Have you Have you eve seen someone on a course that couldn't put their phone down?

[Jackal]

I saw 2 guys playing the other day .

One was in his early 20s.

He would hit his shot and before the ball hit the ground he was looking at his phone .

He walked slow and stared at his phone constantly.

Why not stay home if you are that involved on your ohone.

I know several busines men that are in housing, real estate, developing,  and even doctors that don't look at their phone that much .

He hit good shots  but seemed to always  be looking for his  ball because he stared at his phone.. 

Have any of you witnessed anything like this?

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Not on the golf course, no.

 

But it reminded of a time long ago, back when mobile phones were barely more than an expensive status symbol, and I guy I was playing golf with was so desperate to let everyone know he had just bought a mobile phone that he took it out of his bag (they were the size of large bricks back then) on a couple of holes just to call his friends and let them know he was playing golf. 

 

"Yes, I'm on the golf course right now. Yes, I'm calling you on my mobile phone..."😂

[I'_rather_be_golfing]

I have a few guys in my group that does this constantly. They have to be reminded its there turn to hit. It got really annoying and tiresome. And if anyone said anything. It would get redirected back to us. So to fix it they are always the last group out. 

Edited July 8 by I'_rather_be_golfing

[retch10]

Is it possible they are just using an app like SwingU?  I'm looking at my phone for nearly every shot.

[migosham]

yea really annoying when it holds up play. Even worse, I've played with randoms in the past that don't have the courtesy of stepping away if they have to take a phone call 😤

[Pepperturbo]

Yes, I've encountered a few. Typically I stay away from them, but if that isn't possible, I will tell the person to put away the phone or move the hell away from us. I don't want to hear him talking.

[JimMLINY]

I play on occasion with a local steak house general manager at his home course and in charitable outings and he is on the phone constantly with purveyors and kitchen folk.

 

But he is cool about it and sometimes will just miss a hole to not us slow down.

 

It wrecks his game as when he has a day without calls, he plays well as opposed to inconsistent when phone is glued to his ear.

 

 

[Springsteennut]

Yes. They were actually supposed to be in the office but his boss said just make sure we can get you while you’re out there. It was a little annoying but he kept a good pace.

[596]

Absolutely. And it sucks even more when they are retired. Don't run a business, have nothing to do, but you are on the phone constantly!! 😡 

 

I play with 2 guys sometimes that can't put that thing away. One guy is retired and checks his stocks constantly.  And I mean every few minutes. I had to stop playing with that guy. 

 

The other is also retired and constantly talking on his phone.  He uses an ear piece. Never know who he's talking to. Could be you, could be the other guys in the group and most of the time it's someone on the phone. Drives me totally crazy 😧 

 

Put the darn thing away. Mine stays in the golf bag. I'll call you back.... when I feel like it...maybe 🤔 

[Jackal]

7 hours ago, retch10 said:

Is it possible they are just using an app like SwingU?  I'm looking at my phone for nearly every shot.

I thought about that.

But, they were on a par 5 next to us.

He was looking at his phone and when he got to the area , he couldn't find his ball.

 

When we got to that tee box, he had just found his ball, it was dropping one.

[NorthTexasGlfr]

True story. 

 

I normally keep my phone in my valuables bag inside my golf bag when playing and never take it out the whole. The other day I forgot it and left it home. Mentioned this to the guy I was riding with. He says that's good because no one should be on their phone while playing golf. 

 

As God is my witness, he hears his phone rign that's inside his golf bag. Not only does he answer but he carries on a 2 minute conversation. And it was a casual call! And he's retired like I am, lol. 

Edited July 9 by NorthTexasGlfr

[retch10]

2 hours ago, Jackal said:

I thought about that.

But, they were on a par 5 next to us.

He was looking at his phone and when he got to the area , he couldn't find his ball.

 

When we got to that tee box, he had just found his ball, it was dropping one.

I wish I didn't have to use it for SwingU.  My Apple Watch isn't a new enough model to get yardages,etc. Also, my phone is my scorecard as well.  Id rather just put it away and not deal with the phone mostly because I don't want it in my pocket, but I'd also miss the convenience in every other way on the course (yardages, scorecard, stat tracking).

[Jackal]

2 minutes ago, retch10 said:

I wish I didn't have to use it for SwingU.  My Apple Watch isn't a new enough model to get yardages,etc. Also, my phone is my scorecard as well.  Id rather just put it away and not deal with the phone mostly because I don't want it in my pocket, but I'd also miss the convenience in every other way on the course (yardages, scorecard, stat tracking).

10 years ago my Son played high school golf. 

A lot of them had golf apps on their phones. 

But they weren't on their phones as much as this guy.

[Hawkeye77]

I have I have

[WesternRacing]

People use cell phones in all kinds of inappropriate places and times.  Why would the golf course be any different?

 

So, yes.  My answer is yes.

[Newby]

They are banned on my course except for emergencies. I know of a number of local courses which have the same rule.

[retch10]

6 hours ago, Newby said:

They are banned on my course except for emergencies. I know of a number of local courses which have the same rule.

Even for the apps?

