New Debate

I voted to relax the rules! I agree they should be kept on silent, maybe as a club rule, but they are handy when used correctly! Ask the 65 year old who had a heart attack on the 12th (about as far from the clubhouse as possible of course)The ambulance drove straight onto the course and he's still with us! Nuff said?
 
I dont think taking a phone with you for emergency use only is a bad thing, but the trouble is, those who tend to whip out their magical 'voice carrying many miles thing' have never in my experience ever discussed an emergency and I have only ever heard of a very small number of cases where someone called an ambulance for a golfer.

Its a big NO! for me, simply because of the number of important people who importantly display their important phone for 3 or 4 important hours of golf that are much more important than the important emergency calls they make or receive, but not important enough to keep said important people away from golf for 4hrs in order to be available more importantly for important calls and in an emergency.
Also because I have never overheard an important call yet on a golf course, and believe me, you can hear them. Maybe I will one day, but is that important? :D
 
I personally leave my phone in the boot of the car whenever I visit the course whether it be a friendly game or something more competitive. I don't want the hassle of my phone going off. Invariably it will be my boss having a pop at me for something I've supposedly done wrong, which will wind me up, which will in turn feck my round up.
I have no problem with people who carry their phone with them for "emergencies"....but please keep it to emergencies only. I have a couple of mates I play with who regularly answer their phone on the course and it does wind me up when they are talking about pricing up a roofing job, or as somebody else mentioned, sorting out a pub meet for the week-end.
 
A guy I played with last night had a phone call. He wandered along, 100 yards behind us, but as a result we kept having to wait for him to play his shot. Probably cost us 15 minutes over the round. Was it an emergency? No.
 
Mine's always in the bag on silent and I check it maybe twice. Only once have I ever had to make a call - HID was caught at work and couldn't pick the Boy up from after-school club so I had to curtail my round and get him. If I hadn't checked the phone he'd have been picked up very late and it would have cost us a fortune.
As long as you :-
a. Don't hold up the pace of play
b. Don't distract your fellow golfers
c. Keep it for really urgent calls

then I don't see a problem. Chatting or suchlike is poor form and should be dealt with by Tazer!!!
 
...whether Golf Clubs should relax their rules on mobile phones...
Click to expand...
I don't know what my or other club's rules *are* on the use of mobile phones. I always have mine with me and it's always on silent/vibrate, so in my case I don't see that it can be construed as a problem or an annoyance to other people.

However, people who have their mobile phone on loud, and allow it to ring while others nearby are about to take a shot, should be ashamed of themselves.
 
I cover an on-call rota every other week which while not very important still means I need to answer the phone if they ring. I take my phone with me on the course, have it on silent & check it every few holes. Fortunately they haven't rung yet while I've been on the course but if mobiles weren't allowed on our course I would only be able to play golf 2 weeks out of every 4 which would be ridiculous.

We all know there are idiots out there who will try to make themselves look important no matter where they are but I'd say 95% of people out on the course would be respectful in this regards.
 
Nothing personal but that sounds so selfish to me. Taking calls whilst waiting for the fairway to clear, why would you do that? Are the people your playing with not interesting enough to talk to or something?

Obviuosly carrying a mobile for emergencies is sensible, checking once or twice is ok, but as a whole load of people have said is it that important, and if it is what are you doing on the golf course anyway?

You have the lovely situation where you can combine the playing of this great game with your job, not many of us get that chance and I suggest that a lot of us enjoy the chance to get away from the horrid things!

I'm voting NO.
 
I have come across a few clubs that are implementing a more sensible policy as our club's below....

Emergencies on the Course

It is recognised that in the event of an emergency out on the golf course, contacting the emergency services can be difficult. To assist in this problem the following policy has been implemented:-
1.

The Rangers have been issued with a mobile phone that may be called by members only in the event of an emergency such as medical, trespassers or other similar circumstances. It is not to be used for routine golfing queries.

The Number is .......
2.

Members may take mobile phones on to the golf course for use in emergencies provided they are switched off until needed. It is recommended that members wishing to do so, key the above number into their phone together with that of the Clubhouse and the Professional Shop in case the Ranger is out of contact for any reason. If members call the emergency services direct, they are requested to advise the Clubhouse that they have done so.

The above numbers suggested are:-
Clubhouse - ......
Pro. Shop - ......
3. In the event of medical emergencies, blankets and first aid kits are available in the Clubhouse and micro blankets are carried by the Rangers.
 
I'm firmly with Mike on this one and I voted to relax the rules.

Its a different story if some idiot has the Star Wars tune blaring out every 3 seconds and just as you're at the top of your backswing, but discretely checking your phone every now and again whilst its on silent is a completely different kettle of fish.

