Take a look at this cartoon. It’s good for a slight laugh. But while it may get a chuckle or two there is something really sad about it. And it’s one of the big problems with our game.
We fervent golfers have to defend our beloved game against any number of critics who cry about everything from elitism to environmental issues to land use to discrimination. And those are the off-course, non-game issues if you will.
Read any website or magazine or listen to the talking heads and sure enough the subject of what is wrong with golf will certainly come up. Right now the issue of the moment is the ball…or I should say how far the ball goes. With everyone from Jack Nicklaus to Mike Davis to Brandel Chamblee chiming in on how the long ball (and clubs) are making classic courses obsolete. But that’s a problem for less than one percent of golfers. We everyday amateurs that only see those championship courses from behind the ropes or the members tees need all the yards any ball can give us. But we have our own set of problems.
And this cartoon highlights one of the worst: slow play. This is one of my most aggravating pet peeves.
I enjoy being on the course, just about any, from dog tracks to championship from munis to classic…most time on a course is time well spent. But the characters in this cartoon illustrate a common problem with golf. Too may guys are out there to spend the entire day on the course. And yes maybe to get away from their wife (or husband) or any other of their domestic responsibilities is their plan.
It’s one thing to plan a day of golf with the boys with plenty of 19th Hole time factored in but it’s another (and wrong) thing to think that five or six hours of cart riding is your “day out.”
I get it…we all love hanging with our buds, sharing some beers and laughs. But we have to be considerate of our fellow golfers on the course. I play with a bunch of guys who enjoy their golf, their drink and each other. And we rarely fall behind and never hold anyone up. But there are so many players that think it’s okay to take their sweet time over every shot and ignore the etiquette of the game.
Time after time I have been stuck behind a foursome of golfers who think the course is their own and really want to spend all day there as they rarely employ any proper golf etiquette at all. It’s disheartening. I rather play a brisk round, get in plenty of laughs and get to the grill room…pronto.
Last week I got eighteen holes in at a local muni. I was teamed up with a fellow I had seen on the course many times and I had played with before. We both play a quick round. The course wasn’t too crowded but there was a foursome ahead that we both knew had a slow play reputation. We caught up to and joined a young woman playing as a single and we all were glad to play together to keep us from waiting on every shot.
The ranger actually did his job for a change and nudged the snails ever so slightly along. With that little bit of help we played in three hours and forty five minutes. That’s acceptable for us playing behind that group. But the three of all all played ready golf and probably would have blitzed through our eighteen in three hours.
I know, some guys like to linger on the course and make it their “day out.” That’s all well and good but not at the expense of the other golfers on the course. If you need five hours to play maybe you need to find another game.
We won’t miss you.
Hat tip to Geoff Shackelford and The New Yorker Cartoons.
Related Articles
