New Scottish Drink Driving laws and golf clubs

[FairwayDodger]

I think the biggest problem with the new limit is just that it is neither one thing nor another. It's not low enough to send out the message that you can't drink anything but is low enough to put a seed of doubt in your mind.

For me they should either have left it as it was or made it really small so there was no doubt that one drink of anything alcoholic would put you over the limit no matter your constitution.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Golf is a social game. you get to chat with your playing partners and have a good laugh throughout the round so having a pint afterwards makes sense.

however the law is the law so people will just have to get over it I suppose. Hopefully England dont implement it too soon !

I'm the opposite and hope they implement it in England asap

 

[Fish]

Well if & when it gets implemented in England Ill save a fortune on overnight accommodation as the beer & curry pre-golf nights will be a gonna and they'll be no need to stop over after any rounds/meets either, so I guess the hotel industry will take a hit also!

I enjoy a pint after a round and will usually have something to eat also, but If I'm forced to not be able to have even a single alcoholic drink I doubt I would visit the bar/restaurant and as such they'd be losing my food revenue also. As an example, I had £50 put on my new club card a week last Friday when I joined, I had to top it up on Saturday for my 1st drink & club sandwich, so I'm worth over £2500.00 in bar/food sales alone to my club, possibly at a lot more, and when you start multiplying that with other like minded members, that's a lot of revenue lost!

 

[IanG]

I'd say the change in the law has definitely impacted on how much beer and wine the Club sells but fortunately not on the busy-ness (as opposed to business) of the clubhouse. Most of the drivers have just changed to soft drinks and coffee. We now have a fancy line in exotic teas which are proving a hit with some of the ladies.

At our winter turn-up on Saturday one poor chap had a hole in one so expected to be well out of pocket but I think less than half of the folk took him up on the offer of a drink. (Before anyone chips in that 50% is still a high number, many of us can and do walk to the club as it's right in the middle of our tiny wee town).

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Well if & when it gets implemented in England Ill save a fortune on overnight accommodation as the beer & curry pre-golf nights will be a gonna and they'll be no need to stop over after any rounds/meets either, so I guess the hotel industry will take a hit also!

I enjoy a pint after a round and will usually have something to eat also, but If I'm forced to not be able to have even a single alcoholic drink I doubt I would visit the bar/restaurant and as such they'd be losing my food revenue also. As an example, I had £50 put on my new club card a week last Friday when I joined, I had to top it up on Saturday for my 1st drink & club sandwich, so I'm worth over £2500.00 in bar/food sales alone to my club, possibly at a lot more, and when you start multiplying that with other like minded members, that's a lot of revenue lost!

Are you not able to have a soft drink whilst eating ?

Surely having safer roads is priceless compared to golf clubs losing a bit of money

 

[duncan mackie]

I think the biggest problem with the new limit is just that it is neither one thing nor another. It's not low enough to send out the message that you can't drink anything but is low enough to put a seed of doubt in your mind.

For me they should either have left it as it was or made it really small so there was no doubt that one drink of anything alcoholic would put you over the limit no matter your constitution.

I think you are missing the practicality of any limit.

It is effectively set to discourage any drinking when in charge of a car; it's not set to restrict any drinking at any time when you may, or may not, be driving a car.

Put another way, it's a limit that tolerates the existence of alcohol in the bloodstream rather than it's consumption prior to driving.

Given that there is no subjective assessment of impaired judgement (there's no effective assessment of judgment and response times for driving at all really!).

If you wish to go to an effective zero tolerance then you are looking at a minimum of 24 hrs between finishing consumption and driving which would gain extremely little against the levels they have introduced but create huge potential problems in a society that is dependent on it's use of cars.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I think you are missing the practicality of any limit.

It is effectively set to discourage any drinking when in charge of a car; it's not set to restrict any drinking at any time when you may, or may not, be driving a car.

Put another way, it's a limit that tolerates the existence of alcohol in the bloodstream rather than it's consumption prior to driving.

Given that there is no subjective assessment of impaired judgement (there's no effective assessment of judgment and response times for driving at all really!).

If you wish to go to an effective zero tolerance then you are looking at a minimum of 24 hrs between finishing consumption and driving which would gain extremely little against the levels they have introduced but create huge potential problems in a society that is dependent on it's use of cars.

Not missing it at all, just disagreeing at the level the scottish government set. I think it likely I could have my usual drink and not be over the new limit but I'm not 100% certain. They could have precluded that element of doubt with a lower limit without going all the way to zero.

 

[Fish]

Are you not able to have a soft drink whilst eating ?

