Random Single Golfers

[gregsandiego]

Why do so many relatively good golfers take a single slot tee time with just whatever the club has available.

I tend to sign up as 2 ( wish I had a reliable 4) and we often get some random guy, with varying ability, personality etc. Sometimes they just play their own game quietly, sometimes they're much better and we struggle to keep up.

Or in one case we had the too serious golfer getting angry at every imperfect shot. 

Why don't these people have any golf friends?

In any case I don't enjoy being teamed up randomly and the experience encourages me to get a regular 4-some together.

 

 

 

 

 

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, gregsandiego said:

Why do so many relatively good golfers take a single slot tee time with just whatever the club has available.

I tend to sign up as 2 ( wish I had a reliable 4) and we often get some random guy, with varying ability, personality etc. Sometimes they just play their own game quietly, sometimes they're much better and we struggle to keep up.

Or in one case we had the too serious golfer getting angry at every imperfect shot. 

Why don't these people have any golf friends?

In any case I don't enjoy being teamed up randomly and the experience encourages me to get a regular 4-some together.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m retired and played a lot last year as a single because my wife was still working. I could go early and be home by lunch. 

[StuM]

I know a few that simply play so much golf that their friends simply don’t have  time to go out with them every time.

i don’t mind being paired up. Most of the time they are friendly.  It is also a good way to meet new golf friends. I can handle the rare time I get paired with a jerk.  Of course maybe to them I am the jerk.

[billchao]

I’m just not the type of person to meet someone and then exchange numbers. I just don’t like the feeling that I’m imposing myself on others. Maybe they have a regular group and one happened to drop out or something and that’s how I got the slot. Or maybe they didn’t care that much for me and were simply being polite/diplomatic during our round together. Either way I’m still the outsider and I’m not looking to force my way into anyone’s regular group. And yes, I understand these are mostly issues my end and in my own head, but that’s just how my brain works. It’s a fundamental aspect of my personality that’s shaped a lot of the things I have done and not done in my life.

I started playing recently with a regular group on the weekends. Golf is more fun with people I know, but I still don’t mind going out as a single.

[colin007]

I'm a teacher, I get most of my playing in during the summers. Since I have so much time during the week off, it's considerate of me to play then instead of on the weekends. Unfortunately, my buddies are all working. So.....

12 hours ago, gregsandiego said:

In any case I don't enjoy being teamed up randomly 

Tough titties.

[snapfade]

11 hours ago, gregsandiego said:

Why do so many relatively good golfers take a single slot tee time with just whatever the club has available.

I tend to sign up as 2 ( wish I had a reliable 4) and we often get some random guy, with varying ability, personality etc. Sometimes they just play their own game quietly, sometimes they're much better and we struggle to keep up.

Or in one case we had the too serious golfer getting angry at every imperfect shot. 

Why don't these people have any golf friends?

In any case I don't enjoy being teamed up randomly and the experience encourages me to get a regular 4-some together.

 

 

 

 

 

Who's to say they don't? Maybe their golf friends are busy that particular day that you get paired with them. Maybe none of their friends play golf. Maybe all their friends are dead as the song goes. Getting paired up with a single is part of the business, if you don't like it get a foursome together or stay home. Nothing you can really do about it but take it. If the dude is a jerk or asshole the call him on it, leave him, circle back a few holes, you don't have to deal with idiots. You can be polite and to the point, but I'm not going to let some random looser ruin our day. I would say from experience 99% of the singles I have been paired with or was one myself was a positive experience. Believe it or not, most people aren't that good at golf. Every once in a while you will have a ringer, but people just enjoy the game and most of us will play with anyone and have a good time. Point is don't be a jerk, don't put up with a jerk. Sounds like a good topic, "Rules if you are a single".

[iacas]

18 hours ago, gregsandiego said:

Why don't these people have any golf friends?

They might. Just not that day. Or they could be traveling outside their normal area, or countless other reasons. You know what they say about assuming things…

18 hours ago, gregsandiego said:

In any case I don't enjoy being teamed up randomly and the experience encourages me to get a regular 4-some together.

Good for you if you can do it, but yeah… a course is going to match you up if they have the space.

That's one of the perks of being at a club where they know you a bit, too: they won't add a single to your threesome if they know you don't enjoy it and they can put him somewhere else or just say "we're full up today." (Doesn't even necessarily have to be a private club, I'm saying.)

