how to politely tell somebody they are BAD at golf?

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by TJBam

Do you even PRACTICE bro??

"Practice? We talkin' 'bout practice... Practice. Practice? C'mon man... practice?"

[Mr. Desmond]

"I'm glad you don't take this game seriously."

[AmazingWhacker]

If the guy caught up to and joined the group ahead of him . .then he must not have been playing slow.  Outside of holding me up - I could care less what another player does.

When playing as a single with a larger group ahead . .sometimes I will wait for the green to clear even though I know it's slightly out of range.  I'm just going to catch them again on the next hole - so why not wait an extra minute or 2 so I can make my shot and play out on an empty green?

Also - let's say they are a 4some and are playing at a reasonable pace . .just slower than me because I'm a single.  Unless there are holes open ahead and I could play through - I feel it's kind of rude to hit right up on them.  It's kind of distracting when you're putting and there are shots rolling up 10-20 yards short of the green . .makes you feel rushed.

[hacker101]

Really to tell some one they suck politiey or not and is not a friend that you are kidding around with, "you would need to be a real piece of work"!

I think that anyone that does not play well already knows this and for the most part is humble to that fact. I also think that most of the time they will let you play through if they feel they are holding you up.

Play your own game and don't worry about others, golf is hard enough.

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by hacker101

Really to tell some one they suck politiey or not and is not a friend that you are kidding around with, "you would need to be a real piece of work"!

I think we know some people with the potential for it, even on this Forum. ).

[newtogolf]

...about the same way you tell a woman she's fat, you just say it, then duck.

[turtleback]

The same way you tell your friend that his wife is fat.  Silently.

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by turtleback

The same way you tell your friend that his wife is fat.  Silently.

Also, don't agree with her too fast when she decides to go on a diet.

[David in FL]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

...about the same way you tell a woman she's fat, you just say it, then duck.

A buddy of mine swears this is a true story......

He and his wife were going out to dinner.  He was waiting for her to finish dressing.  He had had a few beers on the golf course earlier, and had broken into his favorite single malt while waiting for her.  She finally comes downstairs and asks the infamous question....."Honey, does this dress make me look fat?"

My brain addled buddy responds, "no, it's your big ass that makes you look fat!"

They didn't make it out for dinner that night........

[hacker101]

Originally Posted by David in FL

A buddy of mine swears this is a true story......

He and his wife were going out to dinner.  He was waiting for her to finish dressing.  He had had a few beers on the golf course earlier, and had broken into his favorite single malt while waiting for her.  She finally comes downstairs and asks the infamous question....."Honey, does this dress make me look fat?"

My brain addled buddy responds, "no, it's your big ass that makes you look fat!"

They didn't make it out for dinner that night........

Man he was lucky he woke up with both golf balls!

[David in FL]

Man he was lucky he woke up with both golf balls!

He was lucky to wake up at all!

[MS256]

If I was alone I can't think of a situation where I wouldn't join another single if they were nice enough to ask.

If somebody told me I sucked at golf I would have to agree with them.

On waiting: When I first started playing golf someone watching me would have thought the same the OP did about the single. I was as likely as not to pop up a tee shot, along with numerous duck hooks that may or may not find the fairway but seldom went any distance...BUT, I could knock the daylights out of the ball when I hit it right. There were many, many times that I hit the ball on the green with a second shot from much farther away than my tee shot had travelled. So of course I was going to wait for the green to clear (no matter what anybody behind me might have thought).

[RayG]

Why be concerned with someone else who seemed to not be holding anyone up? To be honest, If I was that guy, I'd be thinking "what is THAT guys problem- too good to join me?" And if you DID say something about my ability after declining the offer of joining me, you'd get a ear full of "who the f**k do you think you are?" Unless it was a case of life or death or something, you mind your own business. I've played with people with all kinds of abilities and have never made a comment about their lack of ability. Certainly mentioned something if they were being distracting through ignorance or something. Also try to get them to move along if they seem to be slowing up. But their actual ability? not so much.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by clearwaterms

I don't mean to tell people they suck at the game.  I mean to tell them that they need not wait for the green to clear at 230+ yards away when the longest they have hit the ball is 120 yards.  I mean to tell people that as a single, there should be little reason you can't keep up with a 2 some in front of you.  I mean to tell people that on a crowded public course to play ready golf, that it is not a social outing that involves everybody zig zagging back and forth across the fairway so they can watch the other player hit his/her shot.

I agree with some of what you are saying, but you better be damn sure that the guy can't hit it 200+ before you tell him to stop waiting.  While you may know some peoples game better than they do themselves, this might not always be the case.

I played with a guy the other day who failed to hit a number of shots 100 yards, then cranked a 300+ yard drive on 4.  The 5th hole is 318 from the blues (playing downwind with the possibility to cut a bit off playing over the water) and he said he was going to wait for the green to clear after I hit a 5i onto the fairway from the golds.  It was probably a 1 in 20 shot for him to reach and if I hadn't seen his drive on 4 I would have probably been thinking the same guys in the group behind us thought when he topped it about 50 yards into the hazard.  I doubt he hit another shot over 220 the rest of the 9, but with the possibility of the 300 yarder in him, he has to wait when he knows his best shot could reach.

