"At least I am pin high."

[trackster]

Can we agree that this is the worst, most used incorrectly, and pointless quote in all of golf.  My friend uses this all the time to justify yardages and it annoys the heck out of me.  The other day we were playing a 199 yard par 3.  He hooked a 5 hybrid left.  I found the ball at the base of a hill that was at the start of the green.  I showed him where the ball was and of course he replies "Wow, that was a nice hybrid, 200 yards!  I am even pin high."  I dropped  subtle hints like "Those yardages are measured to the center of the green" and "Your ball barely made the front of the green."  But in his head I know he is walking away thinking 200 yard 5 hybrid.  I've played with other people who will hit there second left or right and say "At least it is pin high" when in reality it is about 20-30 yards short of being pin high but from their vantage point it looks that way.

Another thing that bothers me is when people blast one in to the water or other hazard by the green and follow it up with "At least it was pin high" or "It was the right club just missed it."  It doesn't matter if you are 30 yards short, long, left, or right, depending on the layout of the hole they can all be good, they can all be bad, or any combination of the four.

[Dave2512]

Admittedly I am not a social playing partner. I see people's lips moving but I rarely absorb what they say. I don't care and I don't want to know, especially if it's a comment from the "look how far" guy.

[David in FL]

Years ago I had a buddy who would always say "right club!" whenever a putt came up significantly short.  Pretty funny in a self-deprecating sort of way.....

[mdl]

Originally Posted by David in FL

Years ago I had a buddy who would always say "right club!" whenever a putt came up significantly short.  Pretty funny in a self-deprecating sort of way.....

Nice.

I once hit an approach just off the fringe that, if it had been at the flag, might have been 5-8 feet short (at most).  I said, "Not bad, if I hadn't over-faded it I'd be pin high at least."  Got crap about it from my buddies the rest of the round, and now every time I miss short of the green my golf buddies are like, "At least it's pin high, right?"

[Lash]

Honestly...I don't know what that phrase means. I've never heard it used much, but the guy I played with this weekend said it 7 or 8 times at least.

I was trying to figure out what he meant, but each time he said it the ball was in a very different spot. I think he just said it from time to time without it meaning anything.

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by Lash

Honestly...I don't know what that phrase means. I've never heard it used much, but the guy I played with this weekend said it 7 or 8 times at least.

I was trying to figure out what he meant, but each time he said it the ball was in a very different spot. I think he just said it from time to time without it meaning anything.

He landed the ball, on the green, the same distance as the pin.

[Slice of Life]

The only time I refer to myself as being pin high, is when I'm on the green, and it's directly lateral (not sure if that phrasing makes sense) to the pin. So in other words, I very rarely say it...

[McMullenCPA]

I just say it on every hole to impress my friends or whoever I'm playing with and if they say anything I will get REALLY defensive to the point it's just awkward for everyone and nobody has any fun.

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by McMullenCPA

I just say it on every hole to impress my friends or whoever I'm playing with and if they say anything I will get REALLY defensive to the point it's just awkward for everyone and nobody has any fun.

[geauxforbroke]

I say it to describe where I hit a shot, i.e. "I was pin high right and was able to get up and down". But I don't use it as justification for a bad shot. A miss is a miss.

[rehmwa]

I'd say get over it.  (I bet he wears cargo shorts, a flat brimmed cap, and a cheap watch too.  and plays slow.)

People say what they say during their game and I won't get annoyed if they are taking whatever positive they can from each shot.

I also don't have an issue when they hit a very nice straight shot and leave it long or short and say "that was straight anyway"

Yesterday, I was 4 for 4 Fairways hit with my driver.  And 0 for 5 on every other club (PW, 6i, 4h, 5w, 3w).

Every one of these was pin high (straight out lateral from the hole).

But I was more upset about missing left and right.  I already knew I had the right distance when I selected my club.  But to avoid a miss, I need BOTH distance and line. 1 of 2 has something positive, but I need 2 of 2 to be happy.

There is enough about golf to be annoyed with (like missing left and right) for me to waste time on the comments of others.

[MEfree]

Sounds like the OPs's friend should learn the difference between pin high and green high (or take a class in geometry).

Originally Posted by rehmwa

I'd say get over it.  (I bet he wears cargo shorts, a flat brimmed cap, and a cheap watch too.  and plays slow.)

People say what they say during their game and I won't get annoyed if they are taking whatever positive they can from each shot.

I also don't have an issue when they hit a very nice straight shot and leave it long or short and say "that was straight anyway"

Yesterday, I was 4 for 4 Fairways hit with my driver.  And 0 for 5 on every other club (PW, 6i, 4h, 5w, 3w).

Every one of these was pin high (straight out lateral from the hole).

But I was more upset about missing left and right.  I already knew I had the right distance when I selected my club.  But to avoid a miss, I need BOTH distance and line. 1 of 2 has something positive, but I need 2 of 2 to be happy.

There is enough about golf to be annoyed with (like missing left and right) for me to waste time on the comments of others.

I agree with this but will add that I'd rather be pin high 10 feet left or right than on line 40 feet short or long.  In fact, some days, with many shots (i.e. approaches and chips), I would take the right distance over the right line as I typically am not that far off line, but may get the distance wrong.

Yesterday was a good example of this for me- I only hit 3 fairways but hit 14 GIR (15 if you count a pin high fringe)- I hit a number of approach shots that were dead on line, but the two closest were pin high but not right at the flag.  One thing I have noticed is that those pin high shots seem to get closer as you walk up to the green while often times the online shots end up farther than you originally thought.

[MS256]

I might change my mind sometime in the future (if I ever start hitting the ball straight) but since about 95% of my misses are left or right (usually left) I couldn't care less if they are "pin high", and would trade all of my pin highs for straight shots.

When I miss left the only things I'm thinking or saying from the minute I hit it would be R Rated. At least when I hit the ball straight I get the thrill of rooting for it in the air.

[Lash]

He landed the ball, on the green, the same distance as the pin.

Thanks...I never would have figured that out, because most of these balls weren't on the green when he said it and they were all distances.

[Lihu]

Thanks...I never would have figured that out, because most of these balls weren't on the green when he said it and they were all distances.

I like McmullenCPA's method the best :-)).

[RickK]

"At least it is pin high" is the equivalent of "well, it's handy".  I hate that one too.  Someone one says that about one of my shots and my reply back is "yes, I know it sucked".

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by RickK

"At least it is pin high" is the equivalent of "well, it's handy".  I hate that one too.  Someone one says that about one of my shots and my reply back is "yes, I know it sucked".

When someone tops one down the left side of the fairway on a hole with a back right pin, I like to say "that's a good angle".

[trackster]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

When someone tops one down the left side of the fairway on a hole with a back right pin, I like to say "that's a good angle".

Now that you mention it, I really hate that quote as well.  What difference does it make?  Most people aim right at the hole anyway and hope for the best.