Dave3498
Q-School Graduate
Elitism seems to be a nasty word these days.
Isn't it elitism that stops me playing for Europe in the Ryder Cup? Isn't it elitism that stops me playing for my country's football team, stops me performing at the Royal Ballet, stops me competing in the Olympics or stops me performing heart transplants at Papworth? Of course it is, and quite rightly so. I can't take part in any of the aforementioned activities because I'm simply not good enough at any of them. The are all elite.
That is what we, as serious golfers, are saying when we ask others to achieve our standards of behaviour, ettiquette and dress in our group. We want you to be as elite as we are. It's nothing to do with finances, and for people to say that there is a rich/poor element to this are quite wrong. The Ryder Cup team members are there because they have achieved an elite level of play, not because they are rich. If it was a question of money, then many people would buy their way into the team, wouldn't they?
We have to make it well known that we have these standards, so that people expect to behave properly when they pay a green fee of even apply for membership.
These days, many Golf Clubs are advertising for members, my own Club included. They can't put 'no riff-raff' in the advert, as Basil Fawlty did for his gourmet evening. No one is going to look at an advert and say, 'Oh sod it, I can't apply, the advert says no riff-raff.' are they?
Isn't it elitism that stops me playing for Europe in the Ryder Cup? Isn't it elitism that stops me playing for my country's football team, stops me performing at the Royal Ballet, stops me competing in the Olympics or stops me performing heart transplants at Papworth? Of course it is, and quite rightly so. I can't take part in any of the aforementioned activities because I'm simply not good enough at any of them. The are all elite.
That is what we, as serious golfers, are saying when we ask others to achieve our standards of behaviour, ettiquette and dress in our group. We want you to be as elite as we are. It's nothing to do with finances, and for people to say that there is a rich/poor element to this are quite wrong. The Ryder Cup team members are there because they have achieved an elite level of play, not because they are rich. If it was a question of money, then many people would buy their way into the team, wouldn't they?
We have to make it well known that we have these standards, so that people expect to behave properly when they pay a green fee of even apply for membership.
These days, many Golf Clubs are advertising for members, my own Club included. They can't put 'no riff-raff' in the advert, as Basil Fawlty did for his gourmet evening. No one is going to look at an advert and say, 'Oh sod it, I can't apply, the advert says no riff-raff.' are they?
