Posted By BB
Interesting thread and close to my heart. At the club I play, I tend not to disclose what I do for a living following a visit a couple of years back from the local authority.
I would suggest that before a H&S advisor attempts to give advice at a club or an EHO goes in (clipboard locked and loaded), he/she does their research properly and learns about the game and its etiquette. In addition, he/she also needs to understand the types of person allowed to play the course and how these are admitted.
There is a strict code of practice for the game, much of it documented in the R&A rules of golf, but more importantly in course local rules. If you watch play at a 'proper' club, in addition to the usual banter and jollity, you will generally observe a quiet efficiency about the way the game is conducted, even from higher handicappers. I think a lot of other pursuits could learn many valuable lessons from this most ancient of pastimes!
Golf is alien to the uninitiated and unique in its levels of etiquette and behaviour, from grass roots (excuse the pun), to the very top of the professional ranks. Its very foundations being based on mutual respect, it is almost entirely self-regulating, with little need for umpires and referees. This doesn't just cover the game itself but the whole endeavour whilst on the course. In my opinion, this it what puts the game, however silly it may appear to an outsider, head and shoulders above any other sporting pastime.
From a training point of view, as well as greens staff, virtually all private clubs and private members' clubs (there is a difference), vet players when they apply for membership for some demonstration of playing competence (i.e. handicap certificate and/or reference from previous club). Without this, you will be sent out with the club professional who will report back on the player's ability. In addition, green fee paying visitors usually are only allowed on the course if signed in by a club member, or if they produce some proof of competence to the course pro. In some countries, such as Germany, players need to pass a test to attain a licence, before they can play on a course proper.
Obviously, public 'pay and play' courses do not have this ability and should be considered as an entirely different risk.
In my experience of the game (20 years and off a single figure handicap), dangerous players are identified and challenged rapidly, as are those who display poor general behaviour. This isn't just because they may hurt someone, but because they can destroy other players' enjoyment of this precious leisure time! This is already significantly different to the norm of daily life.
With regard to the comparison between the safety of the green keepers and the players, the former are at work and the latter there for pleasure and so an element of volenti applies methinks. The threat generally always exists from the players to the green staff. However, successful play relies on good observation and distance judgment. It is unusual for greens staff to go unseen. Being hit by a golf ball in flight is extremely dangerous, but the process that goes into it being struck has already been subject to a lot consideration......and then mis-hit!
The course I play is 120 years old. We had a visit from an EHO who jumped up and down, demanding lifebuoys and signs every 50m alongside a small stream running through the course. If you fell in it, you could indeed drown, (although it would be a 1 in 120 year event).....but this would be nothing up against the ridicule you'd receive from your fellow competitors!
The EHO was reminded that there was a large expanse of water just over the dunes, called the English Channel, and this didn't appear to have any signs and very few life rings. Plus it was open to the general public, round the clock with no supervision at all.
Priceless.
BB