{"id":959,"date":"2021-01-12T06:35:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T06:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/?p=959"},"modified":"2022-12-28T15:09:41","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T15:09:41","slug":"how-to-play-a-round-with-your-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/2021\/01\/12\/how-to-play-a-round-with-your-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Play A Round With Your Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tBiGn6yoyl4\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><font color=\"#008000\">I was at first delighted to find this video posted by the prominent golfing website, Golf.com &#8211; \u201c<\/font><a href=\"https:\/\/golf.com\/lifestyle\/how-to-play-a-round-with-your-dog\/\"><font color=\"#008000\">How to Play a Round with Your Dog<\/font><\/a><font color=\"#008000\">\u201d. 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 \u201creaction\u201d video (posted above), but I\u2019ve also included a crib notes below: <\/font><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><b><i>\u201dThis is everything you should know about playing golf with your dog.\u201d <\/i><\/b>\u2013 Well, not really. Lots of important stuff missing (like keeping them off the greens), but hey, still a good start.<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><b><i>\u201cThe first thing you must do is determine if you are playing in the morning or the evening<\/i><\/b>\u2026\u201d \u2013 Ahem\u2026not quite. But you do put on the screen the REAL thing that you must do which is\u2026<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\">\u201d<b><i>Find a course that allows K-9 Caddies<\/i><\/b>.\u201d \u2013 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. &lt;facepalm&gt; But let\u2019s carry on with looking at this well intentioned video\u2026<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><b><i>\u201cYou\u2019re going to want to keep a leash on your dog for optics reasons at the very least<\/i><\/b>.\u201d \u2013 Actually, this is incorrect. Golf courses are very clear about their dog policy which is either (a) \u201clead required\u201d \u2013 which means on the lead attached to the golfer or the trolley at all time, or (b) \u201cunder control\u201d \u2013 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.<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><b><i>\u201cStart 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.\u201d<\/i><\/b> \u2013 I liked this tip. It is an especially good tip for dog golfers who play the same course all the time.<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><b><i>\u201cPerhaps the most important question is \u2018Is your dog a chaser?\u2019\u2026Nothing is more important than a tennis ball or a frisbee or anything that can get you a 10 second distraction\u201d<\/i><\/b> \u2013 Ignore this advice. It is terrible. The advice is essentially saying, \u201c<i>If your dog can\u2019t control themselves from chasing your golf ball, then pander to them by distracting them with thrown items<\/i>.\u201d 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 \u201cchasers\u201d should read, \u201c<i>If you dog can\u2019t 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<\/i>.\u201d Period.<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><b><i>\u201cShe even left her [tennis] ball by a tee box one time<\/i><\/b>.\u201d \u2013 Aggh\u2026no! 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!)<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\">\u201c<strong><em>You can never pack enough water or treats<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d \u2013 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, \u201c<i>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<\/i>.\u201d<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><b><i>\u201c[For water] re-use these lemonade mix cartons<\/i><\/b>. <b><i>They work pretty well as a water bottle and a dish to drink out of<\/i><\/b>.\u201d \u2013 Handy tip for the USA (lemonade mix isn\u2019t a commonly found item in the UK). Not sure that the portion amount for drinking would satisfy Grace.<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><b><i>\u201c[Figure out] how to not get to excited about the bunkers.\u201d<\/i><\/b> \u2013 Let\u2019s be more explicit here. No dogs in the bunkers ever.<\/font><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><font color=\"#008000\">[POSTCRIPT] A few days after this video was released, a follow up written piece was posted to accompany it, &#8220;9 Key For Playing Golf With You Dog&#8221;<\/font><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><strong><em>Is your dog a morning caddie, or an evening caddie?<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 This is a silly, misguided tip. The key tip is \u201cIf you concerned about how well your dog might fare, then choose an off-peak playing time.\u201d&lt;\/style=&#8221;color:&gt;<br \/>\n<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><strong><em>Permission might be easier than you think \u2013<\/em><\/strong> 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).<br \/>\n<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><em><strong>Leash up!<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 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).<br \/>\n<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><strong><em>Is your dog interested in golf?<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Strange tip. Nearly all dogs will relish a long walk with their persons (which is what \u201cgolf\u201d is to them). The only real question is whether they can (or want) to behave well enough to do so.<br \/>\n<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><strong><em>The tennis ball is your lifeline<\/em><\/strong> &#8211; Worst tip ever. Don\u2019t ever bring a tennis ball (much less throw one) on a a golf course.<br \/>\n<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><strong><em>The water limit does not exist (and here\u2019s a pro-tip)<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Having water is indeed important and the lemonade mix container is cute (for Americans).<br \/>\n<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><strong><em>Endless treats don\u2019t hurt eithe<\/em><\/strong>r \u2013 Ok, Grace will not be happy with me if I don\u2019t endorse this one.<br \/>\n<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><strong><em>Doggy waste is d<\/em><\/strong>ifferent \u2013 Bit of an over-kill tip. The basic tip here is \u201cPick up after you dog and dispose appropriately\u201d. Period.<br \/>\n<\/font><\/li>\n<li><font color=\"#008000\"><strong><em>Start \u2018em young<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Yeah, ok. As long and people don\u2019t think that old dogs can\u2019t be taught new fairway tricks. Because they are often more chilled, we find that older dogs actually make better golfing companions.<\/font><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was at first delighted to find this video posted by the prominent golfing website, Golf.com &#8211; \u201cHow to Play a Round with Your Dog\u201d. 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1209,"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions\/1209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doggolf.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}