No personal coolers allowed

[MarcellusW]

I usually take pride in following the rules.  But, I'm thinking about breaking this one.

It's going to hit triple digits tomorrow (>100F/38C).  I'm thinking about bringing a small lunch box/cooler full of ice to put towels in.  

 

I think they are concerned about people brining outside alcohol.  I am concerned about surviving 18 holes in the afternoon.  I'm not bringing alcohol and I intend to buy multiple drinks from the drink cart.

 

If you worked at a golf course, would you look the other way, or be annoyed at the obvious violation?

[nsxguy]

6 minutes ago, MarcellusW said:

I usually take pride in following the rules.  But, I'm thinking about breaking this one.

It's going to hit triple digits tomorrow (>100F/38C).  I'm thinking about bringing a small lunch box/cooler full of ice to put towels in.  

 

I think they are concerned about people brining outside alcohol.  I am concerned about surviving 18 holes in the afternoon.  I'm not bringing alcohol and I intend to buy multiple drinks from the drink cart.

 

If you worked at a golf course, would you look the other way, or be annoyed at the obvious violation?

 

Courses are all a bit different.

 

Coolers are often restricted because of alcohol. Also, because if you're bringing in drinks, even if the beverages are not alcoholic, that's less $$$ you're likely spending in the clubhouse or on the course buying drinks at stands or from drink carts. So they view it as losing revenue.

 

They also might have concessionaires, who pay the course for the right to sell beverages on premises. And they can't reasonably charge those people and not protect their business. I believe that sort of thing happens somewhat frequently on county/muni courses.

 

Likely, if the course does care a lot, if a ranger or somebody saw there was just water in there, and they saw your towels in there and you told them why you have it, they might not say anything.

 

If they only saw ice in there you might have an issue since IMO, one doesn't really need ice water on the towel. ANY water on the towel will cool you off.

 

Anyway, it likely depends on the course. 👍

[Mr. Bean]

Here in Finland I bring a cooler with drinks with me more or less every time as the drinks at the halfway house have  extravagant prices whether alcohol containing or alcohol free beverages. Nobody EVER has said anything about it. If the halfway house wants to sell be beverages it is their choice to keep the prices at a reasonable level.

 

Btw OP, is it somewhere said that no beverages allowed other than purchased from the club's facilities?

[MarcellusW]

16 minutes ago, Mr. Bean said:

Btw OP, is it somewhere said that no beverages allowed other than purchased from the club's facilities?

Nothing is said about outside beverages.

No outside alcohol and no personal coolers allowed.

[nsxguy]

3 minutes ago, MarcellusW said:

Nothing is said about outside beverages.

No outside alcohol and no personal coolers allowed.

 

You might want to call & ask although you might not like the answer. 

 

However, I would think it's like most things, even the RoG. If there's no rule/law against it, it's allowed.

 

I mean, if you were caught, you'd simply say "I didn't see any notices about it", & the answer would be either "Fine, but don't bring it again", or "Please pour out the contents".

[Pepperturbo]

1 hour ago, MarcellusW said:

I usually take pride in following the rules.  But, I'm thinking about breaking this one.

It's going to hit triple digits tomorrow (>100F/38C).  I'm thinking about bringing a small lunch box/cooler full of ice to put towels in.  

 

I think they are concerned about people brining outside alcohol.  I am concerned about surviving 18 holes in the afternoon.  I'm not bringing alcohol and I intend to buy multiple drinks from the drink cart.

 

If you worked at a golf course, would you look the other way, or be annoyed at the obvious violation?

True.

 

Since COVID's effect on most golf courses, water stations and mobile carts are nowhere to be found.  So, I started taking an insulated backpack with ice, a 24oz bottle of water, plus an additional 46oz bottle of ice water, food and snacks.  I only carry water.

 

If anyone asks, I show them what's inside and they say fine.

Edited June 21 by Pepperturbo

[jonsnow]

8 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

True.

