3 rants, My round, And a Question

[trackster]

All about todays round

Rant #1 - Today when i got to the golf course there were two old ladies who pulled in at the same time. I for sure thought they were gonna just use the walking path up by the golf course. But sure enough they go into the cart garage to get a cart. So i hurried to tee off before them ( as I would not be a fan of being behind them). I walk up to my drive and notice they are rolling the green so i patiently wait. I look back and those two ladies are standing on the tee box with there arms crossed and what not. I was at least 165 from the women's tee boxes so im pretty sure they could have hit. Once i proceeded to the green sure enough they start to play (and are spraying shots all over the place) And I crossed paths with them 3 holes along and sure enough a 50 yard 3 wood for one of the ladies YAY!. My rant isnt necessary aimed at women golfers ( we have the ND state champ that goes to my school and she can kick my @ss and drive 300) But the tee box placements. 85% of women hit driver on the par 3s at my course. Thats not golf at all.

Rant #2 - I was trailing these two old men for about 3 holes. I don't think they knew i was there because they were playing from the yellows. Anyways i hit a pretty good drive hoping they would notice and let me play through. I didnt hit into them but about 20 yards back. While there were looking for one of there golf balls they come across mine . The one guys asks the other if this is his ball and he says no so he starts to pocket it. I shout to him thats mine, he doesnt here, so i shout louder. And he notices me and throws my ball in the ruff? WTF. I placed it back on the fairway where it was:). I got my only GIR on this hole and the old man did congratulate me on the par.

Rant #3 - I HATE SPRINKLERS
Honestly have them go during the night, not in the middle of my round. Two days in a row i have found fairway and had to scramble to hit a shot with out getting my second shower of the day. Its ridiculous!!!!!!

My Round - Shot a 42 :) (My best by 5 strokes and roughly 11 strokes better than my handicap)
15 Putts 4/7 fairways ( the three i missed were about 1 yard into the rough) Only 1 GIR

The Question - How do you judge golfers on the course?
I have had many times when asked if i wanted to play through and i go up to the tee box and shank it. And ive had many a good drive . Like I had my best drive on a play through today and those guys thought i was very very very good. And i also misjudged that old guy. He was actually nice just a little slow and a little oblivious. So I was just wondering if you judge by the one shot you see them hit on a play through or if they are taking a long time in front of you or...?

[shankapotamus]

All about todays round

Holy moly! But until last year I hit my driver on long par 3's. I'm confused as to what's wrong with that?

I don't really "judge" golfers. I believe that if they hit a bad shot, they're having a bad day. If they don't stop, they're bad. Same for good shots.

[TN94z]

I have a friend that hits his driver on some par 3's simply because he can't hit long irons and some days he can't even hit hybrids. He actually does very well doing this. I gave up the "distance" stuff a long time ago. I believe you just need to hit whatever you feel comfortable hitting as long as it gets the job done. Another guy we play with hits his driver for anything outside of 150 and he does very well.

I try not to judge anyone by one shot only. There have been multiple times when I have hit bad shots playing through a group and could have easily been labeled a bad golfer....what they didn't get to see was the fact that I probably went on to shoot in the 70s. So I have made it a point to not judge anyone based on that.

[iWALK18]

I judge a lot. I can't help it.

I have people pick up my ball all the time. It is really really annoying. Its much worse if you were in the rough because not the lie is compromised. At least in the fairway you feel like you can get pretty much exactly the same conditions you would have had.

I dunno, if a 3w is 50 yards how short do you want the women's tees to be? 35 yard par 3s?

[Chief Broom]

You are selfconscious regarding your level of play and so you have a tendency to take that same attitude regarding other people's play. As you found out during your round you can't make a determination regarding someone's level of play from one shot or even a few holes. My advice is to lighten up on yourself and on everyone else and learn to enjoy the game and your time playing it. Don't worry so much about getting out ahead of someone, rather go through your pre-game routine and make it out on the course when you get to the first tee (assuming you don't have a set tee time). Sometimes you'll get stuck behind someone slow and sometimes you'll be slowing down someone behind you. Whatever the case play your game and let faster players through and approach slower players with respect and ask to play through. People respond better when you treat them with respect and are much more willing to accomodate you. Chances are a lot of the people you encounter will be course regulars and making a good impression with them has a way of getting around. Slow play is definitely a nusance but getting upset about it when it happens is a sure way to make sure it messes up your round. Accept what happens to you on the course and learn from it.

