No Talking During Golf? Have Y’all Ever Had This?

[Vinsk]

  On 4/10/2019 at 2:24 PM, WarrenB said:

I play with a group of mostly senior golfers a couple times a week. For me it’s a social group and I’m working on my game and showing improvement. Last week I had a member of our board come to me and tell me that he appreciates me playing but I talk too much because he had a complaint. 

    The guy who complained did not say a single word for 18 holes and the only things I said to him was stupid stuff like nice shot, good putt, always polite when he swung and putted. Played with him again yesterday and I was miserable because I don’t like being around sour pusses. Anyone have a suggestion on how to deal with this.  It’s just one guy who apparently everyone is just silent when they are paired with him. I can’t handle serious golf I think I’d quit first. Lol

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As long as I’m following standard golf etiquette, nobody is going to tell me if I can talk or not. 

[SteveH]

Guys talking doesn't bother me, there were always people talking when I learned to play.  I do keep quiet when guys are taking their shot and putting though.  I like to be sociable and chat back and forth.  I did play with one guy where you couldn't even be in his view when you were standing still.  He would make comments about a bright red windshirt I had being distracting, so I made sure to wear it whenever I was playing in his group or with him.  

[RemyM]

Good thing this guy didn't have to play with Lee Trevino.

Lee Trevino has told the story of the very first time he was paired with Jack Nicklaus during a tournament. Nicklaus was well aware of Trevino's reputation for constant chatter. Trevino liked to talk to his playing partners - or anybody - during rounds, joking, laughing, chatting throughout. Nicklaus didn't.

So Nicklaus approached Trevino before their round to make sure Lee knew that Jack preferred not to talk much while playing. "That's OK," Trevino told him, "you don't have to talk, you just have to listen."

[boogielicious]

  On 4/10/2019 at 9:48 PM, Vinsk said:

As long as I’m following standard golf etiquette, nobody is going to tell me if I can talk or not. 

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[mcanadiens]

Playing in club competitions you get both extremes.

I do generally like to talk a bit. Normally, it helps keep me calm and keep current on the latest goings on. But the relentless talkers, particularly when they are also inane, can get my hair-trigger temper going if I'm struggling. 

With the quiet types, I'm not bothered as long as they are polite and respond to basic on-course acknowledgements like who's away or a rules question. But once in awhile you'll get a guy you loathe and you know he hates you. Those can get pretty testy.

Play golf long enough, you'll see all sorts. 

  

[LMoore]

If I'm playing with folks I'd don't know, I'll keep relatively quiet, giving kudos to a quality shot with a simple "nice", or "good putt".

But of the 30 or so guys I play with on a regular basis, 90% are into humor, with stinging comments for a shank or Stevie Wonder putt. Thin skinned need not apply.

Three things about a round of golf;

How you play

Where you play

With whom you play................and the first two are overrated.

[ChetlovesMer]

I am extremely talkative in my normal life and therefore in my golf life. I am loquacious, garrulous, voluble, conversational and just downright chatty. I've mentioned this here many times, but I will often talk during my own backswing. (I don't talk during other people's.)

I try... I mean really REALLY try to be respectful of others. I do all I can to be courteous on the course. I've played with all kinds of folks with all kinds of quirks. I do my best to accommodate. 

There are some people, however, who are just not going to be social. My guess is that they hate me. ... I can live with that. 

[rehmwa]

  On 4/11/2019 at 1:50 PM, ChetlovesMer said:

I am extremely talkative in my normal life and therefore in my golf life. I am loquacious, garrulous, voluble, conversational and just downright chatty. I've mentioned this here many times, but I will often talk during my own backswing. (I don't talk during other people's.)

I try... I mean really REALLY try to be respectful of others. I do all I can to be courteous on the course. I've played with all kinds of folks with all kinds of quirks. I do my best to accommodate. 

There are some people, however, who are just not going to be social. My guess is that they hate me. ... I can live with that. 