 

Since COVID's effect on most golf courses, water stations and mobile carts are nowhere to be found.  So, I started taking an insulated backpack with ice, a 24oz bottle of water, plus an additional 46oz bottle of ice water, food and snacks.  I only carry water.

 

If anyone asks, I show them what's inside and they say fine.

Starting to see beverage carts again, but finding a water cooler anywhere I play with water is pretty much impossible still.

[mshills]

1 hour ago, MarcellusW said:

I usually take pride in following the rules.  But, I'm thinking about breaking this one.

It's going to hit triple digits tomorrow (>100F/38C).  I'm thinking about bringing a small lunch box/cooler full of ice to put towels in.  

 

I think they are concerned about people brining outside alcohol.  I am concerned about surviving 18 holes in the afternoon.  I'm not bringing alcohol and I intend to buy multiple drinks from the drink cart.

 

If you worked at a golf course, would you look the other way, or be annoyed at the obvious violation?

Go for it, anything that keeps us playing through a heat wave is a good idea!

 

I can’t imagine any course having an issue with this. Even a place like Streamsong that has coolers with water bottles on every other tee box (at least they did pre-Rona, not sure about now) should have no problem, especially during a heat wave. 

[Pepperturbo]

9 minutes ago, jonsnow said:

Starting to see beverage carts again, but finding a water cooler anywhere I play with water is pretty much impossible still.

Last week's round at a resort course, I saw a beverage cart with a 👀 babe driver.  The group in front of us were stopping her way too often, in hopes.  But that's another topic.  What's remarkable, courses still fail to teach the beverage cart drivers HOW not to effect POP.

[PNW]

Bring the cooler and don't worry about it. Bring one of those blue cooling towels also. They work great for keeping body temp down. 

[nsxguy]

1 hour ago, jonsnow said:

Starting to see beverage carts again, but finding a water cooler anywhere I play with water is pretty much impossible still.

 

Interesting. The course I play most often left the water coolers in place - they simply didn't fill them.

 

Now they're filling them up again.

 

I wonder if courses that removed them, over time, just threw them away ? And won't replace them unless there's a "hue and cry" ? LOL

[AZ_JHWK]

I don't know why they would care with just towels and ice in there. It's a bad look for any course if people are passing out from heat stroke.   

[jonsnow]

20 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

 

Interesting. The course I play most often left the water coolers in place - they simply didn't fill them.

 

Now they're filling them up again.

 

I wonder if courses that removed them, over time, just threw them away ? And won't replace them unless there's a "hue and cry" ? LOL

The coolers are still there, guess I wasn't cleat. They are just no longer filled. It's a lot of work to keep them filled with ice in the Georgia heat

[betarhoalphadelta]

I was pretty impressed when I visited my FIL in Texas that at one course they not only had coolers on the carts, but they had big coolers at the pro shop full of ice and bottled water, free. Very cool of them. 

 

But yeah, at my local courses all they care about is outside alcohol.

 

I bring water and energy drinks and nobody ever says anything. I need to hydrate, people!

 

[Pepperturbo]

21 hours ago, nsxguy said:

 

Interesting. The course I play most often left the water coolers in place - they simply didn't fill them.

 

Now they're filling them up again.

 

I wonder if courses that removed them, over time, just threw them away ? And won't replace them unless there's a "hue and cry" ? LOL

At many courses, part of that decision not to replace coolers was guided by rising insurance liability costs.  On the West Coast, some people got deathly ill drinking water from containers that were never thoroughly cleaned before reuse.  At a couple of the pvt courses I visit, now provide coolers filled with sealed water bottles, like seen on tours.

Edited Saturday at 04:15 PM by Pepperturbo

[Dewdman42]

bring a small cooler and don't worry about it.  

 

[darkhelmet]

I do the same thing -- just bring it and don't say anything.  If they challenge you, just show them that it's towels, ice, & water inside.

 

I live in a hot area, and there is one public course that has this same rule.  I made the mistake of going up and asking the starter if it was OK.  He started giving me all kinds of sh** about it even with me showing him the 2 gatorades I had just bought from the clubhouse.  I finally had to make him get his manager for me.  They eventually OK'd it with the "But don't try this again" warning.

