[Accor$314]

well, i am somewhat new to golf, and id like to respect all the other golfers out there with me, so what are some major do's and dont's out on the course?

[BadbarmrapBef]

Do
be fast.
be quiet.
flatten the sand after you took a shot from the bunker.

Don't
show you're mad.
stand on or walk through shot lines.
shoot other players who do.


I think that should get you pretty far already.

[CelexaNY]

Here are some easy greenside tips:

If everyone is on the green sizing up their putts and you're closest to the pin, you pull the flag.

If you're the first one in your group to hole out, grab the flag and be ready to replace it after everyone else is done.

Try to repair at least one ball-mark per green, even if it's not yours, and especially if it's your home course! Those babies have to last all summer, and most public course groundskeepers could use the help!

[dserbokim]

Be ready to play when it is your turn. Be gracious about letting others play through. Be quiet when others are getting ready to hit. If your new to the game and are struggling that day be willing to pick up your ball and move on to the next hole instead of holding everything up. Most important HAVE FUN!

[Flieteewell]

And don't forget to leave your cell phone in the car.


-JP

[SeelaypeKet]

And don't forget to leave your cell phone in the car.


-JP

Sorry, we disagree on that one. A cell phone on silent does not bother anybody and some need it to conduct work or in case of emergencies while out there.

[Barryrich]

And don't forget to leave your cell phone in the car.

Or on silent. I like to have my phone just in case. You might have to call the clubhouse for some reason.

EDIT: Too slow!

[shumozar]

Sorry, we disagree on that one. A cell phone on silent does not bother anybody and some need it to conduct work or in case of emergencies while out there.

I completely agree, I also use my iphone as my gps.

[Flieteewell]

Or on silent. I like to have my phone just in case. You might have to call the clubhouse for some reason.

EDIT: Too slow!

Call the clubhouse?


-JP

[Flieteewell]

Sorry, we disagree on that one. A cell phone on silent does not bother anybody and some need it to conduct work or in case of emergencies while out there.

Yeah but it's not the ringing that's annoying, it's the conversation.


-JP

[Barryrich]

Call the clubhouse?

Report slow play, your cart might break down, someone could get hurt, whatever, any reason. Doesn't have to be the clubhouse, you might just need the phone.

You leave your phone in the car. I'll have mine, thanks.

Yeah but it's not the ringing that's annoying, it's the conversation.

No, it's the ringing, that's why you keep it on silent.

[squeerisott]

i would have to agree that listen to the conversation is really annoying. I don't mind people with cell phones on the course as long as they don't talk very long or even better just text.

[janeemljr]

Call the clubhouse?


-JP

A genteman came into my hopsital last week- he had a massive heart attack on the golf course. When he came through the ER he was a PNB (pulseless non-breather... aka dead). CPR had been started by someone on the course while another called a squad on their cell. Guy is almost fully recovered (will have some brain dysfunction though). Another 5 mins "down" and he wouldn't have made it. Having a cell phone on the course saved the man's life.

I understand that a golfing partner who is always on his phone between holes is annoying, and you loose a lot of the comroderie that golf is built on... I don't encourage that at all. But to the person like me who carries my phone in my pocket, uses it as a GPS, and doesn't call anyone unless it is very important, having a cell phone on the course is a no big deal- for me or anyone I play with

[Flieteewell]

Report slow play, your cart might break down, someone could get hurt, whatever, any reason. Doesn't have to be the clubhouse, you might just need the phone.

If you say so.

But in the 42 years I've been playing this game, I cannot recall a single time that I needed to call a clubhouse for anything, but that's me.

And it is very much the conversation that disrupts things. I can recall many occasions where I and others were waiting for someone to finish talking before the rest of us could putt or play a shot. I've also been with people who have had to excuse themselves from playing an entire hole (or holes in the case of one guy) because their conversation was so important that they couldn't continue. I have to wonder that if someone's world is so complicated that they can't even play an entire round of golf because of phone calls, then why did they come out to the course in the first place?

As far as the the "24/7", business crowd is concerned, all I can say is that in the decades prior to cellular phones, there have surely been other "important" people who played golf yet they somehow managed to either stay employed or in business despite the 4 or 5 hours they spent beyond the reach of conventional communication.

Now how did THEY manage to do that?

If someone claims to be in such demand that they can't be without their cell phone for a round of golf -- especially on a Sunday, no less -- then they're either self-important egomaniacs far too wrapped up in their own narcissism or they're in dire need of a less demanding job.

Either way, I pity them.

Leave the silly thing in the car and enjoy a quiet afternoon for a change; that's part of the reason for playing golf, isn't it? The world will still be spinning on its axis despite your being incommunicado for the time it takes to watch a football game.


In my opinion, of course.



-JP

[WenPyclenoWex]

well, i am somewhat new to golf, and id like to respect all the other golfers out there with me, so what are some major do's and dont's out on the course?

Read this:

Etiquette

Straight from the Rules of Golf.

[janeemljr]

JP

You must have missed the saftey part of having a cell phone.
Heart attacks are more common than you think on the golf course and the 5-10 mins you spend driving to the club house (or heaven forbid you have to walk) can mean the difference between someone living or dying.

[lomonel]

I have my phone with me but always on silent. I go to the course to get away from the rest of the world. Sometimes I'll check it and reply to a text or 2 while walking to my ball, but I never let. It interfere with my rate of play.

[WenPyclenoWex]

Yeah but it's not the ringing that's annoying, it's the conversation.


-JP

I find both to be annoying. I keep mine with me. Turned off. In a pocket in my bag. For emergencies only. If I am expecting an important call, I might check it during a protracted wait for the group in front, but it would have to be a call which was truly unavoidable (we are building a home in the Bahamas and the builder loves to call with questions during prime golf hours). Maybe one round in 50 that I actually turn the phone on during the round... even less often that I would actually make a call. Unlike far too many people today I am not addicted to the telephone. I use perhaps 500 hours a year, and that may be an exaggeration.

Cell phones have turned Americans into some kind of monsters, unable to be out of touch for 10 minutes, much less for 4 hours. There are major lobbies now to enact strict laws about cell phone use while driving... all use, not just texting. I find it pathetic that so many people can't even back out of the driveway without getting on the phone. I find the number of phone distracted drivers on the road to be frightening. I see too many stupid things being done by drivers who would swear up and down that their driving skills aren't diminished by talking on the phone. They would be shocked to see a video of some of the crazy things they do. It's an epidemic, and someone needs to find a cure.

[Flieteewell]

JP

You must have missed the saftey part of having a cell phone.
Heart attacks are more common than you think on the golf course and the 5-10 mins you spend driving to the club house (or heaven forbid you have to walk) can mean the difference between someone living or dying.

I understand what you're saying, but are you suggesting that prior to cellphones people were dropping like flies on golf courses across the country more so than they are now?

Sorry, but I just don't believe that.



-JP

[unishisse]

I would not have a problem if people were considerate of others on the course. That will never happen and people abuse the use of cell phones all the time. I sometimes think some of the people I see were born with a cell phone in their ear. We were being held up by a group a few years ago. They were slow, slow, slow and we were waiting on every shot on ever hole. On the 7th hole after a long wait they finally all holed out. We all breathed a collective sign of relief. Three of them walked off the green while the fourth pulled his cell phone out and started talking on it still standing in the middle of the green. Turns out it was his 7 year old daughter just calling to say hi. Important? yes to him but he could have just as easily walked off the green before taking the call. I may be old school but to me people who use cell phones on the course except for an emergency are totally rude.