The Phone Question

I noticed this thought-provoking graph on Instagram:

We’ve blown past “capacity”. A conundrum for the sport, and the root issue of many pace of play stories we hear on the internet.

Picture this. You walk into a clubhouse, and hear the creak of the ancient floorboards beneath your leather-soled loafers. You smell the air, but can’t seem to place exactly what it smells like.

You walk down the stairs, past historic pictures of the clubhouse, amateur champions, and renovations, and are engulfed by the grill room. The fire crackles in the corner, you settle into your chair, and peruse the menu.

Just as you think you’ve reached your inner peace, you hear a loud, cacophonous sound from the next table. It’s unmistakable, out of place, and has jolted your attention away from where it should be.

It’s owner sheepishly hustles out of the room, but the damage has been done.

“Why are phones banned at prestigious clubs?”

The words bounced around in my head for a second before I was able to wrestle them into a legible sequence. Then:

“At what point were phones deemed unsavory?”

Was it due to the bulk of the original models? Or the fact that they couldn’t be silenced?

After some thought, I think the answer is obvious.

When you’re on your phone, you are not physically present. Your mind is far away from your feet. It’s not about the noise the phone makes, but rather the subliminal social message it’s user sends:

“I have more urgent matters which require my attention.”

What makes the older, elite clubs special is their tradition and history. For the most part, members of these clubs want guests to experience the magic. They want you to be present.

And yes, it is magic.

It’s a true “if you know, you know” feeling when you walk into an old clubhouse. There’s nothing like it.

The presence of phones at every interaction detracts from the guest’s ability to become a part of the tradition.

Anyone on their phone, by definition, cannot be present and part of the broader experience of the day.

Many clubs have relaxed their cell phone policy, even The Los Angeles Country Club.

It goes to show just how attached to these devices we’ve become, myself included. Man and phone are attached at the hip, and many places have acknowledged this by bending the knee.

Lax policies, phone calls in the grill room, and perhaps even on the front porch!

However, a few have stayed stricter than most. I’d like to see more places push back on the incessant invasion of technology. I wonder if we’ve all forgotten what it feels like to fully disconnect. When is the last moment where you truly lost track of time?

Clubs should be a safe haven from the pressing needs of the world, if but for a few hours.

Nothing has muddied the waters more than the emergence of golf personalities who make their living online. Every moment has the potential to be content, especially on the golf course… so act accordingly.

For those who didn’t grow up in a world where phones were largely discouraged at clubs, this adjustment may seem incongruous.

Very few clubs have stuck to their traditions, and I wish more would stand up against the perpetual presence of technology.

Food for thought: Are technology policies at clubs solving for the right goals? What does an effective policy look like?

Send me a note with your ideas.

As we enter the Fall season, I’ve found myself eyeing some solid layering pieces, like the Ward sweater from H&B. It’s a trim fit for the slimmer readers out there, but also one of the warmest sweaters I’ve ever owned.

The coolest new bag I saw this week was a Sunday style bag from Seamus Golf

I never knew I needed a waterproof rain hat until I saw this one from ZR.

“Course Manners”, 1995.

I found the two unwritten rules particularly interesting here.

If both of those things were to be true in a given round, it would be quite difficult to walk away with anything less than a feeling of complete satisfaction.

Many of golf’s current issues can be traced back to one of those two rules (often both) being untrue.

We’re heading north of the border to Quebec for this week’s edition of Clandestine Golf Club.

Domaine Laforest was built in 2002 by Thomas McBroom. It belongs to the estate of Paul Desmarais Sr., the Power Corp. financier. It has neither members nor a guest policy.

Play has been limited to "the Desmarais family and business partners," and invitees have historically come in on company helicopters to one of three helipads near a manor modeled on a Palladio villa. As of 2005, Travel + Leisure Golf counted fewer than 500 rounds a year, many of them hosted charity games.

The first hole, Le Toboggan, doubles as a sledding hill for the grandchildren. (Imagine sledding down 10 at Augusta?)

No official photographs exist, only the one above via Google Maps.

Thanks for reading,

-BTG