Do you like to play with new people?

[Bucki1968]

I really don't care who I play with. Usually on week-ends I end up playing with friends. When I 'm off in the summer, all my buddies are working so I end up playing with strangers most of the time (or by myself). Actually some the "strangers" have become regular playing partners.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

I'm glad I'm not the only person who thought it was flawed.

A simple yes or no question without qualifiers would have been better............

Agreed.  I think that too often these polls are invalidated by the pollster trying to be too clever or cute or funny and he ends up with meaningless questions and null responses.

In this poll, I prefer to play with friends if they are available for play, but I'll gladly play with just about anyone if no friends are around. Often enough I'll play with a friend and two strangers, or some similar mix.  Most of the strangers I've played with have not been on vacation, they have been either right at my home course or one of several other courses near my home course in Colorado.  So in my experience, neither of the first two questions even applies to me.  And the third option in the poll is a wholehearted negative.

[NuclearMike]

I'll play with friends, strangers, or alone.  I usually play my best golf when alone as my concentration doesn't stray too far from golf, but I'm really not good enough to have playing golf with others, friends or not, have much effect on my game.

[Mozgolf]

Its a social game for me. As long as they know the rules and play at a decent pace i generally enjoy meeting other on the course

[grubby98]

As long as they play by the rules and like to play for atleast quarters, I say bring them on. I love playing with strangers. Thats how I got in with my group I play with on a regular basis.

[jetsknicks1]

Originally Posted by Mozgolf

Its a social game for me. As long as they know the rules and play at a decent pace i generally enjoy meeting other on the course

I don't really care if they play by the rules, what do I care if they footwedge their ball away from the tree? Fix your divots, repair ball marks, rake the traps and keep up! Oh, and don't be a jerk.

[colin007]

I don't really care if they play by the rules, what do I care if they footwedge their ball away from the tree? Fix your divots, repair ball marks, rake the traps and keep up! Oh, and don't be a jerk.

This. This is it in a nutshell. In 10 years of playing I've only ever played with two douchebags, everyone else has been great. Oh, and play fast or GTFO.

[dfreuter415]

Originally Posted by twug

I'm just asking this question to get an idea of what everyone prefers. I work for a country club and I think it will be a good idea to show my manager some new ways to get more people to the course. So, I'm going to say some scenarios and you just tell me what you think of them

To: "Twug"

Every Saturday morning at the club where I caddie, they have two different games that they play.

At 8:00 am the golfers play a game where it is the best net ball of the foursome using full handicap. Any member can sign up and at it's peak there are 40 or more golfers playing in groups with friends and strangers alike.  The stakes are low, but with a little money on the line and playing in a team format, everyone roots for the entire team.  Great fun with little pressure.

Then at 11:00 the money players use the best ball of the foursome with no handicap. These are the low handicappers who like a little action on the course. With higher stakes it attracts the better golfers, friends and strangers alike, who have similar interests, the chief one being golf.  A great way to spend a Saturday and feel like your are golfing in a tournament with money on the line.

[Elrey Desol]

well, i got paired with "that guy" yesterday at the local course where i play 75% of my rounds.

let's run through the check list:

- talking in someone's backswing? check. and with nice volume too.

- walking in someone's line? check. could hardly be bothered to notice where his own ball was marked, let alone any of the other three players.

- doesn't fix ball marks? check. even when i complimented his approach from 100 yards, "Wow! You're thrown' darts out there. That one landed a foot from the hole, you can see the mark there". i fixed after we all putted out.

- won't pull/tend the pin for anyone else? checkety-check. not that this is a huge thing, but one of my pet peeves.

- can't manage his shadow? check. twice in the last three holes i had to step off the ball while he roamed the green with his shadow on my line and the hole.

- slow player? he's the man. he walked, slowly, after every shot and fully 1/3 of the time he wasn't exactly sure where the ball was.

- can't leave the phone off? you betcha. was texting and checking emails from the first tee through the 18th fairway.

