Complaining

[Patch]

As an amateur, can you play 18 holes with out complaining about anything golf related?  I know some of the pros like to complain about stuff, but it's a business for them.  Sometimes their working conditions can suck.

[Ernest Jones]

Yessir. I pride myself on it.

[dbuck]

I might fuss at myself a little about my stupid mistakes, or about course conditions or slow play IF there is no rational reason. But even then, I don't complain much because I am privileged to be able to enjoy golf. I don't really have any "bad" days on the golf course. I never pitch tantrums, lose my temper,  or say "I'm quitting", or do anything that would give my playing partners pause, even if the course and my playing both suck.

[dkolo]

I might fuss at myself a little about my stupid mistakes, or about course conditions or slow play IF there is no rational reason. But even then, I don't complain much because I am privileged to be able to enjoy golf. I don't really have any "bad" days on the golf course. I never pitch tantrums, lose my temper,  or say "I'm quitting", or do anything that would give my playing partners pause, even if the course and my playing both suck.

Yeah, I'll whine about an awful shot every now and then, but I usually reserve complaining for slow play. While we're young.

[RayG]

If you ain't whining, you ain't playing.

[mcanadiens]

18 holes without complaining? Fat chance. You know that a round of golf can sometimes take four hours or more and I'm usually awake through the whole thing.

Complaining isn't just something I do. It's who I am.

[GolfLug]

Slow play and bumpy unmaintained greens are perennial favorites.

[MrDC]

I think I can, I think I do... for the most part, a really slow day may get the bitch going but generally the people I play with are all about the good times out there, it's living for us, no matter how bad we play and always remember the other things we could be doing instead, so very little complaining.

But it is common I know, usually when an outsider joins my groups it amazes us how much bitching people do, it's no way to live.

[bkuehn1952]

Some rounds yes.  Some no.  Sometimes the complaints are well grounded in reality.  Sometimes not.  I don't believe I would be categorized as a complainer by others who play golf with me.

[Fairway_CY]

Increasingly, I'm finding people I get paired with to complain a LOT.  I don't tend to complain... I'm out to enjoy myself.  When I hit bad shots, I'll talk to myself briefly... calm myself down... and then I forget about it by the time I play the next shot.  Over the last 5 weeks, I've played in 3 tournament rounds that have each taken just about 6 hours to play.

That pisses people off in a hurry.  It doesn't make me angry... it just makes my game suffer.  But, I always take the time to enjoy the sites.  I snap pictures while I'm waiting... or I remember how lucky I am to be playing the game at all.

I used to caddy when I was younger and I realized how miserable 4+ hours could be with someone who is angry all the time.  I had players I'd caddy for who made me want to drop the bag and walk off... and then there were the rest of the players who truly enjoyed their time on the course.  Those were the players that made me smile and I always had good things to say when I got home about them.

The club throwers... the screamers... the players who couldn't NOT curse... the fairway destroyers who would bury their irons in the ground and walk away... the 'ball thrown into the woods or water' players... they didn't get it.  They were players with double digit handicaps who would let a single poor shot ruin the rest of their day.

On the golf course, I LIVE for the all-too-infrequent PURE shots I hit.  The birdie chances.  The long drives.  The 8 iron that hits and backs up to within 10 feet.  The 15+ foot putt that follows the PERFECT line and drops in.

If I let the other 90+ shots that DIDN'T go as planned piss me off... I'd never get to enjoy the shots I mentioned above... then I'd be missing out entirely.

It's a game.  It's something I enjoy doing.  I don't want to ruin it with petty complaints and misery.

* shrug *

CY

[David in FL]

I seldom complain about anything other than slow play(ers). Assuming a decent pace, absent something extraordinary, I'm a happy camper.

[rkim291968]

No complaints from me and I never lied in my life before (and why should I start now?).    The only complaints I had was about other complainers.   I don't complain, well, not any more.  Me, complain?   Heck, no!  Complaints are for basketball players.   Golfers don't complain.  We just observe and make smart comments.    BTW, have you noticed that golf green fees have gone up as the economy improves, and pace of a round is so darn slow?   Geesh!

[westcyderydin]

I'll swear or mudder after a bad shot, but it is done after that moment.  Then I analyze what went wrong, learn from it, and am on to the next shot.  I'll also get annoyed at the conditions of the course...but I am mostly positive and most funnel useful and positive thoughts.

There are some people who really take the complaining to an extreme an it often affects the whole group.  There is a guy who used to play at my course who would complain about every single shot unless he hit it perfect and nobody could stand him.  If he would hit a 60 yard shot 8 feet off the ground and ran it off the back of the green, he would complain that he didn't get any spin...if he chunked it a little he would complain that it didn't run out.  Don't be that guy.

[Lihu]

I'll swear or mudder after a bad shot, but it is done after that moment.  Then I analyze what went wrong, learn from it, and am on to the next shot.  I'll also get annoyed at the conditions of the course...but I am mostly positive and most funnel useful and positive thoughts.

There are some people who really take the complaining to an extreme an it often affects the whole group.  There is a guy who used to play at my course who would complain about every single shot unless he hit it perfect and nobody could stand him.  If he would hit a 60 yard shot 8 feet off the ground and ran it off the back of the green, he would complain that he didn't get any spin...if he chunked it a little he would complain that it didn't run out.  Don't be that guy.

Yup, same here. I've found that the better I get, the less I complain about other things and more about my own stupid playing hence the muddering. . .

[ghalfaire]

I do my best to not complain about anything golf while on the course.  It is bad for my game.  So when I hit a bad shot or get a bad bounce I just shrug it off and go chase the ball and hit it again.  if I am going to complain I complain about things other than golf, like the cost of booze at the club house.

[Tgb02]

I mainly complain about slow players, bad bunker conditions, bad green conditions, myself, and when I get unlucky. I usually complain a couple times a round and I am not proud of it but hey watcha gonna do about it. I definitely complain the most about myself though, missing putts is the thing that really gets me complaining to myself.

[Strandly]

I'll complain to myself about blown shots but it's hard to be whiny for long considering where I'm at. Playing something competitively usually sucks the fun out of it for me and probably makes me complain more (usually with regard to losing) and I'm sure golf would be no different.

[RussUK]

Im English so complaining is one of our favourite pastimes, along with Queing and complaining about queing!

but yes, i normally find something to complain about on the course, allows me to blow off a bit of steam and its oftem about the most trivial things, e.g "who the hell put that tree right in front of my ball!!"