Looking for some serious Golf buddies

[robrey85]

Hey all,

My name is Robert and now that I can finally play Golf again with my rib being healed, I don't really have any Golf buddies that want to play serious and seriously want to improve. I can only play with people (when they don't flake out) who just play leisurely and don't really abide by the rules. So anyway, I'm looking for some Golf buddies that I can play with on a regular basis and improve with. I'd like to eventually get into competition play and I am an OB sports member for the upcoming year which allows 4 free tournament entries (I think) so that'll be pretty sweet. I shoot usually, anywhere from 98 to 128 (worst score to date) and have an HC index of 28.9 and play from the yardages anywhere from 6100-6800 (68 is a little long, I really like 65 but my home course is Legacy and it's either 62 or 67 there. ). I'd like to play with people in the same skill level or better. (if you are willing to play with someone worse than you) My goal before I was injured, was to turn an index of 15 before the end of the year. I think that might be a little ambitious now since I am just getting back in the game and the end of the year is closing in on me but I still want to keep that as my goal. I take lessons just about every 2 weeks to help me in my perennial quest and I try to get in 2-3 practices a week along with 1 round a week, if I can afford it/wife allows me to, I will play twice a week. (rarity) I work bankers hours so am usually playing/practicing on the weekends.

Anyway, I live in Las Vegas on the south side of town by South Point Casino but don't mind venturing across town every so often. If you're interested in joining forces and playing together or allowing me to join up with your current group shoot me a PM and we'll go from there.

Thanks.

--

Best,

Robert

[Willie Malay]

With that handicap my first suggestion is to move up a set of tees if possible. 6,500 might be a bit long. Might want to try out the PGA move up program or whatever they call it. Good luck finding some playing partners but when it comes down to it, you can improve playing with anyone.

When it comes down to it all I want is fun people to play with.

[robrey85]

Originally Posted by Willie Malay

With that handicap my first suggestion is to move up a set of tees if possible. 6,500 might be a bit long. Might want to try out the PGA move up program or whatever they call it. Good luck finding some playing partners but when it comes down to it, you can improve playing with anyone.

When it comes down to it all I want is fun people to play with.

I've actually been considering doing that lately. It's not that I can't handle the distance, it's that I am so inconsistent. I'll probably go with 6200-6400 until I get more consistent on longer shots. Here is the Tee it Foward thing you're talking about. My drive is usually 240-287 (the 287 doesn't happen that often.) so sounds like that'd be a good idea for me.

TEE IT FORWARD

This chart is a guideline to help golfers align their average driving distance with the course length best suited to their abilities.

Driver Distance	Recommended 18-Hole Yardages
275	6,700-6,900
250	6,200-6,400
225	5,800-6,000
200	5,200-5,400
175	4,400-4,600
150	3,500-3,700
125	2,800-3,000
100	2,100-2,300

[BuckeyeNut]

I've been playing 20+ years and have gone through several regular groups for many reasons. (relocation, etc, etc)   There were years where I had several golf friends/groups, and I had to pick who I'd play with on a round-by-round basis.  IE.....I was a member at a club and had regular members I'd play with, plus I had some co-workers to fit into the mix..... etc. etc...  I also played as a single by choice for several years and avoided a regular group.  I received several invites during those years, but preferred to do my own thing.

For the past couple years, I've played with regular groups....I have both weekday and weekend groups..LOL  When I finish 18 early on the weekend, I have backup groups I can join if I choose to play 36.  HEH....(guys who play later)

My 2 ways to find a group

1. Co-workers.....a no brainer.

2. Pair up as a single:

Show up as a single at your preferred time, and pair up..... Before long, you will find a regular group with similar playing habits that need a 4th player.  If you all get along, you'll find a regular group in no time!!!!

[Fore Left]

I'm just curious,  with your current handicap why are you opposed to playing with guys who might improve their lie,  ground their club in hazards, not count all of their strokes etc?

Just enjoy the company,  and follow the proper rules yourself,  and put in practice time.  If you get to a point in your game where their poor play distracts you,  then make a move,  but for now,  it would seem you should be able to ignore it because you have enough of your own strokes to focus on.

