Golf Society Behaviour

Har44

First post, hope its not contentious. Firstly let me say that I have nothing against golf societies, have had great days out as guest in one and would pay no attention to them if they were playing the same day as me. But I was playing recently in a competition with a society teeing off behind us by about 1 hour, so we met them at various stages of the course. Based on some of the things that happened during the round, the question I had in the bar afterwards was who is responsible in the society for their members behaviour and what rules do they work under? Do golf club members in society give advice to non-golf club members? I am easy going about golf, follow the rules etc, but dont get hung up on the small things, but this day I wanted to have a go at somebody over them.
I fully appreciate they are a great source of income especially now for golf clubs and that 99% are well run but how do people deal with the very seldom bad experience like we had?

K4t

What exactly did they do wrong?

Har44

2 incidents where our balls went missing in light rough between fairways, we saw them come down and the lads know the course very well and said they were fine, would have shots in etc. For one ball it was fairly likely it was picked up, the second one was definite. The guys who came up the adjoining holes from the light rough could easily see that we were playing the hole. Both our players had to scratch. Plenty of shouting on tee boxes even though people on greens close by, on one occasion a guy decided that he would just go ahead and try to play over our head with no request, acknowledgement etc. We realised what he was going to do and got cover! We weren't the only group to experience this it appears, others had complaints with one or two of their groups.

As I said it may be that they did not understand what is expected, for example did they think that the balls were 'finds' and not realise they had to wait to see if they were being played by us? If so, should the society not tell them things like this up front?

A.Partridge

Har44 wrote: »

2 incidents where our balls went missing in light rough between fairways, we saw them come down and the lads know the course very well and said they were fine, would have shots in etc. For one ball it was fairly likely it was picked up, the second one was definite. The guys who came up the adjoining holes from the light rough could easily see that we were playing the hole. Both our players had to scratch. Plenty of shouting on tee boxes even though people on greens close by, on one occasion a guy decided that he would just go ahead and try to play over our head with no request, acknowledgement etc. We realised what he was going to do and got cover! We weren't the only group to experience this it appears, others had complaints with one or two of their groups.

As I said it may be that they did not understand what is expected, for example did they think that the balls were 'finds' and not realise they had to wait to see if they were being played by us? If so, should the society not tell them things like this up front?

That's bad old stuff in fairness. You are right to feel aggrieved. Bad manners on the course is becoming much more commonplace lately - and not just from members of societies either.:mad:

stockdam

You might see similar behaviour from some club members.

Some golf societies are run very well with Captains, Presidents and committees. Others are more informal and are almost just a bunch of friends who go out several times a year.

I guess the problem with some societies is that some of the players only play a couple of times a year and as such don't really know what is expected in the way of etiquette. When I was the Captain of one society I produced a handout about etiquette and about speeding up play. Fortunately we had a lot of established players who would keep the newer ones straight.

kingshankly

have to agree with har44 there is no justifacation for bad etiquette on the golf course.problem with some societys can be a lack of knowledge rather than ignorance. society golf is a great platform for people to learn about golf and sometimes a little extra tollerance should be affored them.i personally have a gripe with the behaviour by some golfers in gaa classics i understand it may be a maiden voyage for some but some of the behaviour and score counting leaves a lot to be desired(1,2 skip a few what a score a 4)

corkconian

Most clubs only admit societies with members who have handicaps. That behaviour is an absolute disgrace and should not be tolerated. Have you reported the incident to the secretery?

Davidth88

Report the incidents , the Soc in question will then not be welcomed back next year ( if they try to book )

I have played with Soc's many times , and I have seen bad etiquette from members towards soc's also , for example complaining loudly about the ' speed ' of the game when we are trying to tee off ( and the course was jammed in front of us ), also teeing off before we have reached our drives .

Manners cost nothing .

golfsocietyirel

at the end of the day, its down to the person/group and how they conduct themselves, be they a member of a golf club or not... be they on a golf course or not.

my observation is that:

golf members tend to "look down" on societies... even though they provide funding for clubs in their green fees..... while society memebers tend to look at members at "pompus gits"... even though their yearly subs sustain the golf course that they are playing on....

kingshankly

golfsocietyirel wrote: »

at the end of the day, its down to the person/group and how they conduct themselves, be they a member of a golf club or not... be they on a golf course or not.

my observation is that:

golf members tend to "look down" on societies... even though they provide funding for clubs in their green fees..... while society memebers tend to look at members at "pompus gits"... even though their yearly subs sustain the golf course that they are playing on....

well said

GreeBo

You should contact your club secretary/manager to let him know and also to find out the society name.
You can also contact the GUI as they society will be registered there (though it might be better for any complaint to come from your club)

corkconian

Talking of manners on Golf courses has anyone noticed in recent times, unraked bunkers, pitch marks not repaired and constant stream of guffaws when you are playing your shot.