Archives: Overseas

Beachwood (USA)

Beachwood - Josie

Welcome – Just when I had started giving up hope finding dog-friendly courses in the USA, I stumbled upon a Christmas gift of serendipity. Over the yuletide holidays, we were visiting my sister-in-law who has a beach house in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Once the weather warmed up a bit from the unseasonably low sub-zero temperatures, we decided to play a round. We were spoiled for choice as there are over 80 (!) courses in the Myrtle Beach area, but we ventured to the nearby Beachwood GC. A lovely course who just blocks from the beach (so some of the holes have bonus “sand” bunker lining the entire flank of the hole as underneath the landscaping surface is essentially a big sand pit. As we were finishing our play, we came upon the Kevin with his lovely dog, Josie (see photo above). He was in a golf cart and going from hole to hole so I thought he was playing, but when I approached, I saw that he didn’t have clubs. So, I feared that it was just another example of a groundskeeper bringing along a canine companion, but playing with them wouldn’t be allowed. But (after a cheery welcome from Josie – see below) it turns out that he was the GM of the course and confirmed that dogs were indeed welcome. He noted that several members bring their pups regularly. Bingo!

Walk – As you would expect from a coastal course, the walk is completely flat (which was welcome as I’m not sure our post-feasting condition could have managed anything much more challenging).

Water – Half of the holes have water hazards, many of which are quite substantial, but I’m not sure how much of an opportunity for a drink on a hot southern summer’s day as they are likely quite brackish. But the course does wind back around to the clubhouse at the 9th so you can refill your water bottle/dish.

Wildlife – SQUIRREL!!! And not just any squirrels, but these huge, fluffy, and fairly tame black squirrels the likes of which I had never seen before. They were captivating Lori’s and my attention so who knows how distracting they would be to a canine companion.

Wind Down – Finding dog-friendly eateries in the USA is just as hard as finding golf course. https://www.bringfido.com is a great site with a database of dog welcoming establishments. It shows a Krave Bagel Bistro right next door, but the Beachwood course also does have a restaurant with an of grilled items.

Beachwood - Josie 2

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Why Aren’t More USA Courses Dog Friendly?

Southern Hills - dog greeters

Happy New Year! Long time since I’ve checked in. Primarily because the English winter weather has descended making rounds hard to squeeze in between the gaps of rainfall and the shrinking daylight hours. Fortunately, we were able to juggle the various COVID controls and get ourselves to the USA to see family for the holidays. Lori’s family lives in North Carolina which is quite a popular golfing destination and we not only had plenty of courses to choose from, but warm and dry weather to play in!

One of our rounds was at the Southern Hills Golf Course in Danville, Virginia. When we arrived, we were greeted by a couple of charming canines (see photo above) and thought that we might just have stumbled on a rare dog-friendly course in America. Unfortunately, the friendly welcome was confined to the pro shop and dogs were not allowed to accompany players. But I did have a very friendly and informative chat with the proprietor about some of the distinctly American challenges to welcoming dogs so I thought that I would share them here:

  1. Less Dog Friendly in General – The USA is simply less dog-friendly than Europe. This “20 Most Dog Friendly Countries in the World” list features 13 European countries and the USA is nowhere to be seen. Our American friends are astonished that we can bring Grace to accompany us not just on the golf course, but also to pubs and cafes for meals.
  2. Less Walking the Course – Not wishing to propagate the “lazy American” stereotype, but our visit made it clear that walking the course is much less common. We had always noticed the preponderance of buggies on American courses when we played there in the past. In some courses, buggies are virtually mandatory. Southern Hills didn’t even offer trollies to rent (though you could carry your bag). In fact, Versed noted that Americans are 6 times more likely to use a golf cart than Brits. And if you’re not walking the course, it doesn’t make much sense to bring your dog along.  An article in Golf.com observed:
     
    “Sure, golfers in every country forego carts, but in the British Isles walking is more or less compulsory; you generally need a medical exemption to get a cart. Whatever the conditions — in wind, rain or hail — Brits grab a trolley and off they go.”
      
