Well Said Monty!

Totally agree.

I think the game is more accesible than it used to be but there is still a certain element (I hate to say this but largely older people) who are far too hung up on etiquette and 100 year old rules that are no longer relevant.

I started playing last year at the age of 25. I played a bit of pitch and putt in my teens but i have a memory of never feeling particularly welcome in the pro shop/clubhouse of the course i used, to the point where i didn't want to go in there. Would hate to think there are kids now who want to take up the game but don't for the same reason!!!
 
Neddy said:
Totally agree.

I think the game is more accesible than it used to be but there is still a certain element (I hate to say this but largely older people) who are far too hung up on etiquette and 100 year old rules that are no longer relevant.

I started playing last year at the age of 25. I played a bit of pitch and putt in my teens but i have a memory of never feeling particularly welcome in the pro shop/clubhouse of the course i used, to the point where i didn't want to go in there. Would hate to think there are kids now who want to take up the game but don't for the same reason!!!
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You should see some of the comments I have received in some of my previous posts for suggesting similar! :)
 
tottally agree,

i started playing late last august, down my local muni, no dress code relaxed chilled out golf where i fell in love with the game, i got slated on here for my attire footy top and shorts, no rules where broken, granted the happy gilmore shots where in hindsight not very wise (alltho legal)

that said chuffed monty is fighting to break down these barriers and make the game more accessible!
 
Dress codes are funny.

I personally like to wear a polo and a proper pair of trousers to play in, but i wouldn't judge a fellow player for choosing to dress differently, as long as they treat fellow golfers and the course itself with respect.

Kids especially don't like "dressing up" and it's silly in my eyes that they might not take up the game because of dress codes....

I was playing somewhere the other week and one of the marshalls told me he had spent an hour driving around looking for a bloke wearing jeans. My immediate thought was that he surely must have had better things he could have been doing with his time?
 
i enjoy the whole trouser and polo look, i didnt wear them at that time as i was very new to the game as was my friend and it was a casual relaxed round just for fun, i stuck with it he didnt, if i was to play that course again in a casual manner with him just for a knock i probs wouldnt where my trousers and polo, as im not required to do so

at my home track tho there is a dress code, which i adhere to with no problems
 
Dodger said:
I am 100% in agreement with Sir Colin.

Look out for a great article in the next fortnight or so that'll be featuring a well known forum stalwart......singing the praises of price reductions for 30 year olds and under and what a great shot in the arm this kind of membership offer has meant for his club.....
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with out the under 30 reduced rates, i wouldnt be at the club im at now, i would have had to join my local muni's society and be forced to play off 15 if i wanted to compete, as they said i couldnt play of 28 because it was too high!! thankfully that forced me to look afield and was told about this, and its afforable just for me, with out it i fear i would have struggled with my first option and gradually fall out of love with golf!!
 
Amongst the replies on the link... Is one where he is slagging off the club he visited with his wife with a view to joining... At the end he says they have a waiting list of several years as though they are doing something wrong :confused:...

As for 'kids' not wishing to dress up... Where I regularly play [a P'nP] the juniors are the ones who are the 'dandies' of the place...
 
I'm happy to say that my golf club does one thing very well and that's give good discounts to youngsters for membership and the pro is forever doing group junior lessons and going out to the local schools for after school golf sessions.

One thing I wouldn't want to see though is the dress code taken out of the game, I think Golf should be a sport that requires smart attire. I for one don't want to see people playing my golf course in jeans and a Liverpool shirt. You need to open the game up to more people but you still need to have etiquette and rules.
 
Neddy said:
Totally agree.

I think the game is more accesible than it used to be but there is still a certain element (I hate to say this but largely older people) who are far too hung up on etiquette and 100 year old rules that are no longer relevant.

I started playing last year at the age of 25. I played a bit of pitch and putt in my teens but i have a memory of never feeling particularly welcome in the pro shop/clubhouse of the course i used, to the point where i didn't want to go in there. Would hate to think there are kids now who want to take up the game but don't for the same reason!!!
Click to expand...

