Why do we talk to the ball?

[SunsetBeach]

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?

We talk to the ball for the same reasons our wives talk to us, we actually think they will listen.

[bobbydacron]

I agree with Tincup, the ball doesn't respond well to positive reinforcement. I personally think that its out to get me. I choose to respond to it with loving corporal punishment, hitting it as many times as possible while cursing it. If it behaves well then I do pay it compliments but I early on I found that flattery got me nowhere. My scores typically are in the 120's which should show those pinnacles who's boss.

[jking]

I hit a shot Thursday that was going to land short of the green. I said, "give me some love baby". This was with a pitching wedge, so it came in on a pretty high trajectory, but lo and behold it hit on an upslope and still managed to jump onto the green and rolled to about 3 feet from the hole.

My Dad hit right after me from a similar position and hit a similar distance short of the green, but his rolled back into the rough. The only real difference in the shots is that he didn't talk to his golf ball.

I think the Mythbusters would call that "Myth Confirmed".

[gmc1950s]

got any tips for talking to a wife?

Just use those three little words " My fault Dear" She'll doubt your

sincerity but she can't argue. It's been working for 35 years.

[titaniummd]

I don't talk to the ball. Others actually talk to it but it never listens ("Bite" or "turn"). The way I see it, the ball has been programmed immediately after it has left the club face.

[iacas]

I look at talking at the ball as a sort of cheering. Obviously it has no effect on the ball or the results, but it's still "cheering."

Plus it helps let other people know not to say "great shot" prematurely. If I'm yelling "go!" they're less likely to say "great shot" just before my ball lands in the bunker.

[AK jr.]

im a pretty firery player and i like to pump some fists and make some big shots. i tend to start yelling at my ball alot when its reached the apex of the distance and starts to come down. its usually on the shots that have a slight chance of spinning way back off the green or ending up long. i have a good sense of where my ball is going right when i make impact so sometimes i just don't even look at it and see where it ends up