Interesting Golfers You have been pair with?

[MEfree]

What are the most "interesting" golfers you have been paired with?

Yesterday, a friend and I got pair with a nice retired couple from the mid-west who spend part of their time out here in CO.

The woman hit a nice ball, but what made her stand out was her EXTREME INTEREST IN HUNTING FOR LOST GOLF BALLS.  She said early in the round that she judged the day not by her score, but by how many ball she could find.

She and her husband both played ready golf, but she really took it to an extreme in order to give herself more time to hunt for lost balls (which she had plenty of as the groups in front of us were really slow).  Here are a few examples of how she created more hunting time for herself.  Most of it was about quickly hitting her shot and then looking between every shot, but here are a few details.

1.  Walk ahead and putt out/pick up before others have reached the green, then leave the green to hunt for balls.

2.  Whiz a shot right past my friend when he didn't realize she was behind him and he was standing about 50 yards ahead very close to her line of play.  Immediately return to hunting balls without comment on how close her shot had come to him.

3.  Have her ball retriever in her hand more often than all of her clubs combined.

On 9, which is 212 to 264 yards depending on the tee.  I put my tee ball just off the back fringe while the other 3 put theirs 40 to 80 from the green and then play up.  She was finished with the hole and in her cart asking her husband what he made BEFORE I had played my second shot and BEFORE her husband had putted.  After my friend and I had finished, her husband turned to us BEFORE stepping up to his 4 footer and said that he didn't want to hold us up, so we should head off to #10 before he putted as they were stopping after 9.  I told him I didn't mind waiting for him to hole out and put the stick back in and shook his hand after he finished.

[TJBam]

Hah that must've been interesting.

I got paired with a middle aged guy in Corpus Christi TX at a municipal called Oso Beach.  This guy was good.  The course is easy but I mean he was good.

We played the tips.  He made birdies galore.  Not a single mishit.  Sunk putts like the balls had eyes and feet.  He was wearing jeans, an untucked cotton polo, and tons of gold jewelry.

Best part of the outing:

At one point on a long par 4 he made his approach shot with a 7 iron.  A very nice fade pin-high about 3 feet left of the pin.  He scoffed in disgust and said "I meant to draw that."  He dropped another ball, hit it with a draw instead of a fade, put it pin high right side about 2 feet from the pin.  "That's a better putt from the low side."  My jaw dropped.  It felt like he was an undercover PGA pro just showing off.

His total score was something like 11 under.  He hit the second cut maybe once or twice and didn't three putt one time which was impressive to watch.

I didn't think to ask his handicap but I'll assume he was low single digit or maybe even scratch.  I know people say there is a huge difference between a +4 and scratch but I would've wagered on this guy against any scratch player.

EDIT: Point being in relation to the OP is that I largely underestimated his playing ability because of the way he dressed and the course we were playing on.  I'm assuming that golf wagering may have paid for a lot of the jewelry he was wearing.  (Now that I think about it he looked a lot like a white Lee Trevino )

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by MEfree

1.  Walk ahead and putt out/pick up before others have reached the green, then leave the green to hunt for balls.

2.  Whiz a shot right past my friend when he didn't realize she was behind him and he was standing about 50 yards ahead very close to her line of play.  Immediately return to hunting balls without comment on how close her shot had come to him.

3.  Have her ball retriever in her hand more often than all of her clubs combined.

On 9, which is 212 to 264 yards depending on the tee.  I put my tee ball just off the back fringe while the other 3 put theirs 40 to 80 from the green and then play up.  She was finished with the hole and in her cart asking her husband what he made BEFORE I had played my second shot and BEFORE her husband had putted...

She must be one really good player... Was she an LPGA?

[hacker101]

I got one.

Played Meadowlark in HB Saturday with my son and father in law, the course was so far behind they put us with two guys walking not a great idea when we had carts but it worked out.

Interesting part was the one guy had only one arm, his right had been cut off in a motorcycle accident years back. From what he told me was he had played as a kid and all through HS. But once he had the accident he gave it up for years but had missed it so much he took it back up thinking he could work it out. He started by playing short 9 hole par 3 courses until he could hit a 3 wood about 150 plus.

The part that got me was he played par golf on 5 of the 9 holes they played and never fell behind. He had put a larger grips on his clubs and it looked like a home made one on his putter so he would have better control.  I have never seen this before and know a lot of people that can not play this good with two arms.

Just goes to show you how people can over come!

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by Lihu

She must be one really good player... Was she an LPGA?

Not even close...she might have hit her best tee ball about 175 and her worst misses came when she hit 2-3" behind (or simply just rushed the shots, especially on the greens.

