Golf pet peeve...... (1 Viewer)

[Loose Cannon]

So does the gimme, can't let everyone stand around looking at a 2' putt like they are Tiger Woods trying to win the Master in 100 degree heat and a crowded course. lol

Yeah, this is why it needs to stay a thing. Public/city courses are already filled with too many people who go full on Sergio Garcia with their practice swings, setup, and address taking two full minutes, then donk the ball 80 yards forward and 120 yards to the right.

To Outbackjack's point, though, those 2-3 footers that are easy if you're playing beer golf tighten you up if there's money involved. Once I was playing a game called "Ride the Snake" (I think?) with some guys. Whoever had the last three putt is holding the snake or whatever, and each time someone new 3 putts, the payout doubles. So first three putt = $1, next one $2, $4, $8, $16, etc. The person who has the snake at the end of the round pays the other three guys that amount.

It was up to $128 (so almost $400 on the line), one of the other guys was on the hook, and I had the last putt of the round, a three-foot par putt on 18. I walked up with trembling hands and hit a disaster of a 30 inch putt that toilet bowled around snuck in the back of the cup. Whew.

 

[Bill]

@Outbackjack, I know exactly what you're talking about. I have missed more than my share of 2 & 3 foot putts in my day. And unfortunately there are a lot of golfers who never want to believe that they are capable of missing from a similar distance. I've played golf with a lot of folks who think nothing of giving themselves putts that are anything but tap-ins. While I may occasionally pick up a putt inside 6 inches, it can be a bit irritating if the others in the group are giving themselves 4-footers.

However, I never say anything about it because I never play for money. If there was anything on the line I would obviously demand that everyone plays to the bottom of the cup. But ultimately I adopted putting out on every hole for two main reasons. One is because in stroke play, it's the rule. I really do try my best to follow all of the rules of golf... even the ones I don't like.

The second is that almost 20 years ago I began to keep an official USGA handicap in order to evaluate my progress in the game. During this time I always felt that doing things like giving myself short putts or improving my lie would not give me a true (accurate) handicap index. Naturally I lose a lot of times to the players who take a lot of those liberties on the course. But when I win, I know it was a legitimate victory because I was playing by all the rules to the best of my understanding from my official USGA rules book.

And when I lose... it never feels like I really lost, because in most cases I know what the real scores would have been.

 

[Outbackjack]

@Outbackjack, I know exactly what you're talking about. I have missed more than my share of 2 & 3 foot putts in my day. And unfortunately there are a lot of golfers who never want to believe that they are capable of missing from a similar distance. I've played golf with a lot of folks who think nothing of giving themselves putts that are anything but tap-ins. While I may occasionally pick up a putt inside 6 inches, it can be a bit irritating if the others in the group are giving themselves 4-footers.

However, I never say anything about it because I never play for money. If there was anything on the line I would obviously demand that everyone plays to the bottom of the cup. But ultimately I adopted putting out on every hole for two main reasons. One is because in stroke play, it's the rule. I really do try my best to follow all of the rules of golf... even the ones I don't like.

The second is that almost 20 years ago I began to keep an official USGA handicap in order to evaluate my progress in the game. During this time I always felt that doing things like giving myself short putts or improving my lie would not give me a true (accurate) handicap index. Naturally I lose a lot of times to the players who take a lot of those liberties on the course. But when I win, I know it was a legitimate victory because I was playing by all the rules to the best of my understanding from my official USGA rules book.

And when I lose... it never feels like I really lost, because in most cases I know what the real scores would have been.

Really good stuff Bill.

I find it odd that in every single other sport, there is nothing like this that is ever done.

 

[Bill]

Really good stuff Bill.

I find it odd that in every single other sport, there is nothing like this that is ever done.

By rule, golf is intended to be a game that is self-officiated. It's said to be a game that builds integrity. You may have even seen occasions where pro golfers will call a penalty on themselves because they inadvertently broke one of the rules of the game. These penalties can range from having strokes added to your score to complete disqualification. When the pros publicly 'flag' themselves, they are generally praised by golf fans for doing so. When a player seems to be subverting a rule for his benefit, he tends to get hammered on social media and generally gets labelled as a cheater.

Sadly the majority of the amateur golfers do not want to be held to the same standard as the pros and there has even been a push to have the USGA set up a different set of rules for amateurs. Frankly this seems to be a lot like the 'everybody gets a gold star' mentality. I think the standard should be the same for everyone. That's the only way for sure to know where you rank as a golfer. I recognize that I will never be as physically capable as I once was at the game, and I expect that decline to show in my handicap index. But I still have fun trying to reach the standard as it has always been for everyone who has ever played the game.

