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Golf: A Gentleman's Game?

JR

JR

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A very popular phrase, but is it really? Look at what the phrase insinuates.

No women.
No minorities.
No children.
No poor people.
Strict dress codes.

I just can't get behind the phrase. It soils the name of the game I love. Is it still a 'gentlemans game? Yea or Nay?
 
yeah I agree agro
I used to work at a country club when I was a teenager. No children and woman tee off before 1pm. No woman and children in the lounge bar. Silly and stupid. But that statement I feel nowadays means more towards classiness/morals then gender and age.

don't get me started about the minority part.
 
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aggro said:
A very popular phrase, but is it really? Look at what the phrase insinuates.

No women.
No minorities.
No children.
No poor people.
Strict dress codes.

I just can't get behind the phrase. It soils the name of the game I love. Is it still a 'gentlemans game? Yea or Nay?
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I prefer to call it a game of honor. That gives the same intent without any exclusion.
 
Fourputt said:
I prefer to call it a game of honor. That gives the same intent without any exclusion.
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+1 Honor is the PERFECT word.

Golf is a game of Honor. I like that.
 
That seems to do a better job.
CF

What I was getting at, is that some people take it so seriously. They treat it as a status symbol. You HAVE to dress in slacks, you HAVE to have money, its just a bad image. Around my area, that is how a lot of people see the game.
 
aggro said:
That seems to do a better job.
CF

What I was getting at, is that some people take it so seriously. They treat it as a status symbol. You HAVE to dress in slacks, you HAVE to have money, its just a bad image. Around my area, that is how a lot of people see the game.
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Perhaps this is a geography thing more than an insinuation thing.
 
Perhaps. I just get tired of trying to refute this image, wheather it be in just my area or not. Maybe it is attributable to the fact that the only courses within 40 miles are private clubs.
JB said:
Perhaps this is a geography thing more than an insinuation thing.
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SNAP HOOK said:
....old white men I get grouped with on the course. It's the ONLY place I still deal with sh@t like "oh man, the oriental hits it a mile"
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Hopefully they are the last generation before the mind set is completely gone.
 
JB said:
Perhaps this is a geography thing more than an insinuation thing.
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If I understand what I think you are saying, I have to disagree. There are a lot of clubs around the country that post proper attire signs. These are almost always aimed at the male. i.e.: Slacks, no jeans, no shorts, collared shirts. Just a couple of days ago I was looking at golf packages in Vegas and in Myrtle Beach and quite a few of the web sites posted those rules. Muni's are a bit more lax, but a lot of the clubs appear to me to be quite snooty and somewhat sexist.

Edit: And in case you were referring to the racist aspect, I am an old white guy, so I do not experience racism the same as aggro does.
 
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Beowulf said:
If I understand what I think you are saying, I have to disagree. There are a lot of clubs around the country that post proper attire signs. These are almost always aimed at the male. i.e.: Slacks, no jeans, no shorts, collared shirts. Just a couple of days ago I was looking at golf packages in Vegas and in Myrtle Beach and quite a few of the web sites posted those rules. Muni's are a bit more lax, but a lot of the clubs appear to me to be quite snooty and somewhat sexist.
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I dont think proper attire for anything should be viewed as something negative. My personal opinion, but I dont see it as different from having tact or being appropriate. I would not go into a place of religion in shorts and a t-shirt, and I dont see anything wrong with that.
 
aggro said:
Perhaps. I just get tired of trying to refute this image, wheather it be in just my area or not. Maybe it is attributable to the fact that the only courses within 40 miles are private clubs.
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Are you close to Bent Brook in Bessemer? I have played it and that is a good tract.

jdjanda said:
Hopefully they are the last generation before the mind set is completely gone.
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As an old white guy I will verify that I too hear people make stupid racist remarks sometimes. I think it is just a lack of sensitivity on their part, I don't think for the most part they are trying to be mean spirited, they just don't think.
 
This may not fit well with some, or all, but I guess I see little harm in a place thats owned by the members setting their own restrictions, what ever they may be. A good example of this is a men's only club, what's really wrong here? I would feel the exact same way if there were a womens only course around. Now, the racist part I won't stand for, but when it comes to attire, hey they own the place.
 
JB said:
I dont think proper attire for anything should be viewed as something negative. My personal opinion, but I dont see it as different from having tact or being appropriate. I would not go into a place of religion in shorts and a t-shirt, and I dont see anything wrong with that.
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I agree with you, I was making reference to the gender aspect.
 
