Annoying golfer

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

I don't find it annoying, but I get a kick out of the guy who hits his drive far off the fairway--typically in the trees--and is looking for his ball between 25 and 50 yards past where it would have reasonably flown.  Whether they typically hit it 220 or 280 when it flies straight, they somehow think that, even though it sliced 20-30 yards, it still went 220 or 280.  I typically laugh to myself and then ask what they're looking for up there, and proceed to tell them their ball is "somewhere back there" and then begin helping them look for it.

Whoops ... I've been guilty of this, sort of.  I will go to just short of where I think the ball is, then start looking for the ball and walking forwards.  Sometimes when I finally give up, I'll look around and realize I'm now 380 yards from the tee.

Quote:

I find it annoying when a high handicapper who can't hit the ball very far will wait for the green to clear when he is really far out and then hit a 50 yard slice into the trees. I guess its kinda funny at the same time to see their disapointment.

Why do you have specify "high handicappers?"  It's a Murphy's Law thing.  If I don't wait for them, I'm guaranteed to hit it on the green and piss somebody off, but if I do wait, the odds are a big slice, top, or whiff is on the horizon.

[meenman]

Originally Posted by SCfanatic35

I find it annoying when a high handicapper who can't hit the ball very far will wait for the green to clear when he is really far out and then hit a 50 yard slice into the trees. I guess its kinda funny at the same time to see their disapointment.

I'm not going to say I find this annoying because when i was newb, if I hit right away, I would hit the green. If I waited, I would duff it for sure.

[dave s]

Tell me, would you guys be 'annoyed' by this golf course behavior?  Note:  Some stories are from a loooong time ago when we were young stupid and some from this past season as well.  All true and some you may find funny.

#8 was a par-3 with an elevated tee just right of cart path.  We're waiting to tee of as usual because the hole it tee box, lake, elevated green trees right and back of green.  Guy in our group decides to fill a balloon with nitrous oxide then inhale the entire contents while standing on the edge of said elevated green.  Passes out standing up, falls backwards onto cart path ... just as two senior ladies are pulling up behind us!

We're waiting on a green for the guy whose ball is farthest from the hole.  He strolls onto the green carrying (in one trip from the cart) his sand wedge, putter, his towel, TWO beers, one of his golf shoes and wait ... smoking away on the last half of a doobie!  We lovingly still refer to this man as "Maynard."

I'm standing over a chip shot.  All lined up.  Take the club away to make the stoke and one of the guys in our group screams in a Scottish accent, "rrrrRelease the Crackins!"  Why?  I have no idea.  Still hit the chip close enough to make but had to get up off the ground due to laughing so hard.

Sometimes heard from a guy speaking into the grip end of his driver like it's a microphone after teeing up a ball for driving:  "On the tee ladies and gentlemen, Bill Smith, professional golfer and part-time male prostitute." No idea the origin of this commentary.

Guy from another group drives by our green, (while we're putting, of course) to report they saw 'a hawk stomping the $hit out of a chipmunk' on #7 tee box.  "It was AWESOME!!!"

XM Radio:  One guy has this on his phone and a powered speaker in his cart that blasts loudly during every round.  Kind of like Rodney Dangerfield from Caddy Shack.  It's not uncommon for Rob to blurt out his favorite lyric interpretation from a favorite song at any point in your swing or putt.  Off-key in more ways than one!

We have a couple of guys who really hit it off the tee.  Weekday league play can go late so we try to hurry.  Ball comes over the hill on a long par 4.  "Hey, a Pro V1. Thank you cousin Paddy."  Puts ball in pocket.  As we're leaving the next tee we look over and laugh at the guy (always the same guy) stalking around the fairway looking for his ball.  Guy drives it over and drops it where it was picked up.

Typical of one 2-some.  "Bill, do you know how much a flag stick weighs?  Bill: "No idea." "Well, if you'd pick the damn thing up once a round, you'd KNOW!!!"  Bill to me in a hushed tone:  "What do you suppose he meant by that?"

Another group of our guys pull up behind us.  A guy sees I have a new driver and asks how I like it.  After we chat for 10 seconds, he asks if he can hit it.  This is AFTER we've all teed off and are ready to leave the teeing area.  I say sure.  He crushes one down the middle and LONG.  He says, leave the ball there, I'm going to use that as my drive on this hole.  HUGE argument ensues as we drive away from the tee box!

...And these are the guys I get to play with every Thursday night from mid-April through the end of September.  Honestly, it doesn't get any better than this.  I wouldn't trade Thursday nights for anything.

dave

[SCfanatic35]

hahaha, so true!  specifically the guy that waits on his 2nd shot on a 600y par 5 for the green to clear and it's clear his drive only went about 220y...yeah, let's see that 380y 3 wood!

if you can reach the green, even though usually it doesnt workout, thats fine. its the guy who has 270 in to the wind with a 3w that makes me laugh. usually that same guy hits his drives about 230.

[el shanko]

Dave thats some funny chit, i like the first 2, and heard about the flag stick one, hell i heard of paint guns being pulled out while teeing off. that would hurt. i was on a practice green sunday at a local goat pasture a sunday lunch group was gathering up for their weekly round (pure rednecks) i was practicing putting and man the chatter going on while i was practicing......meh i actully was not bad just tuned them out and carried on

[dfreuter415]

Originally Posted by scooby7589

I tried to be friendly but stand offish , not talking much, compliment him on good shots and pars that he got,  but whereever i would stand he would walk right over and stand shoulder to shoulder with me on every tee box and he was constantly talking  , i would move and he would move to where i was.  I continued to struggle for the rest of the round and on the last hole i shook his hand said nice round , and told him i had a 10 on the hole, dropped the cart off said  see you later to my partner and started out to my truck, so i had to walk by this guy to get to my truck and he says you didnt get a ten on that hole ill put you down for a 6 , i said put down whatever you want, then he starts to walk towards me and says whats your deal, i said i gotta go and got in my truck and left.   I found out a day later he went into the clubhouse and told everyone how much of a d**k i was .   Just wanted to post this for a vent and any suggestion on how i should handle this, i have to see him next week .

Whenever you get into a sensitive situation with another golfer, or even yourself, here is something that you might try. This is an article, "Inside the Golfer's Mind," by Dr. Bob Rotella, noted sport psychologist....  http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/mental-game/rotella

There are a number of good points that he makes that you might find helpful, but the best one is, "I will refuse to allow anything that happens on the golf course today to bother me or upset me. I will accept bad breaks and mistakes and be tough in adversity. I am going to be in a good mood and a great state of mind for the entire round today. I'll enjoy playing."

Here is an example of how powerful that statement can be... Last year I was playing my normal Monday morning game with my friend Jim, and had just bought some yellow Srixon balls. I am a 9 handicap, and I pride myself on my consistency, but this day I started with 4 bogeys and 4 double-bogeys. I can't remember the last time I was 12 over after 8 holes, but I remembered Dr. Rotella's rule: "I will refuse to allow anything that happens on the golf course today to bother me or upset me...", so I changed back to my Pro V1 white ball, and told Jim it was the yellow ball's fault. Well then next ten holes I shot even par with an eagle, a birdie and 5 pars. When I got home I told my wife I had a present for her and gave her a brand new box of 11 yellow balls and one that was slightly used.

I use Dr. Rotella's tip as an essential part of my game, and it makes the day more enjoyable.  (Most of the time.)  Hopefully, it can work for you.

[Rick Martin]

great post/great story - think I'll save the Rotella link.

[Parker0065]

Originally Posted by dfreuter415

Whenever you get into a sensitive situation with another golfer, or even yourself, here is something that you might try. This is an article, "Inside the Golfer's Mind," by Dr. Bob Rotella, noted sport psychologist....  http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/mental-game/rotella

There are a number of good points that he makes that you might find helpful, but the best one is, "I will refuse to allow anything that happens on the golf course today to bother me or upset me. I will accept bad breaks and mistakes and be tough in adversity. I am going to be in a good mood and a great state of mind for the entire round today. I'll enjoy playing."

Here is an example of how powerful that statement can be... Last year I was playing my normal Monday morning game with my friend Jim, and had just bought some yellow Srixon balls. I am a 9 handicap, and I pride myself on my consistency, but this day I started with 4 bogeys and 4 double-bogeys. I can't remember the last time I was 12 over after 8 holes, but I remembered Dr. Rotella's rule: "I will refuse to allow anything that happens on the golf course today to bother me or upset me...", so I changed back to my Pro V1 white ball, and told Jim it was the yellow ball's fault. Well then next ten holes I shot even par with an eagle, a birdie and 5 pars. When I got home I told my wife I had a present for her and gave her a brand new box of 11 yellow balls and one that was slightly used.