[parbung]

16 hours ago, Springsteennut said:

Yes. They were actually supposed to be in the office but his boss said just make sure we can get you while you’re out there. It was a little annoying but he kept a good pace.

what a nice boss. 

wish mine would let me go play lol. 

[GoGoErky]

On 7/8/2025 at 12:56 AM, Jackal said:

I saw 2 guys playing the other day .

One was in his early 20s.

He would hit his shot and before the ball hit the ground he was looking at his phone .

He walked slow and stared at his phone constantly.

Why not stay home if you are that involved on your ohone.

I know several busines men that are in housing, real estate, developing,  and even doctors that don't look at their phone that much .

He hit good shots  but seemed to always  be looking for his  ball because he stared at his phone.. 

Have any of you witnessed anything like this?

 

 

Maybe they were streaming a sporting event. That would put them on their phone more than the business men you mention.

 

 

[Jackal]

If they are more interested in the sporting event, stay home instead of holding up play on the course.

[rzitup]

3 hours ago, Jackal said:

If they are more interested in the sporting event, stay home instead of holding up play on the course.

 

I never put my phone down, use it to keep score and update the gambling spreadsheet.  

I also dont slow anything down doing it.  

To each their own.  

Edited July 9 by rzitup

[Jackal]

22 minutes ago, rzitup said:

 

I never put my phone down, use it to keep score and update the gambling spreadsheet.  

I also dont slow anything down doing it.  

To each their own.  

That's different. 

This guy was walking slow,  and had to spend at least 2 minutes  hunting  for his ball after every shot. 

If he's watching an event or a movie, etc.  he shouldn't be out on the course. 

As many above have stated that phones are banned on some courses.

 

If the course had been very busy  he would have been holding up a LOT of people.

 

Edited July 9 by Jackal

[GoGoErky]

32 minutes ago, Jackal said:

That's different. 

This guy was walking slow,  and had to spend at least 2 minutes  hunting  for his ball after every shot. 

If he's watching an event or a movie, etc.  he shouldn't be out on the course. 

As many above have stated that phones are banned on some courses.

 

If the course had been very busy  he would have been holding up a LOT of people.

 

Hes allowed 3 mins to find his ball so is spending 2 mins actually slowing anything down?

 

 

[Jackal]

He does it on  a lot of shots. 

Not Just occasionally. 

I asked a couple of people on the course today,  and the pro has been getting complaints .

Most of the people  walk to their ball, and then they are ready to hit.

Next time you play  when you get to your ball , spend 2 minutes before you go thru your preshot routine.

Do this every other shot  and see if it adds to the time of  your round.

 

Edited July 9 by Jackal

[rzitup]

1 hour ago, Jackal said:

He does it on  a lot of shots. 

Not Just occasionally. 

I asked a couple of people on the course today,  and the pro has been getting complaints .

Most of the people  walk to their ball, and then they are ready to hit.

Next time you play  when you get to your ball , spend 2 minutes before you go thru your preshot routine.

Do this every other shot  and see if it adds to the time of  your round.

 

 

This thread really doesnt have anything to do with a phone, its simply pace of play.  Everyone that is slow, is slow for a reason.  On phone, too many practice swings, is not self aware, walks slow, etc.

 

Phones should not be discriminated against unless you want to pick on push carts.  

 

[Jackal]

1 hour ago, rzitup said:

 

This thread really doesnt have anything to do with a phone, its simply pace of play.  Everyone that is slow, is slow for a reason.  On phone, too many practice swings, is not self aware, walks slow, etc.

 

Phones should not be discriminated against unless you want to pick on push carts.  

 

I agree.

The pro said he had a talk  with the guy tonight before the weekly league play. 

He never mentioned the phone,  because   you see other business people on their phone occasionally. 

He just mentioned " pace of play", and told him there had been complaints. 

On league nights such as tonight, the pro drives around and keeps the track of things on his phone. 

 

He said he gets more complaints for excessive  drinking on the course.

 

Edited July 9 by Jackal

[bobfoster]

On 7/8/2025 at 7:24 PM, retch10 said:

I wish I didn't have to use it for SwingU.  My Apple Watch isn't a new enough model to get yardages,etc. Also, my phone is my scorecard as well.  Id rather just put it away and not deal with the phone mostly because I don't want it in my pocket, but I'd also miss the convenience in every other way on the course (yardages, scorecard, stat tracking).

Yes. The problem is that the meaning of the word "phone" has been dramatically expanded. It used to mean (when I was growing up) "a thing you talk to somebody on". But at this point phones are about a hundred different things rolled into one little device. When I'm golfing, I use GolfShot. Great app. Not just distances, but shot/stats tracking, and (most importantly for me) it is my scorecard. The app integrates into GHIN - so at the end of a round it takes a single touch to post the score. When I'm carrying it is in my pocket; I just got a new Clicgear pushcart that actually has a phone holder built in; and when I'm in a cart, I have a Desert Fox phone holder that attaches to the cart. 

