Don't be this person (TL:DR line at bottom)

darthweasel

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Ah, I try to be good. The wife was about to head out of town for 2-3 weeks to take care of her mom after surgery so I canceled my early tee time, reset for 10:09, none of my normal partners were available. Sure enough, Emily calls and wants to have breakfast, since I shifted my tee time we could. Score one in the "good husband" category, putting her above me, knowing I just changed from a 3 hour round to 4. Oh, then Dave calls, he can play but the other three slots are filled in my time frame so we reset to 11:48. Well, as Pam would say, holy smurf-snacks. Time to start mentally preparing for the 4-1/2 hour round.

So we get to the course, a 3-some doesn't show up so we get matched with a traveling random, nice guy from Arizona, and off we go. I am not playing my best, but do manage to par hole 3 when I torch a 9i over some trees to back edge of the green on my second shot. Unfortunately my first shot, a 7i just to keep it in play, had drifted over to the right. That allowed me to note A) nobody was on the 7th tee box, a %^&* of a Par 5. Nor is anybody on the entire 6th hole, a par 3 with water three sides. There is a group coming down 5 and I think, "that is odd, at least a hole and a half empty?"

Folks, if you encounter this...be wise. Skip holes 4 and 5. Because this course is (allegedly) the most played course in the Portland area, it is called Red Tail but many locals call it Red Snail. My spider-senses should have been tingling. We traipse on over to the 4th teebox where we are waiting on a twosome on the teebox who are waiting on a foursome at the crest of the hill who presumably are waiting on people on the green which we cannot see from where we are. Lets do some quick math; 1 group on the green, one on the fairway, one on the box, us, and while I am totting these numbers up another group pulls up behind us. 5 groups on hole 4.

At this point a dim bulb brightens and I look over to my right where I can see the 5th green and the 6th teebox. There is a 4-some, two ladies and two dudes, on the green, nobody on the teebox. I start to suggest we head to the teebox, then, apparently having neglected to insert my brain, think, "oh, this group has probably been waiting on people and would not appreciate that."

So we spend a torturous amount of time crossing holes four and 5. I get glimpses from time to time. It is miserable, we are on pace for 2:30 or more on the front. If you think back, I could have played 18 in 3 had I taken my early tee time before the glaciers reached the course. I have plenty of time to get my Mountain Dew from the cart girl, I don't know here name but she packs them just for me because she knows I will snag one, tip well, and not harass her twice a round. It is a running joke because the first time I ran into her she had none and I used my "you are dead to me" line. So now it is "I am dead to you" if she does not happen to have one and "I live!" when she has one. We talked about why she was driving a standard cart...two different cart girls have crashed two serving carts, including one new one, in the last two weeks. How the bloody blue smurf does that happen? I ask if she is super busy, she says, "the back is about half empty, but there are a lot of people on the front."

I start doing the math. That foursome is a one-group road block. So as we sit on the 8th tee box, marshal comes by. I know him by face, not name, usually very pleasant fellow. Today he is a bit...crisp. "Things loosen up after nine" he says, basically rolling by, not stopping.

He is right. They do. Nobody on ten, we play it...by our second shot we are behind a twosome. We are a threesome waiting every shot on a twosome in a cart. Two of us in the threesome are waiting. Our visitor gives up on 15, leaves for home to make dinner.

We follow this twosome around. They are...is there a polite word I can use here? Just assume I am insulting their intelligence. Because I am. They will be right by their ball at the 150 marker. One will hit. They drive backwards to 170. Other guy hits. Then forward. You get ready to tee off as they are near the green. You do so. They drive backwards to the 150 marker. What?

Anyhow, new marshal, just coming on shift, drives up to us on the 18th teebox. We complain about the group ahead of us, he says, "they are on pace for 4:05."

Now, mind you, I am usually okay with a 4:05 round. But run it back...we had a 2-1/2 hour round on the front. We have been breathing down these guys neck with open holes ahead of them for the last 7 holes. The back has been fast from a timing standpoint but because of waiting on every shot and residue from the front, we are not really wanting to hear these slow-pokes (as it feels because of all the wait...wait...wait...wait...) are on time for the course.

Since we have time, we ask him why so slow on the front. He tells us the story.




TL:DR starts here
The normally pleasant marshal had attempted to do his job, asking the foursome to pick up their pace as they were holding up everyone behind them. The "lady", and I use the term loosely, one of a pair of 30-somethings, was teaching her friend. On the course. And she informed the marshal, "I am younger than you, better looking than you, a better player than you so f*** off. Just go f*** yourself."

And proceeded to ignore him.

