How do you deal with the 'Gimme' players?

[barbm12thtee]

In my Golf League, which I'm a newbie, you putt out. If you pick up its understood you can't win the gross or net prize. Well one of the players missed a short putt and then raked the ball back to the hole and missed that one too. Out of frustration she picked up the ball never putting out. When she was asked her score she said 8, not including the stroke never putted. So it was assumed she was picking up and the scorer put an x next to her score. Well shi@ hit the fan when she didn't win low net and she thought she had. She said I never picked up...oh boy, what a scene. I know crazy woman drama.

[Shorty]

The solution is  to just walk up and putt it. The alternative to that isn't a gimme.

And anyway - if you're lining it up it isn't a gimme, is it?

[turtleback]

If it's a reasonable distance the idea behind the gimme is to speed up the pace of play... especially if you have a foursome in the fairway tapping their feet who don't feel like watching you line up for 2ft flat putt as if it's to win the Masters when you're playing Hole #2 at Bob's Golf Course.  I don't ask my playing partners for gimmes because I don't think I can make it if I putt it out.  It's because they still have to putt and my putt stopped a foot and a half from the hole and there's dudes in the fairway waiting to hit

If you are otherwise keeping pace with the group ahead, putting out is not going to impede your pace of play.  And if you are not keeping pace then speed up the other parts of your game so you can take the time to putt out.

[boogielicious]

I just putt it out from the start so they know I will do that the whole round.

[GillPier]

No problem putting out those 10", unless when you look up into the fairway, you see the next group waiting...then its not ok. You're not on tour, and if you want the practice from 10" out, there's more than likely a practice green readily available

[luu5]

No problem putting out those 10", unless when you look up into the fairway, you see the next group waiting...then its not ok. You're not on tour, and if you want the practice from 10" out, there's more than likely a practice green readily available

What is the the difference in putting out 10" putt and driving 200 yd drive? Why not skip the whole round?

[rehmwa]

What is the the difference in putting out 10" putt and driving 200 yd drive? Why not skip the whole round?

It's funny way to make the point, when they tee it up and then back off for a practice swing, walk over, pick up the ball and toss it to him.

and say "It's good".

and drive to the next tee box

[Dave2512]

I takes seconds to putt out a sub 12" putt. Not much more than it takes to pick it up.

[Shorty]

I takes seconds to putt out a sub 12" putt. Not much more than it takes to pick it up.

They don't want to hear or read that. It's too logical. They're about wanting to fool themselves and others that they are 10 shots better than they are. It's about vanity scoring. Not time saving :-)

In 40 odd years of golf I've never even considered putting out as time wasting. I thought it was part of the game.

[rustyredcab]

I rarely play stroke play -- almost always match play where putts may be conceded.

In preparation for a stroke play event a few years ago, I asked my partners to let me putt everything out and to remind me not to give them any putts. Hard to remember when you are used to giving a short putt after the guy lags a 60 footer. Easy when the first putt is only a few feet away. During the event, several of us had to remind each other not to pick up those two inch putts for our competitors when they were far from the hole.

[MANthrax]

We play a lot of skins.  So NOTHING is a gimme, NOTHING.  We also play, you play it where it lies.  If its laying on a cart path or a sprinkler head either play it or you're out of the hole.  Rounds are  as fast as the group in front of you.  There are no gimme players to deal with, give it a try.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

...We also play, you play it where it lies.  If its laying on a cart path or a sprinkler head either play it or you're out of the hole.

Man, you might as well prohibit the use of tees on the tee box or make guys hit out of waste bunkers with their eyes closed. The game of golf is hard enough. There are actual rules which allow you relief from cart paths or sprinkler heads. They are not the same as taking gimmes.

[turtleback]

We play a lot of skins.  So NOTHING is a gimme, NOTHING.  We also play, you play it where it lies.  If its laying on a cart path or a sprinkler head either play it or you're out of the hole.  Rounds are  as fast as the group in front of you.  There are no gimme players to deal with, give it a try.

Sounds macho, but is just as much not playing by the rules as gimmes are.

[jbest]

Man, you might as well prohibit the use of tees on the tee box or make guys hit out of waste bunkers with their eyes closed. The game of golf is hard enough. There are actual rules which allow you relief from cart paths or sprinkler heads. They are not the same as taking gimmes.

I didn't think you were allowed to hit off sprinklers or yardage markers...?  I was always taught to move the ball further from where it lay to avoid those things that might break a club...

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

I didn't think you were allowed to hit off sprinklers or yardage markers...?  I was always taught to move the ball further from where it lay to avoid those things that might break a club...

I don't think it's against the rules to hit off a sprinkler head. It is allowed. You can do it if you want. But there ARE rules which grant you relief from those things. **there may be a rare circumstance where taking relief from a sprinkler head or a cart path may actually give you a worse situation or a tougher shot than if you just play it as it lies. Sometimes the nearest point of relief from a cart path might be behind a tree or on a pile of pine needles or wood chips mulch. Excluding those extreme examples, you can and should take relief, granted to you under the rules of golf, when your ball is in that type of position. I think the previous posters example of forcing his opponents to play off those things is quite ridulous.

[Fourputt]

We play a lot of skins.  So NOTHING is a gimme, NOTHING.  We also play, you play it where it lies.  If its laying on a cart path or a sprinkler head either play it or you're out of the hole.  Rounds are  as fast as the group in front of you.  There are no gimme players to deal with, give it a try.

The whole point of this thread has to do with playing by the rules.  Since you don't bother with the rules, your comment is irrelevant.  Not to mention that it's a stupid policy.

[Asheville]

We play a lot of skins.  So NOTHING is a gimme, NOTHING.  We also play, you play it where it lies.  If its laying on a cart path or a sprinkler head either play it or you're out of the hole.  Rounds are  as fast as the group in front of you.  There are no gimme players to deal with, give it a try.

Don't pull that stupidity at my golf course ... hurt yourself, break your golf clubs, but don't you dare break a sprinkler head.

[David in FL]

We play a lot of skins.  So NOTHING is a gimme, NOTHING.  We also play, you play it where it lies.  If its laying on a cart path or a sprinkler head either play it or you're out of the hole.  Rounds are  as fast as the group in front of you.  There are no gimme players to deal with, give it a try.

You'd do better to just play by the rules..... :-)