Calgary and Surrounding area - Golf Thread

[Dion]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Where do you guys expect people to learn? While I agree it can be frustrating, there's a reason they are cheap and accessible. They are mostly for beginner players, since no beginner players is going to drop 100 bucks on a course where they'll shoot a 150.

They city has 9 holes courses like Lakeview where people can learn. Beginner golfers have no business being on a difficult 18 hole course. They have no understanding of ready golf and keeping up with the group ahead of you. That and they create massive headaches for the course marshalls.

[ShotDownInFlames12]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Where do you guys expect people to learn? While I agree it can be frustrating, there's a reason they are cheap and accessible. They are mostly for beginner players, since no beginner players is going to drop 100 bucks on a course where they'll shoot a 150.

I agree with you.

If you are playing city courses, you have to reason to complain about people not hitting it far enough or slicing it all over the course. That's what they are designed for. They are cheap and everyone has access to them. They are trying to learn and don't need people behind them moaning and groaning because they are taking too long, or hitting up on them cause they want to get through faster.

If you play a lot of golf, and are going to complain about others in front of you and feel you are better than other people, go play somewhere else and stay away from city courses. There are enough courses to choose from in and around calgary, that offer comparable rates to city course.

[ShotDownInFlames12]

Originally Posted by Dion

They city has 9 holes courses like Lakeview where people can learn. Beginner golfers have no business being on a difficult 18 hole course. They have no understanding of ready golf and keeping up with the group ahead of you. That and they create massive headaches for the course marshalls.

I agree with you too,depending on what you mean by a difficult course. Assuming you mean courses that aren't city courses, you're right. City 18s are going to have beginners and hacks who think they are good but should be avoided by anyone who wants to enjoy a round.

[FlamesKickAss]

Originally Posted by Dion

The marshalls the city uses have zero people skills. The guy i got into a heated arguement with was a total a-hole. Wanted to kick me off the course because i told him we had no where to go as we were always waiting on the group ahead. Obviously the guy has never played golf.

I expect a very slow pace when i play a city course. It seems to attract people who have played little or no golf.

I have some tolerance for them, what do you expect for volunteers? My grandpa did it for a couple years so now him and I get to play some free rounds of golf.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by FlamesKickAss

I have some tolerance for them, what do you expect for volunteers? My grandpa did it for a couple years so now him and I get to play some free rounds of golf.

I have tolerance for pretty much anyone. In fact i'm a pretty easy going guy. It's when someone threatens to kick you off for stating your view is when i lose it.

My late father did it for a number of years at Shawnee. Got some free golf too.

[FlamesKickAss]

Originally Posted by ShotDownInFlames12

I agree with you too,depending on what you mean by a difficult course. Assuming you mean courses that aren't city courses, you're right. City 18s are going to have beginners and hacks who think they are good but should be avoided by anyone who wants to enjoy a round.

McCall and Mapleridge are considered advanced skill level on the city's website. Shaganappi intermediate, lakeview novice to intermediate.

while I understand by most peoples standards mapleridge and mccall arent hard courses, they do require more skill to play than Shaganappi or lakeview. These courses are there for people to learn and then when ready go to mapleridge or mccall from there. When I was learning as soon as I got to 10 my grandpa would make me pick up my ball and move to the next hole.

http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server....+Locations.htm

[Dion]

Originally Posted by ShotDownInFlames12

I agree with you too,depending on what you mean by a difficult course. Assuming you mean courses that aren't city courses, you're right. City 18s are going to have beginners and hacks who think they are good but should be avoided by anyone who wants to enjoy a round.

I strongly disagree. You also assume wrong when you suggest they aren't city courses.

Also your attitude is wrong when you suggest city courses should be avoided by anyone who wants to enjoy a good round. There's a reason they have course marshalls and that's to keep golfers playing at a proper pace of play. The city understands good golfers get frustrated by the slow pace of play. In fact the starter will encourage beginner golfers to play a less difficult course in the future.

[Bobblehead]

I don't mind if people aren't good golfers or can only hit it 75 yards.

Just as long as they make up for it by playing quickly.

What drives me nuts are this who are poor to middling players who get to their ball, have a tough time deciding which club to hit, and then take for ever to line up and swing. I'm not saying run up to your ball and swing asap, but as you approach the ball have your club in mind, take one or two practise swings, then step in and hit.

I would consider my self a middling golfer - I can break 100 but not regularly; I'll hit 112 as often as 97. But I do like to get my round done in reasonable time. 5+ hour rounds are torture.

