Annoying Golf Partners

[Sandy Lie]

So today I was paired with a couple of annoying golf partners.  I would guess they cost me a few strokes, but we know that’s not possible as only we are responsible for our shots.  But maintains focus with the guys who play only a few times a year can have you lose focus and you can’t wait for the round to end.

A few of these guys are in this video, especially Mr. Mood Swing.

Enjoy: 

 

[saevel25]

9 minutes ago, Sandy Lie said:

So today I was paired with a couple of annoying golf partners.  I would guess they cost me a few strokes, but we know that’s not possible as only we are responsible for our shots.  But maintains focus with the guys who play only a few times a year can have you lose focus and you can’t wait for the round to end.

If you know you are better, just get enjoyment out of beating them 😉

If not, mindfulness is a good way to try to not stay annoyed. 

[Sandy Lie]

True, I tend to ignore them after a few holes. I’ll say “good shot, nice putt” when warranted but just try to stay focused and play ready golf which helps especially when they are in the woods looking for their ball. Will hit 1st, then go help.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Sandy Lie

[iacas]

I'm mildly annoyed by the ones who need you to watch all of their shots but who won't pay attention to where yours end up. Sometimes they can't — because they're 80 yards away looking for their ball — but sometimes like on the tee they can, and often just don't.

I also appreciate the playing partners who point out where your tee goes flying off to. I don't dislike those who don't. It's an LCP type of thing.

[Missouri Swede]

I read the thread title incorrectly.

”Why would I want to start annoying my golf partners?” Gerund vs. present participle or something. I must be having a bad day, ‘cause I clicked anyway. 

[gjunkie57]

I’ve learned to tune them out.  When paired with randoms, if they are real golfers we’ll get along just fine.  But players who have bad habits, I sight their ball then head to mine.
I have my own goals on the course; have fun, no sevens on the scorecard, and no lost balls.  That keeps my focus. 

[caniac6]

I joined a private club last September, and, so far, I have played with a great group. We play Tuesdays and Thursdays, and have four tee times. I have enjoyed playing with all the guys.

[mcanadiens]

The real truth is that I'm probably the annoying playing partner. I both suck and still get mad anyway.

That said, very few people really annoy me. I guess the ones that move ahead of where my ball landed because they didn't realize I was so far behind them annoy me. ... Also the guys that try to give me advice in the middle of the round bother me. ... Most people don't do either.

[Shindig]

One of the people who introduced me to golf in the first place would regularly do things that are generally bad etiquette:  try to make me mad during the round, talk during my swing, etc.  The good news is that now, when someone does things like making noise while I'm swinging my accident, it doesn't annoy me unless they're trying to mess me up (which no one has done, at least to my knowledge).

[Carl3]

Played in an event with a pair that both felt the need to stretch and practically do calisthenics on the first tee right behind me from my warm up, address and right through my swing. I guess they didn’t arrive early enough. It was almost like a parody sketch. 
 

one of the guys was a super nervous sort that could not be still or refrain from fidgeting. He liked to stand on the green behind the flag and be in constant motion. I typically don’t mind where people stand or even if they move around a little, but this was almost like the student section waving giant foam fingers when the opponent is attempting a field goal, extra point, or foul shot.

he seemed like a nice guy, just oblivious 

[imsys0042]

Mine was my mother.  She was a very angry person with a temper.   Golf was not her game.  She took it up to spend time with me when I was a teenager, after I started playing when I was a caddie.

she had a violent, slashing swing.   Her clubs were a set of old MacGregor blades and she would hit the 2-iron a lot off the tee.   It would go far, but rarely where she wanted.  Seriously, it was like some type of hockey motion.

she was easily frustrated and had zero short game.  She would ping pong back and forth across the green because her chipping miss was blading the ball.  She’d get mad, start swearing and sometimes take 4 chips/pitches around the green.  Several times I’d have to apologize because she’d get mad and swear so much.  If she was in a bunker, forget it.  Just run!

Her main quirk was water though.   It could be a lake or a 2 foot wide stream in front of her.  She’d find it.   We were in Myrtle Beach at Wild Wing Hummingbird years ago and there is a creek hat winds through.  She was about 20 feet in front of he creek that was only a couple of feet deep in front of her.  Sure enough, she topped it and it went in the creek, carried away by the current.   She was super pissed and I couldn’t stop laughing.   We didn’t talk for most of the rest of the day. 

[phan52]

The "me" guy. He has no idea what is going on around him. Only focused on his game, and not in a good way. He may as well be on the golf course by himself. Never a "nice shot" or "good putt", instead still mumbling about a shot he hit two holes ago. The "me" guy usually thinks he is a way better player than he really is.

[Zippo]

I don't mind playing with someone who golfs poorly but I do mind being paired with someone who golfs poorly and constantly whines about how poorly he's golfing. A couple of weeks ago I was paired in our local group with a guy who not only hacked at the ball worse than I do (hard to imagine) but couldn't stop whinging about it. He even started throwing his club, after some hacks, as if that would help him improve. He ignored how everyone else played - never a "good shot" or "nice putt" from him. Eventually, after I ignored his complaints enough, he just sat in the cart in between hacking, with his arms folded like some kid whose gonna take his ball and go home.

