Dogs on the course?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 30522
  • Start date Start date

Should dogs be allowed on the course

  • No

    Votes: 49 41.9%

  • Yes, but only in casual play

    Votes: 41 35.0%

  • Yes, anytiome including competitions

    Votes: 27 23.1%
  • Total voters
    117
You quite often see dogs tethered to trolleys at the West Sussex near me.
 
I've voted yes for social golf, seen a couple on our course and they've both been impeccably behaved.

Unfortunately we have footpaths/tracks across about 10 of our holes and its the ramblers dogs that are the biggest issues, picking balls up and pooing on fairways etc.

My mate is in the process of training his dog for company on the occasional evening round in summer. From what I've seen he's a well behaved little thing who'll be a good golf dog when up to speed.
 
I’d absolutely love to take my dog along for an early morning knock when the course is quiet. I would never do it though as he is a lunatic. No pond would be safe. He wouldn’t rake his paw prints in the bunkers and wouldn’t think twice about curling one out wherever the need arose. Plus, our course has a lot of deer, hares/rabbits and foxes. He’d be off like a shot every 5 mins trying to get hold of one of them. He would love a sausage butty from the halfway house though.
 
It's a no from me, I can't imagine how badly I would feel should a dog get caught by a ball that I struck, either because it ran in front of me when playing a shot or simply it not understanding "four". I had a friend that did play on a course with dogs and he said he couldn't relax the whole way round. I guess that you get used to it after a while.
 
Fromtherough said:
I’d absolutely love to take my dog along for an early morning knock when the course is quiet. I would never do it though as he is a lunatic. No pond would be safe. He wouldn’t rake his paw prints in the bunkers and wouldn’t think twice about curling one out wherever the need arose. Plus, our course has a lot of deer, hares/rabbits and foxes. He’d be off like a shot every 5 mins trying to get hold of one of them. He would love a sausage butty from the halfway house though.
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I used to play at Linden Hall, a hotel course in the countryside. It was usually pretty empty, particularly in the evenings. I took our spaniel one time when I knew I would have the course to myself. She was like a 7yr old who had eaten 3 bags of haribos and 2 cans of full sugar coke. Had the time of here life, in and out of every bunker, through the woods following trails of foxes, badgers, rabbits, deer, zig zagged each and every fairway. Thankfully she didn't go in the water but that was about it. I spent my round, 9 holes only, raking bunkers I'd never gone into, watching to make sure she didn't empty herself out of sight. She had an absolute blast but I never repeated the experience.

I love the mental picture of your dog having something at the halfway house, it just makes me smile.
 
nickjdavis said:
I took our Lab when he was a pup out for a casual 18 several years ago one Sunday evening when I knew the course would be quiet. Took a huge dump in the middle of the 6th f/way which as BB stated was a right bugger to clear up. Wouldn't come out of the ponds by the 4th and 5th holes and when I was over a ball putting on the 10th the ball was just about to drop from 20ft away when there came a mad scampering across the green and he grabbed the ball and ran off. I then tethered him to my trolley on the 11th tee whereupon I hit my drive and he proceeded to try to chase the ball down the fairway dragging my trolley off with him, pulling it over, spilling tees and balls everywhere.

I gave up on the 13th.
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Sounds like my experience with my lab as well. He's ball motivated and will chase it to the end of the earth if you let him. I tried a few times on a quiet evening and I always tethered him to my trolley. After every shot he would bark and eventually the temptation would get too much and he would just charge after the ball while dragging my electric trolley and clubs behind him then look all sheepish when I told him off for it. The final straw was one night I went out for 9 and he was brilliantly behaved, I thought we had cracked it so down the 9th I untethered him to let him have a sniff in the woods. He proceeds to sprint 100 yards and jump straight in the pond which was manky. I didn't even have a towel to dry him off and he came out filthy and covered in algae.

Still I voted yes with the condition that they are well behaved. I've played with 3 different guys at my course that had their dogs with them and each one was impeccably behaved. The only reason I noticed them there was when I went over to fuss them, other than that they were tethered to a bag/trolley and they walked along, sat when their owned stopped, started again when the owner picked their bags up etc. If your dog is like that I have no issue at all. If they are like mine then no, not a chance.
 
I would love to have dogs on the course but you still have the issue of the owners. Living in a rural community, most the dogs I know have at least some gun dog training and so would be fine and would be calm and well behaved on the course. Then you have people who know that their dogs a full of energy, chase balls and do not listen and yet they will take them anyway and their is the problem.
 
Fromtherough said:
I’d absolutely love to take my dog along for an early morning knock when the course is quiet. I would never do it though as he is a lunatic. No pond would be safe. He wouldn’t rake his paw prints in the bunkers and wouldn’t think twice about curling one out wherever the need arose. Plus, our course has a lot of deer, hares/rabbits and foxes. He’d be off like a shot every 5 mins trying to get hold of one of them. He would love a sausage butty from the halfway house though.
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Rofl.... Curling one out.. ?.. Sounds exactly like my spaniel.. The only time mines hit the course was lockdown where she had free rein to run wild... And we couldn't even swing a club in anger.. Although I did see the occasional person double a club up as walking stick and hit the odd ball or 2.
 
I once caddied for a guy at st georges who had his dogs with him. Nightmare if I'm honest, but I like the idea of having dogs, just not unruly ones.
 
Sats said:
I once caddied for a guy at st georges who had his dogs with him. Nightmare if I'm honest, but I like the idea of having dogs, just not unruly ones.
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That is the issue, just as noboday admits to be a slow player, few, I suspect, are willing to admit that their dogs are a bit unrully or not trained enough to be on a golf course
 
GB72 said:
That is the issue, just as noboday admits to be a slow player, few, I suspect, are willing to admit that their dogs are a bit unrully or not trained enough to be on a golf course
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I would never take mine near a golf course. She would be a nightmare.

I have a friend with working spaniels that would be the best behaved creatures on the course.
 
BiMGuy said:
I would never take mine near a golf course. She would be a nightmare.

I have a friend with working spaniels that would be the best behaved creatures on the course.
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Couple of my mates have working spaniels what would be a dream to have on the course. My other mate's spaniel from the same litter, not so much.
 
I played a course in France and there were loads of dogs out. All very well behaved. I saw one dog on the course over here and it was flying all over the place and the owner was constantly shouting across the course.

For me, the problem ain’t the dogs. It’s making the owners responsible for them. Solve that and I’m happy to see them on there.
 
All these reports of dogs running about everywhere... you guys have heard of leads, right??
 
sjw said:
All these reports of dogs running about everywhere... you guys have heard of leads, right??
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People complain about slow play now. Imagine having a dog on the course that needs to be on a lead. Who holds the lead whilst you play your shot, will the dog remain calm during the shot, where do you attach the lead when you are on the green or if there are no playing partners near (most dogs would pull over a trolley so that is out). My opinion, and it is only one of many, is that if a dog is not able to behave on a course without a lead, there are only going to be issues with that dog on the course on a lead.
 
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