Buddy is 50 stokes worse and won't take advice..

[truzz22]

Hey guys, a buddy of mine started playing about 3.5 months ago. He has taken 2 lessons from a golf pro but hasn't improved at ALL!! He shoots a consistant 140 range! N never wants to change anything because the "pro said he's doing it right" I'm a high 80s low 90s player. My short game is above avg I would say, every else could be a lot better. Been playing on and off for about 10 years but these past 2 years I have taken it more serious. I don't have interlocking grip (former baseball player) just learned the in n outs from my grandfather. Enough about me. I try and help him out with chipping (us leftys like Phil are all good I guess ;-) ) besides that I try n tell him to move his hips more, bend the knees a little, slow his swing down. But he just doesn't want to take advice from me!! It's to the point I want him to ask for his $$ back from the pro and start from scratch and for me to teach him at the range n smaller courses. HOW do I get it through his head that he stinks and isn't fun to play with when I have to have for 4 shots before I hit my 2nd one. I want him to do well, more friends that play golf the better but he just doesn't want to listen to me!!

[MS256]

I know you probably don't want to hear this but you aren't qualified to teach him. Let the pro do his job and if it doesn't work let a different pro do it.

[truzz22]

I know I'm not qualified but that pro has done nothing to help him.

[RayG]

No, HE hasn't done anything to help HIMSELF. Does he practice? Putt at home on a carpet? That alone is good for a few strokes. And to be honest, 3.5 months is nowhere NEAR enough time to improve much. Do you expect him to shoot low 90's so YOU don't feel embarrassed for him? Some people just DON'T get it.. especially right away and learning later on in life. Then one day he'll beat you by 5 shots and you'll wonder what happened when you weren't looking.

[atxpkrgolf]

I try to not offer advice on golf course unless asked. I'd rather take my chances gettin a woman to be reasonable

[sopel10]

I try to not offer advice on golf course unless asked. I'd rather take my chances gettin a woman to be reasonable

:-D I was offered advice from a 30 capper over the weekend...that was interesting ;-)

[krupa]

Hey guys, a buddy of mine started playing about 3.5 months ago. He has taken 2 lessons from a golf pro but hasn't improved at ALL!! He shoots a consistant 140 range! N never wants to change anything because the "pro said he's doing it right"

I'm a high 80s low 90s player. My short game is above avg I would say, every else could be a lot better. Been playing on and off for about 10 years but these past 2 years I have taken it more serious. I don't have interlocking grip (former baseball player) just learned the in n outs from my grandfather. Enough about me.

I try and help him out with chipping (us leftys like Phil are all good I guess ) besides that I try n tell him to move his hips more, bend the knees a little, slow his swing down. But he just doesn't want to take advice from me!! It's to the point I want him to ask for his $$ back from the pro and start from scratch and for me to teach him at the range n smaller courses. HOW do I get it through his head that he stinks and isn't fun to play with when I have to have for 4 shots before I hit my 2nd one. I want him to do well, more friends that play golf the better but he just doesn't want to listen to me!!

I don't know what's wrong with your friend.  I just started this year and after 2 lessons I broke 80. I guess you've forgotten what it's like to be a complete beginner?  It's hard.  It's so freaking hard I don't know why I keep going back.   And the only thing I try to do when someone is trying to give me lots of advice is to ignore him (or her as the case was this weekend) and just concentrate on the one or two things I am working on.

I'm sure your friend knows exactly how bad he is.  He doesn't need your help, he needs your support.  And that mainly entails quietly waiting for your shot, congratulating him on good shots (even if they're only "good" because they weren't that bad) and not filling his head with 800 thoughts while he's trying to remember one or two that the golf pro has given him to work on.

[MEfree]

I know I'm not qualified but that pro has done nothing to help him.

Encourage him to see another pro or even post a video of him here.

[Strandly]

Hey guys, a buddy of mine started playing about 3.5 months ago. He has taken 2 lessons from a golf pro but hasn't improved at ALL!! He shoots a consistant 140 range! N never wants to change anything because the "pro said he's doing it right"

How is that even possible?  You could putt the ball around a course in less strokes.

[sopel10]

How is that even possible?  You could putt the ball around a course in less strokes.

Most players at that level don't keep the right score. Count every stroke and every penalty (stroke and distance when ob) and it quickly adds up. My dad used to shot in 90's, he is in a slump, shots about 110 every time, but scores every stroke. Many times we are paired with people on his level or worse and they somehow shot 95. I don't purposely count peoples strokes but you can usually tell if a guy had an 8 on a hole....put me down for a bogey he says to his buddy.

