This is probably a repeat rant, but I have seen this problem at golf courses all over the country.
It is probably just a couple of people at each course, but here is the problem. It is people who eat sunflower seeds while they golf, and then spit the shells on the green. Invariably, I find myself having to remove the spittle encrusted shells from my intended putting line. It only takes one or two of these seed munchers to force all of the other players to pick up their saliva soaked discards. It is more inconsiderate then the often discussed Garcia cup spitting incident since you have to touch the spit far more often picking shells off the green, then in the bottom of one cup. So if this post is speaking about you, please spit your shells some where other people don't have to pick them up.

Sorry....although I'm pretty conscious about not spitting on the greens... I usually try to deposit into a coke bottle, but there are times when the shells go in the grass...

I rarely eat sunflower seeds on the golf course, but when I do I never spit them on the green. I try and spit them in a cup or in the water hazards, and not on the course.

I saw tobacco spit on a green the other day and nearly lost it. That is gross. I proceeded to hit my tee shot into the group in front of me to let them know how displeased I was with what they did.

I've seen this on my course as well. Very poor etiquette.

Word.

The first person I catch suffers the wrath for all of you.

The bigger the better.

You sound pretty immature, yes that would make me mad but driving a ball into them thats a little to far to me.

Thanks. I'm very immature. Because calling someone out on the internet is really mature.

They were 10 yards ahead of where my ball was. I didn't hit in to them so much as hit up to them. This is not some goat track muni, it is a private club. I would assume that people would know not to spit tobacco on the golf course.

So did you hit into them or hit up to them (just want to be certain as there were two different versions)...of course just in an effort to show your displeasure? Either way too close for my liking. Easy way to start a problem that can escalate for a stupid reason and we all know how those things can end (i.e. capt. 6 iron). Why did you not just speak to them after the round, since it was a private track, they would be most likely in the 19th hole or hanging about and most likely be members who might understand your displeasure??? That would have been more mature than hitting a ball into them in an attempt to flex. Just sayin....

Also did they notice what you did and question why you did what you did? Or should they just know why you were hitting into them?? I used to chew on the course and unless you came up to me and said something....I would have had no idea and would have thought you were hitting into me, and then we could have discussed that action either there or after the round.

In the grand scheme of things it is not that big of a deal. People spit out there all the time. Tobacco juice just happens to be brown and you can see it for a bit. Maybe they should make it clear in color, then you would never know and would not be so irate to the point of fixing a perceived wrong with another one that could potentially injure someone.

Up to them. I addressed it at the turn and they apologized. I then said something about hitting up to them, and they said they didn't even notice.

In the grand scheme of things it isn't a big deal at all, but I don't want to putt through brown spit LOL.

Sounds like it was handled as well as it could be after the event.

When I used to chew I never spit on the greens. Anywhere else was pretty much free game. I thought the green was off limits. I do have to agree that putting through chew spit is pretty damn gross!!!

I dip/chew whenever I play, but I never ever spit on the greens. It's just a respect thing.

Tobacco and sunflowers both come from the Earth and requiring spitting. Why is tobacco so much much worse that you attempt to injure the "offender"? If it were me - I would have fired it back at you.

Yep, we've got a seed spitter or two at my home course.

What kind of F'n hillbilly does something like that? Go watch NASCAR...golf if for civilized people!!

As I sit reading this post and the replies I can only surmise the posters complaining of the "spitting offenders" are not smoking cigarettes or cigars and flicking ashes all over the green and disposing of the butts or cigar stubbs in proper receptacles, have their cellphones all shut off, are courteous and quiet and aware of their surroundings as they drive around the course, pick their feet up as they walk across the greens not scuffing their feet, fix their ball marks,raking the bunker around the greens after they are done and this is just on or around the greens...... the list is endless.

I just wish the raccoons and lizards here in Florida quit crapping on the greens! Try putting thru or around one of those landmines... I will move sunflower seeds or step on tobacco juice anytime over poo-poo removal

*DISCLAIMER* This is in no attempt to point fingers, place blame or accuse anyone of those things.

So I guess I shouldnt poop on the greens anymore either?






kidding of course...



When I was a kid I spit shells on the green......once. Then a thump on the head from my dad with an explanation set me straight.

Some people literally dont think about it....perhaps a notice posted in the bathroom/locker room would suffice.

Thanks for showing how far we have come as adults from Adolescence.

Why is it I care more that a pitch mark wasn't fixed, a divot was not refilled, a bunker was left unraked.
I can move sunflower seeds off the green just as easy as I can small debris or a beetle that wanders into the path on my putt line.

Are we civilized or are we a mass group of Crybabies?

There are others in this world that have so much more to b**** about and yet, they find ways to look past the bad to what makes them happy. To read such bravado being expressed over such small obstacles is downright sickening knowing we are all man or woman enough to use a putter to move it out of the way. Not a big deal!!

Time to be civilized and grow up!

How about people just not be pigs and instead leave the green in better shape than when they arrived to it? Translation...fix divot marks, even if they aren't yours, don't spit anything on the green and don't drop your cigs or other garbage on the green. It's all about etiquette and manners and treating the golf course and others with respect. Seems to me that would be civilized and grown up!

