Some golf courses in my area and I was wondering if it is acceptable to run on them or if I should ask for permission at the clubhouse, what’s the protocol? Is there a protocol? Anybody have any experience with this, or good stories they’re willing to share?
Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Pick up your pace when you see the golf cart with the red flag. Good luck and let us know how it went.
If the course is near running trails or a residential area, it is usually fine as long as you don’t impede or distract any golfers on the course.
man, I wouldn’t…and not because it is not allowed, but because getting beaned by a golf ball sucks.
Seems like you are just asking for trouble…and for this reason alone it is likely frowned upon.
If that alone doesn’t convince you, here’s a little clip to show you what happens when you screw with a guy’s round…
Yea, I doubt golfers will be out in Upstate NY in mid-January so I don’t foresee encountering any issues with them. Mainly concerned with course management.
only frowned upon by golfers. runners don’t mind.
Typically frowned upon…
If the course is near running trails or a residential area, it is usually fine as long as you don’t impede or distract any golfers on the course.
Actually, it is highly frowned upon and you can easily be charged with trespassing . . . IF you get caught. I won’t advocate doing something that is potentially illegal and/or dangerous, but you can’t be punished for what goes unwitnessed. Personally, I’d stay off them for two reasons: (1) golf balls hurt, and (2) a golf course is hardly interesting/challenging terrain.
LMFAO! Love it. I would have punted the car myself.
You may get the occasional irate golfer yelling at you. Of the two nearby golf courses, I have had much luck at the lower-end place. At the swankier club, I suppose the members expect some exclusivity in return for their mega-dollar investment. Once, the club owner tore onto the course in his huge black pickup hollering out the window to chase my XC team away. Beware!
It’s illegal…Golf courses are private property and usually have signs posted that say something to the effect of “only golfers allowed beyond this point”
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I have lots of experience on golf courses. I have a high end course in my area that I run on all the time. It is on a flood plain and many people walk dogs, run, etc. when there are no golfers. It is next to another course that actually has a walking trail through the course. I have been chased off a few courses - in Maui and in a former Phoenix neighborhood.
I say go for it and wait for someone to tell you you can’t.
It’s not illegal it’s just frowned upon… like masturbating in an airplane.
It’s not illegal it’s just frowned upon… like masturbating in an airplane.
Thanks a lot, Osama Bin Laden.
I live on a nice course and it is my main training route in the winter and evenings (entire 18 hole course following the cart path is about 10K) right out my back yard. Have done so for 7+ years. But - only after dark, if snow, course closed, etc. NEVER run if there are any golfers on course - they paid and you did not. Not sure how far trespassing laws go there (esp. public vs. private courses).
Many of our cross country meets in high school were held on a golf course. The regulars were out there, swinging their balls, riding in their vroom vrooms… Not a problem. Granted, we had permission to be there but none of the other obstacles were an issue.
My intentions exactly. I’m only planning on running the course during the winter and nights in the spring/summer/fall. I grew up golfing and around golfers, so I know the type of people I would encounter if I were to disturb a round.
Yup, as a runner and golfer, I can say for sure that it is incredibly rude to run on a golf course during business hours for reasons already stated (they paid and you didn’t, any tiny distraction can mess up golfers as hard as it is for runners to believe, etc…etc…).
At other times than business hours (early morning, late at night, closed course) on a town course I would go for it and on a privately owned course I would probably ask permission but maybe just go for it… just stay off fairways if they’re well maintained and greens.
Agreed on the above, if it’s a city public course it might be allowed, it might not be. Getting hit with a golf ball does sting mightily, however.
One other thing to consider, is if the ground is frosted and you run on it, you may leave footprints that take a long time to grow out (More applicable closer to the grass growing season).
John
Ask permission and go out early before the golfers tee off. Usually the grounds keepers will be out but you won’t bother them. I ran the cart paths at Pebble Beach last summer everday before I played golf, was great.
The course I am a member of has a triathlon and a couple running events every summer.