- delusional about his prowess on the course? this guy was a classic. went on and on about how he only picked the game a up a couple of years ago, but got his index down in single digits. meanwhile, his reverse-weight shift is so severe that his feet, knees, hips, and shoulders where ALL square to the target after his might swipes at the ball. would be surprised if he cracked 100, even with foot wedges and 3.5' gimmies on half the holes.

thanks for reading. my wife didn't care at all.

/rant

[SCfanatic35]

well, i got paired with "that guy" yesterday at the local course where i play 75% of my rounds. let's run through the check list: - talking in someone's backswing? check. and with nice volume too. - walking in someone's line? check. could hardly be bothered to notice where his own ball was marked, let alone any of the other three players. - doesn't fix ball marks? check. even when i complimented his approach from 100 yards, "Wow! You're thrown' darts out there. That one landed a foot from the hole, you can see the mark there". i fixed after we all putted out. - won't pull/tend the pin for anyone else? checkety-check. not that this is a huge thing, but one of my pet peeves. - can't manage his shadow? check. twice in the last three holes i had to step off the ball while he roamed the green with his shadow on my line and the hole. - slow player? he's the man. he walked, slowly, after every shot and fully 1/3 of the time he wasn't exactly sure where the ball was. - can't leave the phone off? you betcha. was texting and checking emails from the first tee through the 18th fairway. - delusional about his prowess on the course? this guy was a classic. went on and on about how he only picked the game a up a couple of years ago, but got his index down in single digits. meanwhile, his reverse-weight shift is so severe that his feet, knees, hips, and shoulders where ALL square to the target after his might swipes at the ball. would be surprised if he cracked 100, even with foot wedges and 3.5' gimmies on half the holes. thanks for reading. my wife didn't care at all. :-) /rant

Did you or anyone in your group say anything to him? Or did you just chalk it up to, he is the way he is? When I play with people like that I say things to the guys not being annoying things like, "I cant stand guys who don't fix their ballmarks." Or "thanks for stepping in my line." Sometimes guys like that get the point without actually calling them on it.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

well, i got paired with "that guy" yesterday at the local course where i play 75% of my rounds. let's run through the check list: - talking in someone's backswing? check. and with nice volume too. - walking in someone's line? check. could hardly be bothered to notice where his own ball was marked, let alone any of the other three players. - doesn't fix ball marks? check. even when i complimented his approach from 100 yards, "Wow! You're thrown' darts out there. That one landed a foot from the hole, you can see the mark there". i fixed after we all putted out. - won't pull/tend the pin for anyone else? checkety-check. not that this is a huge thing, but one of my pet peeves. - can't manage his shadow? check. twice in the last three holes i had to step off the ball while he roamed the green with his shadow on my line and the hole. - slow player? he's the man. he walked, slowly, after every shot and fully 1/3 of the time he wasn't exactly sure where the ball was. - can't leave the phone off? you betcha. was texting and checking emails from the first tee through the 18th fairway. - delusional about his prowess on the course? this guy was a classic. went on and on about how he only picked the game a up a couple of years ago, but got his index down in single digits. meanwhile, his reverse-weight shift is so severe that his feet, knees, hips, and shoulders where ALL square to the target after his might swipes at the ball. would be surprised if he cracked 100, even with foot wedges and 3.5' gimmies on half the holes. thanks for reading. my wife didn't care at all. :-) /rant

This is the one I always use for the guy who won't tend/pull the pin.... "Hey (insert the idiots name), do you have any idea how much the flagstick (pin) weighs?" He replies, "uh, not really". You say, "Maybe you should try to take it out of the hole or pick it up off the ground once in a while, maybe you'll figure it out". They usually get the hint.

[Elrey Desol]

Originally Posted by SCfanatic35

Did you or anyone in your group say anything to him? Or did you just chalk it up to, he is the way he is?