For reasons that elude me she was not instantly thrown off the course.

Don't be that..."lady". No, that term is insulting to most people. Don't be that person. Don't be the d-bag dudes standing by letting it happen. The person being taught likely has no clue just how bad their behavior was. But holy smokes...what in the world makes people think that way?
 
Must’ve been a member............
 
Wow!!!
 
I can honestly say golfers have been annoying me lately - rude people like the woman you mentioned, the group that goes back and forth in the cart like you describe, sloppiness on the course, people grinding over putts like a Major is on the line, etc. I don't know what is going on but rounds keep getting longer and there are more a-hole golfers out there than I ever remember (maybe I'm just getting older).
 
The moral of the story is- courses won't upset even a single customer for the sake of an entire field of players, which is wrong.

The best way to fix slow play is to have more rangers, and allow them to escort slow players off the course after a warning, I know the big problem is refunds but the slow play hurts business far more than a few refunds.
 
Ooofff.... the last couple times out we've been stuck behind 4somes that played well but good grief get slow around and on the greens... playing for big money I guess... the first time two couples (both guys had member tags from somewhere (we don't have member tags at my home course) (in fact you'd be shunned if you bought your own, lol) waved my wife & I thru on the 3rd hole. Was nice of them and we had a pretty smooth round the rest of the way.

Yesterday, the group ahead was really slow on the greens but worse two of them left their cart in front of the green on almost every hole. It was sort of maddening to watch them finish then amble the 20-30 yards back towards us before they could drive off. The 4th hole was really the 1st time I noticed it though they had done it on #1 (#'s 2 & 3 are cpo from 150 in). #4 is a 500 yard par 5, I didn't hit a great drive sitting just out of a bunker about 250 out. They finish and are walking back to their cart which is guarding some bunkers in front of the green. I figure at best maybe the cart stops my ball from going in a bunker.

Well I catch the ball flush and actually rolled it up onto the green right past where they walked... after the hole I hollered a "sorry 'bout that" and they waived me off uncaringly.

Missed the eagle putt... and the birdie #myhackinglife
 
Trend now is for course operators to proclaim "we have a 4:15 pace of play policy". This gets pro shop staff and course Marshalls off the hook for answering slow play complaints.
The traditional policy was always been "keep pace with the group in front of you" and if you fall behind a hole, you must let the group behind you play thru. This worked for decades and is fool proof.
 
And she informed the marshal, "I am younger than you, better looking than you, a better player than you so f*** off. Just go f*** yourself."

And proceeded to ignore him.

For reasons that elude me she was not instantly thrown off the course.

Don't be that..."lady".
Yeah, "lady" wasn't the first word that came to mind. Some people have such a warped sense of entitlement...it's too bad they had to be on the same course as you.
 
Yeah, "lady" wasn't the first word that came to mind. Some people have such a warped sense of entitlement...it's too bad they had to be on the same course as you.

in that sense it is my own fault. This course is known for being slow. But the train of thought was good...my initial plan was to get out before the glaciers reached the course but I bumped my time later twice for different people. That was my mistake...I should have switched courses once my time plan changed. As one comedian says, I never make the same mistake twice...I make it ten or twelve times just to be sure.
 
ntanygd760 had that happen to him. Then, it happened to his manager, so, then the group had to explain what was going on to the nice policeman the course called.
 
ntanygd760 had that happen to him. Then, it happened to his manager, so, then the group had to explain what was going on to the nice policeman the course called.

Was going to post this. Bachelor party couldn't understand why I wouldn't let them play a 7 man scramble since the group behind them hadn't complained to them and it didn't matter they were 2 holes behind. Best par was one guy pulled out a DA assistant business card saying hey I am a fellow law person so how about you leave and let us be the cop looked like he was going to taze him.

Moral of the story entitled horrible people just think rules don't apply to them since they "are just here to have a good day so stop trying to ruin our day"
 
I work part time at a golf course...golf decorum has declined drastically in the past few years in my opinion.

Our ranger is told to f*** off frequently. We tell people (that we know are going to group up, you can just tell when they all check in) not to play as more than a 4-some...by hole two they're all together...5, 6, 7...I've even seen 8. I'll look out after checking in a dood...he'll have his wife and toddler on the first tee, (you'd be surprised at how many toddlers I see parents trying to slip through). I could write a book...but I'll just leave it at decorum as crumbled over the last few years.
 
My course gets a lot of "vacation" play. The staff at the course will not disrupt, or censure any of these golfers who pay a premium to play. Slow play, poor etiquette (driving carts over tee boxes, no raking traps, or fixing divots and ball marks, etc..., is the norm between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and from observation I think most of these golfers are once or twice a year players.
 
