People say "nice shot" too soon

[rehmwa]

I would need an image of that. Most pavement markings for railroad crossings are just a big X with two R's.

Ahead stop

[saevel25]

Ahead stop

No it reads stop ahead. Most people would see stop first because it is closer to the car. So visually Stop is the first word read. I can't help if you read it wrong

[rehmwa]

Quote:

I can't help if you read it wrong

Hey - nice shot.....

I understand, "most people" don't have full field vision and don't read top to bottom, left to right....

(seriously, I recognize this is an arbitrary pick of two possible choices, I just think it's a 'lowest common denominator' type of choice and wonder what executive did it first so now it's stuck that way forever - I imagine it was a not too bright individual, or a very bright individual that over thinks things and has a low opinion of the general public.....)

((yes, I'm the one that hates the "what annoys me in golf threads" - I recognize the irony in these posts))

[RFKFREAK]

[rehmwa]

yeah, my bad - I would also have accepted this for those more mathy and less artsy

[Cool Breeze]

I agree with the posters that think it is bad to mediocre golfers who are just impressed with solid contact.

Last week I was playing with my nephew (who isn't terrible, but was having a bad day) and we came to a dogleg left par 5.  It's a tricky hole with water just past the dogleg, so a good 2nd shot is vital.

I hit my drive and it starts out down the right side of the fairway, just like I intended it to, but it doesn't draw at all.  I tried telling it to draw while it was in the air, but it wouldn't listen.

My nephew says, "If you complain about that drive, I'm hitting you with a club."

Well in fact, it wasn't a great drive.  I was on the wrong side of the fairway, which matters a lot on that particular hole.  Had I known the ball wasn't going to draw, I'd have set up farther left.  So while it was a 250-260 yd drive and was technically in the fairway, it wasn't a great drive.  Average at best.

He was just spraying the ball all over the place and would have taken anything in the short grass at that point.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

I learned my lesson about cheering for a putt a number of years ago. I was playing with an older gentleman (70's) who was clearly a serious golfer. I made the mistake twice of saying nice putt only to have it lip out on him. The first time he let it slip by. But after the second lip out he scolded me with an over the top Mafia accent.... "Don'ta you talka to my ball". The humor was there BUT I knew not to do it again. He continued with the accent " Don'ta do knowa good to talka to the ball. They cutta the ears offa them before they putta them in the boxes". A priceless lesson learned!

[nick1998bunker]

In the junior ranks we (or atleast I) say " 'shot" immediately if you hit it in play and we don't have to wait for you to hit another.

[Pretzel]

In the junior ranks we (or atleast I) say " 'shot" immediately if you hit it in play and we don't have to wait for you to hit another.

That's a fairly accurate statement. If it looks good at the start people will generally acknowledge it, but you won't get much more than that unless you hit something exceptionally well. It's kind of weird in some of the junior tournaments because, depending on the tournament, you can have people who shoot 90-100+ paired up with the guys who are going to break par 7 out of 10 times. This is especially prevalent in high school tournaments in my area since there's only 2 competitive 4A golf schools in Colorado (Silver Creek and Valor Christian have both won all the state titles for at least the last three years, but probably more). It makes it so that everyone kind of just says the same thing to every shot that stays inbounds and on dry ground because you don't know the standards of that other golfer. Looking at the swing you can get a general idea of how well they play, but I've seen people with beautiful swings shoot 107 and those with ugly ones shoot 73, so you just kind of say the same thing to everyone.

[Wally Fairway]

This happens to me all the time.  I'm playing with people (any people, doesn't matter if they're friends or strangers, their age, anything) and they yell nice shot almost the moment the ball leaves my clubface, only to have the ball eventually curve into the woods or miss the green.  Or they say nice putt on a relatively easy putt that ends up not going in.  I mean it doesn't bother me so much, I still have fun playing, I just don't understand what they're thinking.  Are their standards so low that they really do think that's a nice shot?  Are they just trying to be polite in which case the words are meaningless?  It's just my opinion, but I only want to hear nice shot when I actually hit a nice shot, which to me means in the fairway, on the green, or in the hole.  What do you think?

nice thread!

