Insight on ability and etiquette

[trackster]

Now I am not saying this is a set in stone, just something I was thinking of the other day

It has been brought up in many topics how hackers, younger golfers, and people who don't dress nice (among others) often show poor etiquette and care to the golf course.

One of the biggest things that angers people is ball marks on the green.

Now when I started golfing I would call myself a hacker, i would shoot around 110-115, and i wasn't very accurate shooting.  I never flew a high iron shot onto the green, and I don't ever remember making a ball mark.

When i got good (for me) and started shooting in the 85-95 range I started hitting my irons alot better and i started hitting GIR's and making ball marks on the green ( i try to repair them if I can find where it hit)

So what I am saying here is that a weekend hacker or what ever isn't going to make a ton of ball marks on greens.  So ultimitely the ones not repairing greens have to be semi descent golfers.  And likewise you can't compare etiquette to anyones golfer performance.  Their are good golfers who show bad etiquette and bad golfers who show good etiquette, it really has nothing to do with how you play.

[Shindig]

I remember how excited I was the first time I hit a green on the fly. It was the first hole at the Veterans' Par-3 Course (open to the public) near UCLA. I was so excited to get up there, mark my ball, and fix my ball mark. Then I asked a playing partner how do to do the last part.

[Inebriated]

I think I've yet to leave a ball mark...

I am almost guaranteed to be about 5 yards from the green no matter what, so it's a soft chip or a putt.

That said, I don't see what's so difficult about repairing your own marks.

[darkhunter139]

I love repairing my ball mark after getting a GIR haha. I usually try and repair ball marks other people have left behind if I am already repairing one of mine as well.

[Paradox]

they don't leave ball marks but what they do on the greens is drag their feet some times. Gouge the green with the end of the flagstick/putter head/wedge head.  When they do leave a ball mark they don't usually fix it(I've played behind many that don't...good or bad golfers and it annoys me to no end)

[saevel25]

It depends on the grass, the course i play has horrible roots, so a ball comming in hot and low will tear the grass right off the green. Courses i like have the almost bermuda grass type roots were the grass sticks together and the ball doesn't tear up the greens, just leaves a nice indent.

i think everyone should replace ball marks and any ball marks they find that are not theres as well. Save these greens, and be considerate. i think any person who is angry enough to take a gouge of the green out with the putter should be banned from golf. I had a huge mark in my line once, i was seriously considering moving the ball out of its path, no ball could make a 3-4 inch long mark.

[ohiolefty]

Ball marks are a lot less problematic than skids and scuffs.

As for handicap, ability or experience being related to etiquitte levels - there is some correlation because someone who plays often will (hopefully!) learn by osmosis or social pressure the proper way to act.

However, any of us can probably pull up countless examples of good golfers acting badly.

Example: On Friday I went out early in the morning as a single at my home course. The group behind me were two golfers from a local small college. I was playing well when they ignorantly and inexcusably (if I broke down the yardage etc. details) almost hit me with a tee shot. These are college golfers, good golfers, and guys who should generally know better - acting like a-holes.

Jerks are jerks. Some jerks are good at golf.

[lefty.drew]

I think the venue plays the biggest role.  We played a course that my friend played years back and remembered fondly, and it was an absolute disgrace.  I absolutely fixed my own marks, but it's hard to walk around and treat the greens sacredly when the ownership doesn't put any money into the course.

[Wallstreet]

Peo

Originally Posted by lefty.drew

I think the venue plays the biggest role.  We played a course that my friend played years back and remembered fondly, and it was an absolute disgrace.  I absolutely fixed my own marks, but it's hard to walk around and treat the greens sacredly when the ownership doesn't put any money into the course.

I agree.  The nicer the course normally the better kept by the players, at least in my experience.  People not fixing ball marks, dragging feet, throwing the flag stick down on the green and not off bothers me so much.  I got into golf from being a caddie at a local country club and learned etiquette at a young age.  Its a part of the game that everyone should respect imo.

