Mobiles on the Golf Course

[ArnoldArmChewer]

We have a lot of doctors at my club and like me people with their own businesses so sometimes a call to us is innovoidable.

I have mine on silent/vibrate and I'll glance at it if I feel it's gone off whilst walking to our balls. If I need to call that person back I'll let my pp's know and do it quickly & quietly whilst we're all walking up the fairway.

If business calls are more important don't leave the office.

 

[Deleted member 15717]

Won't use it for calls, but will check messages, emails and social media whilst waiting at points on the course, or walking up the hole from tee to ball on some holes. Normally it may be to check on other sports matches (cricket, football, ET scores etc)

 

[Fish]

If business calls are more important don't leave the office.

So I'll never do anything personally all week sitting doing nothing just in case I get a call!

 

[Deleted member 21258]

As someone who loathes mobile phones, and generally never take mine anywhere golf included or if I do have it, it isn't normally on, don't send texts etc.

I agree with below :-

If it's not holding up play or actively annoying me, up to a point, I don't care what people are doing on the course..

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I always leave mine in the car when at the club. We have a "no phone use on the course" rule, except for emergencies. It seems to work very well, and is self policed very well.

 

[Scoobiesnax]

I think you should be allowed mobiles on a course but on silent/vibrate.

During the last season I was an expectant father (I believe someone else mentioned something similar) and my wife was extremely anxious about our wee man due to previous problems with her staying pregnant. Thankfully I had playing partners who were considerate to that fact I may get a call at any moment where the Mrs wanted to go into hospital for a reassurance scan/monitoring; which she did only on one occasion and I had to trudge off on the 4th.

It boils down to consideration of people using a mobile in regards to others and PP's having some common sense too. I had my phone on vibrate/silent and would check every time we finished the hole. I can only be thankfully I play golf with a decent bunch of lads.

tldr - don't be DOM JOLY on the bloody phone!!

 

[Spear-Chucker]

Can't common sense just prevail? Keep it on silent, be respectful to others if you NEED to take a call or answer a message and keep up the pace of play. Never been a problem to me.

Bans/prohibition etc. could be another reason to dissuade folk from playing and create another barrier to people joining in with the game when the answer is pretty simple. Does rely on folks exercising basic manners and there will always be the odd herbert who won't.

 

[MendieGK]

Can't common sense just prevail? Keep it on silent, be respectful to others if you NEED to take a call or answer a message and keep up the pace of play. Never been a problem to me.

Bans/prohibition etc. could be another reason to dissuade folk from playing and create another barrier to people joining in with the game when the answer is pretty simple. Does rely on folks exercising basic manners and there will always be the odd herbert who won't.

I agree with this. Talking on a phone should be no more invasive than a normal conversation.

Phone should be on silent and taken at an appropriate time, but we are all grown ups and that should be obvious.

My dad runs his own business and simply wouldn't be able to play golf if he never answered his phone. He tries not to answer it, but will often come off the course and have about 25missed calls!

 

[hovis]

with rounds of golf taking up to 5 hours you can't really compare it to other sports. when it can take 5 minutes to walk to your ball and play your shot then i dont see the harm in pulling out your phone and asking the wife if she needs anything bringing home for example.
its funny how people say its not acceptable to walk up the fairway talking on your phone but its ok to walk up the fairway talking to their mate!!!!!!

the main problem with a mobile is people standing around taking a call and leave you standing there whilst you wait for him to take his turn. one of my pp's used to do this so we just walk off and leave him standing on the green on his own. he soon got the message

 

[Robobum]

Can't common sense just prevail? Keep it on silent, be respectful to others if you NEED to take a call or answer a message and keep up the pace of play. Never been a problem to me.

Bans/prohibition etc. could be another reason to dissuade folk from playing and create another barrier to people joining in with the game when the answer is pretty simple. Does rely on folks exercising basic manners and there will always be the odd herbert who won't.

Have you lost your mind man?!? 😉

In our league matches we use a what's app group to keep all the pairs aware of match scores.

If someone needs to take the odd call, no problem at all, if they are constantly on it, 7 iron the thing across a couple of holes........unless it's a Nokia of course

 

[Tashyboy]

1, if you have a mobile ban on a course, how do you get the defib ASAP from the club shop when a PP has a heart attack. Unfortunately this year it will happen again. And it could be you.
2, The people that tend to be ignorant whilst using phones on a course are probably the same ones that txt whilst driving.
3, If it don't hold up play, is used sparingly. No probs.
4, the people that don't want mobiles, in my experience are usuallyelderly/ old Skool, don't have one, don't know how to use one and have had one bad experience with them.
5, the positives outweigh the negatives.

 

[Smiffy]

During the last season I was an expectant father (I believe someone else mentioned something similar) and my wife was extremely anxious about our wee man due to previous problems with her staying pregnant. Thankfully I had playing partners who were considerate to that fact I may get a call at any moment where the Mrs wanted to go into hospital for a reassurance scan/monitoring; which she did only on one occasion and I had to trudge off on the 4th.

