Golf Course Pet Peeves

[Boomermike]

+1,000,000 on interior out-of-bounds. Violates the spirit of the rule at its core. Out of bounds means off the property, period. The funny thing is that the intent of most interior out-of-bounds markers is to speed pace of play by keeping players off adjacent fairways, but in fact, that effect is neutralized by the slowing of pace that happens when o.b. hitters have to re-tee.

[RICKYBOBBY]

This is not a bit thing but IT DRIVES ME NUTS. The course I play regularly is a nice course. Not alot of trouble and I work on my game there alot so I do like it overall. But, they have tee boxes that are on average 15 yards wide and 20 yards long, but when they place the tee markers they put them on the edge of the box all the way back. So the whole box across gets chewed up.

If they would kind of divide the box in half they would get sooooooo much more out of their tee boxes. Again, I know its petty, just one of those things.

[FormerClubPro]

slow bumpy greens...

[MackDaddy480]

Whenever I walk and there are no yardage marker anywhere to be seen... It really grinds my gears....

[LSUgolfer23]

When they put the tee markes so far off from where they should be. I understand moving them
5-10 yards from the plate each way, but if I'm playing a set of tees and the hole is 410 yards, I don't like when the tees are around 375 yards. It kinda distorts your handicap if you put in a 75 from one set of tees when you realistically played the course from the next set up.

It's so bad at one of the clubs I belong to that we have a rotation of where we're going to play from for any given round (5 paces back of the plate markers on the par 5s, spot on for the par 3s, 5 paces up on the par 4s - then flip it around on the second 9).

Other than that, cart girls that don't understand where to stop their cart on the course (next to the green is not it - wait at the next tee box), marshals that are 100+ years of age and don't do anything related to marshaling a golf course, and head professionals at private clubs that don't understand that it's their job to keep members happy.

[chambers9k]

Low handicappers that put beginners down, instead of them encouraging them.

[Pnuke]

[quote name='chambers9k' timestamp='1313178979' post='3478192']
Low handicappers that put beginners down, instead of them encouraging them.
[/quote]

Thats really odd. When I was starting out low HCs either were to busy with their own game to notice how I played or would give me pointers if I asked. What kind of things have people said to you? I would look for another course to play. As long as your not holding up play most people that I know would actually go out of their way to encourage you.

[chambers9k]

We weren't playing particulaly slowly but me and my friend aern't the best golfers. Not terrible but looking on improving and love playing. 3 guys came through, on a cart obviously trying to blitz the course. Tee'd off on a hole that you have to ring the bell after finishing. They'd pretty much caught us up on the green. i had a short approach that i over hit to the back of the green and i could hear the bad remarks. Regardless we felt very intimidated. If they had waited at the tee and asked if we could let them through after the hole we would have let them.

They obviously knew we were new to golf, and to be honest they're the only idiots we've come across. Everybody else seems really nice. I just hope there aern't too many people who play like that

[Pnuke]

[quote name='chambers9k' timestamp='1313181979' post='3478356']
We weren't playing particulaly slowly but me and my friend aern't the best golfers. Not terrible but looking on improving and love playing. 3 guys came through, on a cart obviously trying to blitz the course. Tee'd off on a hole that you have to ring the bell after finishing. They'd pretty much caught us up on the green. i had a short approach that i over hit to the back of the green and i could hear the bad remarks. Regardless we felt very intimidated. If they had waited at the tee and asked if we could let them through after the hole we would have let them.

They obviously knew we were new to golf, and to be honest they're the only idiots we've come across. Everybody else seems really nice. I just hope there aern't too many people who play like that
[/quote]

Just brush it off as this is not the norm. In any sport you'll always have your a-holes that think they're better then everyone else. If you want to cut down on the intimidation factor try to play later in the afternoon. My brother in law is just learning and I go out with him at 5pm. We own the course at that time and take as much time as we like.

[s_shalliday]

Greenkeepers that take the P***. At my course one of the greenkeepers was waiting by the edge of the green and waved me to play on, so I hit up, the best shot I hit all day, into about 5ft from 160yrds, greenkeeper walks on, moves the hole, my 5 footer is now about 40ft up the hill...

[rhh7]

My pet peeve is forced carry over water.

I believe that every hole should have bail out areas, and a routing which would
permit tee to green with a putter.

