paired with a jerk... what do you do?

[flopdarock]

if you are out for a casual round and the starter pairs you with a real jerk... what can/will you do?

this is my experience on my last round(sorry its a long rant)

so my brothers were in town and we decided to get a golf marathon going by playing 4 different courses in 2 days...
first 3 courses were fun and as a 3 some we were usually asked if a single could join us... we dont have any problems with that and on those courses the guys were great... even entertaining...
well we decide to save the best/most expensive course for last and the pro shop once again asks if a single could join us... of course we said yes...
they wouldnt let us walk the course so i was in a cart with one brother... and the single was with my other brother...
right off the bat the guy was a jackhole... they wouldnt let us take 3 carts out and my brother was already loaded up... the guy loads up another cart and tells my brother that he'll drive and that my brother has to load his stuff into the jerks cart...
then he says "hey, im a 25 handicap... its no fair that you 3 young guys are gonna kick my a**"
we get to the first tee and he heads for the tips and shanks his first 2 tries then hits his 3rd barely passed the front tees... he then says "you guys are big and strong why are you playing the sissy tees? we should play a dollar a hole!"
so for the first 3 holes this guy is basically insulting us to get us to fall for his bs and play him for money... hitting into the water/trees/sand... getting on in 5 down in 3...
my brother thats riding with him plays to a 3 hcp but was playing "our" tees and was "copying" our shots to help my other brother and i work course management... he says to us "dude... this guys a sandbagger... look in his bag"
the jerk is gaming mizuno blades...
we tell him we are just out here to have fun and not to gamble...
hole #4 from the tips... the guy bombs a 280 drive with a high draw right past the 150 marker... then hits his approach shot to about 5 ft from the pin...
i couldnt get a gir but as i address my ball to chip it on... this dick is walking onto the green and putting... and when we were all on the green on another hole he'd walk on our lines... putt while we were putting... or he'd get to the green first hole out then go sit in the cart...
i even saw him cheat his ass off by dropping a ball out of his pocket when he hit one sandbagging and trying to look like a hack...
at the turn we wanted to drop his bag off in the parking lot and kick him to the curb... but it was getting late and we wanted to finish the round before dark so we stuck it out... funny thing is my brother torched the back and cut our "lesson" to just the front... he shot a 5 under on the back going shot for shot with the jerk beating him by 4 strokes and outdriving him 20-25 yrds everytime...
the dude admitted he goes there to hustle ppl so he doesnt have to pay for his round...

i think ill wait a few weeks and then call the proshop and tell them about the dude unless they already know about him... which would put a blemish in that its such a pristine course to have such a jackhole screwing it all up

[RocketSauce]

geez, that guy sounds like a complete tool. its cool your brother noticed what was in his bag and knew what he was up to

[alf174]

Reads like you were paying more attention to him instead of having fun with your own game - in the future I would just ignore behavior you don't like.

[Shindig]

i think ill wait a few weeks and then call the proshop and tell them about the dude unless they already know about him... which would put a blemish in that its such a pristine course to have such a jackhole screwing it all up

Why wait? Call them now.

I've been paired with jerks before, but no one has tried to hustle me, so I just do my best to not let it get to me. I guess being able to shrug off people being jerks is one benefit to having been picked on in middle and high school. If someone tried to hustle me, I'd call the pro shop immediately - from the course.

[Fat Slice]

We got stuck with a jerk (not as bad as your jerk, but BAD...a tireless talker) once at a local muni. 18 holes of that and I was ready to kill the s.o.b.

Three weeks later the starter tries to put him with us again and I say "Not a chance - he can go before or after" right in front of both of them.

No problem, we went out and he surely ruined the day for the people behind us.

I love golf and I am very polite and a cordial playing partner. I will not waste a day on a course with some random jerk.

[RocketSauce]

We got stuck with a jerk (not as bad as your jerk, but BAD...a tireless talker) once at a local muni. 18 holes of that and I was ready to kill the s.o.b.

lol! ive been pretty lucky so far i guess. it kinda makes you wonder why they are playing alone

[Damien45]

Similar story....

Years ago, my friend, his dad and I went out to play and was given a single to take along. No worries, it was a younger kid (literally) and I thought that was pretty cool....On the first hole he would not shut up. Right off the bat he wanted to bet. We told him no thanks. His first hole was better than ours and his flowing with insults. My friend's dad basically told him to shut up or play ahead. Still he is talking.....

So on the second tee (a par 5), I told my friend I was cutting the dogleg. This kid just went off on me! Laughing, mocking, ect. I turned to him and said how much? We agreed on a buck and I launched my drive. He was under the impression I lost my ball in the desert (in Scottsdale at the time) and laughed. He played to the leg and off we went.

After everyone played their shot, we looked for mine so the kid couldn't say I just dropped one. We found mine right on the fringe, just before everyone's second shot. The kid kept talking. I overshot the green by a couple yards with my second shot. Well now the kid is not as talkative, but still trying.

Well.....see.....I am a smart@$s. When someone wants to try to get under my skin I generally wait until they start getting a little frustrated at their failure before starting in.....I felt it was a good time to start. Kid ened up shanking his second shot. Turn-about's fair play right?