[wooohooo]

Myself included, I'm not a great golfer I average around 85 but when people take 5 practice swings then hit it a clubs length then walk up to it and keep at it until it is close enough to the green to pitch it... then they have to go back and grab their bag that is just irritating. When I first started, if we were ever slow my Dad told me to pick up the ball and go to the next hole.

[ShotDownInFlames12]

Originally Posted by Dion

I strongly disagree. You also assume wrong when you suggest they aren't city courses.

Also your attitude is wrong when you suggest city courses should be avoided by anyone who wants to enjoy a good round. There's a reason they have course marshalls and that's to keep golfers playing at a proper pace of play. The city understands good golfers get frustrated by the slow pace of play. In fact the starter will encourage beginner golfers to play a less difficult course in the future.

Aren't you the guy that got into an argument with the marshall for trying to keep pace? Even though you couldn't play any faster? That doesn't sound like enjoying a good round to me (I realize that is only one incident - but I would bet situtations like this are alot more common on city courses)

My overall point is that if you play city courses you should expect to deal with the beginners. That being said, I've never played McCall so I can't comment on the difficulty of that course and I agree with the poster above that if those are classified by the city on their website as advanced/more difficult then beginners should steer clear of those for a while.

I don't play city courses because I find it less enjoyable. I'm not saying everyone should follow my lead, it's just my opinion. I would rather play somewhere that the pace of play is consistent and the course is more spread out.

[edn88]

I like the idea (no matter how elitist) of the Platzreife - the German golfer's license. The German version seems a bit fascist (surprise), but the idea of getting golfers to get to a certain skill level, understand the rules and etiquette seems like a good idea to me. Maybe certain courses could be newbies allowed and the rest have strict playing requirements (like never play Silvertip if you cannot hit the ball 100 yards in a straight line).

http://www.spotlightgermany.com/articles/golf.htm

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I don't mind if people aren't good golfers or can only hit it 75 yards.

Just as long as they make up for it by playing quickly.

Thats a contradiction right there. Lets say the average par 4 is 400 yds long.
It will take them 5 swings of the club (not counting practice swings) to get to the green and then 3 more shots on average to put it in the cup. Thats 8 on a par 4. If they play the same way on a par 5 they are likely to score a 10.

Overall on a par 72 course they are likely to score in the 140's. There is NO WAY you can score 140 and play your round in the expected 4-1/2 hours. This person should be practicing more and playing and learning on a par 3 course which are specifically built for beginners. The city has lots of these and they are easy to get on.

McCall Lake Par 3
Lakeview Par 3
Shaganppi Par 3
Richmond Greens Par 3
RCGA Par 3
Buffalo Run executive Par 3
Douglasdale executive Par 3


Its a guarantee that they will enjoy their game a lot more and the people playing with or behind them will enjoy theirs a lot more.

[The Ditch]

Wow there's a lot of bad attitudes in this thread, I'm glad I never ran into some of you guys when I was a beginner because I probably wouldn't be golfing still today!

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Ever since I moved to Edmonton for school, we started going to some semi-private and courses 30-50 minutes away from town. The differential is just astounding... some even include free carts or 2 for 1 deals. Great grass, decent layouts all for the same price or a little bit more but very worth it.

Golf, is one of the only things, that is way better around Edmonton, than Calgary. Reading this thread, prices and times reminds of when I lived in Calgary up until 7 years ago, and how much I hated trying to golf. 6 hour rounds at Shag etc. Once it took 5 hours to play the 9 holes at Confed. Back then Elbow Springs was around $50 or $60 bucks, and that was expensive. Plus trying to get on, on weekends anywhere you almost had to know a member. As far as golfing goes, I don't miss Calgary. Now I have a membership at a course about 20 minutes away from Edmonton, and it cost me $2000 for unlimited play with a cart. The same course is $42 w cart after 3 pm for anyone, and I think $55 on weekends without cart. The course is better than Elbow Springs imo. Just can't wait for all of these June tournaments to be over.

As far as balls go... I usually play whatever I found last, but I like Titleists. I've heard if you aren't a great golfer, you should play lower end balls. Try something like Top Flites.

Try getting on Mackenzie Meadows.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by ShotDownInFlames12

I agree with you.

If you are playing city courses, you have to reason to complain about people not hitting it far enough or slicing it all over the course. That's what they are designed for. They are cheap and everyone has access to them. They are trying to learn and don't need people behind them moaning and groaning because they are taking too long, or hitting up on them cause they want to get through faster.

