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Senior Golf - Slow, Rude, Clueless & Angry


It can be Hell getting old, but becoming a senior golfer has its benefits.  Senior rates save one a bundle in greens fees.  People expect us to tee off from the forward tees.  In fact, it can be fairly easy to impress others who assume anyone over the age of 60 should be in a rest home.  I became a minor celebrity one day down in Florida.  As I was making the turn the starter asked if I was checking in.  I told him I was making the turn.  He nodded and said, “Oh, you are the guy who walks and carries.”  If I were Native American, that might be a decent name; like “Dances With Wolves”, I could be “Guy Who Walks and Carries”.  Unfortunately, being a senior golfer is not always a stroll in the park.

On another golf website, a number of posters identified foursomes of "seniors" (whatever they think “senior” means) as being the typical group that would not allow faster players to play through.  My response that they were stereotyping was lost on them.  Kids, what do they know anyway.

Still, I can understand why some might develop a stereotype about us (I am 63).  Frankly, there are more of us "seniors" out on the course than just about any other demographic group in many places.  The odds of occasionally running into a slow/rude/clueless/angry senior is a lot higher than most identifiable population segments one finds on a golf course.

When someone talks about seniors being slow, I always flash back to a round I played at the quintessential “muni” in Sarasota, FL, “Bobby Jones Golf Club.”   The courses are flat as a pancake, not too difficult and cheap.  I had joined a threesome and we were following a foursome of walkers who appeared to average 90 years in age.  They were a bit slow but the course was fairly full and no serious gaps were evident.  As we walked off the 4th green, I saw one of their group creeping along a wetland near the 5th tee with ball retriever fully extended.  When we arrived at the tee, someone in his group, which was walking down the fairway, shouted at the guy, “Morrie, put the damn ball retriever away and move it!!”  While there certainly are seniors like “Morrie” playing golf, my experience is many seniors are pretty darn fast.  When you may only have a few years left on Earth, you tend to want to move along.

As to rude, at 63, I know I have become a touch more outspoken when I see someone insisting on being an idiot.  For example, the caddie who always stood on the far side of the green away from the direction of the next hole.  He was informed to get his butt over where his player would be exiting.  Of course this bit of wisdom was delivered only after I walked the length of the 175 yard par 3 on which we were waiting.

There is also the possibility that I have become a bit clueless as a senior.  The single who drove up with his clubs rattling and music playing while I was teeing off on #18 seemed to think so.  He asked if he could play in with us on #18 and I told him "No, unless you are a lot less noisy."  He looked at me like, “what the heck is wrong with this clueless old guy?”

I know the golfer who whistled a ball past my head on the finishing hole recently might say seniors are angry.  As I walked to my car, he rolled up in his cart and offered up this explanation for why they did not yell “fore.”  “Sorry dude, my buddy and me (sic) lost sight of my shot.”  Let’s just say my response is unprintable and he left thinking senior golfers can be pretty angry “dudes”.

Now that I think about it again, maybe those guys on the other website were right.  Maybe I am just another slow/rude/clueless/angry senior golfer.  :facepalm

35 Comments


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Dan42nepa

Posted

There was another thread maybe on this or hackers paradise with voting buttons on seniors.. It was this site.. Maybe you will enjoy it as well.. I posted that if senior were replaced with women, it would not be tolerated.

 

 

 

parman

Posted (edited)

I am 69 y/o and can walk 9 holes in 1 1/2 hours. I play fast. The foursomes that slow down the course are usually much younger than me and play like they are in the Masters. Multiple practice swings, two or three looks at the hole and then finally a shot or maybe a few more practice swings. Then come the putting and I fall asleep.  Multiply that by 4 and wow they are very slow! 

The stereotype of seniors is stupid but there. I walk in to get fitted and out come the massive GI irons. I play muscle backs because I hit the center of the club and I like the forged feel. GI irons do nothing for me and I hate the huge soles and big offset. That's just me. 

