Our course hosts a series of Senior's Opens throughout the winter, and whilst in the main I am happy to play amongst the visitors to the club, there is a habit developing amongst them which I am sure I am not alone in finding really irritating.
Three of our par 4's have semi-blind drives in as much as the landing areas for the longer hitters are out of view. For health and safety reasons those holes therefore have bells installed at the side of the fairways about 250 to 280 yards from the tee blocks.
Generally speaking players will ring them when they have played their approaches, but during the last few months many of us have noticed that Senior Open visitors don't tend to bother. On the 4th it's not an issue, because a bank on the right of the tee gives you a vantage point - if you climb to the top you can see if the fairway is clear. Not so on 13 and 17, where, if the bell does not ring, the only way to be sure it's safe to play is a near 300 yard round trip, up the fairway and back.
This morning I have played with two mates and we were sandwiched in behind a number of Senior Open 4-balls with a further four or five groups behind. The pace of play wasn't too bad, and when we were asked if we wanted to play through we said we were happy to play at the pace of play of the 4-ball in front, and we maintained a reasonable distance behind so as not to pressure them.
When we reached the 4th we waited an eternity for the bell to sound, and on hearing nothing one of my mates hiked up the bank only to see the 4-ball in front had reached the green without ringing the bell. We didn't think much of it, until we were standing waiting on the 5th tee, and the 4-ball behind passed the bell without ringing it either.
We reached the 13th tee as the group in front were just disappearing from view, and again waited for the bell to sound. Nothing. And given the fact the landing area here is well concealed, I took a hike 150 yards down the fairway, again to find the group in front on the green. The same happened at 17.
In the clubhouse afterwards one of my playing partners approached the 4-ball at the bar and asked why they did not bother ringing the bells on any of the three holes. The reply? "Because we can't reach any of them from the tee." My mate quite rightly, and politely, pointed out that just because they couldn't didn't mean others could not drive those distances. One of them got quite shirty, at which point the club manager, on over-hearing the conversation, stepped in an reminded the visitors that the bells were there for THEIR safety.
Do any other clubs have the same problem with blind tee shots and other players not thinking of the groups behind?
Three of our par 4's have semi-blind drives in as much as the landing areas for the longer hitters are out of view. For health and safety reasons those holes therefore have bells installed at the side of the fairways about 250 to 280 yards from the tee blocks.
Generally speaking players will ring them when they have played their approaches, but during the last few months many of us have noticed that Senior Open visitors don't tend to bother. On the 4th it's not an issue, because a bank on the right of the tee gives you a vantage point - if you climb to the top you can see if the fairway is clear. Not so on 13 and 17, where, if the bell does not ring, the only way to be sure it's safe to play is a near 300 yard round trip, up the fairway and back.
This morning I have played with two mates and we were sandwiched in behind a number of Senior Open 4-balls with a further four or five groups behind. The pace of play wasn't too bad, and when we were asked if we wanted to play through we said we were happy to play at the pace of play of the 4-ball in front, and we maintained a reasonable distance behind so as not to pressure them.
When we reached the 4th we waited an eternity for the bell to sound, and on hearing nothing one of my mates hiked up the bank only to see the 4-ball in front had reached the green without ringing the bell. We didn't think much of it, until we were standing waiting on the 5th tee, and the 4-ball behind passed the bell without ringing it either.
We reached the 13th tee as the group in front were just disappearing from view, and again waited for the bell to sound. Nothing. And given the fact the landing area here is well concealed, I took a hike 150 yards down the fairway, again to find the group in front on the green. The same happened at 17.
In the clubhouse afterwards one of my playing partners approached the 4-ball at the bar and asked why they did not bother ringing the bells on any of the three holes. The reply? "Because we can't reach any of them from the tee." My mate quite rightly, and politely, pointed out that just because they couldn't didn't mean others could not drive those distances. One of them got quite shirty, at which point the club manager, on over-hearing the conversation, stepped in an reminded the visitors that the bells were there for THEIR safety.
Do any other clubs have the same problem with blind tee shots and other players not thinking of the groups behind?
