Angry Golfers???

[B of H]

it's silly for a casual golfer to get upset enough to break a club but a competitive player who spends a lot of time working on his/her game and is doing more than just playing for fun is a different story.  The way I look at it is that the same type of emotion and drive that helps to fuel a person to compete at a high level can easily turn into irrational anger.  Some people are better at handling these things than others.

moral of the story: if you are spending 20+ hours a week on your game not including playing time then that type of physical and emotional investment is enough to make even mild mannered people blow a gasket occasionally.

if you are a 5+ handicap who plays once a week and spends little time practicing then there is something wrong with you if you get that upset.

[SouthernILGolfer]

Originally Posted by madcityscott

A friend of mine chucked a wedge into a tree and it got stuck. He had to stand on the shoulders of one of the other guys to get it out.

Sorry, id never help anyone get their club out of the tree by standing on my shoulders, go find a ladder

[nevets88]

This thread made me think of Angry Birds.

http://www.shelterness.com/angry-birds-golf-headcovers/

[mirv]

i popped the head off my driver one time after hitting about my 6th consecutive slice off the box.  the ball curved right into a pond and i just started saying "damn it" over and over and thumping the club against the ground.  not doing a two handed slam, mind you, just holding it in one hand and (too aggressively, i guess) hitting it against the ground. i guess after the fifth or sixth thumb, the club had enough, and the head just popped right off the shaft.  easy fix, at least. i also try to make it a point to never throw clubs, although on occasion i do, usually when i flub a really easy shot under 100 yards.  i'll hit it fat or top it and not even be able to watch my ball.  i'll turn around and loosely toss the club 10 yards or so away from me (as if the club is to blame).

[cougar978]

I'll put it to you this way - I carry a 'spare' lob wedge in the back of my Jeep in case the one I have decides to fly into the turf at a high rate of speed and buckle the shaft.

True story - I was playing in our league last year, tee off the first hole, I have a LW into the green, club hits a root underneath the ground and bends shaft at the hosel, making it unplayable.  After we finish the first hole, I take the cart to the parking lot, grab the spare, and shoot 67.

However, the spare usually comes out as a result of the LW being intentionally broken after a bad shot (TT lite steel shafts aren't that expensive).

[mirv]

Originally Posted by cougar978

True story - I was playing in our league last year, tee off the first hole, I have a LW into the green, club hits a root underneath the ground and bends shaft at the hosel, making it unplayable.

you should make part of your pre-shot routine saying "no whammy, no whammy."  (love your avatar)

[newtogolf]

I will end up laughing at myself before I get so mad I'd consider throwing or breaking a club.  1) It's not the clubs fault I swung crappy, and I'm going to have to pay to buy another one anyway.  2) I'm not good enough to have such high expectations that I'm not going to flub a shot every once in a while, especially when I see pro's hitting into peoples backyards and galleries during tournaments.

[Doctorfro]

People who break clubs are the same ones who put their fists through sheetrock or plate glass.  Idiots.  And I would venture to say that most of these guys drink.  Alcohol does not promote good behavior.  My apologies to those who drink responsibly.

[awmgolfer]

Last year and before I had a temper, never broke a club but I would say a number of choice words and you wouldn't want to talk to me for the next couple of shots. However, this year I have changed my attitude and mentality on the course and now I just laugh it off and look at it as a great chance to recover. I am frustrated when I do something bad but as long as I know what I did wrong, oh well, it happens to even the best. Many golfers I have found try to hold themselves to a higher level of consistency then even the pros get, I'm just glad to be out playing and that I'm pretty good at actually doing it, I can handle a couple of bad shots here and there, always learning.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by Callahan14

Yes it does,  "Passion for the game"

Mental issues.

Lack of control ... lack of understanding the game.

There is a difference between passion and losing it.

[saevel25]

I have broken two clubs in my life,

One a putter, i had an exact copy of the club at home, got to love having a spare. I broke it over my foot after a day of horrible putting, back in my teens. I had alot of anger back then on the course.

Then once recently, i slammed my club on the ground, not hard enough to break it, but the shaft was old and rusting a bit in the handle area. Its over 10 years old, and the shaft broke in the grip. Luckily i have been planning on getting a new 3 wood for a while.

But i don't go crazy anymore, its not worth it.

[SamW]

I'm surprised so many people do it. Don't get me wrong I've gotten very annoyed about golf but I've never thrown or broken a club. Where I live club throwing is considered pretty bad behavior, for instance if somebody who bought a green fee threw a club they would be escorted off the course, if it was a member they would have a disciplinary and probably would be suspended. All it does it show everyone you are playing against how mentally weak you are.

[ghalfaire]

Many years ago I wrapped a 9I around a tree and was not really enjoying golf as it just frustrated me.  I was working for a living and had to travel a lot and just didn't have the time to devote to the game.  So after I destroyed my 9I I decided I did this for fun and not a living and if I wasn't enjoying it I was stupid for playing.  So I took a 8 year hiatus from the game.  After the kids got out of High School I tried it again but with a new attitude that I would devote as much time as I could but not being the world's best athlete I would either enjoy the game or quit.  Since I like the challenge I play but it isn't my expectation to ever be a scratch golfer.  Does the game frustrate me at times?  You bet, but I don't ever get angry enough to make it unpleasant for my playing partners or to destroy my equipment and if I ever do I'll quit again.

[The Tin Man]

I recently was paired up with a club smashing, screaming bully and wanted to break a club.......against his mouth. Instead of sticking it out and suffering, I should have let them play on after the first club smash and joined a group behind me. Next time.

I'm sure there will be a next time.

My next game was with two of the nicest people I ever played with, most golfers are.

PS: I recently read about a surgeon who's  a screaming club smasher. So maybe golf is his steam release valve?

[jshots]

I broke a club recently. I was on the range alone and after months of not hitting my Driver well I got mad and threw it and my 3 wood, and broke my 3 wood (which i hit very well). I am able to keep my cool unless I am by myself for some reason.

[Fourputt]

A couple of years ago a friend got pissed after a bad tee shot (IIRC it was his third bad one in a  row) and helicoptered his driver in a random direction.  Unfortunately it flew straight into a blue spruce tree a few yards off the tee box and got stuck about 15 feet up in the tree.  He then tried to knock it down with his 4I - you guessed it - got that stuck too.  Walked over the green we had just played and took a bunker rake - a minute later that too was up in the tree.  He had to sheepishly call the pro shop to send a maintenance worker out with a tall ladder to fetch all three down.

The other 3 of us were laughing so hard we couldn't even think of playing, and the more we laughed, the angrier he got.  We  had to let 4 groups play through while we waited, got settled down so we were able to play again. By then, he was laughing along with us.  This guy was usually pretty even tempered, and he didn't normally lose it on the course.  Goes to show that anyone can have a meltdown if the situation is right.

[carpediem4300]

had a bad round Sunday, hit all my irons nicely which made a change but my driving was aweful and sliced it everywhere, by now iw ould of gone mental, thrown it broken it, but the furthest i got?

as i watch my ball sail a hefty distance into a wheat field, never to be seen again i just held my driver up and gripped it in my teeth, cracked a smile and thought, next hole will be better,..........indeed the next hole was better, i hit my hybrid off the tee instead!

[DeanS]

I've done it. I don't feel good about it. I'm not proud of it. I think most people have done it. I've learned from it and I make the effort to not let it happen again.