Get Used to Playing With Golfers Who Get on Your Nerves, or Not?

[Sandy Lie]

I’ll be honest about music on the course, I hate it!  No matter how low people play their music the sound travels. Playing it in a group that says it’s ok doesn’t make it ok if other people on the course can hear it.  
 

To each their own I guess.

USGA Rule 4.3

4) Audio and Video.

• Allowed.

  • Listening to audio or watching video on matters unrelated to the competition being played (such as a news report or background music).

  • But in doing so, consideration should be shown to others (see Rule 1.2).

• Not Allowed.

  • Listening to music or other audio to eliminate distractions or to help with swing tempo, or

  • Viewing video showing play of the player or other players during the competition that helps the player in choosing a club, making a stroke, or deciding how to play during the round.

See Committee Procedures, Section 8; Model Local Rule G-8 (the Committee may adopt a Local Rule prohibiting or restricting the use of audio and video devices during a round).

 

[phillyk]

There are a few situations of playing partners that annoy me.  The sulky one after a series of bad holes that will take 15min to walk to his tee shot.  Last time that happened, my partner and I requested to play ahead of them, because we said the pace was bad and it was a quiet day on the course.  It was bugging me, but it bugged my partner more.  If there was no chance of playing ahead, I would just continue doing my thing.  I wouldn't push him along unless we were losing sight of the people ahead.

Another situation is the drunk that yells profanities at kids.  We got cut off by the high school team, and they proceeded to play slow even though they knew we were on the tee behind them.  I went up to them on the next hole and asked to play through, and they said yeah.  That would've been it, except the guy I was playing with is an a**hole.  He went on to berate them.  After he left, I apologized to the kids.  I haven't played with him since.

This last one was at a tournament qualifier.  He was a mini tour player from Arizona. It's a tournament, so no leaving and what you get, you're stuck with.  He knew where he stood after 12 holes or so, and after one last bad hole, basically said f*** it, and started being dick-ish.  He didn't cause any pace of play issues or anything.  It was easy enough to ignore, walk ahead of, and never talk to.  Didn't want his negativity to infect my good round. For a mini tour guy, he was terrible at managing emotion.

[Double Mocha Man]

2 hours ago, StuM said:

I will have music at times but always ask the group if they mind and keep it low.

I would ask if you had Mozart or Beethoven in your rotation. 😁

[Wessex]

I left a club to join another a bit further away but a better challenge.  After about a year, I remarked to one member during a game when he asked me about my golfing history etc., just chewing the fat, what I thought of the club and course. 

"Great," I said. "I haven't met anyone who I wouldn't want to play with again.".

He said, "I could give you some names to avoid!". 😂😂

I have come across a couple now. Still no one I'd pull my name from a pairing but the heart does sink a bit.  I hate cheats though. Who's had the guy on the par 5 holes. You know he's had 8 but ask him just to comfirm. He looks back and starts pointing with his finger. 1, 2, 3....(a few mutterings)...... then says 5! That's the one I hate. The ones with memory loss from tee to green. 

[Double Mocha Man]

3 minutes ago, Wessex said:

I left a club to join another a bit further away but a better challenge.  After about a year, I remarked to one member during a game when he asked me about my golfing history etc., just chewing the fat, what I thought of the club and course. 

"Great," I said. "I haven't met anyone who I wouldn't want to play with again.".

He said, "I could give you some names to avoid!". 😂😂

I have come across a couple now. Still no one I'd pull my name from a pairing but the heart does sink a bit.  I hate cheats though. Who's had the guy on the par 5 holes. You know he's had 8 but ask him just to comfirm. He looks back and starts pointing with his finger. 1, 2, 3....(a few mutterings)...... then says 5! That's the one I hate. The ones with memory loss from tee to green. 

In the spirit of golfers who get on your nerves.  I have a friend I occasionally play with.  He rides in a cart with the scorecard splayed open on the steering wheel.  Insists on keeping all scores... though I prefer to keep my own in terms of how many over par I am... or under on that rare day.

But after each hole he'll ask, "What did you get there?"  Even if you just did the Tiger fist pump on the green with the rest of the group cheering (including him) as you drained your birdie.

