Why golf is done

[RJ_Daley]

A good starter on a busy course wouldn't/shouldn't let you play away until the group in front are on the green whether it is a par 4 or 5, IMHO.  They should know that jamming up the first hole will just screw the whole courses rythm...

[Philippe Binette]

To Glenn:

In Scotland, the starter is telling you what tee you are playing... even with a 7 handicap, you won't touch the back tees... that's why it's the slowest course in scotland playing in... less than 4 hours.
they set up the course at 6400 yards from the back and 6050 from the men's tee and they understand that...

IT'S NOT ABOUT ONE INDIVIUAL HAVING FUN, IT'S ABOUT COMMON INTEREST TO PLAY IN LESS THAN 4H00...

on a saturday morning, set up the course well and don't let 12 handicap players step on the back tee

[Glenn Spencer]

To Glenn:

In Scotland, the starter is telling you what tee you are playing... even with a 7 handicap, you won't touch the back tees... that's why it's the slowest course in scotland playing in... less than 4 hours.
they set up the course at 6400 yards from the back and 6050 from the men's tee and they understand that...

IT'S NOT ABOUT ONE INDIVIUAL HAVING FUN, IT'S ABOUT COMMON INTEREST TO PLAY IN LESS THAN 4H00...

on a saturday morning, set up the course well and don't let 12 handicap players step on the back tee

Yeah, well the starters are a little more educated in Scotland than they are in the US. They don't have to open a new set of tees just for me, but I promise you I am playing the furthest tees that they have set up in any country. I am sure you just go to the range and hit a ball for them and it is a done deal.

[Jason Hines]

The premise of this thread is the sole reason for me joining a private club in 2002 and never looking back.   Too many 5 hour rounds, people yelling at others, drunken tank tops and people hitting into other people. 

Yes, the problem does not go away, but if you pick the correct club it is definitely diminished.  An example, kids under 16 playing alone on carts.  My two sons will grow up in Jr. Golf, but they will not play without me until they can afford the dues.  What I am saying is that it is not up to the course, starter and ranger to babysit my kids, it is up to me and that is how they will not grow up to be the louts on the course. 

[Brent Hutto]

Our club allows unaccompanied minor children to play the course. Perhaps there's some lower age limit but not that I'm aware. I've been a member 2-1/2 years and have yet to see a minor child member behave in any way injurious to the course or offensive to myself. Then again I can't recall right off any adult members acting out either, perhaps my definition of "offensive" behavior is too forgiving. But lest anyone accuse us of an immoral lowering of standards we most certainly don't allow the dreaded appearance of denim clothing 

But I will agree that one of the benefits of playing at private clubs is the elimination of a certain amount of least-common-denominator behavior that is hard to avoid at public courses. I'm just fortunate to live in a part of the country in which people like me can afford to join and belong to an excellent club. There are many places where I'd have no choice but to play public golf and take my chances with the occasional drunken lout. But from my first decade or so playing golf, exclusively at public golf courses, I can only recall a handful or so of occasions with really out-of-hand behavior.

P.S. Our club does not have beverage cart service of alcohol on the course at any time. I wonder if that somewhat reduces the chances of inappropriate behavior.

[Gary Daughters]

The bubbas who've played enough to where they think they are good, and who have chosen the nearest course to tie on their daily drunk.. they're beyond help.  "Enforce" them?  Gimme a break.  I haven't seen a ranger in years.  Who's hiring them now?

It's simple.  Avoid the places where these cretins congregate.

The muni I play has a lot of young African Americans who are new to the game.  If you have your ball and tee ready, if you play swiftly, if you show respect for the group, the course and the game... believe me, it gets noticed.

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Big World Theory - what you see is what you get  -  freedom of the individual - youtube culture.

Every sub culture develops and deserves it’s own set of non-rules to the point of incest - who really wants to throw the first stones - are these the scum of the golf course or maybe anti-heros having time out - did hunter thomson play golf? -  let them do their own death spiral if they want to - they don’t want to harm anyone just live their own thing.

Every dog needs it’s own basket to sleep in - let them have theirs. Give ‘em more dog baskets I say - to meet their needs - hopefully with a loud Blues Band roughing it up in the “Club house”

Personally being a vegetarian, hickory shafted, links lover I’m happy that the drunken buggy pilots stay away and frequent their own favourite haunts. I’ll take the blues band though.
 

[John Kavanaugh]

Who is the most beloved fictional golf character in the history of cinema?  Was he a drunken lout and would you rather have him or Judge Smails in your group?

[John Chilver-Stainer]

JK

It sound like the perfect time for you to name your favourite anti-hero play-mates in your party foursome - that means three more - who's the fun film star?

[John Kavanaugh]

Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack, Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club and Prince from Purple Rain. 

[Carl Nichols]

Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack, Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club and Prince from Purple Rain. 

Not Ty Webb?

[Joe Bausch]

Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack, Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club and Prince from Purple Rain. 

If you take Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club (I would have taken Ally Sheedy!), how could you not have taken Lacey Underall from Caddyshack and Apollonia from Purple Rain?! 

[John Kavanaugh]

Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack, Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club and Prince from Purple Rain. 

Not Ty Webb?

