How do you guys play? Worst you can get is double,triple,double par, or count em all.

[Ernest Jones]

SMACK!

[Big C]

Winter rust??  In Long Beach???  Don't let the East Coasters and Northerners hear you say that, or they're liable to give you a good smack!

Lol, I guess that's a fair point. I only get to golf twice in the month of January and I say that makes me rusty. Good problem to have!

[cipher]

SMACK!

Heck if it was not for all the snow in these parts, EJ and I would be on the tour by now...

[MS256]

In Ireland we just play golf... We might have a bet but we keep within the rules of whatever format we are playing and the local rules of the course.

I don't see the need to bastardise the game of golf by: rolling it on the fairway, moving a club length etc.

It must be an ego thing. I'm glad to say it's something I don't have to deal with.

I don't think it's an ego thing because none of them care what their score is other than it being good enough to win their bet and they know that those aren't really their "golf scores".

Funny thing: I played in a flighted tournament at a course that has a big group that plays by their own rules every day and the winning scores are almost always in the 60s (by their crazy rules). In the tournament against those same players I figured I would have to at least shoot even par to have a chance to win (which I knew I couldn't do). I had no idea how badly they would play when they actually had to play by the rules. I was totally shocked after the first round when I found out that my 76 was tied for first place.

The sad part of the story was that I was so surprised to be in first place after the first round that I totally forgot how to play in the next round and finished in 6th with an 84.

I told one of them one day that I think they don't even like golf and their entire goal is to get off of the golf course as fast as possible and settle the bets so they can get to a casino earlier.

[Dr.Golf]

I count them all............however, I usually don't count very high!!!!!! lol,

doc

[jsp9999]

I try to count them all even though I'm pretty high handicap.  No mulligan, no adjust lie, no give-me putts unless I'm getting chase behind.  Blow up holes give me something extra to think about.

[dfreuter415]

I use the ESC and try to play the ball down as much as possible.

However, there are situations when course conditions dictate that I place my hand on the ball.  An example would be a water-soaked course where I will play lift, clean, and place, or in the autumn when I will use the "leaf" rule.

[turtleback]

I am genuinely curious what you guys that would never break "the rules" would do if you go play in somebody else's game (for money) and their rules are not the rules of golf.

It seems to me that your only choices would be to play at a huge disadvantage, and more than likely lose your money, or to refuse to play with them and go home.

Even though I always prefer to play by the rules of golf, and usually consider it to my advantage in a match, I'm not taking my ball and going home and I'm not donating my money. Even though I'm not really playing golf I'm betting on a game by the rules that are set for that game.

The biggest problem I have in playing in any of those games is not that we are breaking the rules of golf but that invariably somebody is going to start stretching their own rules they have set for their game. A  club length is going to turn into two club lengths and a ball just out of a fairway is going to be rolled like it was "close enough to being in the fairway", and "in the leather" is going to turn into a club length. For that reason there are some games I simply won't go play in.

I wouldn't play.  Playing golf has a higher priority for me than betting.  YMMV

As long as the strokes matter, play by the rules and let ESC handle any handicap adjustments. In our league, we give leeway to asking your opponent for drops on what we would consider unmarked ground under repair and simply treat OB as lateral (drop where it went out and add a stroke) - moves play along.

Of course you can do whatever you like, but adding a stroke does NOT put you in anything like the position you would be in if you are trying to emulate following the rules.  If you went back to the tee and rehit and ended up in the exact spot you dropped in you would be lying 3 hitting 4, while in your procedure you are laying 2 htting 3.  So your procedure basically gives a stroke advantage over what the rules would have provided.

In Ireland we just play golf... We might have a bet but we keep within the rules of whatever format we are playing and the local rules of the course.

I don't see the need to bastardise the game of golf by: rolling it on the fairway, moving a club length etc.

It must be an ego thing. I'm glad to say it's something I don't have to deal with.

I don't get it either.  I've never understood the thrill of writing down a score that is lower than what you actually earned.

[jetsknicks1]

I guess it just depends on what your ultimate goal for the day is. If you're really determined to bring your scores down and get to a lower HC, then play by all the rules. If you're just out there to hang with the fellas and have some fun, then do what you want. In my regular playing group we allow for a mulligan a side or if you're in a spot where there's a chance of damaging a club on a rock or tree root, then move it over. None of us bet or keep an official HC, we're just out there to hang, enjoy the day and the company and have some fun. With that being said, on a few occasions I play with some guys from work who play everything down and no mulligans. When I play with them, I play like they do. I just dont bet because I don't have an official HC.

[Fourputt]

I am genuinely curious what you guys that would never break "the rules" would do if you go play in somebody else's game (for money) and their rules are not the rules of golf.

It seems to me that your only choices would be to play at a huge disadvantage, and more than likely lose your money, or to refuse to play with them and go home.

Even though I always prefer to play by the rules of golf, and usually consider it to my advantage in a match, I'm not taking my ball and going home and I'm not donating my money. Even though I'm not really playing golf I'm betting on a game by the rules that are set for that game.