I forgot to mention that when we got to a par 5 that runs along a street with no fence, she hit her first one on the other side of the street and re-teed saying she didn't mean to hit it that far into the street.  She bounced the next one twice on the road before it came back just left of the fairway bunker as the course curves back towards the street and the road is a bit sloped back towards the course.  She said that normally she likes to bounce it off the street 3 or 4 times for the extra distance and will hit as many balls as necessary from that tee until she can get one to bounce on the road and come back into play.  At 494 yards with OB left and water right, I like the hole as two good shots (without hitting the street) can leave you an eagle putt, but she said it is her least favorite hole.  Here it is from above https://maps.google.com/maps?q=copper+mountain≪=39.502907,-106.144146&spn;=0.003398,0.004259&fb;=1≷=us&hq;=copper+mountain&cid;=0,0,15119453119220950395&t;=h&z;=18

Originally Posted by hacker101

I got one.

Played Meadowlark in HB Saturday with my son and father in law, the course was so far behind they put us with two guys walking not a great idea when we had carts but it worked out.

Interesting part was the one guy had only one arm, his right had been cut off in a motorcycle accident years back. From what he told me was he had played as a kid and all through HS. But once he had the accident he gave it up for years but had missed it so much he took it back up thinking he could work it out. He started by playing short 9 hole par 3 courses until he could hit a 3 wood about 150 plus.

The part that got me was he played par golf on 5 of the 9 holes they played and never fell behind. He had put a larger grips on his clubs and it looked like a home made one on his putter so he would have better control.  I have never seen this before and know a lot of people that can not play this good with two arms.

Just goes to show you how people can over come!

Nice!  I am always impressed when I see one legged skiers rip down the mountain.  Thanks for sharing.

[Wally]

I've gotten paired with a complete hack earlier this summer. This guy could have kicked his ball farther than he hit it. He would hit a ball out of bounds into a hazard, and then proceed to go to the hazard (which he lacked the skill to get out of), drop a ball, and then try to hit it out. Well, he hit it out alright. Out of bounds. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Don't even get me started on his putting. He would have a 60 footer from off the green, sometimes in light rough, and he would just tap it. The ball would go 2 maybe 3 feet. And the funny thing is, he said he had just taken a putting lesson. This guy had no business playing a round with others during this peak time of day. And to make matters even worse, it was a links style course, with half of the course right off the ocean, so it was very windy. It took over 5 hours to play a round because of this guy. Ugh! He was the worst golfer I had ever seen or played with.

[Lihu]

Not even close...she might have hit her best tee ball about 175 and her worst misses came when she hit 2-3" behind (or simply just rushed the shots, especially on the greens. I forgot to mention that when we got to a par 5 that runs along a street with no fence, she hit her first one on the other side of the street and re-teed saying she didn't mean to hit it that far into the street.  She bounced the next one twice on the road before it came back just left of the fairway bunker as the course curves back towards the street and the road is a bit sloped back towards the course.  She said that normally she likes to bounce it off the street 3 or 4 times for the extra distance and will hit as many balls as necessary from that tee until she can get one to bounce on the road and come back into play.  At 494 yards with OB left and water right, I like the hole as two good shots (without hitting the street) can leave you an eagle putt, but she said it is her least favorite hole.  Here it is from above [URL=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=copper+mountain≪=39.502907,-106.144146&spn;=0.003398,0.004259&fb;=1≷=us&hq;=copper+mountain&cid;=0,0,15119453119220950395&t;=h&z;=18]https://maps.google.com/maps?q=copper+mountain≪=39.502907,-106.144146&spn;=0.003398,0.004259&fb;=1≷=us&hq;=copper+mountain&cid;=0,0,15119453119220950395&t;=h&z;=18[/URL] Nice!  I am always impressed when I see one legged skiers rip down the mountain.  Thanks for sharing.

Hey Mfree, it did not click until now, but do you live in Gunnison? I really liked skiing copper mountain. I tried hiking up to the top, but got so tired I just came down the bottom part of the chute. I really envy your location!

[rkim291968]

I played with two guys who looked like trailer trash (no offense to anyone).   They drank strong liquor from hole number 1 and offered to us, and the group behind.  They got drunker and drunker as holes progressed and kept offering me a sip.  On 10th hole, they started smoking joint.  I've seen drunks in courses but they topped them all.   Needless to say, it was not a comfortable round.

On the other hand, I played with two men who looked like homeless - dirty cloths, unshaven beard, etc.. But surprisingly, they were very well mannered, and followed all the golf etiquette.