[trackster]

You are selfconscious regarding your level of play and so you have a tendency to take that same attitude regarding other people's play. As you found out during your round you can't make a determination regarding someone's level of play from one shot or even a few holes. My advice is to lighten up on yourself and on everyone else and learn to enjoy the game and your time playing it. Don't worry so much about getting out ahead of someone, rather go through your pre-game routine and make it out on the course when you get to the first tee (assuming you don't have a set tee time). Sometimes you'll get stuck behind someone slow and sometimes you'll be slowing down someone behind you. Whatever the case play your game and let faster players through and approach slower players with respect and ask to play through. People respond better when you treat them with respect and are much more willing to accomodate you. Chances are a lot of the people you encounter will be course regulars and making a good impression with them has a way of getting around. Slow play is definitely a nusance but getting upset about it when it happens is a sure way to make sure it messes up your round. Accept what happens to you on the course and learn from it.

LOL what? I shot my best round ever today by 5 strokes. I dont let things get to me. This is just what i observed today.

[wedgewizard]

85% of women hit driver on the par 3s at my course. Thats not golf at all.

No, that IS golf....for a woman.

Who are you to judge?

Rant #2- I was trailing these two old men for about 3 holes. I don't think they knew i was there because they were playing from the yellows. Anyways i hit a pretty good drive hoping they would notice and let me play through. I didnt hit into them but about 20 yards back. While there were looking for one of there golf balls they come across mine . The one guys asks the other if this is his ball and he says no so he starts to pocket it. I shout to him thats mine, he doesnt here, so i shout louder. And he notices me and throws my ball in the ruff? WTF.

If you wanted to play through then you should have asked before you made your drive.

Hitting in to a group 20 yards back is dangerous and rude.

So I was just wondering if you judge by the one shot you see them hit on a play through or if they are taking a long time in front of you or...?

The real problem with golf is not slow players, it's impatient players.

[trackster]

No, that IS golf....for a woman.

No a rule of thumb ( i have heard on here) is if u hit driver on par 3s you need to move up a tee. The only problem is they dont have another tee to move up to.

It was hard to ask when they were playing from the tees that were 80 yards up. And 20 yards is quite a ways They didnt even know my ball was there. . I had some one hit over me on that round and i didnt B**ch. I dont think i have seen a topic about impatient players on here??? Only slow play.

[David in FL]

a. Golfers that score well are good golfers. b. Golfers that score poorly are bad golfers. c. Golfers that take longer then 4 hours to play 18 holes are slow golfers. d. Golfers that play 18 holes in less than 4 hours are acceptably fast golfers. I prefer to play with (and behind) golfers from group "d", irrespective of their membership in either "a" or "b".

[TN94z]

a. Golfers that score well are good golfers.

I agree. You can play bad and still play fast.

[CarlSpackler]

I don't judge golfers. I leave that up to Judge Smails.

[trumps4]

Personally, I think you should have been polite and let the ladies go ahead of you. Chances are they would have let you though anyway. Also, as a single, you cannot expect to just roll along without having to wait. You even said you got out ahead of them and still got held up. To me, singles have no "play-through rights" on the course. Either find some folks to play with you or be prepared to wait. Play a couple balls instead of just one.
T boxes should not be assigned a gender. I understand that they are generally refered to in this way but people should play whatever T's are most appropriate for their game. If you think the red t's are to far back, then the slope and course rating should reflect that. Besides, who cares what they hit off the T? If they hit a putter off the T and the ball goes in the hole, they write down ....... 1.
Sounds like the threesome in front of you was very nice. Being pushed by a single is a huge pet peeve of mine. I'd never have let you through if you hit a ball within 20 yards of me!

[Sherlockian]

To me, singles have no "play-through rights" on the course. Either find some folks to play with you or be prepared to wait. Play a couple balls instead of just one.

Ditto, here. I have never heard "onesome" rules. I play as a single alot and walk most of the time. At most of the courses I play, I always have to wait. I accept it. I may play two balls or chipping/putting practice while I wait. If I want to play through, I ASK! If that ball had gotten one more good bounce, it would have been on them. If that had been me, you would have gotten your ball back alot faster than you wanted it.