[GolfLug]

I have a regular blitz at my CC but every few weeks I go up to a city course I like, to change things up a bit. I typically get paired up with random folks or the course regulars.

I have yet to have a bad experience over the years. There is a clear understanding that the course will not turn away business and take up any slot with any group. Most are polite/welcoming and some even friendly.

You get a weirdo or an entitled unhappy group every now and then. So what? You don't gotta share your sammich with them. Just do your thing. Get over yourself or go home.

7 hours ago, colin007 said:

Tough titties.

Yupp, I don't see what the problem is. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by GolfLug

[colin007]

I think in all the years I've been playing, and the hundreds of people I've played with, there were a grand total of 3 ass clowns. Still finished the round with them.

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, colin007 said:

I think in all the years I've been playing, and the hundreds of people I've played with, there were a grand total of 3 ass clowns. Still finished the round with them.

Yeah, sorry about that.

😉 

I won't pair you with @boogielicious, @billchao, and @GolfLug again.

🤣

[GolfLug]

Damn bro..tough crowd.😂

[NZ Golfer]

At my local NZ GC it's very common to play as a single with different players(mostly members) every week ... I do have guys I play with more often and in the same muti-day comps/tournaments etc ..maybe it's different over your way .. 

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Damn bro..tough crowd.😂

Badge of Honor!

[mcanadiens]

Back in the days before our rash of course closures, I played a lot of golf by myself. It really wasn't a hard thing to walk on to one of my old home complex's three courses and not need to be inserted into somebody else's group. 

The pandemic changed all that. 

With tee times almost being required to get on the course, I've had to become a fair bit more sociable. A long with a pretty regular group of guys at my new home course, I've stayed in contact with a few others and play some of the other area courses with them here and there. At this point, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've been out as a single in the past couple of years. 

 

[chspeed]

On 9/3/2023 at 10:34 PM, gregsandiego said:

Why don't these people have any golf friends?

In any case I don't enjoy being teamed up randomly and the experience encourages me to get a regular 4-some together.

I used to play a lot more as a single years ago. Then I started playing with another guy. We'd always play very early.

Over the years, we slowly met other singles who were paired up with us with similar ability, playing speed, sense of humor, etc. and we'd ask them if they wanted to play again. Sometimes it didn't work out again, or we only played once or twice more. Some of the others have become great golfing buddies who are around today, or moved away and we meet on golf trips.

While I don't really like playing as a single anymore, I remember that it's the best way I know to meet new buddies.

 

[DaveP043]

I'm struck by a bit of a contradiction.  @gregsandiego signs up as 2, so apparently he has only one regular golfing friend.  Then he asks why these other folks don't have golfing friends.    Does anyone wonder why Greg doesn't have more golfing friends?

To be clear, I'm poking fun, only teasing.  There are lots of reasons that players will show up at a course as singles or twosomes, and its perfectly normal to meet a huge variety of other golfers.  Variety in skill level, pace of play, personality, all of that.  Others have said it, meeting all of these golfers gives you the potential you make a new friend or two, to fill out your circle of friends to the point where you DO have a regular foursome.

[DeadMan]

I play as a single frequently, especially in winter, late fall, or early spring. Getting my golf friends together with kids' schedules and work schedules takes an Act of Congress. I also tend to play at odd times - early mornings, random Fridays, when the weather looks iffy, etc. It often defaults to me being a single. Overall, I've had fine experiences, with a few rare exceptions. The courses here are busy enough that nobody has an expectation they would be able to turn down a single. Again, generally not an issue, with some exceptions.

[Pretzel]

On 9/3/2023 at 9:34 PM, gregsandiego said:

Why don't these people have any golf friends?

I have golf friends, and I play with them whenever it works out for both of our schedules. I also like to golf outside of just the times when my golf friends are available to play. Just because they can't play doesn't mean I can't play either.

Usually I play better than the people I get paired up with, but it's never an issue to me of them "keeping up" or anything like that. I enjoy having company out on the course, and if those I get paired up with don't feel the same then I also enjoy just being out there to play a round of golf. You're not burdening anyone by playing your own game out on the course so long as you keep up with either the group ahead or the standard pace of play, and if they feel that way you are more than welcome to tell them to get bent because they're a jerk anyways.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Pretzel