I use Dr. Rotella's tip as an essential part of my game, and it makes the day more enjoyable.  (Most of the time.)  Hopefully, it can work for you.

Nice post and a great point!

After 38 years of playing golf I would love to be able to say nothing bothers me on the golf course. For the most part nothing does anymore but last summer I lost it,,lol. I hadn't worked on my swing in years and last spring took some lessons and put in a lot of work. My results were starting to show but every once in awhile my old swing would show up.

My son, father inlaw, and I played one of my favorite local courses that we get out to at least once a year. I started off poorly and it just seemed to go down hill. No yelling or screaming or throwing clubs, but I was just pissed off the entire day, and I never let that happen because I know that is not the right answer. I stopped counting after a while but I know I didn't break 80 that day and when I pulled my ball out of the hole on #18 I just thought "what the heck just happened"!

After that I put the clubs away for a week and reflected on what I was trying to accomplish. I called a friend who works as a psychologist and knows how serious I take the game to see if he had any tips for my head,,,lol. He just said when your out there on the course do you ever notice the trees, birds, flowers, or do you only see the target or flagstick? I instantly knew where he was going and my next couple rounds I made it a point to focus more on nature and less on my swing or score. A week after that I shot a solid round of -3 under 69 and the following week won our Club Championship by 6 shots. I'd like to say as a scratch golfer it's ok for me to be upset about poor play because I expect to hit the ball at a certain level but I know that is the wrong answer.

As far as the OP and letting another opponent or playing partner influence my game, that I can manage a whole lot easier than my own swing problems. It helps to have a lot of tournament experience starting back as a junior.

But league golf is a different animal than playing in what I would call a real event. So I would be careful how serious you really take it. I've found that most leagues have whacky rules that generally favor whomever is running it,,lol! Most people I know that play in leagues do it for the social/beer aspect. In 38 years I've played in a league only one season and that was because my best friend asked me to be his partner. We won the league championship and I swiftly retired from league play,,lol! It's just not my cup of tea or idea of competitive golf but it's good for the game and for course revenue. So take a deep breath, drink a beer, notice the birds flying, and just be glad your not at work!

[Swingie]

Agreed here. If you want some room from the guy just tell him in plain speech that you are going to talk to him in a few min but need some time to focus on some things you are working on, he will understand and give you space or at least talk to you much less. I can see you are trying to focus and be better but lighten up, the game comes easier when you have positive vibes and only focus intensely a few min before a shot.

Bottom line, the guy tried to be nice and you were not and didnt explain why....even after the round you didnt ease up....

[dfreuter415]

Check out this article in Golf Digest, "The Most Annoying Golf Partners"......

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf/humor/18-most-annoying-golf-partners#slide=1

[Chas]

Thanks for that, hilarious. I'm an Air Counter and only an Air Counter ...... ;)

[BallStriker]

Pretty good stuff...overall, I think I am good playing partner b/c I am very courteous and respectful of my partners' games (rule #1) and I am a bit shy by nature and never overly talkative (but will gab all day with someone who is in to that as well)

BUT,.....being self-aware .....I am a guy who is a fairly solid (but not great golfer)...hovering between 4-6 cap most of the time...but not great by any stretch.......my annoying habits are (1) I bitch about shots that are an 8 on a 1-10 scale b/c they aren't 10s, and (2) I talk to the ball (way too much).........I also over-drink on the course, but I think that is endearing

[grubby98]

I have a friend that nobody will hardly play with anymore. He has clubs 6-8 year old taylormade set, but always looking at something new and never goes any buys anything. So he will ask to test anything you got. He hits it bad he tells you its a crappy club and then if he hits it good he will keep asking to use it till one bad shot. He will usually hit a club from everyones bag in a round. I only play with him now in the summer when we walk, he cant ask if you try to hit away from where he is at.