[MS256]

How is that even possible?  You could putt the ball around a course in less strokes.

Because he's not only using a putter.

I see it all the time when I'm mowing. A guy is 120 yards from the island green and hits it in the water. He goes to the drop area at 70 yards and hits it in the water again (multiple times). Shanks one or two, hits one fat, thins one across the green. Finally gets one on the green and 3 putts. He's got a 10 or a 12 from where I noticed him at 120 out and no telling how many strokes it took him to get there before I was watching. Almost certainly wasn't his tee shot that got him there because on the next hole he doesn't carry the pond in front of the tee box that ends at only 100 yards.

[Meltdwhiskey]

I don't know what's wrong with your friend.  I just started this year and after 2 lessons I broke 80.   I guess you've forgotten what it's like to be a complete beginner?  It's hard.  It's so freaking hard I don't know why I keep going back.   And the only thing I try to do when someone is trying to give me lots of advice is to ignore him (or her as the case was this weekend) and just concentrate on the one or two things I am working on.

I'm sure your friend knows exactly how bad he is.  He doesn't need your help, he needs your support.  And that mainly entails quietly waiting for your shot, congratulating him on good shots (even if they're only "good" because they weren't that bad) and not filling his head with 800 thoughts while he's trying to remember one or two that the golf pro has given him to work on.

I agree with Krupa.  Golf is hard and harder for some people than others.  140 sounds high because no one really writes that down.  They either claim less or just don't keep a score when they are at that level.  I have a buddy I have taken out to the range / par 3 a few times and he still whiffs a lot.  3.5 months is not a lot of time to be very good at actually getting the ball in the hole.

Implementing what a teacher says can take time.  They often want you to come every couple of weeks, but I find it takes much longer than that to actually get good at what they have taught you.  I normally want at least 2 months - and more often 6.  And even then, I'm prepping at the last minute to make sure I'm doing what they last told me to do.  And you can only work on one theory at a time.  If the guy told him to concentrate on X, he is going to have trouble when you tell him to concentrate on Y - even if you are exactly right.

[rustyredcab]

Anyone who shoots 140 every time out must have goals that do not include lowering score. Sometimes I find myself playing "golf shot" instead of golf. When score is the goal, most anyone should be able to break 130.

Try not to impose your goals on him.

[ghalfaire]

I try to not offer advice on golf course unless asked. I'd rather take my chances gettin a woman to be reasonable

Amen to this!

[gophinmedic]

When I give advice on the course or at the range, I do it subtly. Ill say "ive been working on "x" and its improved my "x". Soon after, I notice my friends or range aquaintances trying it out.

[chriskzoo]

I've actually been very pleased that one of my buddies, who hardly ever broke 60 for 9 holes, is now down into the mid-50s regularly. He would always take two practice swings and I finally convinved him the practice swings were doing nothing for him - now he's down to one and can consistently bump it down the fairway.  He's still a terrible putter, but seeing him able to get to most greens and have a first putt for par or bogey is refreshing.

[GaijinGolfer]

At some point you need to just let it go.  If he wont listen because his pro says he is doing it right, then why frustrate yourself and cause drama with him by trying to offer advice?

[rustyredcab]

Hey guys, a buddy of mine started playing about 3.5 months ago. He has taken 2 lessons from a golf pro but hasn't improved at ALL!! He shoots a consistant 140 range! N never wants to change anything because the "pro said he's doing it right"

I'm a high 80s low 90s player. My short game is above avg I would say, every else could be a lot better. Been playing on and off for about 10 years but these past 2 years I have taken it more serious. I don't have interlocking grip (former baseball player) just learned the in n outs from my grandfather. Enough about me.

I try and help him out with chipping (us leftys like Phil are all good I guess ) besides that I try n tell him to move his hips more, bend the knees a little, slow his swing down. But he just doesn't want to take advice from me!! It's to the point I want him to ask for his $$ back from the pro and start from scratch and for me to teach him at the range n smaller courses. HOW do I get it through his head that he stinks and isn't fun to play with when I have to have for 4 shots before I hit my 2nd one. I want him to do well, more friends that play golf the better but he just doesn't want to listen to me!!

To paraphrase my Mother, "You can lead a bore to knowledge but you can't make him think." You may need to get it through your head that you can not get it through his head. This really is about you. Either accept him as he is or stop playing with him.

That said, I don't have anyone in my larger golf circle that shoots 140 so I can not say how I would react. I can, and do, manage fine with players who shoot in the 110's. I guess I'd stop playing with a pal who shoots 140 and is OK with his/her lack of progress. I think that makes me self-aware and does not make me a golf snob. But, maybe I'm a golf snob.