  3. More Insurance Restrictions and Lawsuits – As much as Americans don’t like walking, they notoriously do like to file law suits. As a result, insurance (the public liability insurance that you purchase to protect your from lawsuits) dictates many aspects of business and public life. This consideration was also prominent for Southern Hills who told us that their insurance company would flat out not permit them to have dogs on their course.  I was able to get an expert perspective from Peter Small, Area Senior Vice President of RPS Bollinger Sports & Leisure who specialise in golf course cover:
     
    “Some policies have an ‘animal exclusion’ and other don’t, however if the dog is not owned by the golf course and a member of the public brings their own dog on to the course, there is really no liability on the golf club for the actions of that dog. I would assume most golf courses would require a waiver signed prior to allowing the dog on to the premises which would/should put the sole responsibility of the dog on the owner. Many other variables could impact the coverage depending on what state the club is located in.”
  4. Less of a Tradition – UK tradition of golfing with dogs started from the gentlemenly roots of the sport which shot birds with their dogs in the winter and shot birdies with their dogs in the summer. This heritage created a tradition very early in the sport’s history. The first golf club in America, Saint Andew’s GC in Yonkers NY was set up more than a century after the nearly eponymous home of golf, St. Andrews in Scotland east coast led the way with establishing the sport in the USA. On the other hand (or other side of the country), game (pheasant) shooting as a sport started more on the west coast and Midwest. So in the formative years of USA golfing, bird dogs were not as prevalent among the golfing crowd.
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How To Play A Round With Your Dog

I was at first delighted to find this video posted by the prominent golfing website, Golf.com – “How to Play a Round with Your Dog”. The tone was enthusiastically supportive of dog golf and it hailed from the USA where allowing dogs on the course is very rare. Unfortunately, the well-intended piece to camera was just filled with lots of misinformation that I had to correct so that misunderstandings would not put people off dogs joining their persons for a round. I thought the most effective format to do this in was a “reaction” video (posted above), but I’ve also included a crib notes below:

  • ”This is everything you should know about playing golf with your dog.” – Well, not really. Lots of important stuff missing (like keeping them off the greens), but hey, still a good start.
  • “The first thing you must do is determine if you are playing in the morning or the evening…” – Ahem…not quite. But you do put on the screen the REAL thing that you must do which is…
  • ”Find a course that allows K-9 Caddies.” – In the USA, this is the hardest part. And while it gets mentioned on the screen, the narrator never actually mentions it (in the UK, no problem at all with DogGolf.com !). Unfortunately, he seems to have messed up here because when I contacted Cherry Hills Golf and Lodge to confirm if they allowed dogs, they informed me that dogs were not allowed on the course. <facepalm> But let’s carry on with looking at this well intentioned video…
  • “You’re going to want to keep a leash on your dog for optics reasons at the very least.” – Actually, this is incorrect. Golf courses are very clear about their dog policy which is either (a) “lead required” – which means on the lead attached to the golfer or the trolley at all time, or (b) “under control” – which means that the pretence of dragging a lead on the ground is not required and the dog can move freely as long as the master keeps them behaving according to the strict guidelines.
  • “Start leaving your dog bag in the same spot at the tee box. It will be a bit of a lesson for where your dog can and cannot roam.” – I liked this tip. It is an especially good tip for dog golfers who play the same course all the time.
  • “Perhaps the most important question is ‘Is your dog a chaser?’…Nothing is more important than a tennis ball or a frisbee or anything that can get you a 10 second distraction” – Ignore this advice. It is terrible. The advice is essentially saying, “If your dog can’t control themselves from chasing your golf ball, then pander to them by distracting them with thrown items.” For starters, the players behind you or next to you are not going to be thrilled with you throwing objects around them just to distract your dog while you take even more time to tee off. This advice about “chasers” should read, “If you dog can’t control themselves from chasing the ball, then they should be kept on a secure lead during the entire round to prevent them from doing so.” Period.
  • “She even left her [tennis] ball by a tee box one time.” – Aggh…no! No dogs on any greens. That includes BOTH the hole greens and the tee greens (later at minute 3:00, the video shows the narrator throwing the ball across the tee green so that Jersey tears across it. Bad owner!)
  • “You can never pack enough water or treats.” – While our Grace would endorse the latter part of that assertion, the water bit is probably a bit over-stated. Better advice would be something like, “Always make sure you have plenty of water for your dog either from water faucets on the course, accessible water bodies (like water hazards or streams) or bottles carries with you.”
  • “[For water] re-use these lemonade mix cartons. They work pretty well as a water bottle and a dish to drink out of.” – Handy tip for the USA (lemonade mix isn’t a commonly found item in the UK). Not sure that the portion amount for drinking would satisfy Grace.
  • “[Figure out] how to not get to excited about the bunkers.” – Let’s be more explicit here. No dogs in the bunkers ever.