Played with at least two different players without a leg.  One kept losing his balance after hitting a drive.  It was hard to watch but he bailed after front nine.  He said he got tired.

[Lihu]

I got one. Played Meadowlark in HB Saturday with my son and father in law, the course was so far behind they put us with two guys walking not a great idea when we had carts but it worked out.  Interesting part was the one guy had only one arm, his right had been cut off in a motorcycle accident years back. From what he told me was he had played as a kid and all through HS. But once he had the accident he gave it up for years but had missed it so much he took it back up thinking he could work it out. He started by playing short 9 hole par 3 courses until he could hit a 3 wood about 150 plus. The part that got me was he played par golf on 5 of the 9 holes they played and never fell behind. He had put a larger grips on his clubs and it looked like a home made one on his putter so he would have better control.  I have never seen this before and know a lot of people that can not play this good with two arms. Just goes to show you how people can over come!

Cool story, very inspirational.

[barbm12thtee]

Love these stories. When I played in Okeechobee,FL I was playing with a good ol boy wearing overalls and workbooks. I told my husband he must be too poor to buy golf shoes. My husband said the guy was worth 7 million cause he owns lots of ocean property in West Palm Beach. Learned not to judge a person by their cover-alls.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by Lihu

Hey Mfree, it did not click until now, but do you live in Gunnison?

I really liked skiing copper mountain. I tried hiking up to the top, but got so tired I just came down the bottom part of the chute.

I really envy your location!

Just down the road from Copper. Hope to get to Gunnison (to ski Crested Butte) for the first time this winter- it is about a 3 hour drive.  PM me if you make it back to the Copper/Breckenridge/Vail/Keystone area.

[Lihu]

Just down the road from Copper. Hope to get to Gunnison (to ski Crested Butte) for the first time this winter- it is about a 3 hour drive.  PM me if you make it back to the Copper/Breckenridge/Vail/Keystone area.

Yes, I will. Got them confused, but I did ski Copper Mountain on a different day. What do you do that keeps you in such a beautiful surrounding?

[kw purp]

got paired in a small tournament with a couple guys who drank too much and were pissing in the middle of the fairway and up again the ball washers on the tee. They seriously would be standing in the middle of the fairway waiting for the group on the green and just unzip and go. They talked non stop the entire round and were complete morons. It was miserable

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by Lihu

Yes, I will. Got them confused, but I did ski Copper Mountain on a different day.

What do you do that keeps you in such a beautiful surrounding?

I ski instruct and have my own business on the side..works well for me as it is a great place to live if you don't mind long winters.

[RPMPIRE]

I was invited to play in a scramble tournament and the sales rep I was paired with was probably the worst playing partner I've had. Before we headed off, he bought an ice bag full of beer so he did get a little drunk after the front. What was most annoying was that he just grabbed and used everything I had in the cart from my tees, rangefinder, and even my golf balls without even asking me. Every few holes, he'd need to take a piss and he would take a piss right in the open (this was a private club, mind you). I didn't say anything at the time, after all, he was a sales rep who's cut me some good deals, but I probably won't be playing golf with him anymore.

Another time, I was playing a twilight round after work with a guy who treated his golf outings like a picnic. He had a pretty big cart bag and it seemed after every couple of holes, he'd bring out a different type of food or drink. Started off with some trail mix, then a bag of chips, then popcorn chicken from KFC, then some leftover Chinese food, a couple of cans of Sapporo and Miller Light, and a few candy bars at the end. This didn't really bother me and found it mostly entertaining since he played fairly well despite eating the whole round. I couldn't do that.

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by MEfree

I ski instruct and have my own business on the side..works well for me as it is a great place to live if you don't mind long winters.

That's fantastic. You have really good form. Need to look you up, when I get out there.

So. Cal. is a great place if you don't mind long summers ).

Is the golf course primarily on the bunny slopes?

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by RPMPIRE

Another time, I was playing a twilight round after work with a guy who treated his golf outings like a picnic. He had a pretty big cart bag and it seemed after every couple of holes, he'd bring out a different type of food or drink. Started off with some trail mix, then a bag of chips, then popcorn chicken from KFC, then some leftover Chinese food, a couple of cans of Sapporo and Miller Light, and a few candy bars at the end. This didn't really bother me and found it mostly entertaining since he played fairly well despite eating the whole round. I couldn't do that.

Lots of food!

[6iron]

I was on vacation at the beach and got paired with Sara Evan's guitar player, who was vacationing also. He was a really nice guy.

I got paired with a young guy one year who kept making phone calls and telling me how much money that phone call just made him. I wasn't impressed at all!