Every time I play golf with someone who fires up a speaker in the golf cart cup holder, I can’t help but think of the 1980 movie, “Caddyshack.” There’s a scene in which Rodney Dangerfield’s crass character, Al Czervick, cranks up Journey’s “Anyway you want it,” from what appears to be a car stereo in his gigantic red golf bag. The spectacle gets even funnier as he and the caddies and other players in his group start dancing in the fairway. Meanwhile, Ted Knight’s character, Judge Smails, playing ahead of him, is beside himself: “Music is a violation of my personal privacy,” Smails says. “He’s breaking the law.”
Well, playing music on the golf course isn’t against the law, but it is sort of against the rules. Golfers take their games seriously and they need extreme concentration, so many will shop golf putters that are custom made or have monogrammed bags, etc. they don’t want their game interrupted by the sound of blasting music behind them or in front.
It might have seemed ludicrous 40 years ago to whip up a few tunes on the course. Heck, even a decade ago, it wasn’t exactly the norm. But according to a recent poll conducted by MyGolfSpy, when golfers were asked whether they listen to music on the golf course, the response was split right down the middle — 50-50.
So this begs the question: When it comes to golf, are you more like Al Czervick or Judge Smails?
I would guess most of us are somewhere in between. I know I am. It depends on my mood, whom I’m playing with, and whether or not it’s in competition (a no-no in real tournament play and not exactly kosher if you’re posting scores to your USGA handicap, though you’re not likely to be reported).
One thing is for sure, though: The days of absolute quiet on the golf course are long gone. Everyone has a right to their own sanctity, of course, but this cat has been out of the bag for some time, and it’s not going back.
On some of the most pristine golf courses in America, like Troon North in Scottsdale, for example, you are serenaded on the range with the likes of Kenny Chesney and Guns and Roses. Tour players love to practice with earbuds, and millennials and juniors bring their tunes with them whenever they can. Again, every golfer who doesn’t want music on the course has that right, so you’ve got to respect that. But for the 50 percent who like to jam on the course, here are some ideas.
The easiest option for creating a soundtrack to your round, of course, is simply to employ your smartphone by using your music library or streaming. The newest iPhone and Android options have pretty fair speakers, too, plus if you’re just looking to keep the noise in and around your golf carts, this is the prudent way to go.
However, there are plenty of speakers available as well, like Dolby Atmos soundbar or similar ones, that can provide good quality surround sound, and even some golf cars are sound equipped now. For example, a couple of years ago, good ole Greg Norman brought us the Shark Experience in a partnership with Verizon, Club Car, and a company called GPSI to provide golfers with all sorts of information and entertainment on the course. At Blue Sky Golf Course in Jacksonville, Fla., you can choose one of the facility’s monster golf carts which have oversized speakers as well as oversized tires on them. And now, you can even get a modern version of that aforementioned Rodney Dangerfield monstrosity in the form of the new WizPak Golf bag, introduced this January at the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. The WizPak Golf Bag has subwoofers in a stand bag that weighs just under six pounds. And here’s the kicker: You can actually pair your bag with your cartmate’s, if he or she owns one, too, for an even bigger sound.
“This is a serious sound system,” says Shannon Ridley, founder of Wizpak, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., company he started with musical backpacks. “It has two USB charging ports on it, volume controls on the back. There’s even a panic button, which could blare a distress signal if you need it.”
The bags, which retail for $499, feature a 30-watt 2.1 stereo surround sound speaker system, which means they can crank, whether it’s classic rock, country or rap.
“The sound is the important thing,” says former New York Yankee Jorge Posada, who has a stake in the company and loves to play music while he plays.
About four years ago, Posada was playing in his buddy Derek Jeter’s charity celebrity tournament. One of the gifts for the participants was the WizPak backpack. Posada went to Jeter and Ridley and tried to convince them to come up with a golf bag with the technology in the backpack. And after several prototypes, they did.
As for Posada, a Puerto Rico native who plays with the likes of World Series-winning pitcher Anibal Sanchez, former NBA player Shane Battier and former MLB infielder Placido Polanco, among others, his favorite music to play golf by is Latin music. One of his top choices is Luis Fonsi, one of PR’s most famous singers whose hits include the song “Despacito,” which also features Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee.
“I don’t want anybody else to be bothered by the music,” says Posada, a nine-handicap who lives in the Miami area. “I don’t usually play it loud, and it depends who’s around us… But I like my music.”
Another avid golfer who prefers a mood setter on the course is Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson. The southpaw single-digit handicap from Sealy, Texas, likes variety, but his go-to is Enigma, a German 90s new-age ambient project that combines all sorts of innovative sounds, including chanting.
During Super Bowl week, he joined fellow NFL alumni Richard Dent, Rickey Jackson and Marcus Allen for a round at Michael Jordan’s new course Grove XXIII, a Bobby Weed design in Hobe Sound, Fla.
“Most of the time I listen to Enigma Radio on Pandora,” says Dickerson, who makes his home in Southern California and is a member at Wood Ranch Golf Club. “My friends call it devil music, and they will ask me, ‘Will you please turn that devil music off?’ But I just find it relaxing.”
Dickerson, who set the single NFL’s single-season rushing record in 1984 with 2,005 yards when he was with the Indianapolis Colts, also relaxes to Barry White and the Isley Brothers, but he’ll occasionally play something a little more upbeat, including rap. But not explicit rap, at least when the ladies are within earshot, he says.
Of course, everyone has their preferences. For many in Texas, it’s country, like George Strait or Willie Nelson. I’m thinking Strait, co-owner of Tapatio Springs in Boerne and a member at the nearby high-end Cordillera Ranch, has probably heard his own hits coming out of a few carts on the course. I also can’t help wonder what avid golfers Kenny G (Gorelick) and Darrius Rucker have on their playlists. (I’m hoping Kenny G. has Chuck Mangione and Rucker listens to Strait now that he’s full-on country.)
As for me, I’m with Dickerson. I’ll play Enigma and the like (Royksopp comes to mind), not only on the course but when I travel with my noise-canceling headphones to get some sleep on the plane. I play some of my best golf in my sleep.
Which brings us to this point: Should golfers who want to play golf to music be using earbuds as to not disturb others?
By all means, on the range, earbuds are the way to go, but not on the course. Golf is a social game, and if you have earbuds on, it’ll be hard to carry a conversation with the rest of the members in your group. As long as your group is cool with it, feel to play that funky music or anything else that might suit your golf game.
By Mike Bailey