If they're playing with extremely poor ettiquite etc... then that's a different story.

[robrey85]

Originally Posted by Fore Left

I'm just curious,  with your current handicap why are you opposed to playing with guys who might improve their lie,  ground their club in hazards, not count all of their strokes etc?

Just enjoy the company,  and follow the proper rules yourself,  and put in practice time.  If you get to a point in your game where their poor play distracts you,  then make a move,  but for now,  it would seem you should be able to ignore it because you have enough of your own strokes to focus on.

If they're playing with extremely poor ettiquite etc... then that's a different story.

Well, if you don't count all your strokes, is that not poor etiquette or are you referring to cheating and what not? Anyway, maybe I'm being too uptight but I feel like playing in those conditions with those guys won't help me improve. I'd rather play with someone who has the same intentions that I do or close to that. That way we can relate a little bit more with regards to the game and certain instances that may happen. I know I'm not a great and amazing player but I'd prefer not to play with ones that, for example, don't finish out the hole because they go from bunker to bunker back to bunker and then pick up the ball saying they are just giving themselves a "double par". (this actually happened)

[colin007]

I'm with robrey on this one, you should by all means play with people who take it seriously if you want to.that's what i prefer too. Also, i think you might be a bit generous with your average drive. Comparing handicaps, i would be much more consistent (I'm actually closer to an 11 now but haven't been able to change the setting on my info) but i still hit it in the woods and top it or sky it at least once a round, so my average is probably closer to 230 rather than the 270 i get with a decent drive. Good luck, you should be able to find some partners living near Vegas.

[Dave2512]

It's rare I encounter someone on the course that isn't serious. I tried to do the golf buddy thing but found it was easier to just a book a time with short groups and play with different people all the time. For whatever reason I tend to play better with others than alone. I'm big into sizing people up so I don't care how they play as long as they are considerate and understand golf etiquette. I'd rather play alone than get paired up with someone that distracts me. I shot the worst round of the year last Sun after accepting an off to join a group I caught up to as a single on the 3rd hole. Crazy thing is I know the guys, all are rangers at this particular course. They talked on the tee boxes and greens, walked through lines and stood in my line of sight when I was hitting and putting. Drove me nuts.

[Everydaygolf]

When I started golfing a couple years ago I didn't know anyone who played. After about 10 rounds of going out as a single I was paired up with several good people. Now 4 years later I'm still playing regularly with 3 of the groups. The bottom line is if you go out as a single and are friendly you will find most people are the same way. I play a about 150 rounds a year and I can count the bad pair ups Ive had on one hand. Play courses you want to play and you will find someone to play with soon.

[robrey85]

Thanks for the input all. Sounds like I'll be playing as a single a lot more often than not.

[Lihu]

I've actually been considering doing that lately. It's not that I can't handle the distance, it's that I am so inconsistent. I'll probably go with 6200-6400 until I get more consistent on longer shots. Here is the Tee it Foward thing you're talking about. My drive is usually 240-287 (the 287 doesn't happen that often.) so sounds like that'd be a good idea for me.

TEE IT FORWARD

This chart is a guideline to help golfers align their average driving distance with the course length best suited to their abilities.   [TABLE] [TR] [TH] Driver Distance [/TH] [TH] Recommended 18-Hole Yardages [/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD] [/TD] [TD] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] [/TD] [TD] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] 275 [/TD] [TD] 6,700-6,900 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] 250 [/TD] [TD] 6,200-6,400 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] 225 [/TD] [TD] 5,800-6,000 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] 200 [/TD] [TD] 5,200-5,400 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] 175 [/TD] [TD] 4,400-4,600 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] 150 [/TD] [TD] 3,500-3,700 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] 125 [/TD] [TD] 2,800-3,000 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] 100 [/TD] [TD] 2,100-2,300 [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Its way more fun playing from the standard tees. We hit about the same distance off the tee, and I only played off the championship tees once. This was because some of my partners did not want to wait for me to move up to hit. Not till I am a low handicapper, will that happen again. On top of that, these folks played a higher handicap than me. What I am finding is that I tend to hit a little more aggressively when there is more distance. This throws off my tempo, and results in more ob than I usually do. The course has enough obstacles without moving back. So, playing standard tees makes the game a whole lot more fun for me.