I got another guy this week who had to express every thought out loud. We'd pull up to his ball and he'd just sit there. I'd say, "there's your ball" and he'd go "Oh". Then he'd ask how far it was to the flag. I'd tell him, "that's the hundred yard marker right next to you" and he'd go, "I don't think I have a club for that distance". Then he'd hack it down the fairway 20 yards, so I guess he was right. While others were putting he'd stand on the green and start counting his shots - out loud and it'd take him several counts before he was done.

Only thing I can figure, is that for some people, the only way they can feel better is to try to make everyone else around them feel worse. I've met some pretty nice guys in the group but there are now two that I will never play golf with again.

[boogielicious]

20 hours ago, Zippo said:

I don't mind playing with someone who golfs poorly but I do mind being paired with someone who golfs poorly and constantly whines about how poorly he's golfing. A couple of weeks ago I was paired in our local group with a guy who not only hacked at the ball worse than I do (hard to imagine) but couldn't stop whinging about it. He even started throwing his club, after some hacks, as if that would help him improve. He ignored how everyone else played - never a "good shot" or "nice putt" from him. Eventually, after I ignored his complaints enough, he just sat in the cart in between hacking, with his arms folded like some kid whose gonna take his ball and go home.

I got another guy this week who had to express every thought out loud. We'd pull up to his ball and he'd just sit there. I'd say, "there's your ball" and he'd go "Oh". Then he'd ask how far it was to the flag. I'd tell him, "that's the hundred yard marker right next to you" and he'd go, "I don't think I have a club for that distance". Then he'd hack it down the fairway 20 yards, so I guess he was right. While others were putting he'd stand on the green and start counting his shots - out loud and it'd take him several counts before he was done.

Only thing I can figure, is that for some people, the only way they can feel better is to try to make everyone else around them feel worse. I've met some pretty nice guys in the group but there are now two that I will never play golf with again.

There’s a line from the Harry Chapin song Mr Tanner that goes, “full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order”.

This guy needs to take up knitting.

[colin007]

On 7/28/2021 at 8:56 PM, iacas said:

I'm mildly annoyed by the ones who need you to watch all of their shots but who won't pay attention to where yours end up. Sometimes they can't — because they're 80 yards away looking for their ball — but sometimes like on the tee they can, and often just don't.

I also appreciate the playing partners who point out where your tee goes flying off to. I don't dislike those who don't. It's an LCP type of thing.

Lol you would hate playing with me then - because of a retinal condition, I've lost 80% of my field of vision and now rely almost completely on my partners (who almost always already know me and my vision issues) to be able to play. I can no longer play alone because I simply cannot see the ball 9 out of 10 shots. I still try my best to help watch others balls if I'm able to, but my disability makes it tough. 🙂

[Shindig]

3 hours ago, colin007 said:

Lol you would hate playing with me then - because of a retinal condition, I've lost 80% of my field of vision and now rely almost completely on my partners (who almost always already know me and my vision issues) to be able to play. I can no longer play alone because I simply cannot see the ball 9 out of 10 shots. I still try my best to help watch others balls if I'm able to, but my disability makes it tough. 🙂

There's a guy in my club who is great company and has a standing deal with his playing partners.  I think he plays many times per week and pretty much every club event.  His offer (and he never has trouble getting someone to accept) is that he'll pay for the cart fees for whoever shares a cart with him.  That person has to watch his ball.  However, if he ever loses a ball (as in, cannot find), then the other person pays the cart fee.  There are plenty of people with good eyes who want to ride who are happy to take him up on the offer, he's happy to pay, and he's very happy to not lose a ball.

[StuM]

OMG, I was out with a client today, first time I ever golfed with him.  He is nice enough but I wanted to KILL HIM.

Strike 1: I am walking up to my putt, @ 6 footer for par, when he just takes his club and swats it back at me saying "That's good".  I tell him I like to putt out and place it back to it original spot then I miss the putt and get bogey.  He says "You should have just taken the gimmie". 

Strike 2: I hit a bad iron shot and landed in tall weeds about 3 feet from the boundary fence, clearly in bounds.  I look at the lie, go to my bag to get a club and he kicks it out of the weeds into the rough and says, "You do not want to play that lie".  Lucky I looked at the ball so I could re-create the lie, and hit a beauty right onto the green. 

Strike 3: I hit a drive into a penalty area and decide to re-tee it taking stroke & distance.  I shot a 6 on the par-4 taking S&D into account.  After the round I am adding up the scores and I notice he erased my 6 and changed it to a 4.  I commented on that and he said "You are welcome" and said that if I did not insist on hitting from such bad lies and take a mulligan now and then I would score better like him.

I so much wanted to say, "Sure, I could shoot under-par if I cheated like you" but since he is a client I just bit my tongue.

 

[Bonvivant]

@StuM, I am the antithesis of this. Used to care about people taking gimmes, rolling the ball, etc., but then I realized that its their money and they can do what they want. When I play with someone I have never played with before, I always take the time on the first tee to explain that I will be playing by the RoG to the best of my ability, and that they please respect it (don't touch my ball, don't send it back even if it's within a foot, etc.). A 30 second explanation at the start of the round "may" save you a world of headache.