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^ this - it's important to remember - after a certain point, what bothers someone is THEIR choice that it bugs them.  I'm not responsible for it at all beyond a reasonable expectations of considerate awareness of others.  If another is extreme about it, that's their problem, not mine.

Edited April 11, 2019 by rehmwa

[Club Rat]

I only talk to my golf ball. but it's like my wife, it won't listen ...

But seriously, I've played for years and with many who never stop with the conversations.
Sometimes when it gets old and annoying when it continues on every tee.
I'll tee up my ball and stand off to the side of it and stare down the fairway.

They final get the idea and quiet it a bit until I hit.
I'll make a comment like " sorry guys, I didn't want my golf game to interrupt the conversation"

The just tell me to F- off and everything is fine...

I'm kinda like Jack, I usually like to listen and hold off on the conversations until the 19th hole.
 

[Indy-Archer]

It's not as though our personalities change as soon as we hit a golf course. We are who we are, and golfers span the spectrum of personalities just like any other walk of life. Neither the silent nor the chatty bother me at all. I tend toward the social, but not at all in the extreme. The key is simply striving to be polite. 

[Zippo]

Maybe next time show up at the first tee with duct tape over your mouth and earmuffs? See if he gets it...  

[Chasing_Bogeys]

  On 4/10/2019 at 5:44 PM, bones75 said:

+1 to that. Been paired w/ people who won't stop w/ the politics talk, (incorrectly) assuming I'm 100% on their page too. Silence is golden in those instances.

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Politics is, IMHO, basically forbidden on a golf course. Especially with folks that you've just met.

[3jacker]

  On 4/10/2019 at 2:24 PM, WarrenB said:

I play with a group of mostly senior golfers a couple times a week. For me it’s a social group and I’m working on my game and showing improvement. Last week I had a member of our board come to me and tell me that he appreciates me playing but I talk too much because he had a complaint. 

    The guy who complained did not say a single word for 18 holes and the only things I said to him was stupid stuff like nice shot, good putt, always polite when he swung and putted. Played with him again yesterday and I was miserable because I don’t like being around sour pusses. Anyone have a suggestion on how to deal with this.  It’s just one guy who apparently everyone is just silent when they are paired with him. I can’t handle serious golf I think I’d quit first. Lol

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That is ridiculous.  Here's what I'd do:

1) Tell the board member to go **** himself

2) Go find a better group

[billchao]

I don't think I'd care if I didn't have to talk, though it's definitely more enjoyable to be social. I play with strangers all the time and I've learned how to assess whether someone wants to talk or not pretty quickly. I'm talking to myself either way.

  On 4/12/2019 at 3:02 PM, Chasing_Bogeys said:

Politics is, IMHO, basically forbidden on a golf course. Especially with folks that you've just met.

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I worked as a bartender for a number of years as well as a cook in a greasy spoon and the first thing anyone has ever taught me about talking with strangers is never bring up sex, religion, and politics.

I'm pretty good at listening, though. It's amazing how many people will assume you are just like them.

[Buckeyebowman]

  On 4/11/2019 at 12:40 PM, mcanadiens said:

Playing in club competitions you get both extremes.

I do generally like to talk a bit. Normally, it helps keep me calm and keep current on the latest goings on. But the relentless talkers, particularly when they are also inane, can get my hair-trigger temper going if I'm struggling. 

With the quiet types, I'm not bothered as long as they are polite and respond to basic on-course acknowledgements like who's away or a rules question. But once in awhile you'll get a guy you loathe and you know he hates you. Those can get pretty testy.

Play golf long enough, you'll see all sorts. 

  

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Yep! The only problem i have are with guys who yak too much. Got paired up with a guy at a local 9 holer. Non-stop gab! He made a nice approach shot and began repeating, "Looks like I'm gonna get me a tweet tweet!" Meaning, of course, a birdie. Kept on saying it all the way to the green (we were walking), and after he made the putt it changed to, "I got me a tweet tweet!" This was the first hole, so I had 8 more to go. I just had to grin and bear it. The guy was insufferable!