Frankly, I don't care how anyone else chooses to play the game. If they have fun playing the game by their own set of rules, it won't change how I feel about the game, nor will I adjust the standard by which I play just to be able to keep up with others. I only have my past scores and the golf course to beat. And these days both have been whipping me like a rented mule. But at least I know where I actually stand in this frustrating game and I still enjoy the challenge just the way that it is.

 

[SaintJ]

If I'm inside the leather, I've done enough work.

What about golf?

 

[SaintJ]

What little intellectual bother I have about it (Bill makes a number of very good points), my enjoyment of golf is convivial and even if we are playing for a $5 Nassau, the most important thing is pace of play.

If I am in a foursome and the foursome behind us is obviously very good and moving at a brisk pace, we feel an obligation to stay closer to the group in front of us and not slow down the course, and that obligation transcends some precision on how we finish holes. I would rather do gimmes and pickups than be slower than the other folks on the course.

 

[2fya]

What little intellectual bother I have about it (Bill makes a number of very good points), my enjoyment of golf is convivial and even if we are playing for a $5 Nassau, the most important thing is pace of play.

If I am in a foursome and the foursome behind us is obviously very good and moving at a brisk pace, we feel an obligation to stay closer to the group in front of us and not slow down the course, and that obligation transcends some precision on how we finish holes. I would rather do gimmes and pickups than be slower than the other folks on the course.

Same here, i am always considerate of the group behind me.

BIG pet peeve of mine.... when i am playing with someone and they drag butt getting off the green with the next group waiting for us to move. Then when we get to the golf cart, they just sit there trying to add up their score, and the group behind us cant hit because we are sitting next to the green. I always fuss and say "move the cart to the next hole then add up your score, the group behind us is waiting". Then i always receive the inconsiderate "well screw them, i paid money to play too".

lets just say i don't play with those guys anymore

 

[Bill]

What little intellectual bother I have about it (Bill makes a number of very good points), my enjoyment of golf is convivial and even if we are playing for a $5 Nassau, the most important thing is pace of play.

If I am in a foursome and the foursome behind us is obviously very good and moving at a brisk pace, we feel an obligation to stay closer to the group in front of us and not slow down the course, and that obligation transcends some precision on how we finish holes. I would rather do gimmes and pickups than be slower than the other folks on the course.

Yes, the pace of play can be a problem for many. Part of the etiquette of playing the game is to allow the quicker players and groups to play through. I generally play very quickly both when I'm out there alone or in a group. If I have a good score going, I may find myself taking a little longer to read a putt or develop a strategy for playing a particular hole.

Since I don't like to be rushed during those times, I am very quick to wave a quicker player (or group) through. However, I am the one who is generally waiting for others to pick up the pace or let me play through. But I have played an 18 hole round of golf alone in around 90 minutes many times. And I've played with many groups who have taken over 5 hours to play. As long as I have set the time aside to play, I just go with the flow. But I don't change the rules of the game to accommodate how others are playing around me. The issues of pace is just one of the things I need to mentally adjust to when I hit the links.

 

[Bill]

Same here, i am always considerate of the group behind me.

BIG pet peeve of mine.... when i am playing with someone and they drag butt getting off the green with the next group waiting for us to move. Then when we get to the golf cart, they just sit there trying to add up their score, and the group behind us cant hit because we are sitting next to the green. I always fuss and say "move the cart to the next hole then add up your score, the group behind us is waiting". Then i always receive the inconsiderate "well screw them, i paid money to play too".

lets just say i don't play with those guys anymore

Golf courses are traditionally filled with 'those types' of inconsiderate players. For me the slow play ahead gets most frustrating when it's obvious that I will have to call my game due to darkness. (I play a lot of rounds after I get off of work in the afternoon.)

At my home course most of the regulars know me well and when I'm playing alone they will be quick to let me play through because they know the delay will be minuscule. But when the sun has gone down and I'm standing in the middle of the 18th fairway with the group ahead having a pseudo post-round celebration party on the green as the last few moments of twilight are ebbing away... yeah, the thought of whacking a ball into the group has crossed my mind a time or two.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Same here, i am always considerate of the group behind me.

BIG pet peeve of mine.... when i am playing with someone and they drag butt getting off the green with the next group waiting for us to move. Then when we get to the golf cart, they just sit there trying to add up their score, and the group behind us cant hit because we are sitting next to the green. I always fuss and say "move the cart to the next hole then add up your score, the group behind us is waiting". Then i always receive the inconsiderate "well screw them, i paid money to play too".

lets just say i don't play with those guys anymore

I kind of agree, but I think it depends. If the course is jam packed and that group is just going to run up to the next tee and sit and wait on the group ahead of them, I don't really care about that either, because I'm just going to end up waiting anyway, whether on this tee box or the next.