Edited by parman
  • Upvote 1
Dan42nepa

Posted

yes and graphite shafts.. I played with someone in his 80's on tuesdays.. and we followed two college age bombers.. We pressed them on every hole. They would either murder the ball 285 or shank or pull one in the woods.. after a bad drive of course a second ball is needed. Now there are two balls to find. One even asked me on a hole what club i used as they were waiting on the next tee and saw a 5 wood land 5 feet from the pin at 190.

Mr. Desmond

Posted (edited)

As one gets older, my experience with aging is that I get more opinionated and less caring about what others think about me. Let them deal with it. When I was young, I was the polite, quiet guy who always did the "right" thing. Screw that ... the polite, quiet crap.

Look, when you get in your 40's, you realize that your dad effed you badly by not helping you with the real world, your high school friends stabbed you in the back, you realize you picked the wrong woman, then depression greets you, you get fat, and then you get IBS. You go through a lot of crap. Yes, you're frustrated and the outbursts are easier and somwhat relished at times, especially in your 50's. 

By the time you're 55-60, if you're aware of it, you've straightened out all that psycho crap that may have held you back and lost the weight. You even workout. You may question everything, even God and by all means, all religion, and you put up with less crap.

On the golf course, just like there are young a-holes, there are senior a-holes who are slow, talk too loudly, lear at the cartgirls, and drink too much. And they are probably in the same proportion -- it's just that they are older, and easier to point out as old -- they lack hair, have donut bellies and look like sh$t for the most part.

Then there are the mature guys with whom you want to play -- they don't put up with bs, like to play fast, laugh and tell a decent joke, and are pleasant and businesslike on the course.

It's all about what you want to see -- if you wan to blame all seniors, all you need is one senior. It's your issue and your agenda. Get real.

Edited by Mr. Desmond
  • Upvote 1
9wood

Posted

I often play golf with an 84 year old man who loves golf. He only plays par 3 courses, and he walks it. I have never seen this 84 yr old man slow anybody down no matter what age groups are playing behind him. Every now and then I get him out to a full course and we will play 9, just as long as we have a cart. Even then I have never seen that anyone has ever been slowed down because of him. Actually, I play slower than this 84 yr old, because I spend more time analyzing my next shot than he does. Still we have never slowed anyone down. We do however stay away from the course on the weekends which is when many of the weekend golfers come out of the woodwork.

  • Upvote 1
ppine

Posted

Play ready golf, walk like you mean it and be polite.  Once in awhile people do outrageous things.  Last week some nimrod pulled his pull behind cart onto the middle of a green. It seems to be popular on some public course for people to bring their wedges and other clubs onto the green next to where they putt.

Missouri Swede

Posted

2 hours ago, Dan42nepa said:

One even asked me on a hole what club i used as they were waiting on the next tee and saw a 5 wood land 5 feet from the pin at 190.

You said a 6 iron, right?

Patch

Posted

Based on all this, I think I will go out to day, in this light, soaking rain, and become slow, rude, clueless, and angry. I probably won't do very well due to the clueless part. But what the heck. I will still be fishing. Just  not catching........:-P

dave s

Posted

I've had one issue with senior players in my entire life.  Was out on a FL course with my son, 9-years old at the time.  He's a youngster and obviously just learning the game.  We're hitting shots from the fairway on a par 4 when not one, but TWO drives come screaming past us.

I stood in the middle of the fairway, glaring back at the tee daring the 3rd guy to hit his tee ball.  He waited on the tee, looking at me, probably waiting for me to move on.  After about a minute, we moved well off the fairway and into the rough between holes.

The group finishes teeing off and roars toward us in their carts.  One guy says, "No way a foursome should be catching a twosome."

So I say, "So, hitting into a 9-year-old is your way of getting your point across?"  I firmly tell him that had he WAITED for us to clear the fairway we certainly would have invited his group to play through after we finished the hole.

Without even being INVITED to play through my son and me, the group played through anyway!