[mad max]

Originally Posted by clearwaterms

today I went to play at my favorite 9 hole course.  The course has a special before 7AM for the early birds, and for $10 it's a great 2 hour walk in the park.  This morning, I arrived around 6:25 with no tee time, and noticed the first tee had a 2 some teeing off, and a single behind them.  I arrived and the single asked if I wanted to join him, to which I politely declined.  The 2 some in front of them appeared to be decent golfers that knew there way around the course.

On the 4th hole, he joined up with the group in front of him, and when I saw them from the green, he had moved up to the middle tee box.  So my question is, how do you tell somebody not in your group that they have don't need to wait for the green to clear outside of 200 yards.  Or how do you tell them that they have no business playing the back tee boxes.  When we play amoungst friends, I have this same arguement.  I know that it is a macho thing, but I believe that if you can't break bogey golf (90 on a par 72) you should play the closer tee box.  The golf courses are designed to be playable by everybody on the course.

What did the other group say to him for him to move forward?  This course is a muni, so it isn't well "rangered" and as a result, I feel that the people who play it regularly should help to maintain pace of play.  I am not afraid to say something to somebody, but I want to do it in such a way without sounding rude or inconsiderate, but at the same time, when I can walk the course when nobody is in front of me in an hour 20, to have to play a 2 hour + round means that something should be said to keep this person moving along.

My take on this is if your so concerned with making sure the pace of play is acceptable for you and the golfers that will play behind you, you should have joined him on the first tee.  That way if he was taking too long you could have said something.  By not playing with him I would get the impression that you were not in a hurry.  Just for my own curiosity why didn't you join him, you were playing behind a 2 some

He wasn't holding anyone up because you stated that he joined the group in front of him at the fourth hole.  I doubt they waited for  10 minutes to let him to join them.

Originally Posted by clearwaterms

I don't mean to tell people they suck at the game.  I mean to tell them that they need not wait for the green to clear at 230+ yards away when the longest they have hit the ball is 120 yards.  I mean to tell people that as a single, there should be little reason you can't keep up with a 2 some in front of you.  I mean to tell people that on a crowded public course to play ready golf, that it is not a social outing that involves everybody zig zagging back and forth across the fairway so they can watch the other player hit his/her shot.

I have been in the situation where I haven't played for several months and on the first couple holes I look like someone that hasn't held a golf club in their life, but sometime mid round I get it together and start hitting the ball solidly.  How did he play after he joined the 2 in front of him?

[RoyJeeBiv]

Originally Posted by MEfree

I agree with some of what you are saying, but you better be damn sure that the guy can't hit it 200+ before you tell him to stop waiting.  While you may know some peoples game better than they do themselves, this might not always be the case.

I played with a guy the other day who failed to hit a number of shots 100 yards, then cranked a 300+ yard drive on 4.  The 5th hole is 318 from the blues (playing downwind with the possibility to cut a bit off playing over the water) and he said he was going to wait for the green to clear after I hit a 5i onto the fairway from the golds.  It was probably a 1 in 20 shot for him to reach and if I hadn't seen his drive on 4 I would have probably been thinking the same guys in the group behind us thought when he topped it about 50 yards into the hazard.  I doubt he hit another shot over 220 the rest of the 9, but with the possibility of the 300 yarder in him, he has to wait when he knows his best shot could reach.

that's the funny thing with these types of players, though -- if they only hit it that far 1 in 20 times, it isn't their ' best ' shot.

the question becomes, will they figure that out on their own, or do they need someone to point it out to them??

[MS256]

Originally Posted by RoyJeeBiv

that's the funny thing with these types of players, though -- if they only hit it that far 1 in 20 times, it isn't their 'best' shot.

the question becomes, will they figure that out on their own, or do they need someone to point it out to them??

It really doesn't matter if they can reach the group ahead with a 1 in 20 shot or a 1 in 1,000 shot...Don't hit the shot until you know you can't reach them with any percentage.

I don't care to make the speech that starts "I'm sorry I hit you in the head. I had no clue I could hit the ball that far."

[SloverUT]

Originally Posted by MS256

It really doesn't matter if they can reach the group ahead with a 1 in 20 shot or a 1 in 1,000 shot...Don't hit the shot until you know you can't reach them with any percentage.

I don't care to make the speech that starts "I'm sorry I hit you in the head. I had no clue I could hit the ball that far."

No doubt.  I have heard that same speech twice now.  Once while playing as a single, and another time when I was with my 5 year old son (who was just along for the ride).  Both times all I heard was "I didn't know I could hit the ball that far."   I never hit the ball until the people in front of me are completely out of my range.  I'll risk the people behind me getting a bit upset instead of possibly beaming someone in the head with a golf ball moving 100+ M.P.H. any day.