Do people still hate golfers?

[Roody]

I dunno, I live in a golf-frenzied city (we have roughly 80 golf courses within an hour to an hour and a half drive). So I don't see much hatred towards golfers.

Either that or I just don't care if they hate me. I wear my love of golf like a badge of honor.

[jholz]

You guys should try skateboarding. Talk about getting hassled by cops and everyone else...

 

In any event, people do unfairly stigmatize golf. It's always fun to carry a golf bag on public transportation to test the premise.

 

With the "playing in a public park" issue, it is tough to deny the obvious. Golf balls are potentially dangerous - added to the fact that many people don't know what they are looking at. To them, it doesn't matter that it is a whiffleball or whatever. They just see potential danger and get all worked up.

[braincramp52]

Dang! I guess I'd better stop complaining about the $625 annual membership I pay at one of the nicest 36 hole muni's in the state.

[MtlJeff]

Yeah that is totally fair, i'd never hit real golf balls just on the chance you could thin one, or sh* ** one and cause some damage

I did explain to the officer that these were hollow plastic balls that can't travel further than 30-40yds, and couldn't break a wet paper bag.

However, that did not seem to sway him LOL

[MtlJeff]

Is it semi private? We have some decent deals around here like that at Muni's. My course is fully private though so it comes with some benefits like access to certain tournaments etc, and some of the other advantages of fully private clubs

that sounds like an awesome deal though, especially in Illinois if you're anywhere close to Chicago

[braincramp52]

No it's not private but it feels like it. You can pretty well get on about anytime without waiting if you're not fussy about which 18 you play. It's owned by the park district and is in immaculate condition all the time. We're about 90 minutes west of Chicago.

https://www.parkhillsgolfcourse.com/

[Old Tom Morris]

Skateboarding should be done in skate parks. Bricks, concrete, handrails, stairs, and paint are damaged and destroyed from skateboarding in public areas.

Golf balls can strike bystanders and turf gets damaged from hitting golf balls in public parks. Plenty of appropriate facilities are available for golf. It's entirely selfish and rude to hit golf balls anywhere besides a golf course or practice range. If you disagree with this, then you are part of the problem and a nasty byproduct of the "growth of the game."

Never heard of anyone being asked to leave a golf course or practice range for hitting golf balls.

[MtlJeff]

I've been asked to leave golf courses and practice ranges before. Apparently they had some fancy stuck up rules there about wearing clothes.

 

[Old Tom Morris]

Might want to find another pastime. Plenty of other activities have a more liberal dress code and less formality. Maybe you would fit in better elsewhere.

The civility and respect found in and around nice golf facilities is part of the appeal to most of us.

[kmay__]

Not sure if this guy is trolling ^ or just providing a textbook example of the type of person who gives golf that "stuck up" reputation.

[MtlJeff]

Hard to believe a guy with an Austin Powers avatar wouldn't have a bit of a sense of humor. I think he's trying to reel a few people in

[jholz]

He had me going for a minute with the skateboarding response. He did, of course, have a point. Then, it became a bit incredulous.

[Fuscinator]

There's probably a 'no golf in the park' rule. The cop has to enforce the rules, not what seems reasonable to each individual.

[MtlJeff]

Again i'm not trying to argue "reason" or anything, nor am i overly upset.....just what he told me was "golf isn't allowed right now". It's possible that's what he meant , that no golf in public parks. etc

But how it came off was, golf courses are closed...Ie Golf is not allowed right now. Like he was arguing that i was "playing golf" and currently our municipality has not allowed courses to open

Maybe i misunderstood but it was an odd way to phrase it. That's why i thought he was just using that to kick me off.

I am not arguing that i should be allowed to violate local rules that seem reasonable to me. If he had told me "no golf in public parks is an actual rule" i wouldn't have thought anything of it

[J13]

The country didn't outlaw golf they closed golf courses (the business). BIG DIFFERENCE and in this instance the cop was 100% wrong unless the park has a no golf rule due to turf damage.