Surely having safer roads is priceless compared to golf clubs losing a bit of money

No, I don't want to sit around in a bar atmosphere where others may be drinking with or around me because they can for various other reasons and I can't, so I would simply drive to my local where I tend to head to eventually as its 100yds from my house and eat & drink there, thus the club would loose all my social funds!

And to me the roads would be no less safer if I have a single pint or none but my club would not be safer with the large amounts of lost revenue from members like me.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

A lot of Scottish clubs were going to close before the change was introduced, too many golf clubs not enough golfers.

I hear golf clubs moaning about this but they do not seem to see any other options.

I was shopping in Irvine last week and popped into the new Weatherspoons for lunch.
I had to wait for 10 mins for a table. I find that at lunchtime when I visit Weatherspoons they are usually packed and the majority of customers are female.

Regarding the law. I used to be a pint limit man but now I either have a half pint or a coffee [if I know it will be decent]
I cannot recall ever having a decent cup of copy in any golf club.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

With newer rules then a great deal of people also won't be drinking

But can you really not have food afterwards without having an pint with it because others are ?

 

[Val]

A lot of Scottish clubs were going to close before the change was introduced, too many golf clubs not enough golfers.

I hear golf clubs moaning about this but they do not seem to see any other options.

I was shopping in Irvine last week and popped into the new Weatherspoons for lunch.
I had to wait for 10 mins for a table. I find that at lunchtime when I visit Weatherspoons they are usually packed and the majority of customers are female.

Regarding the law. I used to be a pint limit man but now I either have a half pint or a coffee [if I know it will be decent]
I cannot recall ever having a decent cup of copy in any golf club.

What is the relevence here?

 

[Hacker Khan]

With newer rules then a great deal of people also won't be drinking

But can you really not have food afterwards without having an pint with it because others are ?

I think it's not a case of not being able to, of course someone can. But it's a value judgement on if they feel it's worth while doing so.

My original question was sort of if golf clubs are more effected by this as there is a lot of talk at the moment of golf taking a long time. And this may be the straw that broke the camels back for some when it comes to spending more time away from home. Do I go for a coffee or fruit based drink for the ladies and stay another 30 minutes. Or do I bugger off back home. I suppose it depends on how much you value the 'pint' part of going for a drink after the game. Some do and obviously some don't.

 

[bluewolf]

With newer rules then a great deal of people also won't be drinking

But can you really not have food afterwards without having an pint with it because others are ?

Yes, he can.. But he prefers to have a pint with his food.. A lot of people do.. It's not a crime, nor is it indicative of anything other than a preference...

I like a pint or 2 after a round, but invariably I'm driving, so I don't bother (even when I have time). If I want a soft drink, I'm quite happy to get one out of the fridge when I get home....

 

[patricks148]

I was shopping in Irvine last week and popped into the new Weatherspoons for lunch.
I had to wait for 10 mins for a table. I find that at lunchtime when I visit Weatherspoons they are usually packed and the majority of customers are female.

You lucky Bugger, last time i was in one its was full of Men, Irvine must have more female wino's than Inversneck

 

[North Mimms]

Wonder if its a good idea for Golf Clubs to be speaking to people like Costa etc for having franchised coffee shops in the clubhouses. Could be onto something there. I'd happily sit down to a good coffee rather than a pint after playing (when I join a club that is)

We used to have a Tchibo (?) machine behind the bar- lovely coffee and quickly dispensed at the push of a button while bar staff could get on pulling pints etc. Now we have a fancy all singing all dancing machine which means our staff have to be baristas (which they are not) and it takes an age. And the coffee is way too strong

 

[CMAC]

Are you not able to have a soft drink whilst eating ?

Surely having safer roads is priceless compared to golf clubs losing a bit of money

With newer rules then a great deal of people also won't be drinking

But can you really not have food afterwards without having an pint with it because others are ?

well said.

 

[virtuocity]

My club has 3 different kinds of non-alcoholic beer, which I know isn't to everyone's taste, but I like it.

 

[stevek1969]

In this weather up here the last think I'm looking for is a cold beer ,2 gallons of tea will do me fine. It will hit some of the more remote clubs, but i ll bet people will still have a beer after the golf. Personally nowadays I'm not fussed

 

[Birchy]

Yes, he can.. But he prefers to have a pint with his food.. A lot of people do.. It's not a crime, nor is it indicative of anything other than a preference...

I like a pint or 2 after a round, but invariably I'm driving, so I don't bother (even when I have time). If I want a soft drink, I'm quite happy to get one out of the fridge when I get home....

So your a car park golfer? Oh dear this could get messy :rofl:

 

[bluewolf]

So your a car park golfer? Oh dear this could get messy :rofl:

I am mate. On Saturday night I was nearly an "asleep in the carpark member"...