Is it ever OK to answer a phone call on a golf course? Let's debate - GolfDigest.com

Ever since humanity developed the exertion to miniaturize the telephone—first to the size of shoe, past to the size of a recognition card, and past backmost to the size of a footwear again—one statement has raged: When, if ever, is it OK to reply your telephone connected the play course?

The question has stymied sociologists and puzzled philosophers. It has pitted person against friend, playing spouse against playing partner. The no-phoners woody successful unrealistic absolutes, grounding their statement successful ideals alternatively of reality. Team phone, meanwhile, slides farther and farther down the slippery slope. One time they're picking up due to the fact that their woman is successful labor, the adjacent they’re connected clasp with the cablegram institution trying to upgrade to HBO. So which is it? Phone oregon nary phone? We posed that question to our brightest (and astir combative) minds and came backmost with 1 definitive answer:

There is nary definitive answer.

Alex Myers: Of people you tin reply a idiosyncratic telephone connected the play course. I hatred to play the genitor paper here, but I'm playing the genitor paper here. Do you cognize what the likelihood of maine not getting immoderate panicked telephone from location during a four-hour round? Probably astir the aforesaid accidental of Phil Mickelson ever winning PGA Tour Player of the Year. And if I don't prime up that call, the likelihood of maine ever playing play again are adjacent slimmer. So, yes, usage that telephone arsenic discreetly and rapidly arsenic imaginable (it's astir apt nothing, anyway) and don't clasp up play. Hopefully it doesn't travel to this, but sacrificing hitting a changeable oregon 2 is simply a batch amended than sacrificing your adjacent tee time.

Joel Beall: July 21, 2017. A time that volition unrecorded successful infamy. It was Open Championship week astatine Royal Birkdale but I was not on-site. Following Friday’s play, my coworker and her then-fiancé decided to spell retired for an exigency 18 holes. Through 7 I was having the circular of my beingness and a circular that had a changeable astatine the people record. On the eighth fairway I received a telephone from my boss, who asked if I could edit a communicative a workfellow had filed precocious from Birkdale. Feeling ashamed that I had abandoned a station I didn’t cognize I was expected to man, I proceeded to leaf an attack from 90 yards retired connected the mode to my archetypal bogey. I followed with a 5 connected a driveable par 4, past a treble connected the par-3 10th. I cried stumbled my mode to the clubhouse to get the communicative published, past to a section barroom with my coworker knowing determination was nary libation to enactment retired those flames. Now, does this incidental talk to my brittle psyche and deficiency of gumption? Yes. Does it stay unclear wherefore my boss, oregon anyone on-site astatine the tourney for that matter, could not station the story? Absolutely. Has my crippled spiraled into an abyss that shows nary motion of return, punishment from the play gods for not respecting the acquisition they bestowed to maine that evening? Without a doubt. But the happening is … no, that astir covers it. Moral of the story: Keep the telephone successful the f—ing bag.

Drew Powell: Let maine preface with this: I americium not a snob. As a golfer successful his mid-20s, I see myself successful the progressive clump erstwhile it comes to on-course customs. I accidental deterioration the hoodie, play the euphony and if you’re truly acceptable connected trying to marque joggers work, spell for it. My open-mindedness stops, however, with telephone calls. (Are they adjacent a happening anymore?) The lone happening worse than someone’s telephone ringing connected the people is the infinitesimal erstwhile they reply it. If your telephone went disconnected portion successful religion oregon astatine a Broadway show, would you prime it up? Fine, playing play isn’t rather the aforesaid woody (though immoderate mightiness accidental it’s some ineffable and performative), but the constituent holds—hit the reddish button, nonstop a speedy substance asking if thing superior is up, past get backmost to your $5 Nassau.

Stephen Hennessey: Completely disconnecting from the existent satellite sounds ideal, but that’s not imaginable for immoderate of us. Urgent calls from enactment oregon your spouse connected the people are OK, but determination are a fewer things to support successful mind.. A) If it’s a backstage club, inquire your big first. If the nine has a nary telephone policy, you’re retired of luck. B) Keep each convo to nary much than 2 minutes. If you can’t, skip the spread and spell determination quiescent truthful you don’t disrupt play. C) Family emergencies are OK, obviously. I hatred telephone calls connected the people much than anybody, but if my playing spouse is pursuing these steps of etiquette, I won’t judge.

Sam Weinman: Even if we hold that phones are an inevitable portion of immoderate modern play round, it doesn’t mean they request to permeate each conception of the experience. There is simply a bounds to however overmuch your eyes should beryllium fixed connected a surface due to the fact that you are incapable of existent conversation. I don’t request to beryllium reminded of the latest nine crumbling improvement connected Twitter. Unless divorcement oregon unemployment is the alternative, that incoming telephone buzzing successful your container definite arsenic hellhole amended beryllium going to voicemail.

The play people arsenic a tech-free haven is not a realistic goal, but if you’re picking up the telephone and engaging successful speech successful the mediate of our fairway, I request astatine slightest an apologetic “I request to instrumentality this” question earlier I silently commencement to hatred you. It amended not beryllium astir wherever you near the keys. oregon immoderate juicy portion of vicinity gossip, and eden forbid a talker telephone is progressive due to the fact that by past I’m already halfway to my car.

Chris Powers: Let’s get 1 happening straight—no 1 is stopping you from taking a idiosyncratic telephone connected the play course. Unless determination are existent consequences astatine the people you’re playing (rare), spell ahead, deed reply and speech away. Just cognize that I, and everyone other successful the group, hates you. Another qualifier to debar offending the easy offended: If it’s an exigency call, we don’t hatred you, but marque it speedy (kidding).

Any different benignant of call? Save it, particularly you “work-related” telephone takers. If your occupation was that important, you would not beryllium capable to ditch it to play golf. Or, if the occupation requires you to beryllium connected the telephone each day, whitethorn we suggest a antithetic enactment than play arsenic your playing hooky activity. As for the spousal calls, those are 1 happening if you person kids. If your woman oregon hubby is conscionable checking to spot erstwhile you’ll beryllium home, what’s for meal tonight, oregon wherever the distant is, you should beryllium removed from the people for answering that call. It truly each depends connected the quality of the telephone and however loudly and however agelong you are speaking connected it. If you marque it truthful cipher adjacent knew you took the call, bully connected ya. If you’re 1 of these “LOOK AT ME, I’M ON THE PHONE, I’M IMPORTANT ON EVERY OTHER HOLE” people, kindly, leave.

Greg Gottfried: Phones suck connected the play course. You get a fewer texts, and abruptly you person non-golf thoughts swimming astir successful your head. The crippled is already truthful fickle, wherefore marque it adjacent much difficult? I’m not arsenic staunchly against taking a telephone arsenic immoderate of our team, arsenic evidenced by the radical Slack that turned into the Malice successful Palace astatine the specified notation of the connection “phone,” but I person been infuriated by idiosyncratic walking distant from their shot to instrumentality a call. Get your sh*t together, man. I bash deliberation there’s an etiquette to these things. It’s not all-or-nothing. You should get 1 (or possibly two, MAX) “hey, sorry, I gotta instrumentality this” a circular if you truly request to. Don’t linger though. Make it snappy and get the telephone done, and erstwhile you’re off, profusely apologize to amusement that you mean business. At the crook is the champion spot to beryllium futzing astir connected a cellular device, and if it throws you disconnected your game, well, I’m each for it. In fact, I whitethorn adjacent archer communal friends to telephone you connected the backmost 9 to truly propulsion you for a loop. Don’t hatred the player, hatred the game.