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Courses Should Pair Players according to skill if possible


atxpkrgolf
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  1. 1. Should Clubs and Golf Now ask customers Handicaps and try to pair them up with equal skill level golfers

    • Yes
      5
    • No
      29


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My view is that it makes total sense to ask when calling for a tee time what the handicaps of the players are. There should also be a box that asks u when u signup on golf now.  Here comes a TL;DR but I'll provide cliffs.

I just played a 5 hour round and I always have fun playing golf but it could've been a lot better had I been paired up with people more my skill level.

I want to first say that I know that not all higher handicappers play slow and not all low handicappers play fast but I know that if u can at least make contact that u go faster than the guys who are teeing up 3 balls on every hole.  My regular group is out of town and/or working so it was just me and I found a really nice course for a great price on Golfnow. (Bridlewood Golf Club fwiw)  It rained a ton last night and I knew it would be cart-path only (it shouldn't have been as there wasnt 1 drop on fairways but whatever)  so I decided I was going to walk for the 1st time in 5 years. I've been trying to get back into shape and walking when I play would be great for me.

This place had a starter tent & an old man  who went through all the BS of the course and where OB was instead of doing what I think he should have been doing which is suggesting a tee box based on skill, tell everyone to play 1 ball tee to green as the practice range is for, in fact, practice, and to keep up with the group ahead.

I am always very nice and will help anyone in any way I can and this group actually tried my patience although I never let on.  I walking had to wait on every single shot on them riding.  One guy teed up 3 times on EVERY HOLE. He had a nasty slice & asked me for help.  I showed him a few quick fixes but told him he needs to work on it on the range and get a lesson from a pro. These guys had no friggin clue where to park the cart and they would drive to 80 yds out, duff it to 70 yds, slice it to 30 yrds and then walk up to the green and have to go back and fetch the cart. We were passed twice and thankfully the course was slammed so people were expecting to wait but I let 2 groups go through and 2 others went around.   I really, really despise slow play and again, you don't have to be good to be fast.  There was so much more. I was chipping on 1 and this ding dong grabbed the stick after I hit it and it rolled over the hole. I don't know if it would've gone in but it would've been nice to have a chance.  I politely told him to not grab pin like that when Im off the green so for rest of day he would stand right beside hole in his bright yellow shirt. I decided early on that this was going to be a great test and to just relax.  They were all very nice guys so just enjoy the day.

Anyways, I think that a lot would be solved by having equal handicappers play together when they're walkups and starters/courses need to do much more due diligence in educating patrons.

I also want a camera on every green and every player has to sign in with a credit card. If u don't fix your ball mark plus 1 other on every green then u get fined $100   :)))))

No cliffs, read it :surrender:

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While I highly empathize with you, the average scratch golfer isn't usually booking on golfnow.com. It sucked, I know I've been there. I'd just write it off and move on hoping it doesn't happen again. I too wish there were more Pairings based on handicaps so the betting would be fun, but you get what ya get. Tell your buddies they suck for leaving u hanging and better luck next time. ;-)

Kyle Paulhus

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I didn't think Bout how that would come off. I never meant I shd be paired with scratch golfers, I meant that the course could benefit from it. Pairing equal players. These guys (2-3) shouldn't have been allowed on course without etiquette training. Maybe I'm just spouting off and making no sense, I've done that before
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I play with an older couple each week, they just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.   Today we finished 18 in exactly 4 hours.   She isn't much of a golfer but has been coached to play ready golf.

I don't think it's a bad idea for handicap compatibility but I think the course rangers, when available, should enforce faster play.

From the land of perpetual cloudiness.   I'm Denny

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If they went by skill I don't know who I would play with. :-D

A guy could play with me one day and say "Hey that guy's a fairly decent golfer."

Another guy could play with me the next day and say "Hey that guy really sucks."

P.S. And both of them would be correct.

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And if there isn't another scratch player to pair you with, should you be denied the opportunity to play? It seems to me that finding people we enjoy playing with is our responsibility. If we can't do that, we either accept who we're paired with, or opt not to play.
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And if there isn't another scratch player to pair you with, should you be denied the opportunity to play? It seems to me that finding people we enjoy playing with is our responsibility. If we can't do that, we either accept who we're paired with, or opt not to play.

I'm thinking that it is in our best interests as a golf community for pace of play, competition, and enjoyment. Obviously it's my responsibility to find people I wanna play with and I do 99%. Of the time. I haven't walked up as a single in years. It just kinda got me thinking is all as some on here might do it regularly. What bothered me the most was the starter being aloof asking what tees we were gonna play from instead of asking what skill level we were And having an approach. Again, I could just be totally wrong horse as well

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Courses asking people to state their handicaps, for whatever reasons, would lead to an enhanced perception that the game is "snobby." And that perception would be entirely justified. I don't want anything to do with that.

When you go and play a course as a single, you take whatever grouping you get and make the best of it. Yeah, there's a chance it could end up being a frustrating day, but that's the way it goes sometimes. You have to just take it in stride.

John

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Why didn't you just leave them behind? Tell them you need to play a little quicker and then just move on?

Colin P.

