Having a round without a beer after.

[Bamberdele21]

The question is aimed at people that do drink. How do you manage this?

Nothing more better than having a beer after a round. The trouble I’m finding is the lads I’m with like to get rounds in so it’s only respectable to return the favour. Then it leads to being slightly over the limit aswell as having to constantly lie to the other half in regards to being ‘held up’ on the course when in actual fact I’ve been at hole 19 for the past 2 hours.

Any ideas on getting away from this vicious cycle

 

[chico]

If you have the car don't drink its as simple as that. Car share or get a taxi.

 

[CliveW]

If you play with the same friends regularly, take turns after a round as to who buys the drinks so one round two buys the drinks and the following round the other two buys the drinks. Alternatively there are plenty good alcohol free or low alcohol beers on the market. But as Chico says, don't drink when you are driving.

 

[harpo_72]

You can always get them a drink and not yourself… or you can always be the first to buy a round.
I usually have a half and that’s me done.

 

[evemccc]

Be a man and don’t cave in to peer pressure

 

[Deleted member 30522]

With the draconian drink drive limit now in Scotland, it's usually "thanks for the game guys, I'm off now". Not always, especially if I've gone a fair distance to play, but while some think it's rude, it's not as rude as the guy who'll come into the clubhouse, accept a drink, then leave without even offering one back before he goes. Played with a few of those, played with one or two multiple times

 

[tobybarker]

Is this thread a wind-up, in this day and age?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

The answer is the same if you have a lemonade or a coffee after a round. If you play with the same group then roll over your round until the following week. None of my group drink alcohol as we all drive to the club. We don't have 3 of 4 drinks each week though, we just loosely remember who got them the week before and make sure we pull our weight. It isn't tricky, there isn't pressure.

I'm with the others with the gist of the initial post, worrying.

 

[IanM]

We tend to play for the drinks, or as we tend to play in groups, rotate who gets them.... all of us drive to the course so its under limit/ soft drinks.

If we decide to have a few beers (eg if rugby on after Golf) we get dropped off

 

[Golfnut1957]

Walk home.
We played in Dumfries years ago, Southerness and Powfoot and stayed at a local hotel. On the first night we established a mutual connection in cars with a local. Famous at the time for his 70 yard skid marks pulling away in his Saab Turbo.
It was a good night. I don't like whiskey but found myself drinking it. It had no effect on our new friend, so he was drinking neat Pernod. Around four in the morning he said he had to leave and so with fond farewells off he set on a five-mile walk back to the farm, he needed to get back to milk his cows.
Me, I staggered across the car park for 3 hours sleep, woke up in a very bad place and remember little or nothing of Powfoot.
So, drink as much as you want and walk home.

 

[Slab]

Is the problem the drinks or the time spent drinking?

No point just switching to bug juice/low alcohol if you're still left in a position that you're lying to the wife etc

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

I'd suggest telling your partner that you'll stay for a drink. Most aren't stupid and most i expect don't care, my wife is happy for me to enjoy myself but gets annoyed if i say i'll be back at a certain time then not or keep delaying with things like i got stuck. The reason for that is she can't just get on with her day.

People tend to buy drinks at golf clubs, i don't keep track as to who i have or haven't bought for particularly if playing with different people. I just make sure I regularly offer so my net position is about equal even if the drinks to and from aren't with the same period. Only if you have short arms, deep pockets will people start getting offended.

Simply don't drink and drive, if it ever goes wrong you'd have a lifetime of regret. Enjoy the big occasions like RC and get a taxi or lift home.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Surely not drinking and driving isn't that hard?

 

[Orikoru]

We always have a pint after the round (except when our old club's bar shut down for three years but that's another story). I only started driving this year, but I just switched from pints to shandies. That way I still feel like I'm drinking a pint, but it's half the strength so I can have two comfortably, or even a third if we feel like it and still be fine to drive back. It's just not the same without sharing a drink afterwards and reflecting on the round, and other things.

We never worry about the fact there's three of us getting two rounds, we always trust each other to offer enough times on the various weeks to be roughly even.

I'd suggest telling your partner that you'll stay for a drink. Most aren't stupid and most i expect don't care, my wife is happy for me to enjoy myself but gets annoyed if i say i'll be back at a certain time then not or keep delaying with things like i got stuck. The reason for that is she can't just get on with her day.

Agree with this, there's no point lying. I'm always honest with my other half and tell her how long I'll be, including the hour afterwards having a drink. Even if you're not sure you'll be having one, better to over-estimate and pleasantly surprise her by coming home an hour early than the other way round.

 

[Robster59]

I used to enjoy a pint after a round but, as above, in Scotland, one pint takes you over the limit so definitely not worth it.
Depending on the weather I'll have a cold or a hot drink and also return the compliment if someone buys me one but if I do want a pint now, it tends to be before I go on the course rather than after.

 

[Bdill93]

Stop buying the first round!

 

[rksquire]

Have a shandy or a soft drink. Having pints, if driving, just out of courtesy is crazy. I understand it's the social aspect and we have that ourselves - if having pints is important, take turns driving. I know guys, not in my 4 ball, that drive to the course, pack up their gear in the car after the round and then leave the car there - they get picked up. Some may think it's massively inconvenient, but, for me, it's not as inconvenient as not having the car for work or being able to drive to the course (if caught).

Occasionally we'll plan a worst score drives day - basically, on the day, whoever posts the worst score will drive the others home after food & plenty of drinks.

 

[GB72]

This came up on another post about whether clubhouses should be more like cafes than bars now and it is something that I agree with in the focus of the products that it sells if not appearance. To a certain extent, the clubhouse bar is an annocronism left behind from the pre drink driving days and carrying on for those decades where people simply did not care. At least when I played rugby there was a constant procession of people walking back to the club on the walk of shame to collect their cars. Never seen a car left overnight at the golf club.

I can probably count on one hand the number of people that I knew walked to my old club, the car park was always full, bar had plenty of people drinking but, at the end of the day, the car park was always empty. The club had a mix of those who just did not care and those who still thought that 2 pints of anything (or a glass of wine even if it was basically a bucket of red) was OK before driving (try pointing out that one pint of many beers these days is too much).

I dont drink at all if I have the car and so it is lime and soda for me or a coffee and that does grate occasionally when every week you are buying a £20 round and £1.50 of it is your drink but still, that is life. How did we make it more fair, played for a fiver a head, winner buys the round and pockets the change.

Personally, I wish clubs would do much more in the way of alcohol alernatives. Would rather spend that £4.00 that I would spend on a beer on a decent flavoured coffee or similar.

 

[brendy]

Coke, Coke zero, coffee, rock shandy or a pint of half and half shandy at most for me, there's plenty of alternatives to a pint of beer really and its probably more you learning to not give a flying Castlemaine four x about what others think.

 

[jim8flog]

It is simply about self discipline and common sense.

Most people will be over the limit with 2 pints of say 3.5 percent beer in England and Wales and over the limit with just over half a pint in Scotland.

So you have to say to your self what is more important a second pint or your driving licence.

I as once breathalysed after an accident 3 hours after drinking two pints with a meal and it was positive but the cop let me off as the accident was not my fault. Learnt my lesson.

For many years now for me it has been a cup of coffee when I first get in and only one pint, luckily for me the majority of guys I play with now do the same although there are a few hardened drinkers who drink well over the top.