So I've come to reporting a higher score when he asks.  "Bogey."  "No you didn't, you had a par."  Well, sheesh, if you know what I scored why do you have to ask?!

[DaveP043]

My first post in this thread, and I admit I haven't read each preceding post.  In my opinion, if you're going to compete, you better learn to play with people who get on your nerves.  It may not happen all that often, but it WILL happen.  If "that guy (or gal)" is going to throw you off your game, you might as well just quit.  And I have very little respect for quitters.

But for me, the annoyance factor has very little to do with handicap level, which is what seems to be the primary criteria used in the OP.  What bothers me most is lack of consideration for the course, for other players, or for staff.  I've probably seen those issues more in a few of the low handicappers, some of whom seem to have egos way out of line with their actual ability.  But I can usually put all of that out of my mind and play my own game, even the worst of them don't ruin my game, or my enjoyment.

[JuliWooli]

6 hours ago, phillyk said:

Another situation is the drunk that yells profanities at kids. 

Do people actually play golf drunk? The assholes (Arschlöcher) I am talking about in this thread are at least sober. I have never had the pleasure of playing with a drunk, thank the Lord.

4 hours ago, Wessex said:

I hate cheats though. Who's had the guy on the par 5 holes. You know he's had 8 but ask him just to confirm.

I have come across them but usually have no problem improving their memory on such holes.

[JuliWooli]

4 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

He rides in a cart with the scorecard splayed open on the steering wheel.  Insists on keeping all scores...

I know him. He plays in Germany now. He's a total moron.

I always tell him that I am playing a practise round and not keeping score today.

Of course at the next he'll ask again. When I tell him to mind his own business and stick his pencil up his ass, he'll not ask me for at least a couple of holes.

[mcanadiens]

15 minutes ago, JuliWooli said:

Do people actually play golf drunk? The assholes (Arschlöcher) I am talking about in this thread are at least sober. I have never had the pleasure of playing with a drunk, thank the Lord.

Of course there are many different levels of "drunk". Can't say I've ever played with anyone who was literally falling-down drunk, but there have certainly been many experiences with people of lesser levels of intoxication. 

Here in the US, it isn't uncommon to have scramble events that include people that aren't regular golfers. Those events can get very sloppy. Once I played in one of these scrambles with this very friendly fellow who alternated between marijuana and beer for the entire 18 holes.  The word we use here is contact buzz and I think I would have failed a piss test the next day.

It was fun, but I'm not entirely sure it was golf.

Edited March 7, 2021 by mcanadiens

[Double Mocha Man]

I've never played golf drunk.  But I do take a sip of an Italian Sports Drink on occasion to keep the swing well-oiled.

[JuliWooli]

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

My first post in this thread, and I admit I haven't read each preceding post.  In my opinion, if you're going to compete, you better learn to play with people who get on your nerves.  It may not happen all that often, but it WILL happen. 

I disagree. I am not saying that lower handicappers are saints but most of them have earned their stripes. Ask @HoganApexFanwho was a marine for over 20 years, he'll back me up.

There are also high handicappers who know their place when they are playing out of their league. I appreciate a little cap doffing but, in these cases, I would rather avoid such adulation.

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

you might as well just quit.  And I have very little respect for quitters.

I quit a game once in my life and regretted it afterwards. It was on a visit to Scotland a few years ago in November. It was freezing cold, pouring and the wind was blowing the heavy rain at an angle closer to horizontal. I had already played about 12 holes and was soaking through. My hands were so cold I couldn't feel the club head, f*** it felt like I was swinging a garden cane. I was sure that hypothermia was setting in.

To cut a long story short, one of my playing partners informed me on the 12th that I could take a short cut back to the club house from the next tee. 

I am not passing the buck but his suggestion was just too tempting and I made my apologies and hiked it. I did feel guilty and have never quit since but thoughts of a hot shower, dry clothes and my favourite tipple beckoned me back.

Or was it Satan? himself.

38 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

The word we use here is contact buzz and I think I would have failed a piss test the next day.

It was fun, but I'm not entirely sure it was golf.

Drunk and stoned = Contact buzz! f*** that, golf's hard enough.

