Drinking and Driving

I don't want to be a wet blanket but I do feel there is a time and place for everything. Getting drunk on the golf course is in the best interest of no one, not the golfer, the other players on the course, the other drivers on the way home or the course itself.

I know of one instance where a drunken golfer drove a rental cart into a lake. The course tried to sue him for the damages to the cart but the man's lawyer pointed out that the golf course sold him the beer and they were just as responsible for the accident as he was. The case was dropped but it could have been avoided if they had not sold him a half of a case while he was playing.

I am not a "DRY" and enjoy a lager after the game in the clubhouse bar but to get blitzed on the course is counterproductive. I will say the drunken golfers I have witnessed have been happy drunks, they have not been belligerent, morose or intentionally destructive. Loud, yes, obnoxious, yes but hey, many of these golfers are loud and obnoxious when they are sober.

Many courses send out a beverage cart to tour the course and offer refreshments; these are usually driven by scantily clad hostesses who dress this way to improve tips, not to sell alcohol. After all they also sell bottled water and soft drinks. Many courses put water containers out on the course so you will not dehydrate yourself. I know of one course that stopped this practice when their lawyers pointed out someone could tamper with the water and they would be liable for any damages as a result. They now offer free bottled water as you leave for the first tee and you can get a second bottle after the front nine. To me this is being responsible and welcomed by the majority of the players. They didn't even raise the greens fees to help defray the cost.

The biggest problem is the tournaments where the refreshments (read beer and wine) are free and the beverage carts are barely able to make a complete round of nine holes before they have to head back to the club house to refill. The last tournament I played in had this problem; the beverage cart would come rolling up the cart path and would slow enough to announce they were out of beer and would be back shortly. I always asked if they had any diet cola and they always said, "sure, we have plenty of soft drinks".

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