Was going to post this. Bachelor party couldn't understand why I wouldn't let them play a 7 man scramble since the group behind them hadn't complained to them and it didn't matter they were 2 holes behind. Best par was one guy pulled out a DA assistant business card saying hey I am a fellow law person so how about you leave and let us be the cop looked like he was going to taze him.

Moral of the story entitled horrible people just think rules don't apply to them since they "are just here to have a good day so stop trying to ruin our day"

This is exactly what I'm talking about...can't you just show up and play golf? Why all the complicated sh** ?
 
The moral of the story is- courses won't upset even a single customer for the sake of an entire field of players, which is wrong.

The best way to fix slow play is to have more rangers, and allow them to escort slow players off the course after a warning, I know the big problem is refunds but the slow play hurts business far more than a few refunds.
Refund for what?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
(you'd be surprised at how many toddlers I see parents trying to slip through).

What's wrong with bringing a ticket on tube course? Is it just because they're not paying for them?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
The fact that etiquette is woven into the fabric of the game is one of the great things about golf.

Painful to see folks that don't get that.
I've been very lucky this summer. The only group I've encountered that were impolite eventually caught on to their mistakes' annoyance and apologized. (They were hitting into our group despite our waiting on a pair of senior couples ahead of us.)
 
I've been lucky as well this year as I've played 56 rounds and not really run into any rude people on the course or in the clubhouse. People are happier here in Minnesota than they were in California.
 
What's wrong with bringing a ticket on tube course? Is it just because they're not paying for them?

^^^
refering to toddlers on the course.


Hmmm...where to start?
1. Slows play
2. Sets a bad precident...don't want to be known as the course where you can bring your kids to run around, take them to a nice park instead
3. Very dangerous...liabilities include:
a. getting hit with club or ball
b. getting run over by...or falling out of a cart
c. rolling around on/touching freshly fertilized grass..then putting hands in mouth
d. falling into a swift moving river...ther are several on this course

Keep in mind, these aren't youngsters actually playing...these are 3 and 4 year olds running around while dad or mom are playing.

Am I wrong...do the courses you guys play allow kids on the course that aren't playing?

Right or wrong...this is the policy of my employer so I enforce it.
 
^^^
refering to toddlers on the course.


Hmmm...where to start?
1. Slows play
2. Sets a bad precident...don't want to be known as the course where you can bring your kids to run around, take them to a nice park instead
3. Very dangerous...liabilities include:
a. getting hit with club or ball
b. getting run over by...or falling out of a cart
c. rolling around on/touching freshly fertilized grass..then putting hands in mouth
d. falling into a swift moving river...ther are several on this course

Keep in mind, these aren't youngsters actually playing...these are 3 and 4 year olds running around while dad or mom are playing.

Am I wrong...do the courses you guys play allow kids on the course that aren't playing?

Right or wrong...this is the policy of my employer so I enforce it.

My course has a spectator fee of like $4 I think. It is basically a liability thing and covers them getting hurt ect.
 
My course has a spectator fee of like $4 I think. It is basically a liability thing and covers them getting hurt ect.

Not a bad idea, especially if it comes with some sort of liability waiver...primarily what my employer is concerned about.
 
The course I live on is a semi-private course. They took an interesting track this year. They offered a championship membership for $1200 which is a traditional membership. They also offered an associate membership for $450 that had more expensive cart fees and entry fees to the tournaments and could not play before noon on Saturday and Sunday. On top of that they increased green fees from $40 and $30 twilight to $55 and $40 twilight. This basically locked in all the people that are serious about golf and excluded all the random 4 or 5 times a year golfers. Even when the course has been busy the rounds have been brisk. I have not played over 4-1/2 hours all year and last year I had several 5+ hour rounds. The owners were also pleased because they got way more people signed up for the $450 membership than they thought that they would and the people that bought it were almost entirely serious golfers looking for a cheaper place to play. Apparently the slow pokes don't pre-plan their golfing habits.
 
I've been lucky as well this year as I've played 56 rounds and not really run into any rude people on the course or in the clubhouse. People are happier here in Minnesota than they were in California.

They don't take good weather for granted, that's for sure. People in Carmel, CA last year were complaining about the morning fog while going through an August that never got above 69* and never got below 52*. Coming from Louisville, KY I'm thinking, "Yeah this morning fog is rough" LOL!!!
 
Things like that are why my seniors group plays at 9AM and schedules 4-6 foursomes (If less show up, we return the times). The club appreciates it, we all get through in under 4 hours.
 
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