How many of you "fluff" your ball or play 6"/winter rules all the time?

[LovinItAll]

Originally Posted by cart7

And there's already enough complaints about slow play on a typical course, especially on the weekends.  Can you imagine what it would be like if everybody played it as it lay?

Slow play amplified.

You think that rolling it saves time? Hmm...I don't know. Unless I've got a really hinky lie (dealing with rocks, roots, or something else where I might hurt myself), I don't think I take any longer to hit out of rough, a divot, etc. than if I rolled it. Could just be me, though.

[Jimdangles]

I will usually move my ball if it is somewhere my clubs can be damaged but i dont keep an official handicap. I wont even pick up my ball to check if its mine and I hate when my friends do.

[cart7]

Originally Posted by LovinItAll

You think that rolling it saves time? Hmm...I don't know. Unless I've got a really hinky lie (dealing with rocks, roots, or something else where I might hurt myself), I don't think I take any longer to hit out of rough, a divot, etc. than if I rolled it. Could just be me, though.

A typical weekend golfer doesn't carry a 4.8 handicap like yourself.  More like 20 + and that's when he fluffs lies, takes multiple mulligans, etc.  Those guys are doing good to make good contact with the golf ball in an ideal lie, start asking them to play off deadpan, out of divots, weeds, heavy rough, etc and they'll be hitting even worse, getting frustrated which will only lead to even more bad shots.

[David in FL]

A typical weekend golfer doesn't carry a 4.8 handicap like yourself.  More like 20 + and that's when he fluffs lies, takes multiple mulligans, etc.  Those guys are doing good to make good contact with the golf ball in an ideal lie, start asking them to play off deadpan, out of divots, weeds, heavy rough, etc and they'll be hitting even worse, getting frustrated which will only lead to even more bad shots.

My buddy has been playing just about 2 years now and carries an absolutely honest 24. He's capable of getting around in well under 4 hours easily and doesn't hold us up in the least. Fwiw, I'll put him and his 24 up against the average "bogey golfer" any day of the week. He doesn't expect a perfect lie every time and doesn't get rattled when he doesn't get it.

[LovinItAll]

Originally Posted by cart7

A typical weekend golfer doesn't carry a 4.8 handicap like yourself.  More like 20 + and that's when he fluffs lies, takes multiple mulligans, etc.  Those guys are doing good to make good contact with the golf ball in an ideal lie, start asking them to play off deadpan, out of divots, weeds, heavy rough, etc and they'll be hitting even worse, getting frustrated which will only lead to even more bad shots.

Ah, I see what you're saying. I wasn't thinking of the result of the shots off of poorer lies.

[3putt53]

If he's rolling his ball, then his handicap isn't legitimate.

[David in FL]

If he's rolling his ball, then his handicap isn't legitimate.

Not sure who you were directing that towards. If it was my post about my buddy, he never rolls it. We've had him playing correctly from day one. That was my point to cart7....a 20+ handicap playing it down needn't take any longer than someone who rolls, fluffs, or otherwise improves his lie.... ....and he'll be a better player for it.

[Matt M]

I never bump the ball unless its in the early Spring and the course isn't in shape yet.  I live in Ohio also so I can understand it in the Winter or early Spring.  I think your just cheating yourself if your touching the ball before every swing. I like playing people that are use to bumping ball, because before the bets are finalized I make it clear they have to play it as it lies, which usually leads to the after round comments like all I got all day were bad lies in the rough.  Really bad lies in the rough eh, lol.

[3putt53]

Not sure who you were directing that towards. If it was my post about my buddy, he never rolls it. We've had him playing correctly from day one. That was my point to cart7....a 20+ handicap playing it down needn't take any longer than someone who rolls, fluffs, or otherwise improves his lie.... ....and he'll be a better player for it.

Sorry, should have used the quote feature. Earlier response had mentioned how a "definite single digit" was struggling when having to play the ball down. My response was if he bumps the ball it is not a legitimate handicap.

[cart7]

Originally Posted by David in FL

Not sure who you were directing that towards.

If it was my post about my buddy, he never rolls it. We've had him playing correctly from day one. That was my point to cart7....a 20+ handicap playing it down needn't take any longer than someone who rolls, fluffs, or otherwise improves his lie....

....and he'll be a better player for it.

How many weekend warriors have had good instruction in the game of golf, especially their swing?  Most of them are doing good to make good ball contact from good lies, start making them hitting it where it lays and they'll be chopping and hacking down the fairway at a snails pace, even slower than they already are.

My only point being, many of those guys don't even have a clue as to what their handicap is, they don't care.  They're out with their buddies having fun doing their best to move the ball down the fairway in as few shots as possible.  It's an individual sport that can be played anyway you want it to as long as you're not in a tournament.  Back when I was an 8 handicapper, I played a lot.  Spent a lot of time on the range. I often played with guys who only played the weekends and their skill level wasn't close to mine.  I never insisted they follow the rules, they'd ask if they could fluff lies, use creative drops from OB's and take more than one mulligan per round.  I never had an issue with them doing that because frankly, I wanted them to enjoy their round as much as possible and to score as good as possible in order for them to want to come back and play again.

