What a load of crap.

Traditions of golf and "country club attitudes" are becoming confused in this thread. Both are continuing to evolve, but they are not the same.

Turns out this can be construed against the rules of golf.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules...n-14/#d14-3-17


BO

lol so dumb.

i see both sides...

i don't want people with stereos blasting chugging beers the whole round.

but i also think there are all kinds of traditions/etiquette/etc. that slow down the game and are unneccesary.

when people aren't maintaining handicaps (and of course the handicap system could change too):

not sure why you can't walk in someone's like outside X feet from the hole. and of course try to avoid their line and being too heavy footed but NOT walk way around.

keep the pin in beyond 15 foot putt....

keep putting until you make it. i have seen "inside out" putting at an event and i really liked it. have to think it through though.

1 foot (or 18 inch) gimme circle around the hole... i've seen this at some top courses.

this isn't so much etiquette but my biggest pet peeve is each of the 4 players doing all their preparation when it's their turn to putt. why can't you look at and pace your putt all at the same time?

there must be some yardage at which you can hit your shot and if you happen to hit your best shot ever that barely rolls on the green you can yell "fore"..... like i sit there waiting to hit from 240 yards because i've rolled it on a few times in my entire golf life.

there must be others, but lots of common sense things can speed up the game............ i think part of the problem is that country club/rich/etc. see a round as a leisurely pursuit. not a bad attitude per se but slows down the course really badly. no real excuse for it at your local muni IMO

What's your rush?

I think unless a golf course is a top 250 course in the world or in a metropolitan city, they will start having to go hybrid private/public.

The country clubs that do survive will have to get a lot more creative with memberships -- like weekday only.

In 10-20 years, golf course participation will be 25% less than today. You can see it with the juniors and how few people are playing in their 20s. The older generation is dying off and not enough golfers are replacing them.

Another positive development may be 9 hole only courses. I think that will encourage more walking too.

What is dubious but would be an interesting experiment is to make the golf hole at a course 15-inches only. Maybe try it at a 36-hole course and make one course 15-inches and see how that impacts play. Golf is way too difficult for the average person. It would speed up play and enjoyment.

The overall issue with implementing anything this radical is the older generation doesn't care about the nextgen because they will be dead by the time golf needs to make these changes to survive.

My club has junior golf that is only $365/yr until 21! And the best part is you dont have to put up the $$ anyone can sponsor a kid. I think if more people understood that they would get more young folks in to clubs as it is just an awesome atmosphere for kids to learn the golf and all that goes with it.

Older people don't want that. They theoretically pay to avoid dealing with that exact situation.

This is what my club did. They actually went fully out of business, closed for about 3 months last season, then re-opened under new owners.

They now have different membership options: weekday only, weekend only, twilight only, and unlimited full membership.

these are all great, also i think that it is acceptable to hit out of turn if doing so will significantly contribute to the progress of your group.

I am 28 and last summer remember getting paired up with two 65 year old gentlemen at a muni. A buddy of mine, who rarely plays, unwittingly hit a ball out of turn.

The older gentlemen almost had bursted an embolism, saying it's extremely rude to hit out of turn and very poor etiquette. I told them it's even worse etiquette to slow play down to a crawl at a muni course.

This. I enjoy the atmosphere and hate feeling rushed when I'm on the course. For me, there's no real benefit to playing faster, unless I'm holding up a group behind me, then I understand the need to get moving.

I'm also OK with "ready golf."

The Board of Directors at country clubs are not experts at golf course management. They might be good at their own personal business, but that doesn't necessarily translate over to golf.

Also, the financial wherewithal of members are so diverse.

Golf courses reserved for 500-1000 people only will decline significantly over the next 20 years.

Oh no!

People who aren't ok with ready golf need to die.

I played golf with a guy who was determined to finish every hole. It didn't matter if he was putting for a 5 or a 10. He would take the same effort. In his mind, he paid for playing 18 holes and that is what he was going to do. Get his full value.

That is where marshals hypothetically should come into play. But they aren't police officers and that situation often becomes confrontational.

And then you are also potentially turning off a long-term client.

Golf could be 3 hours and 30 minutes max. Very rare though.

Yea.

I mostly despise people who think it's a travesty for me to walk up to my ball and prepare my shot if it's ahead of theirs, when it's not distracting or in line with their shot of course.

People who wait to approach their ball and get their yardage/club when on opposite sides of the hole of the person hitting induce a lot of internal rage in me.

The playing out of turn idea is good. Stupid to wait for green to clear for 250 yard approach shot when you can't make it from 200 yards....

I agree public/private mix is the future... I'd easily pay $150+ to play your top 500 type courses a few times a year, especially with clients

i should add that the expensive green fees would be limited. let's say i can do it once a year without restrictions. then it has to be client/customer golf. of course you could just make more rounds more expensive.

should add too that i'd be really excited to play a top 500 type course if it was local. you know, you drive by it all the time but can never play it.

just fixed one of the sentences.....

Old Memorial for me in Tampa. No golf carts, caddies required. Would be cool to play that one time in my life.

along the lines of what people have been saying/thinking:

i wonder if the future of golf is highly biruficated sp?.......

high end serious golf (it's a bit part of your life both psychological and discretionary spending. so country clubs of some sort)

beginner/screw around with friends/family golf.... driving range, pitch/putt, mini golf, executive courses. really mediocre municipals.

then very little in-between..... not too many $70 green fee places an hour from downtown.

will take awhile but i think that's where it's going.

Only reason I'd join a private club would be to avoid all the hassles of most public courses. I don't mind paying more for a significantly nicer course, better practice facilities, and less crowded conditions. Plus your risk of running into *******s is significantly reduced (the kind that hits into you, shouts at you from the tee to hurry up as you begin your downswing in the fairway, and those who exhibit utter disregard and disrespect for rules and etiquette, etc.).

My lord, who would join a club that had 1,000 members, might as well just play the simulator at Golf Galaxy.

I have been hit into without doing any of those things, which I would never do, by the way. However, even if some group was guilty of annoying behavior you describe, it still does not give you the right to hit into people. I surely hope that members in a private club would have the sense not to do it, and if they did I hope management would inpose swift penalties. Deliberately hitting into people is never justified, period. If there is a problem it can be resolved normally.