Golfing etiquette

I am not one to complain about golfers and their actions, as a golfer myself I understand the frustrations caused by that small ball’s refusal to do what it should. One of the keys of golf however, is to master the frustration and play in an inner shell embracing all the chaos that surrounds you.

Well on Saturday I was playing with a mate on a very casual public course (Lake Claremont) and we had no sooner started to play than the group behind (Members of the WA Golf Assoc. I believe!) were demanding that we play faster. Make no mistake, we were not just walking up the ball and hitting it, but nor were we in danger of losing contact with the group in front. Furthermore, it was the first hole, and any golfer worth their salt knows that you need to wait for at least two holes before you can complain about slow play, as a single hole may not be representative.

Well, we never heard from them again, (I made some ‘calm down’ motions to them, and they did not seem to be able to keep up with us in any case). After we had completed our round, we were discussing the game and life in general at the clubhouse and the three golfers wandered in, I kept an eye on them as I considered them rude and was prepared for a silly action from them, but after a glance from each of them they did not meet my gaze.

Apparently acting like a boor is acceptable on the fairways but not in the rest of the world. Poor form, I say.