 

I understand that there are liability issues related to people coming out and drinking a case of beer that the course didn't sell to them, but they need to have some common sense.  Especially when someone is proactively showing them exactly what they're using the cooler for.

 

Since then, though, I've gone to using a large insulated "water bottle" kinda like the one here - nobody has looked twice at it.

 

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

Why do people never think that simply asking the course and being up front about it instead of complete strangers might be a good idea? 
 

Ask!
 

 

Edited Friday at 11:09 PM by Hawkeye77

[iacas]

2 hours ago, darkhelmet said:

I understand that there are liability issues related to people coming out and drinking a case of beer that the course didn't sell to them, but they need to have some common sense.  Especially when someone is proactively showing them exactly what they're using the cooler for.

 

It's literally against the law in some locations. The facility can lose their liquor licenses or worse.

 

Just call to ask. Tell them you'll show them what you have in the bag (towels, ice) at the pro shop or to the starter.

[nsxguy]

2 hours ago, jonsnow said:

The coolers are still there, guess I wasn't cleat. They are just no longer filled. It's a lot of work to keep them filled with ice in the Georgia heat

 

No worries.

 

I'm in SoFla. I don't know if they "keep them filled" but they do fill them in the morning.

 

Funny, but the 1st water cooler is between 5th green and 6th tee. It's usually fine around Noon, when we first get there but one day not along ago it was empty. The rest of them on the course had plenty of water.

 

I doubt they refill them during the day though.

[mshills]

Good grief. There is no reason to over explain yourself. Get your cooler with ice and water in it and go play. Unless you are obviously playing beer “golf” no one is going to notice or care. 
 

The alcohol license is the problem. Not the guy trying to avoid heat exhaustion. 

[Dewdman42]

Unless they have an obvious public declaration that coolers are strictly prohibited then it’s a bit like asking for permission to wear sunglasses.  Bringing your own Booze is often against the law so respect that.  If a course told me I could not bring a cooler with ice i would personally choose a different course to play.  In my experience if it’s not declared and pointed out to you then there is no reason to ask.  Can I bring a coffee mug with my morning latte?  Can u bring my own water bottle with electrolytes added like I would to any tennis court?  I’m going to assume yes.

 

my golf bag has a cooler built into it even.

 

 

[Mr. Bean]

14 hours ago, iacas said:

 

It's literally against the law in some locations. The facility can lose their liquor licenses or worse.

 

 

That is interesting, like the entire golf course was a restaurant where you cannot bring your own drinks. Are there other areas where the State controls alcohol purchases? Like public parks with bar or restaurant facilities inside? Is sivilized drinking in parks allowed at all? 

 

Is the law limited only to alcohol beverages?

[mshills]

18 hours ago, nsxguy said:

You might want to call & ask although you might not like the answer. 

 

However, I would think it's like most things, even the RoG. If there's no rule/law against it, it's allowed.

 

I mean, if you were caught, you'd simply say "I didn't see any notices about it", & the answer would be either "Fine, but don't bring it again", or "Please pour out the contents".

😂 😂 100F and demanding to see what is in someone’s small cooler is going to cause a problem. Telling the player to pour it out is going to cause a big problem.
 

No course is going to do that unless the player is obviously drunk, and if you are shotgunning beers in 100F weather on the golf course, you may want to think about what you are doing. 

[596]

54 minutes ago, Mr. Bean said:

 

That is interesting, like the entire golf course was a restaurant where you cannot bring your own drinks. Are there other areas where the State controls alcohol purchases? Like public parks with bar or restaurant facilities inside? Is sivilized drinking in parks allowed at all? 

 

Is the law limited only to alcohol beverages?

Depends on what the licence says and what state you are in.  Most golf course liquor licences encompass the whole course.  This is why outside alcohol is not allowed.  If not covering the whole course, you may be guilty of drinking in public.  Food and regular drinks are different.  It may violate the businesses rules but will not lead to a law violation.  