Other than that, make it as difficult as you like!

[Stu_B]

I recently played a course south of Raleigh... a Nicklaus design if I recall

1) Had these closely mown berms lining pretty much every fairway (in lieu of a normal rough)
2) Cart paths were routed on the outside of these berms
3) Mulch beds with various decorative shrubbery (and 2-3 year old cedar mulch) surrounded each hole

Net... miss a fairway... ball kicks off the berm... hits the cart path and... you are 10+ yards deep in hard clay, sparce cedar mulch and azaleas !

The layout was actually pretty well thought out... why a normal depth rough (sans berm) and the native folliage (loblolly pines and the associated pine straw beds) wasn't good enough is beyond me.

[brucejun444]

Zig-zag holes as you can see here at West Seattle golf course 14-18. The original architect, Chandler Egan, passed away after building 13 holes. Some schmuck finished last 5 holes in zig-zag shape. West Seattle is an extremely playable golf course but it could have been even better if someone did a better job building holes 14-18. What a shame...

[ben w]

[quote name='brucejun444' timestamp='1313505828' post='3491663']
Zig-zag holes as you can see here at West Seattle golf course 14-18. The original architect, Chandler Egan, passed away after building 13 holes. Some schmuck finished last 5 holes in zig-zag shape. West Seattle is an extremely playable golf course but it could have been even better if someone did a better job building holes 14-18. What a shame...
[/quote]

that sucks!! talk about having no character!

[titleistcrzy384]

I hate it when a group waits for the green to clear, before they hit there second shots on unreachable par5s. There drive goes 220 and they there gonna hit 3 wood off the deck 290!

[rbrb]

Par 3s that reward bad shots. There's a number of Jim Engh designed courses that have par 3s designed like a bowl (elevated hills all around the green). A shot 30 yards offline can funnel back onto the green, and depending where the hole's cut, roll right next to the cup. A shot 30 yards offline shouldn't be routinely rewarded.

[spires1020]

Bunkers without drainage - bunkers shouldn't be full of water when it hasn't rained in a month
Inconsistent use of yardage markers on sprinklers...or lack thereof

[JessN16]

A dirty dozen, if you will:

1) Courses that set up a par-4 in this manner: 420-400-360-300 from the tee, then force a 200-yard carry into the green. No matter where you tee off, everyone is playing that 200-yard carry, including juniors, seniors and women. That's just stupid.

2) Bunkers that turn into casual water after 30 seconds of exposure to the sprinkler system. Design some drainage, please.

3) Cart paths that don't pass within 100 yards of the green, and/or within 30 yards of tee boxes that subsequently require a 20-foot hike straight up into the treetops. Plenty of these beauties on the RTJ Trail in Alabama.

4) Courses that don't return to the clubhouse at the turn just for the helluvit. "We're a links course!" Well, you're not on the coast and your entire staff doesn't talk like Craig Ferguson, so perhaps you really aren't.

5) Course designers who are under the impression that every 18th hole should be reachable in regulation only after you've hit two shots out of a blunderbuss, over the abyss with the dragon in it, carrying the lake while being careful to clear Nessie's head when she pokes it up out from under the surface, beyond the bunkers laced with land mines, over the bed of nails in front of the green, onto the 57-shelved putting surface, then into the hole guarded by a small Bulgarian militia.

6) Courses without flags that indicate position on the greens (and yes, I know, one of my favorite courses in the world -- Merion -- is guilty of this). I didn't walk the course beforehand and would at least like to know where the flag is relative to green center.

7) Has anyone mentioned non-flat tee boxes yet?

8) Cart paths pitched off-camber around corners, so that if you go around at a speed greater than 1 mph, you're in danger of tipping over if the guy in the passenger's seat belches in the wrong direction.

9) Courses that don't accurately measure their yardages and/or just guess at it. I played a course a few years ago where the back-nine yardages were 350-350-150-350-450-350-450-150-350. Suuuuuuuuure they are. And then you get the courses that have a so-called "350-yard par-4" which is actually a 425-yard uphiller but some genius can't properly operate a laser sight.

10) Courses that don't properly design their greenside fringe. In the rush to get good drainage on the green, the fringe is oddly pitched, leading to standing water and/or poor grass growth, and now you're trying to bump-and-run one onto a green while first passing through a minefield.