[Fourputt]

All about todays round

Why do you feel you have to judge at all? Just go play golf and don't worry about what you can't control. Playing as a single you are naturally going to play faster than most groups, and that means waiting or playing through (sometimes playing through isn't even a possibility when the course is busy). Either deal with it or find some friends to play with.

No, that IS golf....for a woman.

Wrong, the real problem IS slow players. It's perhaps the biggest problem in golf today, and it seems to get steadily worse.

a. Golfers that score well are good golfers.

While I disagree with item 'c', in general I am in alignment with David here. My home course sets a standard of 4:20 for a fourball, and that is acceptable because the course says it is. Most courses I've played set the limit at 4:30. However, that doesn't mean that you should just screw around and deliberately take that long. When the course is very busy, it is gong to play slower. That is just a fact of golf in the modern era. No matter how hard the course assistants try to keep things moving, by midday the course will probably be off pace.

It only takes each group being off by 5 minutes to get the whole course jammed up, and 5 minutes is just one ball search. If a group doesn't make a concerted effort to catch up after a delay, then the problem starts right there. If the delay happens to a couple of early groups in the middle of the round, then other groups start to stack up behind them, and things just get bogged down. I work as a starter and I see this all the time. The ranger tries his best, but sometimes there just isn't anything that is humanly possible. When the course isn't busy, then a slower group should naturally let others play through. Most of the time, when my course isn't busy, pace of play isn't a problem. I've played 18 holes in a fivesome (special conditions made before we allow this) in under 4 hours. Yesterday I played the first 9 with a 79 year old gentleman who took more than 60 strokes for the 9 holes... we finished the front 9 in 1:25, and he was walking. Slow play is an attitude, and if you aren't concerned about it, then you are probably part of the problem.

[youngskip40]

I don't think there is necessarily a "right" for a single to play through, as it is more etiquette than anything. And it completely depends upon the conditions and situation of the current round.

If you are playing in a foursome, and you have a full hole or more between you and the next group, and you notice a single or twosome behind you waiting on every hole... personally, I think it's almost common courtesy to let them play through.

The problem I have is that people will be glad to let me play through if I'm in a cart, but if I'm walking, they won't because they feel like I'll be slower. Which makes zero sense, because if I'm walking and I'm still waiting for them on every shot, I'm clearly not playing slow just because I'm not in a cart.


However, you shouldn't expect that people will let you play through or that it's your right to play through. And you definitely shouldn't hit into a group until you're absolutely sure they are out of range.

Hitting 20 yards behind a group trying to drop a hint that you'd like to play through is the wrong way to do it. For all you know, they could have been talking about letting you play through on the next par 3 (which seems to be traditionally when, if you are going to, you should let a group play through). If you hit into me and I felt it was deliberate, I wouldn't have let you play through, so you were lucky those guys were so nice.

[sp33d]

I can basically look at how a person acts prior to teeing off how bad/good they are. I generally will run to the 1st tee if that means I dont have to play behind a bunch of hacks. I got stuck behind a 5some that I could have taken if they played best shot and me by my self, and wouldnt let us play through.

I also hate morning sprinklers, the guy at my local course is nice enough to turn them off as we approach (if hes paying attention).

[CarlSpackler]

I also play as a single quite often and expect to have a wait. I find this to be a great opportunity to get some short game practice once I hole out until the next group is ready for their approach shots. I am patient assuming their pace is reasonable, that is, they are within an acceptable distance of the group in front of them. That is the key for me. Groups will often ask if I want to play through and I will decline or offer to pair up with them (or a group behind me) if they have 3 or less in the group. Some people are funny about playing with people they don't know though. To me it makes sense to remove a grouping on the course when it is crowded.

[trackster]

yeah i went late enough today that the sprinklers were turned off. As for the two old men i "hit into" they were at the 100 to go mark on a 365 yard hole. I tee off with a 1960's wilson sam snead 3 wood. The only reason they came across my ball even was because they were circling back looking for the other guys ball. Thats the only reason i came within 20 yards of them. They didnt even know i was there, much less trailing them for 3 holes.