BTW are we allowed to say 'piss'?

[JuliWooli]

32 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

I do take a sip of an Italian Sports Drink on occasion to keep the swing well-oiled.

Italian Sports Drink?

Espresso Martini?

Help, I'm not understanding this one.

[Double Mocha Man]

3 minutes ago, JuliWooli said:

Italian Sports Drink?

Espresso Martini?

Help, I'm not understanding this one.

Pinot grigio.

[StuM]

10 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

I would ask if you had Mozart or Beethoven in your rotation. 😁

That would be.............NO

[JuliWooli]

On 3/7/2021 at 5:25 PM, Double Mocha Man said:

I would ask if you had Mozart or Beethoven in your rotation. 😁

Joking aside! 🔉

I used to hum Strauss (inwardly of course) during practice sessions, "Die Schöne Blaue Donau" (The Beautiful Blue Danube) . Tra la la la la, boom boom, boom boom. Tra la la la = backswing, 4th la = transition, boom = impact, boom = Finish, and boom boom = feedback (strike quality, smoothness or jerkiness, balance etc).

I haven't done this for years, I'll be trying this again soon.

Don't laugh at me!

[ChetlovesMer]

9 minutes ago, JuliWooli said:

Joking aside! 🔉

I used to hum Strauss (inwardly of course) during practice sessions, "Die Schöne Blaue Donau" (The Beautiful Blue Danube) . Tra la la la la, boom boom, boom boom. Tra la la la = backswing, 4th la = transition, boom = impact, boom = Finish, and boom boom = feedback (strike quality, smoothness or jerkiness, balance etc).

I haven't done this for years, I'll be trying this again soon.

Don't laugh at me!

I wouldn't laugh at that at all. 

I've said this on this forum many many times. I am a firm believer in practicing talking during your own backswing. I practice talking during my backswing. I do it often at the range, and even sometimes on the course. Sometimes I try to carry on conversation sometimes while hitting the ball. I am not the greatest golfer in the world, but I can tell you this. You will have a hard time distracting me by talking in my backswing. 

I've hit a trillion lousy shots in my life. But I'm fairly confident that almost NONE of them were caused by people talking in my backswing. If I hit a bad shot it's because I'm not the best golfer in the world. 

BTW - It works even better for putting. 

[JuliWooli]

20 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I practice talking during my backswing. I do it often at the range, and even sometimes on the course. Sometimes I try to carry on conversation sometimes while hitting the ball. I am not the greatest golfer in the world, but I can tell you this. You will have a hard time distracting me by talking in my backswing. 

Yeah, I talk during my backswing too. "That bampot's moved or jingled in his pocket again." It doesn't help me. However, with my regular partners I don't anticipate any bad etiquette.  

Perhaps using my Strauss thing will help when playing with morons. Another new drill for me for the coming season. Thank you.

[dagolfer18]

I’ve played with several different types of people, most of whom have been great to play with. I’ve got a pretty high tolerance level (it was a lot lower in the incident I’ll describe below) and most people I’ve played with haven’t come anywhere close to crossing the line. But one person did.

In my freshman year, I was paired with someone from another school, who I’d heard beforehand had a sour reputation. He was known to get very short-tempered on the golf course: cursing, throwing clubs, the whole package. But the main thing was that he was a cheat. He was known to fudge his scores, which resulted in a not-infrequent DQ on the scoreboard. 

In the first few holes, I didn’t see any evidence of that. But on one hole, he hit a mediocre shot (not horrible, but he was unhappy) and he hurled his club straight into the trees. Later, on a hole where he made a double after an OB tee shot, he claimed he made par. I wasn’t keeping his scorecard, but I was for sure keeping track of it. What happened later pushed him over the line.

Near the end of our round, I was the last to putt out on a hole, and I was too absorbed in my short putt to notice that he and the other guy I was put with had already marched ahead to the next tee. That night, my coach and I were texting about the round, and I brought up what happened. Not just the thing at the end, but everything. I was so mad that I requested to not play with him at regionals the next week. He said that he understood, and that nobody from our team would play with him.

That’s about the only time I’ve ever been paired with a jerk.