[jetsknicks1]

Just had to vent. Been recently playing with the husband (Let's call him Carl) of a very old friend of mine and the guy just drives me INSANE. We usually end up playing with a married couple that he's friends with and while the wife awesome to play with, Carl & her husband are just one big pain in the ass. They will critique(sp) each other's swing after almost every shot and they are both horribly slow. Last weekend we played a round in 4 hrs 45 mins, with nobody in front of us! Plus they quote the movie "The Nutty Professor" (And only that movie), to each other all friggin day. On the the last hole, we had a group standing in the fairway waiting for us to putt out as these two guys spent 5 mins just bullshitting on the green! Just aggravating. Thanks for letting me rant.

[dak4n6]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1

Just had to vent. Been recently playing with the husband (Let's call him Carl) of a very old friend of mine and the guy just drives me INSANE. We usually end up playing with a married couple that he's friends with and while the wife awesome to play with, Carl & her husband are just one big pain in the ass. They will critique(sp) each other's swing after almost every shot and they are both horribly slow. Last weekend we played a round in 4 hrs 45 mins, with nobody in front of us! Plus they quote the movie "The Nutty Professor" (And only that movie), to each other all friggin day. On the the last hole, we had a group standing in the fairway waiting for us to putt out as these two guys spent 5 mins just bullshitting on the green! Just aggravating. Thanks for letting me rant.

Any time bro. The TST community soaks it up like a sponge, no problemo.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1

Just had to vent. Been recently playing with the husband (Let's call him Carl) of a very old friend of mine and the guy just drives me INSANE. We usually end up playing with a married couple that he's friends with and while the wife awesome to play with, Carl & her husband are just one big pain in the ass. They will critique(sp) each other's swing after almost every shot and they are both horribly slow. Last weekend we played a round in 4 hrs 45 mins, with nobody in front of us! Plus they quote the movie "The Nutty Professor" (And only that movie), to each other all friggin day. On the the last hole, we had a group standing in the fairway waiting for us to putt out as these two guys spent 5 mins just bullshitting on the green! Just aggravating. Thanks for letting me rant.

Sounds like Eddie Murphy has another movie idea!

[RichWW2]

Originally Posted by grubby98

I have a friend that nobody will hardly play with anymore. He has clubs 6-8 year old taylormade set, but always looking at something new and never goes any buys anything. So he will ask to test anything you got. He hits it bad he tells you its a crappy club and then if he hits it good he will keep asking to use it till one bad shot. He will usually hit a club from everyones bag in a round. I only play with him now in the summer when we walk, he cant ask if you try to hit away from where he is at.

Ah the perks I get from being left handed and 6"4'.  If someone asks to use my clubs it's either "Sorry I'm left handed", which gets rid of most people, or "My clubs are custom fit to me (+1.5" length) and I don't think they'd work very well for you".  In all honesty though, even if I was right handed and average height with off the rack clubs, I STILL wouldn't let anyone touch them because (*cue best Gollum impression*) they're my precious.

My annoying golfer is Unsolicited Swing Advice guy by far.  I don't mind getting tips and pointers here and there when I'm actively searching for it i.e. ask someone, but I don't care that you know how to hit low/high draws/fades or know every little thing about swing mechanics.  I don't want your tips or advice about rotating my wrist more or keeping my head still after every one of my shots that go even slightly off target, which tends to be most of them.  Also, when I do get a good shot and I hear a "See, I told you if you did X you'd hit a great shot. You're welcome", I really want to hit you in the face with my 6-iron, but I wouldn't do well in prison, so I refrain myself.

Luckily I've only ever come across this person twice.  One guy on my high school team (who wasn't very popular to put it mildly), and once when I was playing by myself a few years back.  These people bug the bajeezus out of me.

I'm definitely the Air Counter.  It helps me remember my score and I'm not harassing anyone else, so they can deal with it.

[RayG]

For me, that "unsolicited advice guy" was none other than Tommy Bolt. I was having some leaking push slice issues when I wound up paired with him. After a few holes of aiming left(which made it worse), teeing it higher and further towards the left toe, etc... he came up and said "try this, boy (I was 30 at the time)... strengthen your left hand a bit at address. But DON'T do it today, go to the range and work on it. You got a nice swing otherwise" Thanks, Mr. Bolt... "Tommy"... Of course, next driving hole I strengthened my left hand and promptly snap hooked into the under growth and swamp. " I told you not to do it here, you idiot!" He had a big smile on his face, then started laughing with his buddies and told me to try again... Striped one down the middle this time. And THAT'S why I keep a strong left hand grip.