11) I know this is a maintenance item, but tee boxes with no grass. None. Perhaps if you didn't design the tee boxes to go under that 250-year-old water oak, you might get some sunshine once in a while, and ergo, grass.

12) Holes geeked up for no good reason. Double-dogleg par four? No problem. Shared greens when the actual holes are so far apart that the green is roughly the size of the Polo Grounds? Sure! Following a 450-yard par-4 with a 392-yard par-5? Give me more! Cart bridges that were made of wood so rickety you'd think it was scavenged from one of Blackbeard's lifeboats? We can do that! A fairway on a perfectly straight hole bisected by a flower bed? Primo!

Jess

[Jonnybagadonuts]

[quote name='s_shalliday' timestamp='1313494219' post='3491183']
Greenkeepers that take the P***. At my course one of the greenkeepers was waiting by the edge of the green and waved me to play on, so I hit up, the best shot I hit all day, into about 5ft from 160yrds, greenkeeper walks on, moves the hole, my 5 footer is now about 40ft up the hill...
[/quote]

WTF!, i would have tackled him lol.

[Shipwreck]

[quote name='JessN16' timestamp='1313548562' post='3494248']
A dirty dozen, if you will:

1) Courses that set up a par-4 in this manner: 420-400-360-300 from the tee, then force a 200-yard carry into the green. No matter where you tee off, everyone is playing that 200-yard carry, including juniors, seniors and women. That's just stupid.

2) Bunkers that turn into casual water after 30 seconds of exposure to the sprinkler system. Design some drainage, please.

3) Cart paths that don't pass within 100 yards of the green, and/or within 30 yards of tee boxes that subsequently require a 20-foot hike straight up into the treetops. Plenty of these beauties on the RTJ Trail in Alabama.

4) Courses that don't return to the clubhouse at the turn just for the helluvit. "We're a links course!" Well, you're not on the coast and your entire staff doesn't talk like Craig Ferguson, so perhaps you really aren't.

5) Course designers who are under the impression that every 18th hole should be reachable in regulation only after you've hit two shots out of a blunderbuss, over the abyss with the dragon in it, carrying the lake while being careful to clear Nessie's head when she pokes it up out from under the surface, beyond the bunkers laced with land mines, over the bed of nails in front of the green, onto the 57-shelved putting surface, then into the hole guarded by a small Bulgarian militia.

6) Courses without flags that indicate position on the greens (and yes, I know, one of my favorite courses in the world -- Merion -- is guilty of this). I didn't walk the course beforehand and would at least like to know where the flag is relative to green center.

7) Has anyone mentioned non-flat tee boxes yet?

8) Cart paths pitched off-camber around corners, so that if you go around at a speed greater than 1 mph, you're in danger of tipping over if the guy in the passenger's seat belches in the wrong direction.

9) Courses that don't accurately measure their yardages and/or just guess at it. I played a course a few years ago where the back-nine yardages were 350-350-150-350-450-350-450-150-350. Suuuuuuuuure they are. And then you get the courses that have a so-called "350-yard par-4" which is actually a 425-yard uphiller but some genius can't properly operate a laser sight.

10) Courses that don't properly design their greenside fringe. In the rush to get good drainage on the green, the fringe is oddly pitched, leading to standing water and/or poor grass growth, and now you're trying to bump-and-run one onto a green while first passing through a minefield.

11) I know this is a maintenance item, but tee boxes with no grass. None. Perhaps if you didn't design the tee boxes to go under that 250-year-old water oak, you might get some sunshine once in a while, and ergo, grass.

12) Holes geeked up for no good reason. Double-dogleg par four? No problem. Shared greens when the actual holes are so far apart that the green is roughly the size of the Polo Grounds? Sure! Following a 450-yard par-4 with a 392-yard par-5? Give me more! Cart bridges that were made of wood so rickety you'd think it was scavenged from one of Blackbeard's lifeboats? We can do that! A fairway on a perfectly straight hole bisected by a flower bed? Primo!

Jess
[/quote]


I love this! You speak like I do, same kind of sarcasm and all!

[Juaneo]

[quote name='mav52' timestamp='1307449937' post='3289572']
.....and the cart girl is ugly..
[/quote]

Ha! Ha! That's hysterical! I'm surprised more people didn't list this one!

[DSGKevin]

It's been said I'm sure. Bunkers with rocks in them.

