Music on the Golf Course - Good or Bad?

Discount Golf Balls - 30 October 2025

Alright folks—strap in because we’re diving into one of golf’s more provocative questions: should music be blasting on the fairways? 

🎧 The Case for Silence (or at least low volume)

Let's kick things off by painting the classic scenario: you’re lining up a 150-yard approach, concentrating hard… and suddenly someone behind you is blasting their Spotify. If you’re trying to hear the turf compress under your club or the ball hitting the bottom of the cup, that soundtrack isn’t helpful. Golf has always had its own natural rhythm—birds chirping, rustling leaves, that pure “plink” of the ball dropping into the hole—and injecting a loud speaker threatens to break that cadence. One misfired drive followed by YouTube’s latest hit? Culture clash.

From a rules perspective, the governing logic doesn’t flat-ban music, but it limits how it can be used: you’re allowed to listen to audio “unrelated to the competition” (like a news podcast) but you’re not allowed to use it to assist your swing tempo or to mask distractions deliberately. In other words: earbuds in your ear playing background jazz = generally okay, speaker with the boom-bass-kick to pump your swing = maybe sketchy.

🎶 The Case for the Speaker

On the flip side, I concedes there’s a growing movement saying “why not?” Especially when golf is about fun, camaraderie and bringing new players into the game. Another piece in Golf Monthly (by Baz Plummer) argues that younger players are put off by the “dead silence” stereotype of golf, and that leaning into music (at a sensible volume, mind you) might make the sport more welcoming. If you’re out for a casual round with mates, maybe a little rhythm in your buggy helps loosen you up, gets you talking, gets you engaged.

That said: the article insists consideration remains the key. If the group behind can hear your playlist, if your speaker drowns out conversation and distracts people, that’s a bad look. And for tournaments or more serious rounds? The article suggests sticking with the nature-soundtrack; music belongs more in the “having fun” round than the “I want to shoot my best” round.

🧠 My Take

Look: I’m in my mid-thirties, I’ve played enough rounds to know that the best shots happen when everything lines up—the clubface, the wind, the quiet. But I also know golf is evolving. If you’re out at 5pm, beer in hand, mates behind you, and you want to add some chill beats to the sun setting over the 18th—fine. But I’d say: check with your group, ask the tee behind if they’re cool, keep it modest.

My personal rule? Music for the drive to the course. Headphones if you’re warming up. And speaker only if everyone in your pairing is on board and the fairway is isolated. Everything else? Nature’s the DJ.

🗣 Your Move

Here’s where you come in. Sound off in the comments—because I want this to be friendly.

• Do you think music has a place on the golf course?

• If yes: when—only in casual rounds? Always?

• If no: does the sport lose something if we never let a tune crackle?

• What’s your rule when you’re out with others: headphones, mute, or full speaker?

• Ever had your round ruined by someone else’s playlist? (Yes, I’ve been there.)

Drop your thoughts, share a story, argue for or against. Let’s stir up some debate. Let’s hear it: does music belong on the fairways—or should golf’s soundtrack remain just the ball, the breeze, and you?