Golfer Etiquette Towards Staff

Every year I find myself responding to questions and complaints from golfers about how they feel our staff is “always in their way”.  Most of these questions and complaints come from those who typically play in the morning.  This is simply because in order to complete our work efficiently and effectively, our staff typically works between the hours of 5:30am and 2:30pm.  That’s not to say you’ll never see us out there after 2:30pm, but more often than not the majority of the staff completes their day by then.  Our morning maintenance tasks are geared towards setting up the course for play and scheduled to be completed ahead of the first tee time and we usually maintain at least a 5 hole gap between us and the first group of golfers.  

There are some uncontrollable factors that sometimes hinder our ability to stay well ahead, such as the City of Richmond noise bylaw.  Monday thru Saturday the noise bylaw is 7am.  On Sundays and holidays, the noise bylaw is 9am.  This means we cannot start any maintenance on areas of the course surrounded by housing prior to these times.  This makes completing the morning maintenance tasks particularly difficult on weekends when the first scheduled tee time is 7am.  Unfortunately, this even prohibits us from mowing and rolling the putting greens prior to the first tee time.  This is why if you tee off early, you will often find the greens on the course to be quicker and smoother than the putting greens you just practiced on.  This is not an issue for those who tee off later in the morning.  Other factors, such as mechanical issues or inclement weather, also sometimes prevent us from keeping well ahead of golfers.

Once the morning tasks are completed, most of our staff is then assigned mowing duties that must be completed during play.  If at all possible, we do try to work in any gaps there may be to avoid disrupting play and to complete the work more efficiently.  Our course is very busy though so most of the time there aren’t any gaps for us to work in.  In this case, we typically work backwards on each nine to avoid disrupting the same group throughout their entire round.  Rest assured, our staff is not out there trying to annoy you, they just want to get their work completed in a timely manner and they are instructed to be courteous.  This sometimes means you may feel like they are “always in your way”.

It is NEVER okay to assume that you may hit your shot towards any staff member.  They may not be aware of your presence right away, but it usually doesn't take long for them to realize you're there.  They are also operating loud equipment and are often wearing earplugs, so they are not likely to hear you yell fore.  Please afford them the time to safely get out of the way before hitting your ball.  I was struck by a golf ball several years ago and it took 8 staples to close the wound.  Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience and I’m now very protective of my staff.

Please watch this USGA video that illustrates how to proceed when you encounter a working staff member: