Golfers vs. People Who Golf

[Dominic]

I hate the phrase " Give me a (Insert score at least 3 shots lower than what they actually shot here"

[Dr_Fu_Manchu]

Anyone else get frustrated playing with "People Who Golf" versus "Golfers"? I played with my fathe-in-law and some of his relatives in a little outing and all I heard about was how good my wife's cousins were, etc. Turns out, they are your

What is rolling the ball?

[Shindig]

What is rolling the ball?

Putting is rolling the ball. But that's not what they meant here.

When someone says we're "rolling it today," or "rolling it in the fairway," it's essentially a casual preferred lie situation. Normally, under preferred lies, you mark the ball in the fairway, lift, clean, and place it within some factor (I forget what the factor is) of where it was. When you're "rolling" the ball, you can move it, either by hand or with the club-head, to a better spot to hit from. Maybe we need to distinguish golfers, people who golf, and people who hit a ball with a golf club.

[dansensel]

Just wanted to point out that not putting out everytime and prefferred lies "or rolling the ball" can be legal and legit for handicap purposes.

Gimme puts I believe would be covered under paragraph 4-1 of the USGA Handicap Manual.

Preferred Lies are covered under Section 7 of the USGA Handicap Manual. You cannot simply roll the ball with your club, but if local rules applies, you can clean and place your ball within an established distance.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Handi...ndicap-Manual/


Just because you slow down play by not taking conceded putts does not mean you are following the rules any more than the guys who pick up putts within a few feet.

Just playing devil's advocate here.

[flopdarock]

i couldnt give a crap how anybody plays while im playing a round with them...
1. as long as they dont affect my play...
2. as long as i dont lose money due to cheating...
3. as long as they dont brag about beating my socks off when theyre really getting triples and quadruples...
4. claim they are low hcp's and give me swing tips after their 5th mulligan due to dunking balls in the pond or lumberjacking trees...
a buddy of mine falls into the ppl who play golf category...
he plays maybe 3x during the summer... claims to shoot in the mid 80's and does at least 3 or 4 of my no-no's every time we play

[Drennen13]

I get sick of them to. But sometimes you just have to deal with the fact that people are trying to help out the golf community just like you and I. And it really helps work on your patience.

[cougar978]

As long as you're not doing anything stupid that negatively affects me (i.e. slow play, talking during backswing, etc), I could care less what you do. I try to worry about myself and not what the other guys in my group are doing. Luckily, I have a bunch of guys that play to near scratch that I play with now, so it's not an issue as much as it was when I first moved here.

[lumpuckeroo]

As long as you're not doing anything stupid that negatively affects me (i.e. slow play, talking during backswing, etc), I could care less what you do. I try to worry about myself and not what the other guys in my group are doing. Luckily, I have a bunch of guys that play to near scratch that I play with now, so it's not an issue as much as it was when I first moved here.

I agree, not that my buddies are near scratch but we are very similar in what we shoot. But I'm not one to tell someone how they have to play, I know I plan to play by the rules.

[TN94z]

I hate the phrase " Give me a (Insert score at least 3 shots lower than what they actually shot here"

You know when a guy starts the sentence off like that then he is cheating. Otherwise he would just start by saying "I got a..."

[rckwd]

Honestly it doesn't bother me at all. I do not play for anything so I do not care what rules they play by as long as they have fun. I play by the rules and will give advice on the rules if they want it, but otherwise just enjoy playing the game and not worry about what they are doing. I could do without the endless talk about their kids and pets, etc., but I'm sure they would get tired of me talking all golf, too, so I guess it's even.

I agree with you on this. If we are not playing in a tournament, who cares if they take a mulligan? And as long as we aren't holding anyone up, who cares if they miss a chip and throw down a couple of balls to see if they can "correct or find the problem" with their miss. We aren't playing for the FedEx Cup..people should lighten up, you are out there to get better and have fun. In our usual foursome Jeff and I play by the book most of the time, while the other two usually will take multiple shots. We dont care and it only makes them better. But, it is a different story when it comes to our muni or church tournaments as it should be. But when its just us "the boys" out playing our normal Thursday outing we could care less who shoots what. We usually keep our "first ball" score for personal, "away", and drive order reasons.

[HytrewQasdfg]

Has it occured to the original poster that YOU are the problem, and not the people you are playing with?

You see this same thing with softball. A bunch of people form a coed company softball team. The majority of people are out there to blow off some steam and have fun. But there are always a few people that want to "play for blood." Everything serious, always pushing things to the edge, and getting upset that everyone else isn't as serious as he is.

The problem, of course, isn't with the majority of people playing, it is with the serious guy that joined a casual league when he should have joined a more serious one.

There is a time and place for everything when playing golf. If people play golf because it gives them a chance to relax and have fun (and they really don't care about the score or rules) there isn't anything wrong with that. If you want to be more serious about golf, then seek out playing partners that are just as "serious" as you are.