[robrey85]

Originally Posted by Lihu

Its way more fun playing from the standard tees. We hit about the same distance off the tee, and I only played off the championship tees once. This was because some of my partners did not want to wait for me to move up to hit. Not till I am a low handicapper, will that happen again. On top of that, these folks played a higher handicap than me.

What I am finding is that I tend to hit a little more aggressively when there is more distance. This throws off my tempo, and results in more ob than I usually do. The course has enough obstacles without moving back.

So, playing standard tees makes the game a whole lot more fun for me.

I feel ya on playing with more aggression from the tees that are further back. I played a Siena Golf Club on Saturday and took the suggestion of moving up a tee and I felt like I was more in tune with my swing and not trying to murder the ball which allowed me to hit way more faiways than I normally do. The championship tees were 65XX and the ones I played were 61XX. Hit a 107 with 5 penalties throughout the round which is muuch better than I played last round from tees at 6700 (15 penalties, lol)

I'll definitely be sticking to the 6100-6400 range tees for now.

[JaxGolfer1]

Buckeyenut has the right idea. Show up as a single and you will find a group that can consider playing with again. It's like speed dating for golf buddies.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by robrey85

Thanks for the input all. Sounds like I'll be playing as a single a lot more often than not.

What I would do is find a course that is conveniently located near your house.  Golf there regularly as a single.  And don't be afraid to introduce yourself to the staff that work there.  Explain to them your situation and that you want to find ways to play more golf.  I'm sure they will either have a league that you could join - or refer you to another course - or traveling league that you could look in to?

I moved to Socal back in May of 2010.  I didn't really know anyone outside of work.  And none of the guys I worked with - played golf.  Nor did I really want to hang with anyone that I worked with.  I try to keep work and golf separate.  :D

So anyway... I didn't start really playing a lot of golf again until the Spring of 2011.  And I still didn't really know that many people to play golf with.  So I decided I would just start going out as a single at a course up the street from my place.  Literally, the very first time that I went out as a single, I met another guy who was playing as a single that day.  He was a decent golfer, and we had some good conversation during the round.  At the end of the round, he asked if I would be down to play more golf. So we exchanged digits.  And from there, we started playing nearly every weekend.

He introduced me to several other regulars that he knew/played with.  And ultimately got me to join a traveling men's league that plays once a month, at a different course here in Socal.  Now, I always have someone to play with - and it's not always my buddy who I met as a single.  But friends I've met through the men's league.  Getting into the men's league was one of the better moves I've made as there are so many like minded people who want to go out, play golf and just compete (and have some fun - and give one another a hard time here and there for missing putts, etc.).

If you are polite, and have good golf etiquette.... And not awkward when carrying a conversation... I'm sure you'll find someone as a single who will want you to join them regularly.

[ejimsmith]

i joined the men's club of my fav. local course to find more "serious" players to play with.   most clubs will have at least 1 tourney a month, so if you did the same w/ a course near you, you should find the people you're looking for.

[golfdesperado]

I am visiting Las Vegas from the 1st. of December 2012 for three months. I am in my second year of hacking around the golf course but I really want to improve my game. I am going to find out where to play golf and which driving range is best for me to continue enjoying golf and learning. If you are a local and want to take me with you for golfing together that would be great. I am 47, male, Dutch, living in Poland, Europe. I just started a golf blog too as a motivation tool to keep pursuing my new found golf dream of playing scratch. Well breaking 100 is more realistic for know. @Robrey85 If you still looking for a golf buddy count me in and let me know :) p.s. I am serious when it comes to playing the game but with a relaxed humorous attitude. Except when I am hitting the waterhazard three times in a row. My golf bag will follow the three balls in an instant. :~(