The biggest problem I have in playing in any of those games is not that we are breaking the rules of golf but that invariably somebody is going to start stretching their own rules they have set for their game. A  club length is going to turn into two club lengths and a ball just out of a fairway is going to be rolled like it was "close enough to being in the fairway", and "in the leather" is going to turn into a club length. For that reason there are some games I simply won't go play in.

Simple soIution: I don't play for money with strangers, and the people who I do play money games with play by the rules.  If I hook up with a group of new people, I will decline to play any wager or money game they have going unless: one, the stakes are low, and two, they play by the rules of golf.

Why do you have to play their wager just to fill out a group as a single?  I might ask a stranger if he wanted to join in (assuming that I didn't see him as a hustler or something), but I wouldn't be offended if he declined.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS256

I am genuinely curious what you guys that would never break "the rules" would do if you go play in somebody else's game (for money) and their rules are not the rules of golf.

It seems to me that your only choices would be to play at a huge disadvantage, and more than likely lose your money, or to refuse to play with them and go home.

Even though I always prefer to play by the rules of golf, and usually consider it to my advantage in a match, I'm not taking my ball and going home and I'm not donating my money. Even though I'm not really playing golf I'm betting on a game by the rules that are set for that game.

The biggest problem I have in playing in any of those games is not that we are breaking the rules of golf but that invariably somebody is going to start stretching their own rules they have set for their game. A  club length is going to turn into two club lengths and a ball just out of a fairway is going to be rolled like it was "close enough to being in the fairway", and "in the leather" is going to turn into a club length. For that reason there are some games I simply won't go play in.

Simple soIution: I don't play for money with strangers, and the people who I do play money games with play by the rules.  If I hook up with a group of new people, I will decline to play any wager or money game they have going unless: one, the stakes are low, and two, they play by the rules of golf.

Why do you have to play their wager just to fill out a group as a single?  I might ask a stranger if he wanted to join in (assuming that I didn't see him as a hustler or something), but I wouldn't be offended if he declined.

Actually, this brings up another question.

If you catch one of them "correcting" a lie, does that make him DQ and lose the entire match (let's say skins)? Or do you just penalize him for the hole, as he did not turn in an incorrectly scored card? (Of course, he is now on your suspect list for the remainder of the round).

[Haboob]

I'm no where near a pro and will bend the rules for the sake of not making myself more frustrated.

Such as, hit it in the desert?  I'll move it to the rough.  I don't get free clubs like the pro's, I'm not going to damage them by hitting off of hard dirt/gravel/whatever.  Or if I have to contort myself around an object?  No thanks, I'd rather move it out a bit so I can stand there and hit a real shot.  If there are trees, I'll lay up into the fairway and what not, I'm not moving for every obstacle.

My goal when I'm out there is consistency and game improvement.  Hitting from gravel, or contorting my body isn't doing that.  Putting myself in a position to at least put a solid strike on the ball is doing that.  Once I've improved my game enough to where I should be hitting the fairways every time and maybe just had a bad shot, then things may be a little different.  But, until then, I'm there to have fun and improve.

[meenman]

Actually, this brings up another question. If you catch one of them "correcting" a lie, does that make him DQ and lose the entire match (let's say skins)? Or do you just penalize him for the hole, as he did not turn in an incorrectly scored card? (Of course, he is now on your suspect list for the remainder of the round).

had it happen this weekend. One of my playing partners put one out of bounds and refused to hit a provisional (he thinks that balls don't go out) We went to look for his ball and found it a yard or two out and then went on to play ours. He played it from OOB and was quiet when we finished thee hole. (He had a fake bogie) I bogied and took my skin. on the next hole, he told me he had a 5 on the previous hole, but since I keep score for the group, he got what I thought he would have gotten if he finished the hole correctly. This guy will never learn, he is the vanity cap of the group, but will continue to pay us until he smarten up.

[Golfingdad]

had it happen this weekend. One of my playing partners put one out of bounds and refused to hit a provisional (he thinks that balls don't go out)

We went to look for his ball and found it a yard or two out and then went on to play ours.

He played it from OOB and was quiet when we finished thee hole. (He had a fake bogie)

I bogied and took my skin.

on the next hole, he told me he had a 5 on the previous hole, but since I keep score for the group, he got what I thought he would have gotten if he finished the hole correctly.

This guy will never learn, he is the vanity cap of the group, but will continue to pay us until he smarten up.

Hey, I know those guys ... "Yeah, it opens up over there around the trees.  Should be fine."

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Actually, this brings up another question.

If you catch one of them "correcting" a lie, does that make him DQ and lose the entire match (let's say skins)? Or do you just penalize him for the hole, as he did not turn in an incorrectly scored card? (Of course, he is now on your suspect list for the remainder of the round).

had it happen this weekend. One of my playing partners put one out of bounds and refused to hit a provisional (he thinks that balls don't go out)

We went to look for his ball and found it a yard or two out and then went on to play ours.