There is room in golf for all types of players (in fact, for the industry to survive in tough times it needs both casual and serious players.)

[Slim 11]

Just wanted to point out that not putting out everytime and prefferred lies "or rolling the ball" can be legal and legit for handicap purposes.

I am going to preface this comment with the statement that (again) I don't really care how other people play, it bugs me only if we are in a competition or they are bragging about their score when not following rules.

I do not believe that "gimmies" are covered anywhere in stroke play, only in match play when a hole (or stroke) can be conceded at any time. In stroke play (strictly speaking) a player is disqualified for not holing out. A guy who picks up in absolutely breaking the rules. Personally, in a friendly match, I don't have an issue with gimmies but only if conceded by the playing partners. I putt them out anyway and explain that I do so because I am not above missing a shorty and can use all the practice I can get.

[Elvisliveson]

There is a time and place for everything when playing golf. If people play golf because it gives them a chance to relax and have fun (and they really don't care about the score or rules) there isn't anything wrong with that. If you want to be more serious about golf, then seek out playing partners that are just as "serious" as you are.

I don't think anyone would dispute that. There was just a distinction being made between golfers and those who play golf. Nobody said the latter couldn't do their thing.

There's also no reason to conclude that serious golfers aren't there to have fun. Most of them just have concluded long ago that the best way to have fun at golf is to play it to the best of their abilities under the rules as written.

[dansensel]

I do not believe that "gimmies" are covered anywhere in stroke play, only in match play when a hole (or stroke) can be conceded at any time. In stroke play (strictly speaking) a player is disqualified for not holing out. A guy who picks up in absolutely breaking the rules. Personally, in a friendly match, I don't have an issue with gimmies but only if conceded by the playing partners. I putt them out anyway and explain that I do so because I am not above missing a shorty and can use all the practice I can get.

I guess I didn’t understand that you are always playing in tourneys or other competitions. When I play, it is normally just to play the game. The way I am interpreting the handicap manual, for handicapping purposes shots can be conceded. How that relates to your standing in a tourney is completely different. In a tourney, I would definitely expect to hole out every hole. But in a casual weekend game, I would give and take gimmies, and still consider the score to be legit and use it for my handicap. Remember, lowering your handicap only hurts you in competition.

Not trying to start any sort of arguement, just want to see how others would interprete the handicap manual. Assuming you are not in a tournament and another players tells you to pick up a putt, do you consider that a legal score according to the USGA handicapping system?

[Slim 11]

I don't think anyone would dispute that. There was just a distinction being made between golfers and those who play golf. Nobody said the latter couldn't do their thing.

Well said. I think most of us have gone from the weekend duffer stage of beer drinking and joking around being of primary importance during the game, to realizing that the game is great in and of itself and wanting to improve at it. Then you get to really wanting to know your abilities and potential and being more strict with yourself about rules and such. I still like a few beers and the joking around.

[Slim 11]

I guess I didn’t understand that you are always playing in tourneys or other competitions. When I play, it is normally just to play the game. The way I am interpreting the handicap manual, for handicapping purposes shots can be conceded. How that relates to your standing in a tourney is completely different. In a tourney, I would definitely expect to hole out every hole. But in a casual weekend game, I would give and take gimmies, and still consider the score to be legit and use it for my handicap. Remember, lowering your handicap only hurts you in competition.

I would agree with you. I was just clarifying my understanding of the rules. I am happy to concede gimmies when playing in a casual round (which I do most often, I really don't play in tournaments and such very often). And I will take the occasional gimmie from a few inches if my partner happens to knock the ball back at me or something. It doesn't bother me when they do this, but I will putt it out if I get to the ball first. I still consider it a legitimate score.

[chriskzoo]

Has it occured to the original poster that YOU are the problem, and not the people you are playing with?

LOL, no I am not the problem. Like I said, it only bothers me when I hear about people who are supposedly "really good" and then I play with them and they are clearly not playing by the rules - why even tell anyone your scores if you're not even playing by the rules. It's the same reason I don't give anyone a "gimme" unless they are inside a foot - if you're going to look at me to give you the putt, just make it - simple as that. As for after work softball - you're right, I'm not down with it, especially co-ed leagues where they make up stupid rules like "If you walk a guy, then the next girl up gets an automatic walk." Either you're playing the game, or your'e not.

[dansensel]

I would agree with you. I was just clarifying my understanding of the rules. I am happy to concede gimmies when playing in a casual round (which I do most often, I really don't play in tournaments and such very often). And I will take the occasional gimmie from a few inches if my partner happens to knock the ball back at me or something. It doesn't bother me when they do this, but I will putt it out if I get to the ball first. I still consider it a legitimate score.

Agreed. I think this is the first time I have seen an actual agreement on this board. Woohoo!!