One of the great perks of being
in the golf business as a
professional is that, often, public
golf courses may offer us discounts,
and private courses may offer us
privileges to places we otherwise
could not play. Because we are
continually adding new members,
it is worthwhile to go over some
guidelines on professional courtesy
when it comes to playing and
teaching the game.
Professional Courtesy:
PLAYING
Always call ahead of time.
This is so important that it will be
repeated – always call ahead of
time. Occasionally we hear stories
of golf professionals who show
up unannounced at a golf course
and expect to play either for free
or for a cart fee. This is a very
unprofessional thing to do and
is never done by those who have
been in the business for a given
length of time.
Some golf professionals believe
you should speak with the director
of golf or the head professional in
order to seek professional courtesy,
but in actual practice this isn’t
always necessary. Many assistants
and shop personnel know the
professional courtesy policy and
are authorized to give the okay to
another professional who wishes
to play at their facility.
It also helps to be employed
or giving lessons at a facility, and
this may be required by some
courses that offer professional
playing courtesy.
If a course denies you professional
playing courtesy for whatever
reason, it is natural to feel
you need to lecture the person
denying you the courtesy. Please,
at all costs, resist the urge to do
this. While your disappointment at
being denied courtesy is perfectly
understandable, making your displeasure
known will not change
the situation and only serves to
discredit you and the organization
to which you belong, at least
in that person’s eyes. Simply
say, “Oh, I’m sorry to hear
that, but I respect your policy,”
and let it go. However, in this
tougher economy, you might
find courses that denied you
professional courtesy in the past
will welcome your business, even
if for a cart fee, so if you were
turned down some time ago, give
it another shot.
Professional Courtesy:
TEACHING
Imagine you are the teaching
professional at a golf course, and
you see someone giving what very
much looks like a formal lesson
on your range. upon further
inspection, you find that it is,
indeed, someone giving a formal
lesson to a student, and this person
had absolutely no authorization to
teach there.
You wouldn’t like it, would
you? For this reason, you always
need to have authorization to
teach at any facility. You might be
surprised at how amenable the golf
course personnel can be to this.
again, after all, they are in business
to make money, and
if you are bringing
in outside students
to the facility, they
may welcome your
occasional teaching
forays to their facility.
Speaking of
students, you must
never solicit business at
a facility to which you
have no teaching privileges.
It doesn’t matter
if there is no teaching
professional on staff;
this is simply something
that is not done. USGTF members
who conduct unauthorized teaching
or solicitation at a facility are in
violation of article 6 of the Code of
ethics and are subject to disciplinary
action.
The golf business offers many
wonderful perks. use them wisely,
and you further enhance your
peers’ respect for both you and
your professional organization.