 

Yes a lot of people still have it out for golf as it's seen as elitist. Courses should be open everywhere but they aren't because of those optics.

[Fuscinator]

Anything golf related may mean 'golf' to him, like putters and drivers are both just golf clubs to him, Pro VIx and a whiffle ball are both just golf balls, etc. It's possible he may loathe golfers, but it's more likely he doesn't even remember you.

[MtlJeff]

Yeah it's definitely possible. Again i'm not trying to portray myself as some victim of misconduct here. He may have just been trying to do his job to the best of his knowledge.

[kmay__]

^ The problem too becomes if someone had called it in, then they have to respond to the call, and likely if he had not thrown you out, they would continue receiving calls from the angry people who live adjacent to said park.

[Fuscinator]

Ah, the real haters lurk in their living rooms like untanned swine.

[duffer987]

This. I can remember some fields back in Vancouver explicitly saying 'no golf'. Funnily enough I have a shabby park/green space right beside me on the water and was joking with my mates about pulling a Kramer and launching balls into the water

Of course in Jeff's specific scenario, maybe there was some underlying Francophone vs Anglophone angle? You weren't wearing a shirt with the size of the letters the wrong way round?

[Pepperturbo]

@MtlJeff - Not sure how Canadian laws are enforced. A lot of CA city's do not like golfers hitting any sort of ball in public parks. Most of their experience is with the idiots that dig trenches with their clubs and there's a fear someone may accidentally get hit and sue the city. In other words, can't be subjectively enforced on an individual basis. Often that's same reason a lot of courses don't like chipping on putting greens. Even on short soft chips some goof balls dig big azz holes and may accidentally hit the ball too hard.

[VNutz]

It's hit or miss around me as to which parks can be hit in. As a kid I learned how to hit the ball at a local high school as they have enough land for a 9 hole course at least, occasionally a school maintenance employee would kick me off but never a cop. But in certain areas I know it isn't allowed as people would bring a shag bag to a baseball or soccer field and hit everything they had. Not only could the grass damage be an issue, but they also wouldn't necessarily find all their golf balls and might leave several behind, which leaves the possibility of a player stepping on one while running and injuring themselves, or the mowers getting them and shooting them out and/or leaving sharper cut objects behind, leaving more liability. And once you allow one guy to do something, others see it and think they can do the same, regardless of how responsible you may have been, so they have to shut it all down. So to put a stop to that and give football a pass makes me think it's strictly a no golf thing.

[MtlJeff]

I had on Colin Kaepernick's Pig socks LOL

[JohnnyCashForever]

If only you had resisted (peacefully and respectfully)! Today we would be talking about the French Canadian Rosa Parks of Golf.

[LeftDaddy]

Golfers are definitely still hated in our society. Seems like it is much worse now than 20 years ago, though it could be related to some of the people I’m exposed to these days vs back then. And people really hate golfers right now, because golf is allowed in my state.

[cardoustie]

Hope to see the arrest vid on Cops

[golferdrmjr]

I keep hearing a loud whooshing going on over his head.

[Old Tom Morris]

I’m dead serious. If one wants to be a slob, drunk, all out inconsiderate boob, definitely go to the ragged out 9 hole cow pasture and act like all the other derelicts.

If you are respectful of others, dress appropriately, take care of the course, and are a steward of the game, come to the nicer places.

[weavej1]

I do it the complete opposite, i stand outside the fence, not technically on the field, and hit onto the infield...it behaves very similar to a green, rolls out. I try to hit balls onto the top of the fence, as close as i can to either side of the fence, if it is a tall fence i might try to see how close i can stand to it and still lob balls over it. I carry a couple wedges and a few ball (sometimes my shag bag) and can stop at random ball fields i might come across. I move about to ensure i don’t make divot patches.

[Philomathesq]

This is absolutely the truth. My daughter plays for a competitive soccer team and my son plays golf. Even factoring in equipment (brand new clubs for my son this year), soccer is still exponentially more expensive. I don’t have hard numbers on me right now, but soccer is at least $7,500 USD per year.