Very interesting.I chewed for 30 years.I can't say that I ever spit on the greens but I have spit on the course.When some IDIOT hits into me I never thought it was because I was a spitter.Now I know.Oh by the way it's been a year now since my last chew and every once in a while still some IDIOT hits into me.I need to tell them I am no longer a chewer and there is no need to hit into me any longer.Just goes to show you public or private you still have IDIOTS spitting shells,tobacco and leaving their cigs and cigar butts all over the place along with the people being jerks and hitting into you.To risk injurying someone for any reason is uncalled for.

So you think that somehow they are going to put 2 & 2 together to understand that you hitting 10 yards behind them translates to "don't spit your chew on the green"??

They sell sunflower seed kernels, why do people just not eat those and then they do not have shells to worry about.

Good call....



Most of us chew seeds because when we play with you whiny pussies you cry about us smoking cigarettes because the smell of smoke bothers you. So out of respect for crybabbies we chew seeds instead to keep out minds and mouths occupied.

I don't ever spit shells on the greens or tee boxes for obvious reasons but I spit them around the greens, in the rough and in the fairways just like birds, squirrels and chipmunks do and if you ever told me to do otherwise I would tell you to go f*** yourself.



Completely defeats the purpose

I admit I do eat sunflower seeds while playing, but usually swallow the whole seed, and if I do spit, it is always in the rough or the garbage can on the tee box.

With all of the chemicals they put on golf greens, spit, tobacco and seeds are the least of my worries.

A bit uncalled for, cigarette smoke causes cancer, it is just not the smell. If you want tobacco, chew and swallow the juice.

Dont think Ive ever seen anyone eating sunflower seeds on the course before, I didnt really think that kind of thing would be an issue. I always enjoy a couple cigarette's during my round, I dont smoke on the greens only when Im casually walking down the fairways on my own.

These replies are pretty funny.....

You totally have the have's and the have not's. Its pretty easy to see who the offenders are.
You know, if some of you want to chew or eat sunflower seeds or smoke cigars or cigs or whatever....fine. There isn't a rule that says you can't. I have zero problems with any of it.
However, when anyone who enjoys any of the above while playing fails to follow the rules of etiquette while doing so...then you have disqualified yourself from any arguement at all. You have become a layman to the game.
I play every week with a gentleman who smokes a cigar when we play. He never smokes it while on the tee box or on the green for fear that ash will burn holes in the surface. Talk about class!
Spit juice, sunflower seeds or any other foreign matter don't belong on the putting/tee surface.

Etiquette gentleman, Etiquette.

Standing 15 feet away from someone who is smoking outdoors isn't going to give you cancer.... give it a rest.

You're probably 1000x more likely to get skin cancer from being outside golfing in the sun than you are from golfing with someone who is smoking.

A guy I played with yesterday was eating sunflower seeds, then mentioned that someone was spitting them on the greens in front of us. He never ate them while on the green, and said that the clubhouse stopped selling them because so many were left on the green.

I totally agree with the OP here, one of my good friends who I "used" to golf with all of the time was always Dip/Chewing or spitting sunflower seeds and it honestly got on my nerves so badly either being in the middle of a shot and he's spitting seeds out next to you or packing a tin not even realizing it.... It probably had a lot to do with the fact that his family didn't golf at all and he had only golfed for a few years on public muni's but I finally had enough of it one day and kindly mentioned I'd appreciate if he would knock it off at least on the greens and in the middle of my shots and we haven't played together since.... Probably for the best since he was about a 20hdcp and honestly a hack in everyway, But we're still great friends just not "golfing" friends...

Isn't it usually the same people throwing their beer cans in the woods or hazards.

I love how big a deal this is becoming. You shouldn't leave anything on greens, I chewed heavily for a while all you have to do is give a spit as you walk up to the green. I thought this post was going to be about spitting anywhere on the course which would have put me in the "you guys are crybabies camp" but its easy enough and I would have thought obvious not to leave any debris on the green if you happen to leave ash from the cigar by accident kick it in so no one knows the difference.

The problem with these sort of posts is that I doubt that it will actually change anyone's behavior- also agree on the hitting up issue- they would have not been contributory negligent for getting hit by a golf ball because they spat some tobacco something you might want to think about accidents happen in the heat of the moment.

Am I civilized because I golf or a F'n hillbilly because I spit seeds (not on the green)? I'm not a Nascar fan either! I do play the Banjo however!!!

Also, please dont spit them into the golf carts, it is nasty to clean the spit covered seeds from the golf carts..

Doesn't make much sense to me either. I understand that people accidentally hit into others but if I found out that someone purposely hit into me for whatever reason then we would have a serious problem. At no point is it ever OK to fire a ball into a group in front of you.

I love getting caught up in these ridiculous topics! Is it really that gross that big a deal? Think about it, an empty seed sitting on the green in the middle of ur putting line? Just move the shell! If u use ur hand so be it, personally I'll toss it aside w/ my putter. The fact that u are probably slowing play because ur game has been thrown a curve ball by an empty shell on the green might be more of an issue.

Which is worse, moving that empty seed shell or touching the mens bathroom door just after the guy who dropped a duece and didn't wash his hands?

Move the shell, play on!

That was more for the attitude calling people names. BTW if I get skin cancer, it is my deal, not because of someone else.

I would much rather see sunflower shells on the greens then cigarette butts on the the green (rather not see anything actually). I have used sunflower seeds on the course becasue so many people play so DAMN slow now a days.

Common courtesy is not very common anymore.

So it's an oral thing with you, huh?