[kris]

Very rarely will I improve a lie or position, have to be in a special mood where I'm just tired of dealing with stupid sh*t. I don't get these militant rules officials on the course though. God forbid I drop a ball somewhere in the vicinity of where I lost one and play on, or if I'm a few inches closer to the hole after a drop, or if i feel like hitting another ball after a bad shot etc. I'm out there to have fun, don't really care what I shoot, and don't really care what any other golfers think.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by kris

Very rarely will I improve a lie or position, have to be in a special mood where I'm just tired of dealing with stupid sh*t. I don't get these militant rules officials on the course though. God forbid I drop a ball somewhere in the vicinity of where I lost one and play on, or if I'm a few inches closer to the hole after a drop, or if i feel like hitting another ball after a bad shot etc. I'm out there to have fun, don't really care what I shoot, and don't really care what any other golfers think.

Sounds like you do care at least a little bit. Either way, you're beakin' off about playing off a single digit index so you have nothing to explain to anyone - hit it, find it, repeat.

[DirtCheap]

I think there are a lot of liars here.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris

Very rarely will I improve a lie or position, have to be in a special mood where I'm just tired of dealing with stupid sh*t. I don't get these militant rules officials on the course though. God forbid I drop a ball somewhere in the vicinity of where I lost one and play on, or if I'm a few inches closer to the hole after a drop, or if i feel like hitting another ball after a bad shot etc. I'm out there to have fun, don't really care what I shoot, and don't really care what any other golfers think.

Sounds like you do care at least a little bit. Either way, you're beakin' off about playing off a single digit index so you have nothing to explain to anyone - hit it, find it, repeat.

Sorry man - I meant, you're NOT beakin' off. One word yet so important - 100000 aplogies.

[tiger187126]

Originally Posted by DirtCheap

I think there are a lot of liars here.

i just realized that i fluff my ball on every par 3 teebox, although with the results i'm getting i should probably just tee it up some.

[tomwalshco]

Originally Posted by cart7

And there's already enough complaints about slow play on a typical course, especially on the weekends.  Can you imagine what it would be like if everybody played it as it lay?

Slow play amplified.

I agree with this 100%. Fast play rules and whatever it takes to keep people moving is fine with me. The reason these remarks are so popular on Sat afternoon - Pick it up. That's good. Just lay one down. Move it out of there. Just throw one down where it flew over Elm Street. Throw one down here, that's full of snakes and poison ivy. Get yourself a good lie over there.... need a tee?

[daniel2852]

Never, I never improve my lie. I didn't even know the term fluffing until I saw this thread but I am familiar with it.

I was just beginning golf playing maybe my 3rd round when some guy in a coors light t-shirt(should have been my first clue) asks me if I want to pair up to speed up play that day.

I figured he was a decent golfer but the first thing he does is starts giving me swing advice(I hate this, especially since his swing was one of those awful parallel, attack the ball outside-in swings). I was surprised when I noticed if he hit a drive in the rough, he would then take whatever club he was using and knock the ball onto the fairway(not counting this as a stroke of course).

I was appalled, I mean what's the point of golf if you're not going to play it where it lies. I'll admit it, I'm not perfect, I bend the rules sometimes. I'll take a mulligan for an out of bounds drive, I used to not count water hazards(this has changed), but I never improve the lie of the ball. I have been known to take crazy shots from pebbles and around light poles just to keep this rule.

It is the point of golf to advance the ball without moving it with anything but the club, and that counts as a stroke. I understand mulligans, because that's the first shot, so it's different since you are playing from the tee box and essentially are just scratching that shot and saying ,OK let's start this hole over. But fluffing is cheating on approach shots, which is just stupid.

[LovinItAll]

Originally Posted by daniel2852

Never, I never improve my lie. I didn't even know the term fluffing until I saw this thread but I am familiar with it.

I was just beginning golf playing maybe my 3rd round when some guy in a coors light t-shirt(should have been my first clue) asks me if I want to pair up to speed up play that day.

I figured he was a decent golfer but the first thing he does is starts giving me swing advice(I hate this, especially since his swing was one of those awful parallel, attack the ball outside-in swings). I was surprised when I noticed if he hit a drive in the rough, he would then take whatever club he was using and knock the ball onto the fairway(not counting this as a stroke of course).

I was appalled, I mean what's the point of golf if you're not going to play it where it lies. I'll admit it, I'm not perfect, I bend the rules sometimes. I'll take a mulligan for an out of bounds drive, I used to not count water hazards(this has changed), but I never improve the lie of the ball. I have been known to take crazy shots from pebbles and around light poles just to keep this rule.

It is the point of golf to advance the ball without moving it with anything but the club, and that counts as a stroke. I understand mulligans, because that's the first shot, so it's different since you are playing from the tee box and essentially are just scratching that shot and saying ,OK let's start this hole over. But fluffing is cheating on approach shots, which is just stupid.

Hmm.....'Let's start this hole over' is 'cheating', too. I really, really hate to hit my first drive of the day into the junk, but it just means I've gotta start grinding immediately, something I should do the whole round anyway.