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Why didn't you just leave them behind? Tell them you need to play a little quicker and then just move on?

They were very nice guys & it wasn't that they sucked at golf at all. They were just so slow and oblivious to how to play at a normal pace. I could've made an excuse and quit and joined someone else but I thought this would be a great test of patience

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I want to first say that I know that not all higher handicappers play slow and not all low handicappers play fast ...

That's definitely true. I know two low single-digit guys at my club who I won't play with if I have any choice in the matter, and I also won't play behind them if I can possibly avoid it. Both have pre-shot routines that drag on for what seems like an eternity.

It certainly works for them, but it's hard on those around them. I've never clocked them, but there's no way they'd finish a round faster than a quick-playing 100-shooter.

John

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Sorry, not even remotely workable.  Even if such a policy was attempted, what do you  do with the 80% to 90% of players who don't carry a handicap?  It's not not workable.  I worked as a starter for 5 years and it can be a hard enough job just keeping groups straight and joining up singles and pairs as much as the tee sheet allows without having to screw around with handicaps on top of it.

From the point of view of my experience, it would make no sense at all, and it would accomplish nothing.  Those slow players are still going to be on the course, and if you are 3 or 4 groups behind them, you are going to have to deal with the pace they set anyway.  If you are playing with them, you might be able to help them understand their responsibilities regarding pace of play, and ultimately improve the situation in some small way.  By deliberately grouping poor players together, all you will do is allow them to reinforce each others bad habits.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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I didn't think Bout how that would come off. I never meant I shd be paired with scratch golfers, I meant that the course could benefit from it. Pairing equal players. These guys (2-3) shouldn't have been allowed on course without etiquette training. Maybe I'm just spouting off and making no sense, I've done that before


I some what agree that playing with similarly skilled players seems like a good idea in theory, but then you would have a foursome of guys newly acquainted to the game paired together. They would never be paired with a more experienced player that could possibly teach them some of the more obvious rules and etiquette that most serious players take for granted. I think they would be oblivious to ready golf in most cases too. Then there is the group of single digit guys breathing down their necks because they are hitting fairways and greens for the most part. Also, whose responsibility is it to tech players that lack basic under standing of rules and etiquette about them? The player(s) that introduced them to the game? Are there widespread seminars on proper golf conduct? There very well might be, but I do not think they are prevalent in my area. While some players care enough to research and learn proper etiquette themselves, I believe this is a minority of all golfers.

The group I usually play with is becoming more and more difficult to play with lately as I have really started to focus and play golf seriously. A good day for them would be breaking 100, and there is a 50/50 chance they will duff their tee shot or their second shot. Then they get frustrated, just walk up, take the quickest swing possible, and hit a huge banana slice into the woods. I'm sure most of you have experienced what I'm talking about at least once or twice. This sounds terrible because I'm still a hack in my own right and was right there with them not too long ago.The problem is they have hit 3-4 shots or more before I hit my second, and this can take me out of my rhythm.  So basically your question comes down to should I continue to play with these guys that I have fun with out on the course despite our differences on the scorecard, find a new group of guys that I can stand spending 3+ hours with on a weekly basis that are more in line with my playing ability, or allow the course to set me up on a blind date with others that are similar to me in skill? I guess I'll keep playing with my usual group all the while stressing true ready golf to them.

Justin

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I don't see how a course could mate up random people with the same handicaps.

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I don't see how a course could mate up random people with the same handicaps.

People call in that aren't already In. Foursomes. It's not that hard. Customer : hey I'd like a tee time for around 2 Pro shop: do u have an established handicap and what tees do u play so we can pair u with someone who plays like u customer : what a neat idea :dance::beer:

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People call in that aren't already In. Foursomes. It's not that hard.

Customer : hey I'd like a tee time for around 2

Pro shop: do u have an established handicap and what tees do u play so we can pair u with someone who plays like u

customer : what a neat idea


In an ideal world, this would be possible.

Most people have pretty busy schedules.

The likely conversation would be:

Customer: Do you have a tee time at 8:00am?

Pro Shop: What is your handicap?

Customer: Why does it matter?

Pro Shop: We can only put 18 handicaps in the 11:30am tee time

Customer: I'll call the other courses. . .

This and if the "Customer" lets them know that he's a 1 handicap, he'll probably say something like next month we have a scratch tee time. (Which is about 1% of the time).

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

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In an ideal world, this would be possible. Most people have pretty busy schedules. The likely conversation would be: Customer: Do you have a tee time at 8:00am? Pro Shop: What is your handicap? Customer: Why does it matter? Pro Shop: We can only put 18 handicaps in the 11:30am tee time Customer: I'll call the other courses. . . This and if the "Customer" lets them know that he's a 1 handicap, he'll probably say something like next month we have a scratch tee time. (Which is about 1% of the time).

Maybe, who knows. I think pp,wldnt mind. Giving their handicap and of course I. Not suggesting a course turn away business.

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Maybe, who knows. I think pp,wldnt mind. Giving their handicap and of course I. Not suggesting a course turn away business.


I like the idea, but think that it is a little impractical.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

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Note: This thread is 3537 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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