Taking advice

[Slim 11]

There are a lot of threads about unsolicited advice, etc. I was wondering how often you take advice from a playing partner. The thread about "caddying" for your partner got me thinking.

I imagine the lower your hc, the less likely you are to consider advice on how to execute a shot. I am always willing to consider someone's opinion though, like lay ups vs. going for it. Sometimes this could be based on their knowledge of your game (how far you hit, how well you play a certain club) or just obsserving the risk/reward that you may not be considering.

For instance, I am usually money from 100-120 yards. It's my wheelhouse. My partner might advise me to lay up to the 100 yard marker rather than try to pull off a 200+ shot at the green, figuring that I will likely miss the green and be stuck with a baby chip, which is not the strongest part of my game. I am more likely (at present) to get closer to the pin from 100 yards than from 25 yards.

Of course, whether or not I take the advice depends a lot on how i'mm playing or feeling at the moment.

[PiKapp23]

I basically never take unsolicited advice when playing. Most of the players I play with regularly are not particularly good and are not good at course management. The better players I play with won't offer me advice (because they know I don't want it). The only thing I will ever ask is if I haven't played a course before I might ask about the shape of a hole or a yardage to a point or something of the sort, but that's the extent.

[Bump-n-MI]

For me it depends on the source…and has nothing to do with ones handicap. There are always guys that claim to know a lot about everything and I avoid these people and their advice like the plague! Just because somebody has a high cap does not mean they are incapable of giving advice. But sure, I'll listen (but usually I'm so bull-headed it will go in one ear and out the other ).

[pjsnyc]

For me it depends on the source…and has nothing to do with ones handicap. There are always guys that claim to know a lot about everything and I avoid these people and their advice like the plague! Just because somebody has a high cap does not mean they are incapable of giving advice. But sure, I'll listen (but usually I'm so bull-headed it will go in one ear and out the other

Y'know I agree with you on this. Although I hate it when I get unsolicited advice, when I do want advice I don't go strictly by their handicap. I mean its not like Hank Haney sucks, but he certainly is not better than Tiger. Well you know where I'm going with that analogy - just because someone can't necessarily execute a shot consistently doesn't mean they don't understand concepts of the swing.

[David in FL]

The only advice I'll sometimes ask for (obviously only in a practice/social round) isn't really advice, it's information. If I'm playing a course with which I'm unfamiliar, and I'm playing with someone who is familiar with the course, I'll sometimes ask a question about the course layout itself. Nothing else.