 

Public parks are different. Some liquor licences will be on premises only.  Which will only include the building in which it was purchased. You can't walk out with your beer.

Edited Saturday at 12:45 PM by 596

[LeoLeo99]

I've played courses in Vegas where the carts have little coolers built in and they fill it with ice for the players convenience.  It's very nice when it is over 100F.  

 

I'm in the don't ask, don't tell camp.  

 

[nsxguy]

1 hour ago, mshills said:

😂 😂 100F and demanding to see what is in someone’s small cooler is going to cause a problem. Telling the player to pour it out is going to cause a big problem.
 

No course is going to do that unless the player is obviously drunk, and if you are shotgunning beers in 100F weather on the golf course, you may want to think about what you are doing. 

 

Well, you're probably right though you're projecting ("demanding") an obvious combative attitude, which I didn't.

 

And about nobody checking in that sort of heat, I'd agree. But if checking up & enforcing on the course rules causes a big problem, the course probably wouldn't want that guy there anymore anyway.

 

And if he's drunk that likely would cause an even worse problem especially since he likely won't be thinking about what he's doing,,,,,, 

[nsxguy]

2 hours ago, Mr. Bean said:

 

That is interesting, like the entire golf course was a restaurant where you cannot bring your own drinks. Are there other areas where the State controls alcohol purchases? Like public parks with bar or restaurant facilities inside? Is sivilized drinking in parks allowed at all? 

 

Is the law limited only to alcohol beverages?

 

Most states have laws about where and when one can drink alcohol. And any venue that sells alcohol is required to have a liquor license of some sort.

 

And here in the States, most venues, withe a captive audience, have house rules against bringing in outside beverages or food of any kind.

 

e.g. sporting events, movie theaters, golf courses, etc. THEY want to make the profit on those items and they often charge 50-300% over what the consumer could buy the items for elsewhere.

 

After 9/11, every package/backpack/whatever has been searched before someone is allowed into such events.

 

Other than golf courses I haven't been to anything like that in a long time so I couldn't say whether that policy is still in effect, or has been eased. I'm sure others could expand on that.

Edited Saturday at 02:12 PM by nsxguy

[Greenie]

2 hours ago, Mr. Bean said:

 

That is interesting, like the entire golf course was a restaurant where you cannot bring your own drinks. Are there other areas where the State controls alcohol purchases? Like public parks with bar or restaurant facilities inside? Is sivilized drinking in parks allowed at all? 

 

Is the law limited only to alcohol beverages?

 

The law in my county in my state events when serving alcohol in the parks or local events. Alcohol is sold where they have what they call "beer gardens". These are roped off areas where your id is checked before entry. You can purchase alcohol and drink it inside the ropes. You are not allowed to bring your own alcohol and you are not allowed to leave the roped off area with a drink you purchased.

 

I walk my dog in my local park. I carry hydro flask bottles with me. Sometimes their is water in them, sometimes wine, sometimes beer. I have never been bothered by the police but I have seen them check certain people's brown paper bags that hang out in the park. One officer told me it is a $25 fine if caught with an open container of beer.

[Mr. Bean]

1 hour ago, 596 said:

Depends on what the licence says and what state you are in.  Most golf course liquor licences encompass the whole course.  This is why outside alcohol is not allowed.  If not covering the whole course, you may be guilty of drinking in public.  Food and regular drinks are different.  It may violate the businesses rules but will not lead to a law violation.  

 

Public parks are different. Some liquor licences will be on premises only.  Which will only include the building in which it was purchased. You can't walk out with your beer.

 

That is very interesting. We in Europe often forget that USA is not a single country with same legislation everywhere but a collection of 50 different states with variyng laws and regulations.

 

Here in Finland we are gradually heading towards more allowing alcohol politics. For example, many bars and restaurants have a licence to sell alcohol beverages out, i.e. customers may come in and buy a bottle and take it away. Afa public parks are concerned it is up to every city how drinking is handled. A picnic with a drink or two per person is ok in most cities and the limit is seen in disturbance. Ten beers per person is not a picnic and thus not allowed.