To this day, I still can't process the thinking, or lack thereof, of that group of seniors.  My first inclination was to hit the balls BACK to the tee--or OVER the tee into the woods behind the tee box.  But really, I just wanted to ask why they thought hitting into a group that included a youngster was a good idea.

After our nine hole round completed, I talked to the starter, a senior as well, and told him what happened. His attitude was clearly in favor of the group that hit into us. The course quickly made its way onto the 'do not play' list.

No other issues to report.  I'm 56 now and have played with guys 20 years my senior, maybe more, who play the game well, and don't act a damn fool like the old codgers we encountered in FL.

dave

Patch

Posted

28 minutes ago, dave s said:

I've had one issue with senior players in my entire life.  Was out on a FL course with my son, 9-years old at the time.  He's a youngster and obviously just learning the game.  We're hitting shots from the fairway on a par 4 when not one, but TWO drives come screaming past us.

I stood in the middle of the fairway, glaring back at the tee daring the 3rd guy to hit his tee ball.  He waited on the tee, looking at me, probably waiting for me to move on.  After about a minute, we moved well off the fairway and into the rough between holes.

The group finishes teeing off and roars toward us in their carts.  One guy says, "No way a foursome should be catching a twosome."

So I say, "So, hitting into a 9-year-old is your way of getting your point across?"  I firmly tell him that had he WAITED for us to clear the fairway we certainly would have invited his group to play through after we finished the hole.

Without even being INVITED to play through my son and me, the group played through anyway!

To this day, I still can't process the thinking, or lack thereof, of that group of seniors.  My first inclination was to hit the balls BACK to the tee--or OVER the tee into the woods behind the tee box.  But really, I just wanted to ask why they thought hitting into a group that included a youngster was a good idea.

After our nine hole round completed, I talked to the starter, a senior as well, and told him what happened. His attitude was clearly in favor of the group that hit into us. The course quickly made its way onto the 'do not play' list.

No other issues to report.  I'm 56 now and have played with guys 20 years my senior, maybe more, who play the game well, and don't act a damn fool like the old codgers we encountered in FL.

dave

I have had youngsters, and oldsters hit into me. I just pick up their ball and move on. Usually gets the point across. 

Avalanche

Posted

1 hour ago, dave s said:

To this day, I still can't process the thinking, or lack thereof, of that group of seniors.  My first inclination was to hit the balls BACK to the tee--or OVER the tee into the woods behind the tee box. 

Ha ha!  I did that once.  Was playing the Naval Academy golf course with an older gentleman who was a member there.  It wasn't crowded at all.  The twosome behind us caught up with us.  I was going to finish the hole and let them play through, but one of them hit into us.  The ball hit a few feet behind me and rolled within a dozen feet or so of where I was standing.  It really ticked me off since they just caught up to us on that hole.  I got a rescue club from my bag, and sent his ball right back towards him.  It cleared their cart.  They turned around and retrieved the ball, and then went on to the hole ahead of us.  I'm not exactly proud of the way I handled it.  But I'll bet those guys thought twice before hitting into anyone else.  lol       

9wood

Posted

1 hour ago, Patch said:

I have had youngsters, and oldsters hit into me. I just pick up their ball and move on. Usually gets the point across. 

I could never do that. I don't see that as solving anything.

  • Upvote 3
  • Moderator
DaveP043

Posted

7 minutes ago, 9wood said:

I could never do that. I don't see that as solving anything.

Amen.  I've found out that acting like an ass NEVER helps a situation, even when its a response to some other person's asinine actions.  And admittedly, I have definitely been on both sides of that equation.

  • Upvote 2
dave s

Posted

Exactly.  And stealing someone's ball (it's not yours and you picked it up--its stealing) is only going to escalate the situation and likely end badly for one or more people.

28 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Amen.  I've found out that acting like an ass NEVER helps a situation, even when its a response to some other person's asinine actions.  And admittedly, I have definitely been on both sides of that equation.

 

37 minutes ago, 9wood said:

I could never do that. I don't see that as solving anything.