The mobile phone rules are ridiculous and need to be relaxed.
Click to expand...
I've read that before.

As a Dad with a young son my phone is never off, but on the course it is always on silent and in my bag. I check it maybe 2 or three times a round at most and have never (thankfully) needed to use it yet.

Also, how would people feel if a playing parter got injured/heart attack mid round. I'm not fit enough to sprint a mile back to the club house so a mobile phone could be the difference between life and death.
 
CVG, I think you have slightly misconstrued my point

If your family and work commitments mean there's no possibility of you ever being needed to be contacted when you're on the course then I envy you! Believe you me; I look forward to the day when my parental and work responsibilities don't require me to carry a phone on the golf course.

I don't do it out of anything other than necessity but there is a genuine need and it's one that I know a lot of other golfers share.

It's not about not wanting to talk to your playing partners – banter on the course is one of my favourite things about the game as I have written a previous editor's letter - and I certainly wouldn't stand on the tee waiting for the fairway to clear having an unnecessary conversation with my wife about what was for dinner that night or to discuss the cricket score with my mates but, if a genuine need arose for me to make a very short call that couldn’t wait until the end of the round, I’d like to be able to do that without breaking any rules.

By banning mobile phones at golf clubs all you’re doing is putting an obstacle in the way of people playing as much golf as they would like. Do that and the net loser is the game of golf. Club’s revenue drops (green fees and F&B takings) and we all end paying higher membership subs, green fees and beer prices to plumb the shortfall.
 
A guy I played with last night had a phone call. He wandered along, 100 yards behind us, but as a result we kept having to wait for him to play his shot. Probably cost us 15 minutes over the round. Was it an emergency? No.
Click to expand...

This is exactly why they should not be relaxed everyone has a different idea of what constitutes an emergency, for some its a fire, for others its needing to buy a can of baked beans on the way home.
 
CVG, I think you have slightly misconstrued my point

If your family and work commitments mean there's no possibility of you ever being needed to be contacted when you're on the course then I envy you! Believe you me; I look forward to the day when my parental and work responsibilities don't require me to carry a phone on the golf course.

I don't do it out of anything other than necessity but there is a genuine need and it's one that I know a lot of other golfers share.

It's not about not wanting to talk to your playing partners – banter on the course is one of my favourite things about the game as I have written a previous editor's letter - and I certainly wouldn't stand on the tee waiting for the fairway to clear having an unnecessary conversation with my wife about what was for dinner that night or to discuss the cricket score with my mates but, if a genuine need arose for me to make a very short call that couldn’t wait until the end of the round, I’d like to be able to do that without breaking any rules.

By banning mobile phones at golf clubs all you’re doing is putting an obstacle in the way of people playing as much golf as they would like. Do that and the net loser is the game of golf. Club’s revenue drops (green fees and F&B takings) and we all end paying higher membership subs, green fees and beer prices to plumb the shortfall.
Click to expand...

I agree with most of what you said there Mike.
My family don't contact me or attempt to when I am on the course. Hopefully, after Sunday, my son will be playing at the same time.

I HAVE to be on call 24/7 when I am not on leave.
Work need to be able to contact me (unfortunately) but they generally only do it if it IS an emergency.

I don't like folk making calls. Be it to work or where ever.
If you can't sort "your" side out before you play, don't play. (this is not aimed at anyone in particular)
Certainly where work is concerned.

I do accept that sometimes, something comes up and is unavoidable.
 
I think in the end it comes down to how strict the club wnats to be on the matter. I think if its on silent/Vibrate and you check it every so often then thats fine. I agree that chatting away down the fairway to your hearts content is not on as this can wait till the end of the round.

I think a compromise on this matter could be reached.
 
What a great disaster life on the golf course must have been before the mobile phone? This includes the eras where just about everything good was created or invented, oh how difficult it must have been during the industrial revolution to play a round unless you employed about a 100 runners for every eventuality you may come across.

Tell someone at the office and at your home where you are for the next 4 hrs and then switch it off, you will find that the earth will still revolve and your family will learn qualities they need, like independance for one. ;)
 
What a great disaster life on the golf course must have been before the mobile phone? This includes the eras where just about everything good was created or invented, oh how difficult it must have been during the industrial revolution to play a round unless you employed about a 100 runners for every eventuality you may come across.

Tell someone at the office and at your home where you are for the next 4 hrs and then switch it off, you will find that the earth will still revolve and your family will learn qualities they need, like independance for one. ;)
Click to expand...

Welcome to the modern era, we use a metal called titanium now for driver heads. AMAZING EH :-)
 
My mobile sits in the car, switched off. I use it to tell HID that I am on my way home and it is then switched off until my next round. Prissy prissy if you like. :D
 
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