I remember those feelings at the local pitch and putt when I was younger. It put me off from starting to play the game properly and I completely agree that something needs to be done to get younger people playing. I only started playing last year at the age of 31. I have to say though, since I have started playing, everyone has been fantastic and very welcoming.
 
swanny32 said:
One thing I wouldn't want to see though is the dress code taken out of the game, I think Golf should be a sport that requires smart attire. I for one don't want to see people playing my golf course in jeans and a Liverpool shirt. You need to open the game up to more people but you still need to have etiquette and rules.
Click to expand...

Etiquette and rules have nothing to do with what someone is wearing.

Put a cheating, rude ****head into a polo shirt and trousers and he is still a cheating, rude ****head.

All a dress code does is suggest that the way you dress is linked to how you behave, which obviously bull.

If you treat people/the course with respect why does it matter that you are wearing a liverpool shirt?

And this is coming from someone who would never wear a football shirt in public. I just think people have the right if that's what they want to do....
 
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In my time as a golfer the people I have seen on a golf course wearing jeans and a football shirt have been the ones dicking about, racing buggies, not replacing divots and not repairing pitch marks. Obviously you'll get some people who act like this and wear the correct attire so I guess it's swings and roundabouts.

Personally I don't think golf will ever shift it's image.
 
I think to an extent as well you're dumbing down the sport to meet people's needs nowadays much like a lot of other things in life. With regards to kids playing the sport I'd rather my two boys went along to a course where they were told they have to wear the correct clothing, have to shout fore, have to replace divots etc etc as it teaches them respect, manners and discipline.
 
I'd be much more interested to hear his views on male only member clubs like Muirfield and Royal Troon (where his father was secretary). That's the kind of elitism which should be getting targeted. They do more harm to the game's image than all the others put together.
 
Richie13 said:
with out the under 30 reduced rates, i wouldnt be at the club im at now, i would have had to join my local muni's society and be forced to play off 15 if i wanted to compete, as they said i couldnt play of 28 because it was too high!! thankfully that forced me to look afield and was told about this, and its afforable just for me, with out it i fear i would have struggled with my first option and gradually fall out of love with golf!!
Click to expand...

I've never understood this discount for 30 and unders lark to be honest and I'm not entirely sure I agree with it. What makes a 31yr old different to a 30yr old? What happens when Mr 30 year old turns 31, does he leave the club because he can't afford it.

I was desperate to join a club for ages before I joined RAGC but couldn't afford it until last year (I'm 37 in 3 weeks) so joined to discount green fee scheme at my local muni (which happens to be Hoebridge which is mentioned in te article). I put up with 5+ hr rounds and all of the other downsides that come with very busy muni's like Hoebridge because I had no choice. What made me any different to someone under 30? Ironically, when I was 22 living at home with my parents and could have easily afforded to join a golf club at full rate but I wouldn't have had to.

I can understand the getting kids into golf business and I can understand that some of the old image needs to be lost but discount fees just because you're under 30 makes no sense to me whatsoever and I would love it if someone could explain it to me?
 
I go to football but don't wear a football shirt. Should I be barred?

I just want players to repair pitch marks and keep quiet when walking past greens where people are putting.

Oh, and rake bunkers.
 
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I remember years ago being invited to the launch of The Tony Jacklin Golf Club.
It was after the Lloyds crash and Jacklin was starting a 'club' where, for a fee, new golfers could join, play at affilliated golf courses and gain an official handicap. Official handicaps were like gold dust in those days and Jacklin was looking to make a quick buck.
He tried to make it sound very grand and slated clubs that allow jeans on the course [not uncommon in those days]. 'I guarantee that at any Tony Jacklin Golf Course no one will be allowed in wearing denim jeans' says our Tone. Pity the camera man filming the launch at his affiliated club was dressed head to foot in denim.
When he asked for questions, I had to bite my tongue very hard!
 
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