 

All of that, however, is "phone as a GPS, internet connection and app platform". While I'm playing it is not "the thing you talk to someone on". That function not only goes on mute, but any calls I see are completely ignored. Yes - I run a company, but golf has always been my refuge, the single place in a perpetually busy life when I am (as my business partner says) "vigorously, aggressively unavailable". I don't turn my ringer off because I'm forced to, I do it because I freakin' relish the peace. 

 

[Side note to all those that think they are so amazing that being available is mission critical - it is not, other than in very rare circumstances. One of my golfing buddies is a neurosurgeon that is on call at a couple ERs. I get that, but even he has only interrupted a round a couple times in a decade. From the beginning of human history until the late 1990s, there was nothing so important that it couldn't wait a couple hours. That has not changed. The only thing that has changed is (some) people's irrational belief in their own importance. No dudes, believe it or not, if you were gone tomorrow, the world - weirdly - would keep going on.]

 

I do run into people that seemed permanently attached to their phones in the way the OP and some of the comments here are talking about. Perpetually jabbering away, or obsessively texting. My reaction to that is anything from mildly irritating to serious anger (if they are having conversations on the damn tee box while I'm getting ready to hit - almost hard to believe, but some people really are that rude).

 

But cell phone conversations on courses are one of the many ways that what used to be assumed and unspoken golf etiquette has dramatically declined over the years I've been playing golf. And in truth, while people using their phones is irritating, it pales in comparison to people who now blast music out of Bluetooth speakers. Even a decade or two ago that would have been considered a severe breach of etiquette that could get you kicked off a public course, or get a serious reprimand from a private club. Somehow, without anyone really saying anything, it has now been completely normalized (which is in part, IMO, just one of the many gifts LIV has given to the world of golf). 

 

Now get off my lawn. 🤣

Edited July 10 by bobfoster

[retch10]

10 hours ago, bobfoster said:

Yes. The problem is that the meaning of the word "phone" has been dramatically expanded. It used to mean (when I was growing up) "a thing you talk to somebody on". But at this point phones are about a hundred different things rolled into one little device. When I'm golfing, I use GolfShot. Great app. Not just distances, but shot/stats tracking, and (most importantly for me) it is my scorecard. The app integrates into GHIN - so at the end of a round it takes a single touch to post the score. When I'm carrying it is in my pocket; I just got a new Clicgear pushcart that actually has a phone holder built in; and when I'm in a cart, I have a Desert Fox phone holder that attaches to the cart. 

 

All of that, however, is "phone as a GPS, internet connection and app platform". While I'm playing it is not "the thing you talk to someone on". That function not only goes on mute, but any calls I see are completely ignored. Yes - I run a company, but golf has always been my refuge, the single place in a perpetually busy life when I am (as my business partner says) "vigorously, aggressively unavailable". I don't turn my ringer off because I'm forced to, I do it because I freakin' relish the peace. 

 

[Side note to all those that think they are so amazing that being available is mission critical - it is not, other than in very rare circumstances. One of my golfing buddies is a neurosurgeon that is on call at a couple ERs. I get that, but even he has only interrupted a round a couple times in a decade. From the beginning of human history until the late 1990s, there was nothing so important that it couldn't wait a couple hours. That has not changed. The only thing that has changed is (some) people's irrational belief in their own importance. No dudes, believe it or not, if you were gone tomorrow, the world - weirdly - would keep going on.]

 

I do run into people that seemed permanently attached to their phones in the way the OP and some of the comments here are talking about. Perpetually jabbering away, or obsessively texting. My reaction to that is anything from mildly irritating to serious anger (if they are having conversations on the damn tee box while I'm getting ready to hit - almost hard to believe, but some people really are that rude).

 

But cell phone conversations on courses are one of the many ways that what used to be assumed and unspoken golf etiquette has dramatically declined over the years I've been playing golf. And in truth, while people using their phones is irritating, it pales in comparison to people who now blast music out of Bluetooth speakers. Even a decade or two ago that would have been considered a severe breach of etiquette that could get you kicked off a public course, or get a serious reprimand from a private club. Somehow, without anyone really saying anything, it has now been completely normalized (which is in part, IMO, just one of the many gifts LIV has given to the world of golf). 

 

Now get off my lawn. 🤣

The only time I use the phone "as communication device" on course is when I take a day to play in a tournament. I appreciate the time given to me but I also know that if NEEDED,  I need to at least be accessible from work.  That said, I don't have a ringer on. I don't talk on the tee box.  I'll send a text while riding/walking to the ball and if a phone call is needed, I'll find a way to discreetly make a quick one.  

 

As with most things..its about being considerate, both to the golf course, those you're playing with, others on the course AND to those trying to reach you.  Balance.  

[jdl]

Witnessed a guy in my golf league hit a chip shot while carrying on a conversation with his phone pinned between his shoulder and ear. Really could have used a Bluetooth headset but that may have been before they were available.

[ChipNRun]

About once a year I end up playing with someone who can't stay off the phone.

 

Big problem: this golfer always contributes to slow play.

 

One way to stop them - start giving them advice related to their on-phone business conversations. This also works in restaurants when someone at the next booth is a loudmouth that drowns out your own conversation.