess is, since he turned off the music, he was not that "self absorbed". He could have just told you to pack sand, and kept playing it. 

I will agree that common courtesy is sadly lacking these days. However, from my point of view, I tend to see it more so in the folks providing the service than those folks using the service. I attribute this to too much arrogance, and negativity on the part of others. My fix is to just ignore them, and go on with my own business. 

[iacas]

What @Patch said.

[Hardspoon]

7 hours ago, altos said:

Sadly, I find this more prevalent by the day.

In most cases, if you think something was "better in the good old days"...you're probably wrong.

Maybe he just didn't realize that it wasn't OK to play music until you said something.  I tend to try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

[colin007]

Range =/= golf

[Northwoods88]

I had a group of younger gentlemen in front of me on the course one time. They had an external speaker on their cart and had music blasting the entire round. I didn't say anything since it didn't bother me but I could see how it could be annoying to others.

[colin007]

26 minutes ago, Northwoods88 said:

I had a group of younger gentlemen in front of me on the course one time. They had an external speaker on their cart and had music blasting the entire round. I didn't say anything since it didn't bother me but I could see how it could be annoying to others.

Again, I think this is different from being on the range. If two friends are hitting balls next to each other on the range and are laughing and talking and having a good time, is the OP going to ask them to stop because he's sensitive?

[Patch]

On another note, when practicing, and someone, or something disturbing is going on, why not use the disturbances to your advantage? Try using them for a stronger focus for the shot at hand. Turn something bad into something good. 

I know it happens, but I have never understood why someone would let others manipulate their mental focus on what ever they were trying to accomplish. Always seemed like an easy excuse to blame one's failure on others. 

[Buckeyebowman]

Yes, I've heard the boom carts, the guys who are drunk and loud on the course, the slow players, course owners who seem to be the modern embodiment of the Gestapo, etc.

What disturbs me more is disrespect shown TO the course. Played last Thursday on a course that will never fool you for a country club, but it's not bad. I came away from the round convinced that it is played mainly by hillbillies who are too ignorant or lazy to repair ball marks, replace divots, and rake bunkers!

Also, disrespect for the course is disrespect for golfer behind you. I must have fixed close to a dozen pitch marks on every green, and I couldn't get to them all. We did have to keep play moving!

[altos]

One of my favorite idiots... only because is was soooo stupid... was a clown a couple foursomes ahead of us who was eating sunflower seeds.  Being the moron he was/is, he spit the shells all over the greens.  A complaint was registered about the 7th hole.  It wasn't hard to figure out who it was as the last group with a clean green was followed by the clown.  They were asked to leave the course and did.   

[RussUK]

When it comes to the range i think its becoming more of a social place these days, which in my mind is a good thing. I go there with my 5 year old son and we have a great time, plus he helps me practice better. Its great to see the kids giving golf a go or people who may not have seen a fellow golfer for ages bump into each other on the range as good vibes breed good vibes.

Sure you get the odd muppet(s) who just come to whack balls and be stupid but thats par for the course i'm afraid. If i'm on a proper, just have to concentrate kind of session then the earphones go in and i block everything out (doesn't have to be loud to keep your mind off whats going on around you).

[Yukari]

On 9/1/2018 at 6:46 PM, Hardspoon said:

In most cases, if you think something was "better in the good old days"...you're probably wrong.

Maybe he just didn't realize that it wasn't OK to play music until you said something.  I tend to try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

I tend to agree with this sentiment. Only reason old days seem better is we generally only remember the good parts. 

Also, I agree with @colin007it’s only at a driving range not on a course. You can’t expect quiet at a range as there are all sorts of people talking laughing etc. 

[Typhoon92]

It's the " Top Golf mentality."

[JonMA1]

All it really takes is asking if anyone minds a little music playing and then setting the volume at a reasonable level.

From the OP's description, it doesn't sound like the music was very loud so maybe it wasn't inappropriate, but I've never understood playing music as loud as some folks do in a public area. Christ, they have this new invention called earbuds which allows one to listen to whatever crap they want without forcing others to.

There are some places where I find it appropriate. I've come to expect it at the gym for example. Maybe the driving range has become one of those places. But even then, if the music is so loud that others cannot hear what ever it is they're listening to with their earbuds, it just seems obnoxious.

As much as I love music, there are genres that I f'ing hate. And I can't imagine forcing others to listen to my poor taste in music.

[jamo]

...But he turned it off.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, jamo said:

...But he turned it off.

Yeah.

This whole topic is kinda over the top.

[rehmwa]

3 hours ago, jamo said:

...But he turned it off.

was gonna be my comment.  guy was perfectly courteous.  Seems like whining more than anything.

The other comments are much more 'real' examples than this harmless encounter.  But we have threads, and threads, and threads of that already.

Edited September 4, 2018 by rehmwa

[RayG]

As it's moot now anyway, could have just asked to turn it down a bit after mentioning that it's a "bit disturbing". 

But as a LOOOONG time player at muni's where etiquette, manners and protocol are not exactly country club level, you learn to play through just about anything... including gunshots (play at almost any course in the Northeast near public land in the fall). 

"Most" Muni's I play, as well as some of the public course strapped for land, put tee's and greens extremely near each other. You get Joe Coolerbag out there with his buddies and he makes a 50 footer for an eight, there WILL be screaming and hollering. And they aren't paying any attention to the tee box that is 20 yards away on a tricky, narrow driving hole. If you happen to be right at your transition, you BETTER be committed to that swing and have everything else blocked out. That's the game I learned to play- there is ALWAYS something going on around you, chatter from the groups nearby, traffic on the road adjacent to the tee box, the yahoos in that traffic who think they're the first guys to yell "FORE" out the car windows, and any number of possible distractions. You learn to close it out. If you waited for it to get "Tour Quiet", you would be standing there all day.