One of the joys of working at the golf course is that it gives time away from the bustle and hurry of the rest of daily life. Riding atop a mower no one can reach me on my cell or easily tap me on the shoulder with a question or demand on my time. I’m unplugged, as it were, and frankly, I find that level of disconnection quite energizing!
Not so for many of the golfers I see on the course. They don't seem to be able to leave their plugged in lives behind. Blackberries, i-phones, ipods and other hand held electronics keep these folk wired into their lives and their games. I know golfers who text between shots, and others who rock out to their ipods. I know most of us have encountered the golf bag that suddenly rings, buzzes or vibrates at just the wrong moment. Some people even follow and update their Facebook pages as they play.
Smart phones allow golfers to determine whether rain that interrups a game is a brief shower or an all day event. Trivia questions can be googled, sporting events can be followed in real time, and on call workers can be summoned from the course.
Hand held apps such as GPS, range finders and electronic score cards are becoming increasingly common. I know commercial league teammates who use their phones to determine the yardage of their next shot down to the foot and enter their round onto virtual scorecards hole by hole. There’s even a stimpmeter app for grounds crew members who don't want to pack around the traditional tools of the trade.
The question is no longer whether or not people have access to these devices; advances in technology have ensured that they are readily available. Better questions are should people use them or are they even allowable under the rules of golf? As to the first question, the matter is one of personal choice. Recreation used to be an opportunity to get away from it all for a few hours. Today some people actually feel more anxious if they are separated from their technology for more than a few minutes at a time.
As for the second question, the Rules of Golf are somewhat unclear. Rule 14.3/16 of the USGA deals with electronic devices. The rule states that simply carrying or wearing such a device is not a violation. It is how the device is used that determines whether or not it breaks the rules. The device may not be used in such a manner that it unfairly assists a golfer. It may not communicate information about the course or players game beyond simply measuring distances.
A hand held GPS that tells a player that they are 96 yards out is ok, but if that same device also tells the player the wind speed and direction, the temperature and the humidity, then it is guilty of TMI – too much information, and the rules have been breached. Similarly, a player who wears an i-pod to shut out noise is ok, so long as what they are listening to cannot be used to help set swing tempo or to gain any information that might help the player’s game. Listening to an audio version of Tiger Woods’ “Golf My Way” or even the ticking of a metronome would be violations.
In case you think these rules are getting a little over the top, you should know that both the USGA and the R&A in Scotland have empowered local clubs to set their own competition policies for use of cell phones during play. Many local rules committees have banned the devices outright, with players reported to be in breach of the rules being dq’d from competition. Recently at an american state high school championship, the winning team found themselves DQ’d when it was revealed that a team member had used his ipod over the last two holes of the 54 hole tournament in order to steady his nerves. When the decision was appealed it was revealed that while the USGA would have allowed the device, the course competition committee did not. The appeal was denied!
The PGA of America has recently allowed spectators at tour events to carry cell phones but it continues to ban the use of the devices as cameras. During my recent volunteer work at the RBC Canadian Open, I saw the cell phone policy in action. Despite daily cell phone etiquette reminders announced and posted all around the course, I saw many spectators ignoring the policy. With many cell phone carriers signed on to the PGA as major sponsors, I don’t see the new cell phone policy going away any time soon, but as for the camera policy, good luck enforcing that!
As far as grounds crew are concerned, the only devices we need to be plugged into are our mowers. Some of us may carry our cell phones on the job, but they are there for us to be able to call out than for any one to be able to reach us. Once a tractor is fired up and bouncing down a fairway or running across a green, it is virtually impossible for the operator to hear or feel it anyway. Some of us have considered listening to i-pods while working, but in most cases the practice is counter productive or even dangerous. Many pieces of equipment require the wearing of hearing protection and ear buds, small though they might be, can decrease the effectiveness of protective headphones.
Even with head sets in place it is still important for operators to stay in tune with their machines. Listening to an i-pod can impair an operator's ability to hear a change in the way a mower is running or cause them to miss a sound that may indicate something is amiss. Not hearing that noise can be the difference between a little mistake and a big or costly one. Operating a mower is already a distracting process. Wearing a head set blaring loud music might make it downright dangerous.
So for now I'll stay happily unplugged, unwired and unapped. I like my time at the course focused and distraction free. That way I'm free to watch everybody else, and to keep on making the cut to make sure the greens are the best they can be!
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