Fully understand this situation and would have no problems at all with it.
It's the prats who are "out of the office for the day" who continue to carry on taking endless calls from said office during the round that annoy me.
Played at Piltdown with a friend many years ago, got to about the 5th or 6th hole and there was some idiot on the tee chatting to a workmate.
He must have taken about 10 minutes or so making the call, and at no time did he attempt to allow us through despite us standing there staring at him and his pig ignorance.
A few very choice words were exchanged, and how that didn't end up in fisticuffs I'll never know.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

I agree with this. Talking on a phone should be no more invasive than a normal conversation.

Phone should be on silent and taken at an appropriate time, but we are all grown ups and that should be obvious.

My dad runs his own business and simply wouldn't be able to play golf if he never answered his phone. He tries not to answer it, but will often come off the course and have about 25missed calls!

I've several friends in a similar position (one man bands etc.) but they always keep it respectful and then disappear afterwards for 10 mins to pick up the important stuff . We'll order the drinks and they pick up the bill

In all seriousness, I wouldn't want them to feel like they couldn't play as we all have unique circumstances in life...

 

[MendieGK]

I've several friends in a similar position (one man bands etc.) but they always keep it respectful and then disappear afterwards for 10 mins to pick up the important stuff . We'll order the drinks and they pick up the bill

In all seriousness, I wouldn't want them to feel like they couldn't play as we all have unique circumstances in life...

Yeah he's exactly the same.

Whilst i dont see the point of an Apple Watch, it has really helped him as he can see whos calling (vibrating on his wrist) and then make a decision as to whether or not he has the need to answer it or if it can wait.

No one would even notice that has taken place

 

[chrisd]

Don't so much like the suggestion it's us oldies who complain. I usually leave mine in the car unless I know I'm going to get a text or something, but i don't have a problem unless it's constantly being used and/or the player isn't ready to play when it's their turn

 

[Bunkermagnet]

It is common sense. As I have said our course has a phone ban whilst on the course, that is a using the phone ban...not the physical presence. Obviously in an emergency then your encouraged to use it, but for random piffle that is 97% of all mobile phone talk the ban is for that.
Having been on courses that have no concern on the matter, being stuck behind someone who is nattering without a care for anyone isn't great and certainly doesn't make you wish your club would change it's rule directions.
I also don't think it's "oldies" specifically with the problem, it's more that modern society is wedded to their mobile device and god forbid they should be detatched from it for as long as a game of golf.

 

[fundy]

One thing definitely comes out from this thread, if I was mobile phone thief Id be turning my attention to golf club car parks!!!!

 

[Lazkir]

I use the skycaddie app on mine, and have always switched it to silent. Other PP's use theirs for various GPS apps and they also switch their phones to silent.

I run a small business and I get quite a few calls on a Saturday morning but I never answer them, I just ring them back later. Sometimes I'm too late and it has cost me money but I enjoy my 5 hours of sanity away from the phone.
the only time I will answer or call back earlier is if it's from family, they know not to bother me when I'm at the course unless it's important.
Most of my PP's have the same outlook.

 

[tugglesf239]

I, like most see my time on a course as freedom from being connectable from the outside. I have changed recently as i have two young kids, so i will always have a quick peek to see if i have been called during a round.

A mobile phone dispute brought me the closest i have been to violence on a golf course though. Very close

Basically I took an emergency call from my wife about 3 or 4 years ago. I won't go into detail about the conversation on here but the subject matter was not great.

During the call i visually saw a guy who was gesticulating and shouting at me across two (yes two) fairways. I ignored him as the wife was in tears on the end of the phone.

He then started matching over to me and was really waving his fist. It was pretty comical to be honest and if i was not getting balled at down the phone i would have laughed in the prats face.

Anyways, i hung up mid call when he was maybe 20 yards away and put the phone in my pocket and then walked right into the idiot's face, fists clenched ready to give him a hiding or rearrange his nose bone with my forehead.

Im not in anyway saying that engaging in a little spot of "man dancing" on a Golf course is even remotely acceptable (let's be clear on that one please ) however in this circumstance i would have felt justified and pretty guilt free.

Fact is he bottled it and ran back to his PP's thus avoiding an escalation thankfully, instead he just got a one way transmission in his general directing with more profanities than Rodger Mellie could have mustered a she scurried away from whence he came.

I played an absolute stinker for the rest of the round and was livid, honestly i was beyond raging. i think i just blobbed most holes and chain smoked for the next 2 hours. I even avoided going for a pint after the round in case the clown was in the club house, just so i could avoid a room full of witnesses watching me rag doll him across the billiards table.

It was only after i realised that actual stupidity of the situation. I mean i was having a quite word on a device maybe 100 yards away from the moron. His response to my supposed "breach of the peace" was to scream at me at full decibels and then swagger over just so i knew that he was really ticked off....

Talk about an overreaction of almost Israeli proportions

Back to the OP

If they are on silent and you are discreet in using them, i see zero problems with using a phone on the course

oh

For those who think i should have ran back home to look after my upset wife...im not a complete git, she was about 300 miles away visiting family when she called. Promise :thup:

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

So I'll never do anything personally all week sitting doing nothing just in case I get a call!

Robin, your twisting the thread, it's about mobiles on the golf course, IMO there is no need for them