Tunes on the Green?
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Some golfers develop “rabbit ears,” so the slightest noise or distraction can ruin their day – or provide them with an excuse for a bad swing.
Movie buffs may remember Judge Smails (played by Ted Knight) thinning a shot from the fairway and blowing a gasket in the 1980 film Caddyshack when Rodney Dangerfield, in the group behind him, blared music from a car stereo mounted on his golf bag.
“That man’s a menace! CUT THAT OFF! Music’s a violation of our personal privacy! He’s breaking the law!” Knight bellowed.
Actually, it’s not even breaking the rules of golf to play music during a stroke, but according to the United States Golf Association, “You may not do so if the purpose is to eliminate distractions or help you with your swing. You should also show consideration to others.”
Although major and minor distractions on the course are nothing new, there’s a trend that bothers some golfers – but has just become part of the outing for others. It’s this: In the past few years, more and more golfers have started playing music in their golf carts, either through wireless speakers or over their cell phones.
So what do professional players, instructors, weekend warriors and occasional golfers think when they hear other people’s tunes while they’re on the tee or green? That seems to depend on the setting for the golf round, the tone of the outing or the beliefs of the player.
Just days after joining 120 golfers in the Tavern League of Door County’s golf outing at The Orchards at Egg Harbor, Mike Lautenbach, former owner of Mike’s Port Pub, said the group his team played against had music going throughout the round.
“You see that more and more,” Lautenbach said, noting that it didn’t bother him. “It’s a fundraiser. We’re not professionals.” (The fundraiser brought in more than $4,000 to help with a safe-rides program, as well as local causes and aid for people seeking training in the hospitality industry.)
But a lot of golfers want to focus on golf and not have distractions – whether that means someone talking around the green, banging a golf-cart brake release during a backswing, or another group rolling up to a tee or green with loud music playing.
The answers from golfers varied.
“I think it’s very situational,” said Matt Stottern, a PGA professional and summer instructor at Peninsula State Park Golf Course. “In the right situation, it’s great, which is typically at public golf courses and with younger players. More traditional golf, such as at private country clubs, and tournament golf – it’s not so great and mostly not allowed. Therefore, etiquette is determined by the situation.”
In 2014, a Golf Digest survey showed that 37% of golfers ages 18-34 were playing music aloud at courses. Peninsula State Park Golf Course’s other summer instructor – former LPGA tour pro and former Baylor women’s coach, Sylvia Ferdon – doesn’t think it’s right for golfers to play music and possibly disturb others on the course.
“I am old school, so you can guess my answer,” she said. “I am really against music on a golf course. It is a quiet game, and proper etiquette calls for it.”
At Maxwelton Braes south of Baileys Harbor, manager Jim Bresnahan said he hasn’t heard complaints from golfers about others playing music. “Nobody seems to have abused the volume of their music, and we have not had any complaints,” he said.
At Stone Hedge Golf and Pub east of Egg Harbor, owner Kevin Wehrenberg said the expectations for silence probably increase at courses that have a higher price point for greens fees than his. He said he doesn’t hear complaints and tends to have more younger players who play music later in the afternoons and evenings.
Door County native Steve Cox – a PGA professional and the new director of instruction at the famous Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia – said music playing in carts is becoming mainstream.
“Golf courses have carts with Bluetooth and speakers already on the cart,” he said. “It seems to be gravitating toward this new norm. We are hosting a final LIV golf event. It’s all about changing the perspective of music on the course, and they have a concert at the end.”
Cox said it’s considerate to turn music down as golfers approach other groups, tees or greens, but other things can be more troubling, ranging from urinating on the course to getting drunk, screaming profanities and not wearing appropriate attire.
At Idlewild, head professional and owner Brandon Hansen said he plays music when he plays. But, he makes an effort to be respectful by not playing his music too loudly, and he hopes other golfers are considerate of their fellow players.