He played it from OOB and was quiet when we finished thee hole. (He had a fake bogie)

I bogied and took my skin.

on the next hole, he told me he had a 5 on the previous hole, but since I keep score for the group, he got what I thought he would have gotten if he finished the hole correctly.

This guy will never learn, he is the vanity cap of the group, but will continue to pay us until he smarten up.

He needed to tee off again and lose a stroke. 3 if off the tee and if he did not OB the second. So, I am wondering if you added 2 strokes or more? Worst case, he could have had at least a 6 before deciding to tee off with an 8i or something like that.

The provisional is kind of easier because it allows you to have the feel of the original shot, and take your second right after everyone else tees off. Not hitting one is a really bad idea no matter how you look at it.

I'm guessing you let him off easy.

[MS256]

Simple soIution: I don't play for money with strangers, and the people who I do play money games with play by the rules.  If I hook up with a group of new people, I will decline to play any wager or money game they have going unless: one, the stakes are low, and two, they play by the rules of golf.

Why do you have to play their wager just to fill out a group as a single?  I might ask a stranger if he wanted to join in (assuming that I didn't see him as a hustler or something), but I wouldn't be offended if he declined.

Actually that's not the way it goes down at all. Singles don't get put in a group around here but if I did I would have no problem telling them I didn't want to bet and I would play by the rules whether they liked it or not.

The times I play in one of those games with their own set of rules it's a conscious choice that I would rather get in the 12:30 game and play by their rules than to play alone. Those really are the only choices and the course is reserved for them for the 12:30 to 1:00 tee times. It's understood by everybody that if you play in their game you are in the bet and also understood that they don't play by the rules of golf. They will tell any newcomer before they get in the game how they play it and if that person doesn't want to play that way they don't have to get in the game.

Nobody in that game has any illusion that they are shooting a legitimate golf score and they would tell anybody that. They know that when they "play the ball down with no gimmies" they don't even come close to the same scores. They play by their rules so they can get off of the course faster and wouldn't have the patience to have somebody playing along in their game that's not in the bet and playing everything by the rules.

The first time I ever played in that game one of them said "we don't go by very many of the rules."

I would go play in their game more often (it's been over a year since I played in it) if they slowed down a little bit and played by the rules of golf and the shame of it is that I like all of those people and really enjoy their company. Not a chance I could change their minds about the rules of their game though.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Simple soIution: I don't play for money with strangers, and the people who I do play money games with play by the rules.  If I hook up with a group of new people, I will decline to play any wager or money game they have going unless: one, the stakes are low, and two, they play by the rules of golf.

Why do you have to play their wager just to fill out a group as a single?  I might ask a stranger if he wanted to join in (assuming that I didn't see him as a hustler or something), but I wouldn't be offended if he declined.

Actually that's not the way it goes down at all. Singles don't get put in a group around here but if I did I would have no problem telling them I didn't want to bet and I would play by the rules whether they liked it or not.

The times I play in one of those games with their own set of rules it's a conscious choice that I would rather get in the 12:30 game and play by their rules than to play alone. Those really are the only choices and the course is reserved for them for the 12:30 to 1:00 tee times. It's understood by everybody that if you play in their game you are in the bet and also understood that they don't play by the rules of golf. They will tell any newcomer before they get in the game how they play it and if that person doesn't want to play that way they don't have to get in the game.

Nobody in that game has any illusion that they are shooting a legitimate golf score and they would tell anybody that. They know that when they "play the ball down with no gimmies" they don't even come close to the same scores. They play by their rules so they can get off of the course faster and wouldn't have the patience to have somebody playing along in their game that's not in the bet and playing everything by the rules.

The first time I ever played in that game one of them said "we don't go by very many of the rules."

I would go play in their game more often (it's been over a year since I played in it) if they slowed down a little bit and played by the rules of golf and the shame of it is that I like all of those people and really enjoy their company. Not a chance I could change their minds about the rules of their game though.

One advantage of playing public courses. nobody gets special treatment.  Tee times are first called, first reserved, or without reservations first come first served.  And singles are almost always paired up with someone.

I'd hate the sort of situation you  have.  How does a new guy ever get to know anyone if he always has to play alone?  Virtually everyone I play with I met either because I first joined them as a single, or they joined my group that way.  I hate playing alone.  If I was stuck with that every time I just decided to play on the spur of the moment, I probably wouldn't be a golfer.

[MS256]

One advantage of playing public courses. nobody gets special treatment.  Tee times are first called, first reserved, or without reservations first come first served.  And singles are almost always paired up with someone.

I'd hate the sort of situation you  have.  How does a new guy ever get to know anyone if he always has to play alone?  Virtually everyone I play with I met either because I first joined them as a single, or they joined my group that way.  I hate playing alone.  If I was stuck with that every time I just decided to play on the spur of the moment, I probably wouldn't be a golfer.

That has always been a problem at that club.