Are golfers right to complain about these things?

Moan, moan, moan! If you watch any amount of PGA Tour, DP World Tour or LPGA Tour golf, either in the flesh or on television, you can’t help but be aware that those who compete at the highest level never seem to be happy with their lot.

We constantly hear them complaining about the speed of the greens, about the rough, about the weather and, above all else, about their rotten bad luck. 

Interviewed after a poor round, they will seldom hold up their hands and admit that they played poorly. There is always something or somebody else to blame.

Even after low scores, you will hear them complain about the putts that got away or the fairways that they missed. 

The bottom line is that golfers tend to be a grumpy bunch who are not happy unless they are finding something to complain about - and let’s not pretend that this only applies to top professionals. If anything, club golfers are even worse.

How many times have you ever heard a club golfer singing the praises of a course they have just played? How often have you heard them lauding the greens?

There are several areas that seem to exercise the minds more than anything else. I list them below, together with a moan scale - 10 means the moan is justified, anything below five sees me coming down on the side of the golf club!

Slow Play

For most club golfers, this is probably top of the list. I know it’s the thing I moan about more than anything else. Several times over the past year I have endured five-hour-plus rounds that have driven me to the edge of distraction. At committee level we have discussed this endlessly but the one thing we have all agreed upon is that there is no easy answer. It is difficult to persuade senior golfers to speed up the pace they want to play the game - and most of my time is spent playing with senior golfers. In saying that, I left a golf club in Ipswich that shall remain nameless because I was sick to the back teeth of Saturday medal competitions taking 5 hours and 30 minutes. It was miserable. You would wait on every single shot - and then wait some more.

So, on the moaning scale, I am saying that this is one that can be justified and I give it 10/10.

Greens

Oh dear! The condition of putting surfaces probably comes a close second to slow play. I have to say that at Dunston Hall, where I play my golf, we are incredibly fortunate. The greens are excellent and run true. Now here’s where I have a problem with those who moan about greens - for starters, they are probably the very people who refuse to repair their pitchmarks. For the life of me, I cannot understand why so many club golfers seem to find it so hard to perform such a simple task. And then there is the weather. Spare a thought for greenkeepers - in 2025 they had to face baking-hot weather, while the past few weeks have seen torrents of rain and snow. Maintaining greens is no easy matter. Please, let’s give greenskeepers a break and spend more time sorting out pitchmarks.

Moan scale justification? It’s a 4/10 from me.

Course Closures

Sadly, as a direct result of climate change, course closures are becoming increasingly common and are a source of genuine concern. While it is probably true that we are going to continue to see hotter, drier summers, it is also a fact that the winters are going to be wetter. That means if you play on a low-lying golf course with a river running through it then you are going to have to accept that there will be plenty of occasions during the long winter months when the decision will be taken to shut your course. I know of at least two courses in Norfolk where this has become an annual issue. 

Moan scale: My take on this is that if you join a low-lying course that is subject to flooding then you are simply going to have accept course closures as part and parcel of your membership. It might be time to think about joining somewhere else. So, on the moan scale, for me this is a 3/10.

Bunkers

A thorny subject if ever there was one. Not enough sand, too much sand, the wrong sort of sand. My chief thought on this is that part of the problem is that the vast majority of club golfers simply do not know how to get out of bunkers properly. Worse than that, many of them either do not rake the sand properly after being in a bunker or don’t rake it at all.

Moan scale? Footprints - 10/10. There is no excuse for failing to rake a bunker. Period.

Bunkers quality - 5/10. Maintaining bunkers is not easy and for many the real issue lies in a lack of investment in bunker sand by individual golf clubs.

Annual Subscriptions

This is the time of year when club golfers will either already have had their subscription demand or will be expecting to receive it. And most will have a good old moan if, as expected, the price increases. I believe we should all be looking at the number of rounds of golf we play at our course and work out how much each individual round costs. I play at least twice and often three times a week and that means my annual subscription represents incredible value for money. Remember, too, that most clubs will let you pay your subs by monthly direct debit, spreading the costs and easing the pain.

Moan scale justification - 3/10. Sorry, but by and large I believe that golf club membership represents fantastic value for money and you will not hear me moaning about it.

Green Fees

Let’s all agree that some golf clubs are just plain greedy. I cannot think of many courses that can truly justify charging a visitor in excess of £200. Obviously, if you are planning to play a proper championship course then you know it is going to cost an arm and leg. But in what other sport can you play in the same arena as the world’s best do? 

Moan scale: This is a tricky one. Yes, there are many courses that price themselves out of the market for ordinary mortals like you and me. But here’s the thing - we all have a choice about where we play and how much we want to pay, so…4/10.

Rough

The complaint here usually revolves around the rough being too long. And the people who moan about it are the same individuals who watch PGA Tour players shooting scores of 65 for fun and then say that their courses need thicker rough and deeper bunkers. I am from the school that believes that rough is there for a reason. If you cannot find a fairway then you deserve to be punished, surely?

Moan scale - 2/10. This is a non-starter for me, unless we are talking about going from fairway to knee-high rough without any intermediary punishment, in which case it becomes a 9/10.

Food & Drink

The biggest complaint about golf club food and drink? It used to be the quality; now it is all about the cost. In my experience, the quality of golf club food has improved out of sight. No longer are we given stale sandwiches or microwaved food. There has been a proper transformation that sees most clubs now serving tasty, home-made, locally produced food. And the cost? I would urge club golfers to compare prices with their local restaurants which, in almost every instance, will be far more expensive. 

Moan scale: There was a time, not so long ago, that this would have been a 10/10 but times have changed. Golf-club food has improved out of sight and, for me at least, mostly represents excellent value for money, so it’s 6/10 for me.

Pro Shop Welcome

We have all had awful experiences in pro shops as visitors, where you are left to feel like all they are interested in doing is taking your money. I have to say that this is not what you will find at my golf club, but I play a lot of golf at assorted clubs, and I have to say that the overall experience remains pretty disappointing. Moan scale: 8/10.

Having now seen these contenders, what is your biggest golfing pet peeve?