[jswaykos]

[quote name='Jonnybagadonuts' timestamp='1313549984' post='3494313']
[quote name='s_shalliday' timestamp='1313494219' post='3491183']
Greenkeepers that take the P***. At my course one of the greenkeepers was waiting by the edge of the green and waved me to play on, so I hit up, the best shot I hit all day, into about 5ft from 160yrds, greenkeeper walks on, moves the hole, my 5 footer is now about 40ft up the hill...
[/quote]

WTF!, i would have tackled him lol.
[/quote]

I actually had the exact opposite (well, kinda) thing happen the other day. I was on the 10th tee, a par 3 (I was playing a first daylight back nine), and the greenskeeper was about to set the hole. He was waiting for me to hit, but instead I waved to him to let him do his work. FWIW, it's about 185 yards, downhill, and I typically play an easy 4-hybrid... sometimes it's too long, but rarely too short. Anyhow, he places the hole and waves me forward... swing... a foot or so from the hole for a tap in birdie. Never felt like such a stud golfer in my life!! Totally lucky, but he didn't know

[BergenMuni]

Awesome new golf clubs that lose their magic after 3 rounds (d'oh!)

[hwangsta]

I HATE it when there's a blind tee shot, and after you tee off the idiots in front of you yell your a** off just because you're a junior. Either that, or when your tee shot [i]barely[/i] [b]rolls[/b] up to the group in front of you and the same thing happens.

Also, gotta love 6 hour rounds in junior tournaments and 20 handicappers playing from the black tees.

[TheMackDaddy]

I was all exited to play there next week, I had heard good things, but after seeing dreaded zig zag holes im dissapointed.[quote name='brucejun444' timestamp='1313505828' post='3491663']
Zig-zag holes as you can see here at West Seattle golf course 14-18. The original architect, Chandler Egan, passed away after building 13 holes. Some schmuck finished last 5 holes in zig-zag shape. West Seattle is an extremely playable golf course but it could have been even better if someone did a better job building holes 14-18. What a shame...
[/quote]

[bkends35]

On course OB

[brucejun444]

[quote name='Mack17' timestamp='1313729515' post='3501307']
I was all exited to play there next week, I had heard good things, but after seeing dreaded zig zag holes im dissapointed.[quote name='brucejun444' timestamp='1313505828' post='3491663']
Zig-zag holes as you can see here at West Seattle golf course 14-18. The original architect, Chandler Egan, passed away after building 13 holes. Some schmuck finished last 5 holes in zig-zag shape. West Seattle is an extremely playable golf course but it could have been even better if someone did a better job building holes 14-18. What a shame...
[/quote]
[/quote]

Don't be discouraged. It still is a great golf course. It could have been an extraordinary golf course if 14-18 were built better. Still, I bet you will enjoy the golf course. The view from the 19th hole is one of the best!

[helper_monkey]

[quote name='titleistcrzy384' timestamp='1313529738' post='3493131']
I hate it when a group waits for the green to clear, before they hit there second shots on unreachable par5s. There drive goes 220 and they there gonna hit 3 wood off the deck 290!
[/quote]

As a corollary to your point, I hate it when I know I am too far out to go for it but I want a yardage for my layup and the closest marker says something like "IT'S TOO FAR" with no yardage indicated. I KNOW I can't get there, but did the guy who put out the yardage marker ever think that a player might want to have an idea what club to hit to leave a nice wedge to the green???

[Shipwreck]

[quote name='helper_monkey' timestamp='1313761864' post='3501839']
[quote name='titleistcrzy384' timestamp='1313529738' post='3493131']
I hate it when a group waits for the green to clear, before they hit there second shots on unreachable par5s. There drive goes 220 and they there gonna hit 3 wood off the deck 290!
[/quote]

As a corollary to your point, I hate it when I know I am too far out to go for it but I want a yardage for my layup and the closest marker says something like "IT'S TOO FAR" with no yardage indicated. I KNOW I can't get there, but did the guy who put out the yardage marker ever think that a player might want to have an idea what club to hit to leave a nice wedge to the green???
[/quote]

I hate courses where the only markers they have are the 200, 150 and 100 yard markers....and they are small plates somewhere in the fairway. Always impossible to find.

Every course should have the stakes at 250, 200, 150 and 100 with the sprinkler heads marked front, middle and back yardages.