In the end, I made par to his bogey. I took his buck and he decided to play ahead on the next hole.

[Take Dead Aim]

Out playing a casual round with some friends and trying to help them with their swings when we are caught by a single. Course was full and we were going nowhere so he just couldn't play thru. He joined us and was playing the tips while we were playing the whites. He wanted to play the three of us agianst him for money. My buddies never gamble so we politely decline. It was geting late so my buddies quit on 15. Hole 16 is a dog leg left over a lake. I drop back to the tips with this guy and had the honor. I took it over the lake and had a short wedge to the green. This guy followed me and put it in the water. He teed up another ball and put it in the water. He looked at me and said he would have been had if we agreed to his bet. I just nodded yes and told him to hit his three wood down the middle. I was 2 up on him after three holes.

[flopdarock]

Reads like you were paying more attention to him instead of having fun with your own game - in the future I would just ignore behavior you don't like.

its pretty difficult to ignore someone thats walking right in front of you while you are making a shot... my brother told me to just hit the guy... but i knew he was half joking... i mean c'mon... let me hole out and then go back to my original spot and take practice putts while you are in the middle of putting... can you ignore that? or how about this beaut... i just walk onto the green between your chip shot and the hole and start lining up my putt... then putt out? i can see ignoring all the talk and bs... but you cant ignore someone thats physically in the way of your shot... should i just lay up on a 15 yrd chip so i dont hit the guy? drop a few strokes so i can have a clear shot without him in the way? if i didnt pay any attention to him he'd either be in the hospital or id be forced to pay attention to him trying to kick my ass after hitting him for being in the way... i really doubt even you could ignore his bad(inexcusable) behaviour

[Damien45]

its pretty difficult to ignore someone thats walking right in front of you while you are making a shot... my brother told me to just hit the guy... but i knew he was half joking... i mean c'mon... let me hole out and then go back to my original spot and take practice putts while you are in the middle of putting... can you ignore that? or how about this beaut... i just walk onto the green between your chip shot and the hole and start lining up my putt... then putt out? i can see ignoring all the talk and bs... but you cant ignore someone thats physically in the way of your shot... should i just lay up on a 15 yrd chip so i dont hit the guy? drop a few strokes so i can have a clear shot without him in the way? if i didnt pay any attention to him he'd either be in the hospital or id be forced to pay attention to him trying to kick my ass after hitting him for being in the way... i really doubt even you could ignore his bad(inexcusable) behaviour

Hit his ball with yours....it's a stroke penalty to him.

[jwkde]

Last weekend the course matched 3 singles (myself included) together. One was a real jerk.

Would complain if someone else was on the green when he was putting cause they were in his line. Would walk off the green and not bother to pick up anyones club - not a big deal but the other guy and I would always reach to pick his up when it was appropriate.

If you commented positively on one of his shots he would not even acknowledge you.

As we left the 5th green as he took off his golf bag came the back of the cart and landed on the cart path. I said nothing just smiled to myself. He mumbled something about the guys who put the clubs on the cart. But in his case he made a point of switching his bag to the driver side so he could drive (i was alone in the cart in the back).

Karma!!

[MiniMoe]

He was joining your group. He should have taken his crap off a cart to join the group. Next time someone is like that, call him out. Bust him for walking on your line and being rude in general. Tell the jerk that he is not welcome in your group if he is going to act like that.

[MiniMoe]

He was joining your group. He should have taken his crap off a cart to join the group. Next time someone is like that, call him out. Make him feel like an a** hole for being like that. If he gets offended, tell him to leave. Dump his bag off the cart and tell him he is not welcome. There is no excuse to be like that, and there is no excuse for putting up with it. I would have asked him right out.. "what the F is your problem?" Life is too short and golf is too expensive to put up with that crap.

[iWALK18]

That's an incredible story. I cannot believe you had the patience to put up with him for a whole round. I don't know if I would have the balls to do it if this happened to me, but sitting here thinking about it, I think the right thing to do is call the pro shop immediately if this sort of thing happens (hustling/rude behavior). Life's too short and greens fees are too high...

[MSDOGS1976]

I love golf and I am very polite and a cordial playing partner. I will not waste a day on a course with some random jerk.

Ditto..........

[buckman821]

i like to gamble on the course but i have never, ever tried offered up a game to a stranger. On a few occasions i have accepted small games and even taken money from strangers. It always feels weird to me and I do not enjoy it.

I find gambling with strangers on the course to be a very odd practice. I am always wary of people who want to do it.

[MiniMoe]

He was joining your group. He should have taken his crap off a cart to join the group. Next time someone is like that, call him out. Make him feel like an a** hole for being like that. If he gets offended, tell him to leave. Dump his bag off the cart and tell him he is not welcome. There is no excuse to be like that, and there is no excuse for putting up with it. I would have asked him right out.. "what the F is your problem?" Life is too short and golf is too expensive to put up with that crap.

[ApocG10]

I dont mind gambling on the course, as long as I know who i'm gambling against.

On mens night there is always a bunch of cash flying around the course.