[baseballfrk8998]

I've learned a lot of etiquette from walking and playing with others that I meet on the course.. I've only been playing 9 months or so and the guys that I started playing with aren't much for etiquette so I had no idea.. I do my best now to be proper and fix all ball marks and not tear the course up..

[RyderJ]

There is a shabby 9 hole par 3/driving range within walking distance of my house. It's poorly maintained and managed...and there is no dress code. Two days ago I was on the driving range and saw three gentleman finishing up on the ninth...evidently they were playing strip golf, as none of them had shirts on. To make matters worse, they were drunk and being loud and obnoxious. My point is, I guess when it comes to golf, the cheaper it is to use the facilities, the less etiquette the clientele will have.

[1par2win]

Originally Posted by RyderJ

There is a shabby 9 hole par 3/driving range within walking distance of my house. It's poorly maintained and managed...and there is no dress code. Two days ago I was on the driving range and saw three gentleman finishing up on the ninth...evidently they were playing strip golf, as none of them had shirts on. To make matters worse, they were drunk and being loud and obnoxious. My point is, I guess when it comes to golf, the cheaper it is to use the facilities, the less etiquette the clientele will have.

Actually I think that's kinda funny! I look at it this way. Courses like you described attract this kind of golfer then so be it. It keeps them off "our" courses and it doesn't sound like the proprietor is going to turn down the revenue so in my opinion it's a win-win. Admittedly it sounds like a pasture with flags sticking out of the ground and frankly on a course like that I would be a little dissapointed if I didn't see something like that! If it's one thing I have learned about golf is that this game is played many ways by many different people.

[baseballfrk8998]

Originally Posted by RyderJ

There is a shabby 9 hole par 3/driving range within walking distance of my house. It's poorly maintained and managed...and there is no dress code. Two days ago I was on the driving range and saw three gentleman finishing up on the ninth...evidently they were playing strip golf, as none of them had shirts on. To make matters worse, they were drunk and being loud and obnoxious. My point is, I guess when it comes to golf, the cheaper it is to use the facilities, the less etiquette the clientele will have.

The way the conditions are going at one of the local courses that I practice at during the weeks it looks like I may be seeing this same thing sooner rather than later.. It's sad because from what I hear it used to be a really nice course that they've just let go to crap. It really does have a nice layout and I wish that they'd invest some money in it. These dry Texas summers the last couple years haven't helped matters any, however.

[Topper]

Originally Posted by trackster

When i got good (for me) and started shooting in the 85-95 range I started hitting my irons alot better and i started hitting GIR's and making ball marks on the green ( i try to repair them if I can find where it hit)

So what I am saying here is that a weekend hacker or what ever isn't going to make a ton of ball marks on greens.  So ultimitely the ones not repairing greens have to be semi descent golfers.  And likewise you can't compare etiquette to anyones golfer performance.  Their are good golfers who show bad etiquette and bad golfers who show good etiquette, it really has nothing to do with how you play.

I'll one-up you a little here.  On the odd occasion where I've left a ball mark, I'll repair any ball mark if I can't quickly find mine.  If there's time, I'll fix an extra one.

[andymane]

what i can't stand from any golfer good or bad, is when they toss their putter in the air after a missed putt thinking for sure they will catch it and end up missing it!! leaves a nasty mark on the green!!

everyone knows that when you throw your clubs you throw them into the woods or water!!! jk

[ohiolefty]

Originally Posted by andymane

what i can't stand from any golfer good or bad, is when they toss their putter in the air after a missed putt thinking for sure they will catch it and end up missing it!! leaves a nasty mark on the green!!

I was twirling a putter in my hand today. It's very hot and humid here. I 'lost' it. So here I am, on my last hole of the day, done with the hole, spending a prolonged period of time fixing a dipsh*t mark I made in the green. But -  I fixed it.

[trackster]

Idk if anyone has this problem at all and maybe it is just the greens where I play.

I hit the ball quite high (compared to the people that I play with) and There are some holes were i will make a huge ball mark on the green that i would see as unrepairable with a standard divot repair tool.

I mean some i could place the ball back in the crater and it would cover over half of the ball.  I try to repair this but no matter what i do i can't seem to properly fix them.