Put the Pro Back In Golf Pro

by Darren Malloy

70 degrees, sunshine, blue skies, the sound of club on ball, cut grass and the sound of someone on his cell phone before he tees up a ball. While the last part is annoying to most golfers it is not that uncommon for someone to be on their cell phone while playing. What is a bit more uncommon (although I’m sure not that rare) is someone on their cell phone in a tee box, and they haven’t even hit their ball yet.

A friend and I were playing a cheap (but still nice) course in the city of Poughkeepsie on Monday. As we walked up to the third hole tee box a pair of golfers were on it. One had already hit. The other had not yet hit and was talking on his cell phone. My friend and I shot each other a look as we walked up to the tee box. Finally, as we approached the tee box the gentleman got off his phone and hit his ball. Normally, I could care less if someone was on their phone, texting, being loud, having a bad round, whatever, just don’t slow up play..be a pro.

As they took off in their carts away from the tee box I simply said, “Hey, pal.”

They stopped and turned around. I then said “We’re here to play golf, you shouldn’t hold up play when you are on your phone.”

The man then got off his cart and said, “You should treat me with respect. I’m the golf pro here.”

Now, as I said before, having someone on their phone is annoying, having them slow up play because of it is worse, but to have a golf pro do all that is pretty crazy. We exchanged words and he eventually said he was going to let my friend and I play through on the next hole. Which I had trouble believing simply because letting us play through then and there at the hole we were on would have been more appropriate and he should know that.

Out of respect to the other people at the golf course I will leave the place unnamed, since I’m sure other people who work there work hard and aren’t all unprofessional. But to all the golf pros out there, and if by some chance the golf pro I spoke with recognizes this situation and reads this, being a golfer is one thing, being a pro at it is another. And by pro, I don’t mean winning tournaments, making money, and being a celebrity, I mean the basics; if you’re going to be a golf pro and teach someone the game, teach them the other, sometimes forgotten parts too; know the rules, be respectful and don’t slow up play. To all the golf pros out there, make sure the second word in your title doesn’t get lost behind the first one.