There are gyms that are women only, why not men's golf clubs that don't allow women? Fair is fair. I probably wouldn't belong to one, but if it's a private entity I don't have a problem with it.
As for attire, I really don't want to see some hairy backed neanderthal sporting a tank top and jeans with the butt ripped out teeing off in front of me.
Manners and appropriateness have gone the way of the dodo in this country, much to our detriment in my opinion, the golf course is one place I can expect a bit more refinement and manners in a wal mart world.
 
RonInThornton said:
There are gyms that are women only, why not men's golf clubs that don't allow women? Fair is fair. I probably wouldn't belong to one, but if it's a private entity I don't have a problem with it.
As for attire, I really don't want to see some hairy backed neanderthal sporting a tank top and jeans with the butt ripped out teeing off in front of me.
Manners and appropriateness have gone the way of the dodo in this country, much to our detriment in my opinion, the golf course is one place I can expect a bit more refinement and manners in a wal mart world.
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I resemble that comment :angry:
 
Ole Gray said:
I resemble that comment :angry:
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I saw pictures of you on the course in jeans Gray, they were neat and looked pressed, don't try pulling that country bumpkin act with me :laughing:
 
RonInThornton said:
I saw pictures of you on the course in jeans Gray, they were neat and looked pressed, don't try pulling that country bumpkin act with me :laughing:
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You are coming to the WPB in May correct? I will bring my best pair of overalls with the Tour white belt around the middle just for you bro :D....
 
I agree with being respectful, having manners and being honest on a golf course but, Why no women? Why a dresscode? Why cant you play if you are poor? First off not allowing a woman to play is completely ridiculous whether its a private course or not, in my opinion its inexcusable. The dresscode is something else i have a major problem with, even though the only part of it that affects me is the no shorts part, which doesnt make sense. When its 100* outside why in the world should i be forced to sweat my tail off if i play on one of these "no shorts" courses?

Its just a game and you are not given a uniform so you should be able to wear shorts or jeans or those ugly hawaiian shirts if you want to. While saying that i do wear shorts alot but 90% of the time i wear them with a belt and a collared shirt, every now and then i wear a t-shirt. I do not understand why so many people are bothered by what other people wear, it makes no sense to me. I am going to wear my ugly Tony Stewart shirt and my all orange Tennessee jogging pants to play tommorrow just to see if i can tick anybody off, :devil: it will be fun.
 
smoothduffer said:
I agree with being respectful, having manners and being honest on a golf course but, Why no women? Why a dresscode? Why cant you play if you are poor? First off not allowing a woman to play is completely ridiculous whether its a private course or not, in my opinion its inexcusable. The dresscode is something else i have a major problem with, even though the only part of it that affects me is the no shorts part, which doesnt make sense. When its 100* outside why in the world should i be forced to sweat my tail off if i play on one of these "no shorts" courses?

Its just a game and you are not given a uniform so you should be able to wear shorts or jeans or those ugly hawaiian shirts if you want to. While saying that i do wear shorts alot but 90% of the time i wear them with a belt and a collared shirt, every now and then i wear a t-shirt. I do not understand why so many people are bothered by what other people wear, it makes no sense to me. I am going to wear my ugly Tony Stewart shirt and my all orange Tennessee jogging pants to play tommorrow just to see if i can tick anybody off, :devil: it will be fun.
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Do you believe it is okay to wear shorts and your Tony Stewart T-Shirt to a place of worship? How about a fine dining restaurant? Or even lets say to watch your children in a play or sports event? Im not given a uniform to any of those places either last time I checked.

Its about tact and being proper. Not every course has wardrobe rules and offers a place to play the game in whatever they want. For those that want a different lifestyle, one filled with something that they consider proper, they can choose courses that have a dress code.
 
What's wrong with having a womens only golf course? Really, why should they not have a place to enjoy a game they love without having to deal with us guy's around?
 
thedue said:
What's wrong with having a womens only golf course? Really, why should they not have a place to enjoy a game they love without having to deal with us guy's around?
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i think a great deal of women would like that. fits in with why ladies only fitness centers are popular (curves)
 
I agree with it being about tact and appropriateness. If the people that pay for the course want to maintain a certain "properness", I feel they have the right. There are plenty of courses around that don't mind. I would love to see relaxed/casual people open a private club where you can wear boardshorts and a tee-shirt. Nobody would mind, because it's acceptable and expected there. I'd love to see a bunch of surfers buy Belleair CC and do that. Haha. Also, most of these places aren't just Golf Clubs. If I'm member of a club and I decide to hold a meeting or something at my club I don't want everybody walking around in jeans and tank-tops. I'm all for making clubs more casual, but I understand the reasons against it.
 
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