Exactly.  And stealing someone's ball (it's not yours and you picked it up--its stealing) is only going to escalate the situation and likely end badly for one or more people.

dave

  • Upvote 2
Dan42nepa

Posted

3 hours ago, Missouri Swede said:

You said a 6 iron, right?

LOL should have

Patch

Posted

2 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Amen.  I've found out that acting like an ass NEVER helps a situation, even when its a response to some other person's asinine actions.  And admittedly, I have definitely been on both sides of that equation.

It' always solved the problem for me. If they drive/walk up and want their ball back I give it back to them. If they don't want it back, it probably goes into my shag bag. If folks consider me a thief or a ass then so be it. Not bothered in the least by those lables in this type of golf situation. 

Dan42nepa

Posted

all these stories.. my course isnt so bad..

Buckeyebowman

Posted

We can normally finish an 18 hole round in just over 4 hours, so we are NOT slow! However, there have been occasions where the group behind us, obviously intent on setting some sort of record, is up our ass for a good portion of the day. Some of them have bombed shots into us, despite the fact that we were being held up by the group in front. We'll let them play through, so that THEY can be held up. Then we bomb shots into their group!

Turnabout is fair play, is it not?

  • Moderator
DaveP043

Posted

On 4/30/2016 at 11:02 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Turnabout is fair play, is it not?

That's up to you, I guess.  What will you say when you hit one of them on the fly?  "Well he did it first".  Sounds a bit like a 6-year old to me.

  • Upvote 1
saevel25

Posted

On Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 11:02 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Then we bomb shots into their group!

Turnabout is fair play, is it not?

Absolutely not. If there is one thing I hate is when golfers intentionally hit into someone. In no way is reciprocating the way to go.

  • Upvote 2
Fourputt

Posted

On 4/28/2016 at 0:49 PM, Patch said:

It' always solved the problem for me. If they drive/walk up and want their ball back I give it back to them. If they don't want it back, it probably goes into my shag bag. If folks consider me a thief or a ass then so be it. Not bothered in the least by those lables in this type of golf situation. 

One thing that you can count on if you play golf, and that is that at times you will be hit into, usually quite accidentally.  That does not give you the right to steal another person's ball.  You are acting like exactly the sort of ass that this blog is decrying.  I would be embarrassed to play with someone who had so little self control.

  • Upvote 1
Patch

Posted

30 minutes ago, Fourputt said:

One thing that you can count on if you play golf, and that is that at times you will be hit into, usually quite accidentally.  That does not give you the right to steal another person's ball.  You are acting like exactly the sort of ass that this blog is decrying.  I would be embarrassed to play with someone who had so little self control.

If they don't want the ball back, by coming to me to get it, perhaps apologizing for hitting into me,  then perhaps it is not stealing to them. 

Wally Fairway

Posted

In my experience there are slow players in all age groups; but the stereotyping comes from the older/slower players being those that people remember.
I recall, as a kid, going to play twilight at a public course and it was late enough that we had to follow a league. It was a "beer drinkers" league who cared more about partying than playing. By the time we reached a point in the course to jump to another hole a bunch of us had caught up to their last group and were pushing them as we played as an elevensome. Therefore I thought for a long time that beer drinkers were slow players.

 

Full disclaimer - I'm old (turning 58 soon) and I drink beer.

Fourputt

Posted

22 minutes ago, Patch said:

If they don't want the ball back, by coming to me to get it, perhaps apologizing for hitting into me,  then perhaps it is not stealing to them. 

There is no way you can justify your actions, so you might as well stop trying.  You are wrong, whether you can see it or not.

  • Upvote 1
David in FL

Posted

On April 28, 2016 at 2:49 PM, Patch said:

It' always solved the problem for me. If they drive/walk up and want their ball back I give it back to them. If they don't want it back, it probably goes into my shag bag. If folks consider me a thief or a ass then so be it. Not bothered in the least by those lables in this type of golf situation. 

:-\


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