The article below was written by Matt Chivers of National Club Golfer.
Many golfers enjoy an alcoholic drink after a long 4-hour slog on the golf course, but is it necessary to neck several cans while playing? National Club Golfer’s (NCG) team offer their two-pence worth.
Golf is not only one of the great sports but one of the great social sports.
This accolade is significantly complemented by the concept of the clubhouse, a place for members and visitors to enjoy refreshments before and after they play.
More often than not, you’ll find a bar in the clubhouse that serves alcoholic beverages which go down very well after you’ve walked several kilometres, hacking your ball around long grass for 4 hours.
However, some players take the sport’s social qualities to the next level by taking beers and other drinks out on the course when they play. I’ve played with the odd partner or two carrying a hip flask.
Should this be allowed? Why would you take drinks out on the golf course and compromise your performance? Or is this a boring interpretation of something that’s all part of the fun? Is there any harm in having a sip of alcohol on the golf course and enjoying yourself?
NCG, a team with a huge bank of golf experiences and memories, has thought about it and written their views on the subject of drinking on the golf course.
Drinking on golf course debate: Is it necessary? Is it just a bit of fun?
Matt Chivers
I’ve had a can or two on the golf course before, but this was largely down to peer pressure from my dad and brother while on a trip to Le Touquet in France. The beer was warm and I stood drinking it thinking it was largely pointless.
Most of the time, the point of drinking is to get drunk, and I don’t get the point of doing that on the golf course. It’s not a practice I’ve seen that much, but I know it happens and it’s just pointless.
Turn up hungover, fine. You can do what you like after you’ve holed out on 18. Sip at the halfway hut, go for it. But getting through several cans on the golf course just feels cringey and deliberate. It’s usually a practice on golf holidays with your pals. Have we got any beers to go around with? Hopefully not, I won’t be having one anyway.
Tom Irwin
Drinking on the course should be outlawed. There’s plenty of time to drink after your round if you really must. Golf is a civilised sport for civilised people, the consumption of any food or beverage should take place at a table. No one wants to see me openly masticating.
Golf is a sport, so how can that statement possibly be taken seriously if you can participate half cut? Whilst we are at it, we should ban any refined carbs from the halfway hut.
Matt Coles
As a sober man, I couldn’t care less if my playing partners wanted to drink on the course. Any drinking has to be done in moderation of course, as golf is a sport and having drunken golfers taking up divots and messing about on the fairways isn’t acceptable.
However, if golfers want to take a few cans out on the golf course with them to enjoy themselves as they play 18 holes, why should we stop them? I’m sober, so it gives me more chance of beating them, right?