I had to look up who that was.  One reason I have never watched Caddyshack all the way through is that I have to turn the channel when the Chevy Chase character comes on screen.  Please name one scene, not including a tight sweater, that includes both Ty Webb and a thread of entertainment.

[John Kavanaugh]

Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack, Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club and Prince from Purple Rain. 

If you take Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club (I would have taken Ally Sheedy!), how could you not have taken Lacey Underall from Caddyshack and Apollonia from Purple Rain?! 

I would take Ally Sheedy from Short Circuit so I could warn her that Wall-e was going to rip off her robot.  I have some kind of weird Molly Ringwald in the 80's fetish and I want to see Prince dance when Rodney brings out the radio golfbag.

[Brent Hutto]

One reason I have never watched Caddyshack all the way through is that I have to turn the channel when the Chevy Chase character comes on screen.

I'm with you on that one, big guy. I've never been as big a Caddyshack fan as some and perhaps part of the reason is the screeching halt that Chevy Chase brings the movie to every time he is on camera. They should have coked him up a little better on the days he was going to be doing a scene.

IMO it is basically a hilarious low-budget Rodney Dangerfield/Ted Knight movie with frequent interruptions from Chevy Chase (none of them funny) and Bill Murray (some funny, some not).

[John Chilver-Stainer]

JK

Love the foursome - can I caddy for Prince. Would he have his iconic guitar in his bag - I’d love to play it.

Can’t resist naming my legendary golf anti-hero fantasy foursome extra three

Mo Norman (derided for his golf swing), Dick Nixon (rebel rule breaker), John Daly (he plays guitar)

[Carl Nichols]

Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack, Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club and Prince from Purple Rain. 

Not Ty Webb?

I had to look up who that was.  One reason I have never watched Caddyshack all the way through is that I have to turn the channel when the Chevy Chase character comes on screen.  Please name one scene, not including a tight sweater, that includes both Ty Webb and a thread of entertainment.

The scene in the bar.  (Judge Smails: You know, you should play with Dr. Beeper and myself. I mean, he's been club champion for three years running and I'm no slouch myself.  Ty Webb: Don't sell yourself short Judge, you're a tremendous slouch.)

In any event, I generally agree with you, and wrote this as a joke, largely because the Chevy Chase character is also a "drunken lout."

[Phil McDade]

Molly Ringwald peaked in that movie.  Either that, or the next one with that McCarthy guy...
[/quote]

Pretty in Pink, with Jon Cryer (whose mother could sing and dance) as the goofball foil to heatthrob and vacuous McCarthy.

[John Kavanaugh]

Here is a nice discussion of the Wall-e - Short Circuit controversy http://screenrant.com/enough-already-with-the-wall-e-short-circuit-comparisons-1372/ If I had known about this rip off I would have never paid to see the movie.

[Joe Bausch]

If you take Molly Ringwald from Breakfast Club (I would have taken Ally Sheedy!)...

Joe, I have lost all respect for your opinions on women. 

Ally Sheedy?  Barf.

Molly Ringwald peaked in that movie.  Either that, or the next one with that McCarthy guy...

I think I'm perhaps just remembering Ally at her peak, in War Games.   

And did Broderick get some nice co-stars in those days?  How 'bout Jennifer Grey in Ferris Buehler's Day Off?  Yowser.  And now I'm chucking thinking of the line from FBDO where the bio teacher asks Broderick who came up with the idea of asexual reproduction!

[John Kavanaugh]

War Games is being reintroduced in the theater for its upcoming 25th aniversary.  http://www.fathomevents.com/details.aspx?eventid=724 I always wondered why Joshua's dad made me uncomfortable...now I see he is a Tony Award winner.

[Phil McDade]

Mia Sara.  They don't get any better than that.

My opinion of you just rose ten-fold.....

[Kalen Braley]

They're all dog meat.... 

Think Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Phoebe Cates.

[Sean_A]

This all sounds such a pity.  I can't recall the last time I saw really rowdy behaviour on a golf course, but I guarantee it was in the States.  That said, most of my slowest rounds of recent years were at publics in the States with the notable exception of Hillside.  It seems if anything "unusual" (such as The Road and Lederach) is thrown at people then its deemed as a license to play in 5 hours - with or without a cart.  All in all, I am happy to take the UK system of visiting private courses even if it costs more.  What I find really wierd is the idea of folks wanting clubs/owners to clamp down on behaviour and slow play, but as soon at it becomes apparent that all will be treated equally and for instance, playing the tees of the day is to be enforced, folks get uppity. 

I scored a major victory while playing at Carne.  The wind was noticeable, 20-30 mph, so I suggested we all play three tees up (the course allows folks to go all the way back with no problem) - a course of less than 6000 yards, but still plenty to handle imo.  All agreed on both days.  It was nice to know that folks could keep their egos in check.  Unfortunately, the same could not be said for a society from England in front of us - they were a load of wan_ _ _ _ playing at something.

Ciao

[Pat Brockwell]

Caddyshack is a true story, the names have been changed to protect the guilty. I am Carl Spackler.
This thread just brings up the issue "Should municipalities be in the golf business?"  I say golf is not a function of government, except in Scotland.