Golf - Why Am I Paying To Work?

In a capitalist society, when one pays for something he or she can expect others to do things for him or her, such as carry bags or drive cars. Things are much different on Golf courses. Golf courses are the only places where one of the basic tenets of capitalism, namely "When you pay, you can get someone else to do things for you," is ignored in many ways.

When I go to play Golf, I have to pay the "green fees," which most often also includes a cart fees. Sometimes, the green fee does not include a cart fees. In such cases, I am expected to carry my own bag across 18 holes of the Golf course. When people go to a grocery store, they can pay an attendant to help them take the goods that they bought to their cars and also help them load the goods into their cars, all for a small tip, usually amounting to a couple of dollars. By comparison, the green fees charged by many Golf courses are much higher. In spite of paying a higher price, there is no one to carry my bag - I have to do it myself. Of course you can hire caddies, but they charge more money to carry bags than the green fees that Golfers typically pay for the privilege of playing on the Golf course.

On some courses the green fee is really high, amounting to a couple of hundred dollars for a round of 18-holes of Golf. Even on these courses one still has to pay a lot more money to hire a caddy. For the same price, one can get a couple of pizzas delivered to his or her home everyday for at least a week or more, rent and watch several movies, or have quite a few dinners at good restaurants.

It is true that there are many reasonably priced Golf courses where the green fee includes the use of a Golf cart. However, even on these courses I have to drive the cart myself or the person who plays with me, who has also paid the green and cart fees, has to drive the cart. I think that Golf courses, especially those that charge a lot of money, should provide chauffer-driven carts to drive Golfers from one hole to another.

Golf courses have people who work there known as "rangers." These rangers keep driving around the Golf course in their carts and keep an eye on Golfers to make sure that they are not playing too slowly and holding up people behind them. Sometimes these rangers even tell Golfers to play a little faster. To these rangers, I would like to say something like "Listen, pal. I paid a lot of money to play a relaxing game of Golf and I am going to take my time. If people behind me are in a hurry, tell them to skip this hole and go on to the next hole. But they better not hold me up when I reach the next hole." I would really like to say something like that, but will most probably wimp out and just say "Okay, sorry, I will play a little faster."

When I get a haircut, I am not expected to sweep up the hair that was cut and keep the floor and chair clean for the next customer who wants his or her hair to be cut? However, on the Golf course, after paying a lot of money, I am expected to clean up after I play. I am expected to repair the divots that I create while hitting the Golf ball. When a ball that I hit lands in a bunker, I am expected to rake the sand after I play from the bunker. What is fair about this? I would like to remind everyone that I am paying to play on the Golf course and I am not an employee of the Golf club. Yet I am expected to rake the sand, fill or repair the divots and clean up after myself on the green, fairway, bunker, and other places in the Golf course. Not only am I expected to perform chores on the Golf course, but I am also expected to bring my own tools, such as a divot tool to use while repairing divots on greens.

Golfers of the world should unite and do something about this sad state of affairs in Golf. When we Golfers pay to play Golf, we should not be expected to work. I say let the paid employees of the Golf clubs earn their pay and do the work that is currently being done by gullible Golfers like us.

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