Why do we talk to the ball?

[bigoak]

Ever think about how stupid it is to talk to an inanimate object like a golf ball in flight? As if it could hear and obey? I used to yell at the bowling ball back in scratch league days. Did I really think that it's going to change?

[dragonflyin]

We do most of what we do on the golf course because we see the pros doing it on TV. Hal Sutton's "Be the right club today", and Tiger's frequent "BITE!" makes us think that we're all Psychokinetic...

[NBGC]

But the one time I wish people wouldn't talk to the ball is on Tour when someone in the gallery shouts " GET IN THE HOLE!", It esp irratates me when it's done on the tee of a 600 yd Par 5.

[Jamboboy]

But the one time I wish people wouldn't talk to the ball is on Tour when someone in the gallery shouts " GET IN THE HOLE!", It esp irratates me when it's done on the tee of a 600 yd Par 5.

That really irritates me too. Although it's funny when someone i'm playing with says it after I tee off as it's got no hope of going anywhere near!!

Also 'You the man!!' thats annoying too.

[erniebanks]

I talk to my ball on every shot. I used to talk to my kids too.
What a waste of time and energy.
But, years later, my kids listen to me now. Just maybe, someday, the ball will wise up too.

[Jaybone]

My wife is an inanimate object most of the time and I talk to her from time to time as well.

[bogeyhitter25]

I usually don't talk to the ball. I'll talk to myself in 3rd person. My names Luke, so I'll always end up saying "Hit the damn ball Luke!" or "Does your husband play, too Luke?"

[iQuest Golfer]

I talk to my ball on every shot. I used to talk to my kids too.

Isn't that the truth?!?

The other day, my son and I were playing and I hit a pure 3W on a par 5. I started saying under my breath, "Get there!" Just at the same time my son said, "Go, go... get there!" The ball rolled onto the green about 4 feet and was 50 feet from the pin. We looked at each other and he said, "Sweet, dad!" We knuckled and started walking towards the green. Priceless! BTW... it was a new sleeve of balls!

[TinCupTampa]

I mostly call my ball a punk when he doesnt do what he is supposed to. Sometimes I ask him if he wants to go in the lake. Minor threats and insults seem to work better for me and my ball than words of encouragement do.

[Wazzu8]

because what time I told it to get in the hole and it did. That one time is enough for me to keep it going.

[Guest]

The same reason Ted Knight talked to his putter in Caddyshack, "O billy, billy billy barou" we have the confidence in the shots but sometimes its not enough, devine intervention, but still take the credit. Makes the game more interesting.

[Dent]

I always talk to the ball, without even knowing it.

This junior who was a great guy we played with at the tournament - who I became good aquantances with called his ball "kid"

He would miss a putt or something and yell "Oh come on kid!" or "Come on kid get up there"

[Guest]

I don't talk to my ball but I do lean my body in the direction I would like it to magically go. I also have the habit of "twisting" the club I have in the direction I would like the ball to go... It's as if by turning the club it will remotely influence the ball.

I also have been known to "punish" an uncooperating ball by throwing it into a lake or into the woods. I make sure that the other balls in my bag see what I did so that they know what fate awaits them if they "act up". The other balls are usually afraid of me after that and they tend to keep in line...

[Redbird]

my ball listens to me...i have it trained very well

[DJYoshi]

as soon as i read the subject, i started laughing to myself.
yesterday i was on a NASTY shot:
160 out, uphill green
ball about 1 foot above my feet on a side slope. i played the shot to the right aiming at a tree expecting the ball to turn a good 10 - 15 feet to the left.
perfect shot, great trajectory...and it was going directly to the tree. the following is a bit obscene:

not yelling..just loud enough for my playing partner in the cart 10 feet away to hear me.
turn ball. f'in turn.
as the ball hits the tree - why didn't it f'in turn?
Dino: that sh** went dead straight.
reponse: just like every other girl i'm in a relationship with....sometimes she doesn't listen to me (referring to the ball that I so happen to give a name to before each time I use a new ball).

[bigoak]

got any tips for talking to a wife?

[EquipmentJunkie]

I don't talk to the ball but I do scold clubs after a bad shot.

[ctmurrray]

my ball listens to me...i have it trained very well

Me too! Mine have always been good listeners.