If you play a lot of golf, and are going to complain about others in front of you and feel you are better than other people, go play somewhere else and stay away from city courses. There are enough courses to choose from in and around calgary, that offer comparable rates to city course.

Are you a skier? If yes, wouldn't you be p*ssed off if you were good and you went to your favorite ski resort to ski the black diamond runs (the hardest runs) and you found the runs were clogged with beginners falling down all over the place, so that you couldn't ski the BD run yourself without continually having to avoid hitting someone who shouldn't be there in the first place?
Not that this is likely to happen because a BD run will probably scare the sh*t out of the beginner and he/she will avoid it at all costs. But do you get my point? Beginners should stay on the bunny hills and easier runs.... the same with golfers. Leave the harder ones to the experienced people. They will have more fun and so will you.

[DuffMan]

I think of the pace of play in golf the same as driving, even if you are going 20 km over the speed limit, if you are not keeping up with the vehicle ahead, move to the side and let others through.

I hate getting behind 4 people walking with 2 holes empty in front of them, and a pile of people behind them, and they think it is ok, becuase they will finish in 4 1/2 hours.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

Wow there's a lot of bad attitudes in this thread, I'm glad I never ran into some of you guys when I was a beginner because I probably wouldn't be golfing still today!

If golf was free, I'd check my attitude. But it isn't. I've invested a lot of money in clubs, balls, shoes, green fees, etc.
When I pay money to play a game I like to enjoy it.
Its not fun when you continually have to wait for the group ahead of you to move on. A few times I've played Maple Ridge and its taken close to 3 hours just to play the front nine because of slow, bad players in front of me. Those times I have just quit after the first nine holes because I couldn't stand it any longer even though I paid to play 18 holes. The slow bad players ahead of me ruined the game for me those days.

[ShotDownInFlames12]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Are you a skier? If yes, wouldn't you be p*ssed off if you were good and you went to your favorite ski resort to ski the black diamond runs (the hardest runs) and you found the runs were clogged with beginners falling down all over the place, so that you couldn't ski the BD run yourself without continually having to avoid hitting someone who shouldn't be there in the first place?
Not that this is likely to happen because a BD run will probably scare the sh*t out of the beginner and he/she will avoid it at all costs. But do you get my point? Beginners should stay on the bunny hills and easier runs.... the same with golfers. Leave the harder ones to the experienced people. They will have more fun and so will you.

ya, maybe I wasn't being clear but I agree with you completely. My experience with city courses has always been the same, that's why I choose not to play them. Not being a snob or anything, but to me city courses are beginner courses so the delays and waiting for people will always happen. Instead of getting frustrated with people, I'd rather just let them have their fun. I also haven't played them all so can't comment on the varying degree of difficulty.

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by Rerun

If golf was free, I'd check my attitude. But it isn't. I've invested a lot of money in clubs, balls, shoes, green fees, etc.
When I pay money to play a game I like to enjoy it.
Its not fun when you continually have to wait for the group ahead of you to move on. A few times I've played Maple Ridge and its taken close to 3 hours just to play the front nine because of slow, bad players in front of me. Those times I have just quit after the first nine holes because I couldn't stand it any longer even though I paid to play 18 holes. The slow bad players ahead of me ruined the game for me those days.

It's the course and the marshalls job to keep pace of play going. It's easy to fall behind on a hole especially in a foursome, some times I won't even know I'm playing slower it will feel like any other round until the marshall gives me the time frame. Those other people payed the same as you to play as well, you're not more important than them.

[ShotDownInFlames12]

Originally Posted by Rerun

If golf was free, I'd check my attitude. But it isn't. I've invested a lot of money in clubs, balls, shoes, green fees, etc.
When I pay money to play a game I like to enjoy it.
Its not fun when you continually have to wait for the group ahead of you to move on. A few times I've played Maple Ridge and its taken close to 3 hours just to play the front nine because of slow, bad players in front of me. Those times I have just quit after the first nine holes because I couldn't stand it any longer even though I paid to play 18 holes. The slow bad players ahead of me ruined the game for me those days.

After reading this, I realize we have the exact same attitude towards this. Because I have invested a lot of money to play this game I enjoy, I don't like waiting for buddy to hit the ball ten times to get to the green. In my experience, city courses is full of beginners and I don't have a problem with that, it's just the reason I choose not to go there. marshalls are fine and all, but they can only do so much.