• The Clubhouse

  • In your opinion, which kind of people will never be a decent golfer ?

Bangoman

That's why I'm somewhat selective about who I play with. We'll concede putts that are meaningless in a team event (like if his teammate is already in with par and he has a 2-footer for par) or if it's within a foot. Which is generally expected in matchplay format.

We learned a long time ago that (in our group) we either play by the rules or we don't play. It prevents petty arguments and saves a lot of grief and frustration. How others play their matches really doesn't concern me. To each their own.

I just know that when tournaments come around - I've got a legit handicap and a pretty good handle on the most routine rules that come into play. There are some that can be a bit more complicated, but for the most part we really don't run into too many problems with guys cheating. They know it's not tolerated, and it's a reputation no one wants.

    Bangoman

    You have the insight there.

    Golf or any other sports, plenty of rule breakers with money or even just a trophy involved.
    I used to belong to a casual golf club, where members will cheat to get a small trophy awarded out each month.
    I was amused by their action and commented one time " if so and so needs a trophy so badly, I'll donate $50 to buy him one ". We used to put in $20 per tournament to fund the longest drive, KP, low gross and low net besides the individual or team bet. I quite that group since I could not stand the accepted practice of ignoring the rules and not playing fairly by some of the members. I decided not to donate my $20 to someone whom had much more than I .

    Strangely, most of these guys were retired and have multiple 7 figures in net asset. I scratched my head for not understanding why a guy with several millions in the bank wants to cheat for $100 price or a $50 trophy.

    I used to be active in Skeet and trap competition, and boy, talk about sandbaggers. There must be a sandbagger in every other shooter.
    Can't understand it. maybe they believe cheating was the only way they could have gotten ahead of the others.

      4 days later
      5 days later

      I firmly believe that really bad golfers, like realjy awful terrible golfers with little to no athletic competence will never be decent players. But it's just a gut feeling.............I have no statistical evidence. 😃

        Distance is the King, although the short game is the scoring part of the game .

        If one could not advance the golf ball properly and never had a chance to get on the greens in regulation then, a below par score might be impossible to obtain. Some tour player said once, he'd rather be 120 yard away in the rough than 170 yards away in the fairway. I believe it was Vijay Singh whom said that .

        Short game could be practiced , long game is either you have it or you don't.

        Golf is all about managing expectations.

        Very few golfers play by the rules as it has been pointed out previously. The guys I play with would fall into the pretty strict category. We move the ball if there is a rock or root underneath. No Sense in hurting yourself or damaging your club when it is just some hacks out competing.

          Subsonic

          Certainly you could avoid damaging yourself or the equipment, by declaring unplayable lie and take a penalty stroke.
          I normally would not care if my playing partner noodling the golf ball to a better position in the fairway or anywhere.
          However, I would be upset if a bet or two were riding on the game.

          I would be totally blinded to what playing partners were doing, if I were playing social or business golf and nothing more than a few bucks riding on the game.

            We don't gamble so it is usually not a problem.

            Most of our issues come from soil that is rocky by nature as we live near the Blue Ridge. We do not typically play the best maintained courses. Golf is a low margin business and in the current economy a lot of courses and lucky to keep the lights on and the course playable.

            I really think it is time for golf to have two sets of rules. One for recreational players and one for competitive events.

            One of the most asinine rules in golf is when you hit your ball in a divot in the fairway. We play it as it lies since there is no greater chance of injury, but that is one that needs to be changed IMHO.

            I play a ton of golf and rarely see anyone playing tournament golf.

            Someone mentioned earlier that the average handicap was 14 something. I doubt that number. I read somewhere that if most golfers played by the rules they would be lucky to break 100. That seems like an accurate statement to me.


            To clarify, when I am talking about a rock or root, I am not in the woods. I am talking about in the fairway or rough.

              Subsonic

              We have a golf course near by which was carved out of an old Christmas Tree Farm. Lots of gravel in the grounds all over the place, even after 15 years of dust and soil settling one could catch a gravel just under the surface in the fairway most of the time.

              When we play that golf course, no one brings newer set of golf clubs, especially forged or soft cast irons.

              I learned to hit out of the fairway divot sometime ago, simply figured out a way to put the sole of the iron to the golf ball with a slightly steeper swing plane. Be expecting slight fade ball flight coming out of the divot and use one more club for the distance. It's actually easier to manage than coming out of a thick rough most of the time.

              Most of the golfers I played with, acquaintance or total strangers , played by the rules for the most part. You were right about removing golf balls from a fairway divot which will be one of the top violation of the rules practiced by the amateurs and the weekend golfers. If they don;t practice the shot, they will never bag it .

                The best advice I ever heard a very good golfer give very bad golfer is the following:

                He told him after watching him play 5 or 6 holes....Look you are a 20+ handicapper. That means there is a very good chance you're going to bogey every hole and double bogey 2 to 5 holes. So, look at it this way: When you come to a 360 yd. Par 4 and you slap it out there 70 or 90 yds. off the tee. Instead of trying to reach the green, which you can't, now play the hole as a 250 yd. Par 4. And if you happen to get it up and in - in 3 you made Par. If it's a 185 yd. Par 3 and you dead top your shot and only hit it 30 yd. play it as a 155 yd. Par 3. You'll shave 4 to 8 shots off your game thinking like that. Sure enough, the guy settled down and played the next 5 or 6 holes in 4 over or so!

                  Bangoman

                  Very good advice.

                  A man has to know his limitations........

                  If one try to drive a Ford Pinto like a Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer ( you could see how old school I am ), it'll crash and burn.

                    There's more than one way to skin a cat.

                    Played with a guy today who'll turn 65 next month. He was one of the players on a two-man team that me and my partner had a match with earlier today in the Member-Guest, 9-hole match.

                    He hits it all of 220 yards. He shot the easiest 1-over 37 you could imagine against us, and the only reason he made the one bogey was because he mis-hit his 2nd shot into a long par4, and he still almost made a 20 footer for the save.

                    What you learn watching guys like him play... he plays a draw, every shot. So he knows what to expect every time he swings the club, he's effectively taken one side of the golf course completely out of play. And even if the shot doesn't fit a draw, he still hits it. He just takes a more conservative line if that's the situation. And he hit's his irons perfectly... great contact, doesn't hit the ball very high but it is controlled. His distance control with his irons is spot-on. But his putting... the guy just putts great, everything he strokes looks like it's going to drop, great speed, great touch.

                    I tell ya - the guy is a wizard. And when you compete against guys who are that steady, guys who don't try to hit shots they're not comfortable with, guys who are good putters... it's tough to beat them.

                    Yet it's fun to play with guys like that too. You learn the importance of managing your game and having good pace with the putter. If you don't have good distance control on the greens - it's tough to make putts.

                    We were very fortunate to come away with a halve in that match. He was a bulldog today, always keeping the pressure on us.