Hacker or Player

[mako224]

Jeez Fourputt, by chance were you always picked last for kickball in grade school? Why all the attitude?

Great post. I think its funny how some seem to want everyone to be called a "player" so long as there intentions are good. Where does this feel good bullcrap come from. Is it our education system? Is it all this political correctness? Hey all you 20+ handicappers out there.....go ahead and call yourselves "Players" if it makes you feel good about yourself. Just don't get upset if I laugh at you.

[zeg]

I think its funny how some seem to want everyone to be called a "player" so long as there intentions are good. Where does this feel good bullcrap come from. Is it our education system? Is it all this political correctness?

Not at all. As I said at some length above, there are two unrelated concepts that happen to use the same words in different ways. When

I personally use the word player vs hacker, I am usually talking about attitude. It's not that I don't recognize differences in skill, it's just not the way I talk about it. There's nothing politically correct about it. It's just a different concept with the same word. It happens all the time.

[flopdarock]

how about this: a "player" is someone who threatens 80 regularly, and a "playa!" is someone who threatens par regularly?

i thought a 'playa' was someone who threatens yer relationship with yer gf regularly... hahaha

[Fourputt]

Jeez Fourputt, by chance were you always picked last for kickball in grade school? Why all the attitude?

All I've done is just note the trends in the posts in this thread. The lower the handicap of the poster, the better the golfer he calls a hacker.

I happen to disagree with using the term "hacker" for anyone just because of his playing ability. I feel that it IS a derogatory term. You can call an unskilled golfer a bogey golfer, or a high handicapper, and that is just a true estimate of what they are. Calling a player a hacker IS a demeaning way to refer to anyone, and in my opinion he should have to earn that tag by doing something worse than just being a poor player. I'm not all that fond of pigeon-holing players in the first place. It's too subjective, and as this thread has shown, the category hi's placed in is completely dependent on the level that one is viewing from. If Tiger was to chime in, he might call all of you single digit guys hackers. I just feel that a golfer can move from the hacker category to the high handicapper category without even changing his ability level. All he has to do is become aware of his responsibilities to the course and to other players, and he loses the hacker connotation, IMHO, even though he might still qualify as a very high handicapper. On a closing note... the Rules of Golf use the term "player" in the first person, the one whom the ruling or situation is directed at. So by the rules of golf, when I refer to myself, I am the player. If you refer to me, I am the opponent or fellow competitor. In some cases they use the phrase "bogey golfer" and "scratch golfer" in certain handicapping references. As far as I'm concerned, those are really the only tags that have a valid application in the game.

[mako224]

In the context of this thread I think everyone here knows exactly what the original poster ment by the word "Player". Sorry to those of you who get your panties in a bunch over the term.

[zeg]

Gee, I was under the impression that the original poster was curious as to what the term meant to us, hence the question...

[Titleist Man]

Play whenever you can and shoot low 80s to high 70s consistently.

[golfmonke]

A Hacker vs Player is defined soley upon playing ability.

To me a player is anybody with a handicap under 5.

A hacker is a 15 HDCP or above.

[st0wgolf08]

I think a player is someone, that knows how to work the ball, can do so on command and use that to benefit their scores.

[flopdarock]

a player is one who has no handicap... all others strive for this goal

[shortgrass lover]

yeah, i think a third category is in order - i consider a hacker to be someone who runs the gamut of bad shots - a slice one shot, a fat shot the next, then a hook, then a shank, topping the ball after that... someone who just has absolutely no control of their game whatsoever, someone who obviously barely even knows how to swing the club. they probably use a baseball grip, too. that's a hacker.

Hey! I use a baseball grip! And Paul Azinger used to play with a baseball grip. Don't know if he still does though

[rangerat]

How about this...

What is art and what is porn? Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in 1964..."I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it."

Who is a hacker and who is a player? RangeRat..."I can't really define either, but I know them when I see them."

[Big_M]

Here's my take on the discussion so far. Basically, the words are used in (at least) two different ways.

good summary

Great post. I think its funny how some seem to want everyone to be called a "player" so long as there intentions are good. Where does this feel good bullcrap come from. Is it our education system? Is it all this political correctness? Hey all you 20+ handicappers out there.....go ahead and call yourselves "Players" if it makes you feel good about yourself. Just don't get upset if I laugh at you.

this made me laugh It is funny how some people want so badly for the term player to be applied with regard to how hard they try and how much they like the game. It's also funny how some people are so offended by the term hacker when they shouldn't be

[Bump-n-MI]

yeah... you're pretty lousy... a hacker in my book.

I don’t have 1 course that I call home anymore. Most of the courses I play are in Livingston and Washtenaw counties. I lived in NC (Raleigh) for sever years after college. Loved it there but missed the winter (born and raised in MI, college in NY). My focus changes completely once October 1st hits. Golf is nowhere near the top of my priority list. Golf and hunting (next to my family) are the most important things in my life. Nothing better then chasing whitetails with my bow late October and shooting greenheads in the snow and ice. Once April rolls around golf will be at the forefront of my priority list.

[Big_M]

I don’t have 1 course that I call home anymore. Most of the courses I play are in Livingston and Washtenaw counties.

yeah... I have three passions... golf, hockey, and hunting and I guess my wife as well, so four. I haven't hunted much the last three years because of law school (exams always fall around deer season), but I know what you're saying. As for duck and goose hunting... I have missed that since moving away from my dad and his buddies as they had all the decoys, blinds, etc. We always did a bit of duck and goose over in the Fenton and Holly area... as for deer, my cousin had some property in Lapeer. Man I'm starting to miss Michigan now... on a high not it's supposed to hit 70 later this week, so should be nice golf weather. I doubt I'll golf a ton this winter, but it'll be nice to scratch the itch a few times instead of going cold turkey for five months.

[Elvisliveson]

Only my opinion, but a hacker is someone who gives little or no thought to their game or improving. The only time they have a club in their hands is when they go to the course to play.

[Brakkus]

Interesting debate I however agree with Tim Gallwey who has written books on Golf and Tennis and says that why compare ourselves to other people we are individuals.

It's a disease of this western culture to equate respect with ones apparent ability at a task sport or otherwise.

We always have potential to be better at anything and therefore can't measure ourselves against others because we are seperate beings from others.

So really the term player or hacker doesn't apply to me,I am a golfer plain and simple whether I stay a 28 or I achieve the single-digit.

It doesn't make me any better than I already am just better at golf plain and simple.

[RobotDoctor]

I consider myself a Hacking Player .

I have the ability to score in the low 70s but play so little and barely practice that my game is very rusty. Short game and iron play is inconsistent. I am usually good with the woods. My iron play is so bad right now I find myself with a lot of 40+ foot putts. This causes me a few 3 putts a round. I usually birdie a couple of holes a round and have 2 or 3 blowup holes. I usually end up in the low to mid 80s, putts around 33 or 34 and 5, or so, greens in regulation. Of course those greens in regulation are generally no worse than par, with the occasional birdie thrown in.