Anyone stuck in a golf "marriage" for partner tournaments, etc?

[chriskzoo]

Every year my buddy and I play in a 2-man team tournament and back in 2001 my brother and I were runner-up. Anyway, I moved away for several years so he now plays with his wife's brother-in-law and they won one year and have qualified each of the last 2 years. So now I partner with my buddy who used to be a really good golfer (was an assistant pro at a few clubs), but now he just can't get it done.

The tournament is a 2-man Net Best Ball and last year we both played pretty bad and only ended up shooting 70, no chance of qualifying. This year we played better and shot 67 (needed 65 to qualify for the finals) but here is the kicker:

Par 5, he is getting a stroke with 20 feet for birdie. I hit my drive OB, but squandered a 7 (net 6) so all he has to do is two putt. First putt goes 12 feet. 8 footer for par goes 2 feet by and I say "take your time." He glances at it, hits is off line - 4 putt from 20 feet (not fast greens) for a 7! Aside from that hole, I played well - had a couple net eagles, etc. etc.

Anyway, I'm not saying he is totally at fault, though we did count 15 of my scores (probably 2-3 could have gone either way because we tied the hole) but here is the question:

Is there ANY way out of this partnership? We're too good of friends for me to be like "Look, I think we need to split up next year."

[alf174]

If you feel you can't tell him the truth and want to remain friends, than you could skip the tournament a year or two and then re-enter with someone better.

IF you two are good friends then you should be able to tell him that in the future you want to do better and if he's not planning on stepping up his game, you'd like to team with someone that will. A friend would understand.

[chriskzoo]

  alf174 said:

If you feel you can't tell him the truth and want to remain friends, than you could skip the tournament a year or two and then re-enter with someone better.

LOL, I would, if he wasn't delusional that he was the one carrying the team!

[alf174]

  chriskzoo said:

LOL, I would, if he wasn't delusional that he was the one carrying the team!

Is He?

lol, just kidding...dynamics between friends can be tricky.

[Ben]

I see it happen at my club with the membership. For the most part the guys are adult about it. They're just straight up with each other and understand.

[sinclac]

  chriskzoo said:

LOL, I would, if he wasn't delusional that he was the one carrying the team!

Well then tell him that he needs to find a better partner to play with cuz your holding him back.

Or theres always the truth.

[alf174]

  sinclac said:

Well then tell him that he needs to find a better partner to play with cuz your holding him back.

perfect, that should work

[Jackemy]

What did you both shoot on your own ball and what are both of your handicaps?

[shades9323]

Man up and tell him how you feel. Then buy him a beer.