John from Alameda, Calif. writes:
I recently made a tee time at my local muni for the first twilight spot of the afternoon. I arrived at the course about 35 minutes early, paid my green fee and was on the putting green when I noticed that the 1st hole was wide open. I spoke to the starter, who told me I could go. But as I stepped up to the tee, the woman who’d checked me in burst from the pro shop and yelled at me to stop. Because I’d paid the discounted twilight rate, she said, I’d have to wait until twilight officially began. Never mind that there were no groups waiting to tee off. I looked plaintively at the starter, who shrugged. He was outranked. I tried to reason with the pro shop staffer, but she insisted that I couldn’t start my round. And so I waited for another 30 minutes, with the course empty in front of me and no other golfers teeing off.
To say that I was irritated is an understatement. I’m a regular at the course and the staffer’s decision struck me as spiteful and small-minded. Was I wrong to be annoyed?
Dear John:
As we all know, rules are rules, and they’re meant to be followed. But sometimes they can also be harmlessly broken. Let’s say you’re playing a friendly match with a pal at a poorly conditioned course, and his ball lands in a footprint in the bunker. When he asks if he can move his ball without penalty, you say sure. Have you violated the letter of the law? Technically, yes. Have you made a reasonable decision? Also, yes. On the course, as off it, common sense and context should be our guides.
By the sounds of it, your muni pro shop staffer was bent on enforcing law and order. And in fairness to her, some customers do try to take advantage of loopholes in booking systems, whether by using bots to snatch up tee times or fake IDs to get discounted resident rates.
In this instance, though, the staffer, in her focus on enforcing the rules, missed the bigger picture. She ignored context and abandoned common sense.
Based on your account—which the Etiquetteist has no reason to distrust — you weren’t trying to game the system. You booked a time, and then showed up to find a wide open course in front of you. Like an airline with an empty seat or a hotel with a vacant room, the muni had extra inventory. It would have cost the course nothing to let you out. You’re weren’t taking anyone’s spot or interfering with the flow of play. In her blind allegiance to the rules, the pro shop staffer accomplished nothing, other than to alienate a regular customer.
So, no, you weren’t wrong to be annoyed. But you would be wrong to stew over this matter any longer than you already have. A short memory — it will serve you well in all aspects of the game.