But if it's open in front of them, yeah, that's super annoying.

 

[Loose Cannon]

What little intellectual bother I have about it (Bill makes a number of very good points), my enjoyment of golf is convivial and even if we are playing for a $5 Nassau, the most important thing is pace of play.

Since I picked golf back up in my late 20s, I've broken a particular score (that I broke almost daily in high school) maybe 10 times. Every single one was an under-four hour pace of play.

Five hour rounds just take me apart. The additional beer I drink out of boredom doesn't help. My dad and I and some other guys play this four man monthly charity scramble fairly often and it's always a five hour round. By #12 I'm spraying my usually rock-solid 5 wood into living rooms and ****. It doesn't help that the old Swimmer has an absurdly reliable old man fairway drive and he always tees off first, with me anchoring the group so I'm usually just trying to absolutely Donkey Kong the ball off of every tee (nothing to lose - we always have one in play). It takes me four rounds to fix my swing after that tourny.

 

[Bill]

I kind of agree, but I think it depends. If the course is jam packed and that group is just going to run up to the next tee and sit and wait on the group ahead of them, I don't really care about that either, because I'm just going to end up waiting anyway, whether on this tee box or the next.

But if it's open in front of them, yeah, that's super annoying.

Good points.

When I know the course is particularly busy and full, I immediately try to put myself in a different mindset. In fact I will deliberately try to work more on my course management & strategy in order to stay at a pace where I won't be waiting around too long. Such waiting builds tension and often makes me think about too many things in my swing that I am trying to perfect (if that is even possible). If I, and whatever group of guys I'm playing along with, are not able to adjust to the pace of play on a busy day, it can be almost too frustrating to enjoy the round at all.

 

[jboss]

Good rule of thumb for me is if I don't feel I can easily putt it in one handed I play it. Usually anything outside a foot I play. But I've played with guys before that could easily be playing 3-5 strokes above what they think they play based on some highly questionable gimmes.

 

[bclemms]

Since I picked golf back up in my late 20s, I've broken a particular score (that I broke almost daily in high school) maybe 10 times. Every single one was an under-four hour pace of play.

Five hour rounds just take me apart. The additional beer I drink out of boredom doesn't help. My dad and I and some other guys play this four man monthly charity scramble fairly often and it's always a five hour round. By #12 I'm spraying my usually rock-solid 5 wood into living rooms and ****. It doesn't help that the old Swimmer has an absurdly reliable old man fairway drive and he always tees off first, with me anchoring the group so I'm usually just trying to absolutely Donkey Kong the ball off of every tee (nothing to lose - we always have one in play). It takes me four rounds to fix my swing after that tourny.

Pretty much my golf story. Get a lot of invites to scrambles because of my distance. Usually when playing a good group I know my job. My only job is to steal 1-2 Eagles by driving the green on a par 4 or hitting a drive that makes it so everyone has a shot at hitting the green in 2 on a long par 5 then maybe helping out with a shot or two everywhere else. I drive last off the tee and I'm first everywhere else. It doesn't matter if I lose a dozen balls as long as 1-2 drives are monsters. It's a long drive contest on every tee.

One two day scramble is enough to destroy my game for a month.

I'm getting to that age now though where it's harder to hit the ball as far as I used to. Could roll at the bed and hit a 350 yard drive for 20 years. Now it looks like a yoga course when I get to the first tee and a triage station by the time I get to the 18th and the ball doesn't fly as far. Technology better step that game up.

 

[Bill]

Pretty much my golf story. Get a lot of invites to scrambles because of my distance. Usually when playing a good group I know my job. My only job is to steal 1-2 Eagles by driving the green on a par 4 or hitting a drive that makes it so everyone has a shot at hitting the green in 2 on a long par 5 then maybe helping out with a shot or two everywhere else. I drive last off the tee and I'm first everywhere else. It doesn't matter if I lose a dozen balls as long as 1-2 drives are monsters. It's a long drive contest on every tee.

One two day scramble is enough to destroy my game for a month.

I'm getting to that age now though where it's harder to hit the ball as far as I used to. Could roll at the bed and hit a 350 yard drive for 20 years. Now it looks like a yoga course when I get to the first tee and a triage station by the time I get to the 18th and the ball doesn't fly as far. Technology better step that game up.

I can attest to the fact that bclemms can pound that rock! My role in any scramble has always been to bring my short game. I can usually score well from inside of 120 yards or so. Sometimes it shows up, and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, I have to hope my putting game is working or else I just become a typical 'D' player.