As you almost certainly know, golf is extremely popular in our neck of the woods. And one of the most cherished traditions in golf is cracking open a few cold ones and guzzling them down throughout the course of your scenic walk full of frustration, each sip no doubt helping fix your persistent slice (or having it bother you incrementally less, one of those two). Beer and golf go together like peanut butter and jelly, as any WM Phoenix Open attendee knows intimately.
What you may not know if you’re not a regular golfer in Arizona however is that you are not allowed to bring your own beer on the course, something that is relatively commonplace in most other places. A local legislator may be on the cusp of changing that though.
Scottsdale State Representative Alex Kolodin has sponsored House Bill 2411 which will allow golfers to bring their own alcohol onto the course, and it has passed the House with all Republicans and one Democrat voting in favor. It will now head to the Senate, where it is likely to also pass, and then will head to Governor Katie Hobbs’s desk for her to sign, if she chooses to.
It’s not as though alcohol is not currently being drunk on golf courses. Roving bartenders (typically in the form of attractive younger women) often roam around courses and sell beers at inflated prices, so alcohol in itself isn’t the issue. Of course, golf courses and country clubs would rather keep that revenue for themselves instead of being cut out by a 12-pack from Safeway in much the same way that you can’t bring outside beers into a Diamondbacks game.
But how did it take this long to even have this bill being considered? It’s tough to tell, but one notable development was how the vote in the House split, with only one Democrat voting in favor of it. The only Democrat to go on the record as for why they voted against it, Tempe Representative Janeen Connolly, cited safety concerns (i.e. concerns about drunk driving after you’re done playing), which isn’t a negligible concern, yet there are already laws against drunk driving. A more plausible explanation for the lack of Democratic support may simply be not wanting to give sometimes controversial, occasionally caustic Representative Kolodin a win.
Arizona is a state that takes pride in being fairly self-reliant, that has a foundational libertarian tilt. So long as you’re not hurting anyone else you should feel free to live your life how you see fit. Not being able to crack a beer while on the course doesn’t align with those “live and let live” values, so while it may seem like a small thing, this bill is a step in the right direction. We don’t know if Governor Hobbs golfs, but even if she doesn’t, hopefully she’ll see this as an easy way to curry favor with a voting segment that might not naturally gravitate towards her.