[POSTCRIPT] A few days after this video was released, a follow up written piece was posted to accompany it, “9 Key For Playing Golf With You Dog”

  1. Is your dog a morning caddie, or an evening caddie? – This is a silly, misguided tip. The key tip is “If you concerned about how well your dog might fare, then choose an off-peak playing time.”</style=”color:>
  2. Permission might be easier than you think – Again, the author totally bollixed the permission issue. Frankly, in the USA especially, permission is difficult period. Also, his info on St. Andrew is wrong. St. Andrews has dogs on it *ALL* the time (except competitions).
  3. Leash up! – Per the video commentary, this advice is too simplistic. Either (a) respect the club rules (which may require a leash), or (b) keep your dog under control at all times (and a leash might be needed for some dogs).
  4. Is your dog interested in golf? – Strange tip. Nearly all dogs will relish a long walk with their persons (which is what “golf” is to them). The only real question is whether they can (or want) to behave well enough to do so.
  5. The tennis ball is your lifeline – Worst tip ever. Don’t ever bring a tennis ball (much less throw one) on a a golf course.
  6. The water limit does not exist (and here’s a pro-tip) – Having water is indeed important and the lemonade mix container is cute (for Americans).
  7. Endless treats don’t hurt either – Ok, Grace will not be happy with me if I don’t endorse this one.
  8. Doggy waste is different – Bit of an over-kill tip. The basic tip here is “Pick up after you dog and dispose appropriately”. Period.
  9. Start ‘em young – Yeah, ok. As long and people don’t think that old dogs can’t be taught new fairway tricks. Because they are often more chilled, we find that older dogs actually make better golfing companions.
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Dog Golfing Around the World

Facebook dog golfing in world

In my recent research, I happened upon the Lebanon Turf dog golf calendar. They publish a “Dog Days Of…” calendar every year:

· “It’s that time of year again where we at LebanonTurf, along with the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America (GCSAA), get to know a new round of golf dogs. Every year, we take submissions from golf courses all over the country who want their pal to be featured in our Dog Days of Golf Calendar. And each year, one of these lucky calendar dogs is chosen as our Dog of the Year, which comes with some pretty great perks.”

With 4 years of calendars (52 dogs featured including cover), I thought that the profiles about the dog and their course would be a great source of finally finding some dog-friendly courses in North America where dog golfing is virtually unheard of. However, after reaching out to the first 26 courses featured, it turned out that just because a dog was pictured on their course doesn’t mean they allow dogs. In nearly all cases, the dogs belonged to the course superintendent or grounds keeper (the Lebanon Turf customers) who brought their dog to work for the day just for the photo op.

Still, I did find Zelda (directly below) featured from the Schifferdecker club in Joplin, Missouri, USA. I did add her to my list of other courses I have stumbled on across the world adverting dog-friendliness from Croatia (see photo at bottom) to British Columbia, Canada. With several in hand, I thought I would start a Google Map of the Rest of the World courses for reference.

As always, contact me if you know any others and I would be glad to add them to the map/list (and also welcome a guest post if you are so inclined).

USA dog golfing

Croatia dog golfing

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