Second Rarest Shot in Golf

[jazman]

Good Day Everyone,

A tale of the second rarest shot in golf, I think anyhow. I suspect the first must be the mystical hole-in-one(would not think it after the PGA).

I submit the second to be a ball placed firmly in the base of ones skull. I fortunatly(I think) was the recipient and not the "player" responsible for the shot, as I would feel worse had I hit someone....in THE BASE OF THE SKULL.

I have golfed for about 12 years, I was not allowed to walk on a course until I had a reasonable understanding of the rules and ettiquette of the game. The bozo who hit me had no such training.

I likely sound a little bitter and I am. I could handle a mistake suck as this if the "player" had responded with an apology instead of laughter.... he actually thought it was funny! It was hilarious when his next attempt to teach that silly ball a lesson ricocheted off a tree 2 feet from me, as I was coming out of a rather black haze.

I had a golf-ball sized bump on the back of my head, no blood thankfully and I was seeing red. I was mad but furious after I heard him laughing. My hand reached out and grabbed my seldomly used 3-iron to attempt a soft fade off his *(&#$.

As I let go of the club and let it slide back into my bag I thought of those afternoons with dad, driving to and from the range where he would teach me the essence of the game; and I was proud.....

because I knew he would be.

Careful out there....

[Kilroy]

Unbelievable. Some people are just too much.

I admire your restraint.

[spidey]

I commend your restraint as well.

I too am finding it difficult to enjoy myself when I go out to play. It seems that many occasional golfers feel that once they pay their green fees, someone owes them a good time, AND anything else they feel they deserve.

I have encountered more people than I wish to remember who feel quite at home threatening other golfers, treating the course without any respect or care, and defying anybody to suggest they are miscreants.

Somehow, I am leaning to the idea that people must pass an etiquette exam before being permitted to play in the general public, and although I realize that this is unrealizable, I still hope that things get better instead of worse.

spidey

[jeff026]

Wow... that's too much to put up with it ... what an A hole:freak5
Guys, I had the same conversation this afternoon with my playing partners.

In Sweeden, you must pass some sort of exam on the etiquette of golf before you are permitted to play.

Perhaps its time to look in to this and make it happen in CDN too ...:

[Kilroy]

Actually that is the case in much of Europe. I belive it also involves some minimum playing ability as well. Until you pass, you are stuck at the range.

I am not sure this is such a good thing, It makes the game "elitist" and closes doors on opportunity to play for kids etc. What would be better is for the morons to smarten up and play in a manner that they would want someone behind them to play. "Do unto others".

I would like to see offenders banned, but that would be impossible to enforce, without a card carying program put in place by the RCGA or some governing body. That of course would involve posatively identifying the player and revoking or suspending it, but the tough part is to prevent a new issue under false ID

Sounds like a major job to solve a minor problem.

Another option is to castrate them so they cannot reproduce, preventing the moronic genes from being perpetuated for generations to come. Ooops... did I type that out loud?

[jeff026]

I understand that we can't control everything out there, but there's got to be a way to single out those A holes ...

A card carying program would help to learn about the game and it would probably benefit everybody if such a program was introduced.
It wouldn't have to be mandatory but it would definitely make you a better golfer

I wonder what a golf teaching pro think's about it

[spidey]

I'm sure the marshals around here are going to jump on me, but I believe it is in the interest of the course to police its own guests.

It seems that the marshals are the first to be intimidated by these players. It's funny that there are marshals that are always around except when there's a problem.. .(either that or the problems come in bunches and there aren't enough marshals to go around). I've never seen a marshal EVER eject anybody for ANY reason, no matter how deserving the miscreant may be. It would seem that they are a token presence.

Yes, I agree that it's not in our interest to make golf an elitist game in Canada. At the same time, I mourn the loss of civility in our game.

Perhaps a small flyer given to each player before tee-off which admonishes them to enjoy themselves, but to play with care and respect for all the other golfers and the course as well? I'm sure it would make great reading on that hole that everybody backs up on because the tee-times are too close together.

spidey

[jazman]

who though it was a little offside......

just as an ending note to my anecdote,

I talked to my dad this week and he said...

"You did the right thing....but I would have popped him"

If we cannot rely on Marshalls (not what I was suggesting but not a completely invalid point, at times) we should police ourselves. If you see some meathead mistreatnig others, let him know it as well as the marshall and those groups around you. Remember "voluntary assumption of risk" does not apply on the golf course, actions (including wayward shots) can result in a lawsuit.

[spidey]

Perhaps this is the place to ask the question....

I was under the impression that even touring pros didn't have sufficient control over their balls to be held fully accountable for the damage that may occur from them.

Does anybody know the in's and out's of this? Is there a site that fully explains the liability of a golfer for an errant shot (specifically in Ontario, but also in Canada or the US)?

I'm guessing that assault on a golf course is the same as assault anywhere else.

spidey