When I play with people like that I say things to the guys not being annoying things like, "I cant stand guys who don't fix their ballmarks." Or "thanks for stepping in my line." Sometimes guys like that get the point without actually calling them on it.

nah. turns out, my playing-partner knew the guy from a few years back (outside of golf) and didn't want to ruffle any feathers since we're all in the same line of work. i get that. if i'm ever paired with him again, i will say something. i think i was most embarrassed about our pace of play - we were fully two holes behind. i did say "Hey guys, we need to pick it up" a few times, but to no avail. thankfully, the course was quiet and we only had to let one two-some go by us at the 8th.

[Elrey Desol]

Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf

This is the one I always use for the guy who won't tend/pull the pin....

"Hey (insert the idiots name), do you have any idea how much the flagstick (pin) weighs?" He replies, "uh, not really". You say, "Maybe you should try to take it out of the hole or pick it up off the ground once in a while, maybe you'll figure it out". They usually get the hint.

classic. i'll be borrowing that next time!

[ay33660]

Always play as a single on vacation.

Don't ever recall getting paired up with a group or an individual that I did not enjoy.

Often I will find someone early on in my vacation and end up playing a couple of more rounds with them.

Two years ago in Maui I got paired up with someone who happen to be from the same city I live in. We started to talk about where we went to high school and it turns out that he graduated with my brother-in-law and knew him very well. He also knew my wife who was a couple of years younger and he also knew my Porsche mechanic. I called my brother-in-law and he had lost contact with his high school friend when he moved out of the country and was happy to get back in touch with him. Small world.

It seems to me that the only bad experiences I have had is getting paired up with some guys at my club.

[Chas]

To me, the fact that I usually play with strangers on the course as a walk-on single is one of the attractions of the game for me.  And no, it isn't because I aint got no friends .... I can't recall a truly obnoxious person I've ever had to share 4 or 5 hours with out there.  OK a few who could have been a bit more courteous, but mostly I play with people whose company I enjoy and who often teach me a thing or two about the game, including how best to behave myself .

Being brought up in England where I tended to associate golf with the country club set as a youth (off-putting to me to some extent), I still get pleasure from the true diversity of men and women I meet on the track.  Really the only thing that frustrates me is needlessly slow play, but at least I've never felt that this was due to gamesmanship.  Whereas when I used to play competitive tennis, you sometimes came across people who tried to get to your head by taking too long to prepare for the serve, or even by giving themselves the benefit of every "doubt" on close calls.  In golf, if someone chooses to cheat I couldn't care less.

[nututhugame]

I don't mind getting paired with a stranger or two most of the time, but every now and then you get paired with one who for whatever reason just really gets on your nerves and that can be a bummer. As was said earlier, I like to walk by myself half of the time or so.

[BuckeyeNut]

Originally Posted by dfreuter415

To: "Twug"

Every Saturday morning at the club where I caddie, they have two different games that they play.

At 8:00 am the golfers play a game where it is the best net ball of the foursome using full handicap. Any member can sign up and at it's peak there are 40 or more golfers playing in groups with friends and strangers alike.  The stakes are low, but with a little money on the line and playing in a team format, everyone roots for the entire team.  Great fun with little pressure.

Then at 11:00 the money players use the best ball of the foursome with no handicap. These are the low handicappers who like a little action on the course. With higher stakes it attracts the better golfers, friends and strangers alike, who have similar interests, the chief one being golf.  A great way to spend a Saturday and feel like your are golfing in a tournament with money on the line.

I think it's very interesting that the better players tee off at 11am!!  I wouldn't play with the later group for that reason alone.  As a low HC golfer, I'd much rather be out in front of the fray.........(not behind it).  My observation:::  It will be slow playing at the tail end of the morning rush......even at a private club.  That is just plain madness.....a recipe for a 4.5-5hr round even on a private course.....IMO

[MS256]

Whether there is a fray to get ahead of or not depends on the club.

The money game where I was a member started at 12:30 and the round was almost always over by 3:00 and 3:30 at the latest. Each player had their own cart so that let a foursome play almost as fast as a single.

On most days they were the only players on the course and if there happened to be someone ahead of them they would just run them down and play through, or the people ahead would circle around and get behind them.