[Slice of Life]

I say nice shot if it's a well struck tee shot hitting the fairway, or an approach striking the green. That's about it.

As far as "nice putt", I say that when it's in the bottom of the cup. Never earlier.

[Golfingdad]

I learned my lesson about cheering for a putt a number of years ago. I was playing with an older gentleman (70's) who was clearly a serious golfer. I made the mistake twice of saying nice putt only to have it lip out on him. The first time he let it slip by. But after the second lip out he scolded me with an over the top Mafia accent.... "Don'ta you talka to my ball". The humor was there BUT I knew not to do it again.

You know, I think this is my problem.  I "root" too much for the guys I'm playing with, and find myself talking to their balls probably more than I should.  I think about how I feel when I hit a push that starts cutting for the trees and my father-in-law says "turn!" or "draw!" ... and it irritates me a bit, because I know it's futile.

I'm probably eliciting similar reactions from guys I'm playing with when I do that.  Gotta stop.

[phan52]

You know, I think this is my problem.  I "root" too much for the guys I'm playing with, and find myself talking to their balls probably more than I should.  I think about how I feel when I hit a push that starts cutting for the trees and my father-in-law says "turn!" or "draw!" ... and it irritates me a bit, because I know it's futile.

I'm probably eliciting similar reactions from guys I'm playing with when I do that.  Gotta stop.

I have done the same thing, so now I have taken to saying "nice swing" instead of "nice shot" while the ball is still in the air. I don't always consider the vagaries of what can happen to a golf ball while it is still en route.

[mcanadiens]

My brother, when he's in the mood, will yell "Sheboygan" after his own drives.

[Fourputt]

I agree with the posters that think it is bad to mediocre golfers who are just impressed with solid contact.

Last week I was playing with my nephew (who isn't terrible, but was having a bad day) and we came to a dogleg left par 5.  It's a tricky hole with water just past the dogleg, so a good 2nd shot is vital.

I hit my drive and it starts out down the right side of the fairway, just like I intended it to, but it doesn't draw at all.  I tried telling it to draw while it was in the air, but it wouldn't listen.

My nephew says, "If you complain about that drive, I'm hitting you with a club."

Well in fact, it wasn't a great drive.  I was on the wrong side of the fairway, which matters a lot on that particular hole.  Had I known the ball wasn't going to draw, I'd have set up farther left.  So while it was a 250-260 yd drive and was technically in the fairway, it wasn't a great drive.  Average at best.

He was just spraying the ball all over the place and would have taken anything in the short grass at that point.

You're an 18 handicap and you aren't pleased unless your drive is on the correct side of the fairway?  You are the pickiest bogey golfer I've ever seen.  I've been as low as a 10 handicap, and I was never that choosy.

[David in FL]

You're an 18 handicap and you aren't pleased unless your drive is on the correct side of the fairway?  You are the pickiest bogey golfer I've ever seen.  I've been as low as a 10 handicap, and I was never that choosy.

QFT!

[BallMarker]

This happens to me all the time.  I'm playing with people (any people, doesn't matter if they're friends or strangers, their age, anything) and they yell nice shot almost the moment the ball leaves my clubface, only to have the ball eventually curve into the woods or miss the green.  Or they say nice putt on a relatively easy putt that ends up not going in.  I mean it doesn't bother me so much, I still have fun playing, I just don't understand what they're thinking.  Are their standards so low that they really do think that's a nice shot?  Are they just trying to be polite in which case the words are meaningless?  It's just my opinion, but I only want to hear nice shot when I actually hit a nice shot, which to me means in the fairway, on the green, or in the hole.  What do you think?

It's almost a knee jerk reaction to some people.

.

I think what's worse is when some says "good par" but the ball is way short, or runs 4 feet past the hole. Thus, the putter thinks the next putt is a give-me and picks up the ball.