the term gamed

[wils5150]

Ya I know its a stupid question but when did people start saying I gamed xyz driver or I game the bridgestone ball? Sounds strange to me. Lol the things I come up with on a rainy/snowy morning.

[Hardballs]

Yup, it's a stupid question! And yup, the word "played" should be used!

[MPtheKid]

The term "gamed" is awful, period. There is never an acceptable reason to use that phrase.

[VOX]

The term "gamed" is awful, period. There is never an acceptable reason to use that phrase.

Saying someone gamed the system is acceptable, saying someone games a driver is not.

[FlappyGilmore]

It comes from generation Y slang talk. I blame rap music.

[Fourputt]

Ya I know its a stupid question but when did people start saying I gamed xyz driver or I game the bridgestone ball? Sounds strange to me. Lol the things I come up with on a rainy/snowy morning.

I agree.  It's a terrible misuse of the word - every bit as bad as saying a player "golfed his ball".  One plays a game, one uses a driver.  The word "game" is a noun, and it may be used as an adjective as in a sentence like "Las Vegas casinos have gaming tables."  But you don't game on them, you play games on them.

[RonTheSavage]

I use my clubs I dont "game" them. Game is such a silly term.

[dbuck]

Every era has its own "catch phrases" that slip into the vernacular. Someone coins a phrase that catches, and if you want to be 'hip", you pick up on the phrase and use it. Some people like to put those "hip" phrases in quotes when they type, LOL. Oh, sorry, "LOL", LOL! In an era where there are baggy pants, painters hats, and a company that calls their latest club Rocketballz, what can you expect? Can you imagine Mr. Hogan "gaming" a Rocketballz ? I am not knocking Taylormade by the way, I use their products and they have been innovators. Our language can be colorful at times, and that does make it an interesting conversation. "Gaming" a club is not one of my favorites either, but it is not as bad as some. I do hope we are approaching its half life though. I have played golf in jeans, so I don't guess I can say too much about the painters' hats either.

[FlappyGilmore]

I play the game with X club. Turns to,"I game X club." I bet it came about because someone wanted to use as little words as possible.

[rehmwa]

So anyway, I'm "gaming" my new driver the other day.  "Rocking" my putter, and "sporting" my new golf shorts.

The guy hit a great "golf shot" (it's a golf tournament, what other kind of shot was he supposed to hit)

don't even get me started on "fairway metals"

the idiocacy of the language is blatant

[caniac6]

Who carez?:-D

[Harmonious]

On one of the recent threads here, someone said they "bag" a 3 iron!?!  I thought you could bag a moose, not a 3 iron.  And does that mean you just have it in your bag, and you don't "game" it? I'm so confused.

[turtleback]

I play the game with X club.

Turns to,"I game X club."

I bet it came about because someone wanted to use as little words as possible.

Or possibly as few.

[VOX]

Bobby Jones used to reprimand Masters announcers for saying that a player "hit" a shot or "hit" a four iron. His contention was that you "play" a shot and "play" a four iron.

[RonTheSavage]

LOL!!!

[colin007]

Or possibly as few.

Ok, so I'm eating my sammitch and I read this post and choked a little and snot came out my nose... LOL!!!

[Golfingdad]

Paging @Beachcomber ???

I will say that I think this term has been around a little longer.  For example, even back in the 80's, professional baseball players (and I am pretty sure I got this from the George Will book "Men At Work" - great book, by the way) referred to their gloves they used during games as their "gamers."  The past-tense version of the verb associated with that noun would have to be "gamed" so I don't think it's a new term associated with hip-hop as some suggested.

That said ... I agree that it sounds corny (and so does "bag" as well).

That said, I think Caniac has the right idea so far ... "who cares?" ;)

[Fourputt]

Paging @Beachcomber ???

I will say that I think this term has been around a little longer.  For example, even back in the 80's, professional baseball players (and I am pretty sure I got this from the George Will book "Men At Work" - great book, by the way) referred to their gloves they used during games as their "gamers."  The past-tense version of the verb associated with that noun would have to be "gamed" so I don't think it's a new term associated with hip-hop as some suggested.

That said ... I agree that it sounds corny (and so does "bag" as well).

That said, I think Caniac has the right idea so far ... "who cares?" ;)

Maybe it isn't the brightest thing to take your lead in grammar from baseball.  It has long been acknowledged that baseball players are among the poorest educated among the players of any major sport.  So many are drafted right out of high school and receive their "higher" education in the minors, with little or no college.  Despite the relatively low state of our educational system, there still has to be some advantage to having a college degree.

It's that "Who cares?" attitude which is part of the problem.  Who cares that kids are no longer receiving much in the way of a basic education?  They don't need to actually know anything since they can depend on calculators and computers and spellcheckers to cover their shortcomings, right?  While these are all wonderful tools, which I use regularly, what do these people do when put in a situation where such tools aren't available?  Mostly they fail.  Taking our lead for the future of our language from such people is a poorly founded road.  It's a lot like learning the Rules of Golf from someone who has never actually seen the rule book.