I have witnessed the bad behavior in my career as a course assistant way before Tiger came out. Maybe its because there are more golfers on the course and the behaviors show themselves more often that we tend to place the blame on those who started the game during the Tiger years? Perhaps it is our "few rules" culture that is finding its way into our game? I think that there is a lot at play here, but please don't blame new golfers for all the bad behavior we now see at the golf course. That's just not fair.
I am not going to recap all the missteps that you mentioned these people are guilty of on the course. It may come as a surprise to you David that many experienced golfers are guilty of the same infractions. I know this from my experience. Many times I would pull a late shift when the course was winding down and I would go fix the ball marks on the greens. At the end of the day, many of the greens looked like the surface of the moon there were so many craters. I don't want to even mention the par 3 tees and the fairways. This was pre "Tiger Effect". Thank you for pointing out all this golf misbehavior and you forgot to mention the club thrower and some other wonderful exhibits of exemplary golf behavior. This behavior is not exclusive to golfers that began playing because of Tiger.
What you said about the driving range is fairly accurate. I too have seen golfers on the range that you talked about. However, the range is not the course. I can also ask the question as far as drinking and the other aspects of the range, What about Top Golf. Isn't there a bar at Top Golf facilities. In fact, don't most courses serve alcohol?
How do we fix this problem? First, we have to realize that it is not going to totally go away. However, I think we can make it much better. I think that the starting place is for facilities--courses and driving range--to provide excellent customer service. You have to make people feel welcomed at your facility. There is a flip side to that too. Rules must be enforced and when bad behavior is encountered it must be confronted. You can confront bad behavior without being confrontational. You can still offer great customer service and still enforce the rules. That's part of customer service.
We as golfers tend to stay in our own little worlds when we are playing and don't necessarily pay attention to what is going on around us unless it directly effects us. This is where course assistants are very valuable. Rules can be enforced with tact,negotiation, common sense and dignity. There also needs to be a bottom line and that bottom line is that offenders who consistently go against the rules should be removed from the facility. Its just that simple. If they don't comply they can't stay because they are ruining the golf experience for others who are following the rules. The choice is their's. the ones exhibiting the bad behavior.
Course assistants need to be better trained with specific guidelines and procedures. Training needs to be more than just a ride around with another course assistant. A smile and a "We're glad you are here" goes a long way. But you also have to have be prepared to ask a patron to leave, if it is OK with the pro shop. That has to be the case as well. The facility needs to have the firmness to ask an unruly golfer or group to leave. This would come after several suggestions and then warnings, of course.
I hadn't intended these responses to go so long, but there is a lot here. Tomorrow, I want to focus on the golf facility itself and what it can do.
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