Golfing With Strangers-The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

[Lihu]

8 hours ago, Daddycool_83 said:

I used to be a member at a club where competition slots were in threes,being as I only had one playing buddy we were always put with a single come comp day,you quickly realise who the outcasts are in the club,ive been paired with Mr know it all,Mr stickler for the rules,one guy on two occasions who didnt speak a word all round..one solitary word!..and the obnoxious teen playing off a 3 or whatever saying how great he is then watch him get dicked by me off a 19 at the time due to shots over him ha..ive seen them all,only played with one decent stranger there a nice old gent was like playing a round with my gramps..a real pleasure.Safe to say I only saw my years membership there before moving on 

You've been paired up with some strange people. I'd say most of the people I get paired up with are nice and not so opinionated. I play with lots of strangers for up to 3 holes at a time before I end up moving on to other holes for the sake of speed play.

Or perhaps, I'm one of the dicks you end up playing who doesn't say a word for 3 holes shakes your hands farewell and disappears after 2 to 3 holes at a time?

[Daddycool_83]

19 hours ago, Lihu said:

You've been paired up with some strange people. I'd say most of the people I get paired up with are nice and not so opinionated. I play with lots of strangers for up to 3 holes at a time before I end up moving on to other holes for the sake of speed play.

Or perhaps, I'm one of the dicks you end up playing who doesn't say a word for 3 holes shakes your hands farewell and disappears after 2 to 3 holes at a time?

@Lihu you wouldnt believe who ive been paired with..ive had every sort of awkward you can think of..our first round at celtic Manor we had a lovely gent though whos wife was doing the whole pampering thing and he savoured every minute on that course,made a friend that day..sadly ive not been so lucky with others its got to the point where if its regular play ill hang back for fear of being asked to pair up.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Daddycool_83

[Lihu]

3 hours ago, Daddycool_83 said:

@Lihu you wouldnt believe who ive been paired with..ive had every sort of awkward you can think of..our first round at celtic Manor we had a lovely gent though whos wife was doing the whole pampering thing and he savoured every minute on that course,made a friend that day..sadly ive not been so lucky with others its got to the point where if its regular play ill hang back for fear of being asked to pair up.

Guessing you claimed that you need to use the range for a bit longer, right?

I do know people who do that. There was this one person who looked kind of like a terrorist mug shot in a Gold's gym outfit normally female models would wear. So, the people who were next up with him claimed to need more practice time. Well, me and a random young nerdy looking Asian dude took their spot in the lineup. We ended up playing nearly the entire round with him, as there was no where to go and no need to go anywhere else, and he ended up being a pretty quite type and was a pretty strong golfer. Pace of play was pretty nice as the groups in front were pretty fast. It looked like we had at least a 2 to 3 hole gap behind us.

So, you can never tell by the way people look, nor the pleasant golf you could be giving up.

[RandallT]

22 hours ago, Lihu said:

I play with lots of strangers for up to 3 holes at a time before I end up moving on to other holes for the sake of speed play.

 

Gotta say, @Lihu, I have never seen anyone do this. Perhaps in my area, once you meet up with a group, you typically stick it out for the duration. While I have played solo rounds, I enjoy the pace and feel of a round when I am with others, so the thought of abandoning my group for the sake of pace of play is foreign to me.

Perhaps if someone in my group were SPECIFICALLY the cause of slow play, yes, but other than that, no. I don't recall the last time someone in my group was so slow I felt like leaving. It's always the group in front! 

[Lihu]

5 minutes ago, RandallT said:

Gotta say, @Lihu, I have never seen anyone do this. Perhaps in my area, once you meet up with a group, you typically stick it out for the duration. While I have played solo rounds, I enjoy the pace and feel of a round when I am with others, so the thought of abandoning my group for the sake of pace of play is foreign to me.

Perhaps if someone in my group were SPECIFICALLY the cause of slow play, yes, but other than that, no. I don't recall the last time someone in my group was so slow I felt like leaving. It's always the group in front! 

You really have to read, "The Art of Ninja Golf."- anonymous author from my home course.

[Hatchman]

I try and play with all comers on my home course.  And paired, when they pair, when traveling out.  Trying to grow golf is hard enough without alienating people but we all have preferences, time allocations, etc.  I too have left a group early, especially those hawking balls.  And I don't give unsolicited advice on the course...some seem to want to.  My two cents.

[Hacker James]

I can honestly say that the only time I play golf is by myself or with somebody.

[Marty2019]

20 minutes ago, Hatchman said:

I try and play with all comers on my home course.  And paired, when they pair, when traveling out.  Trying to grow golf is hard enough without alienating people but we all have preferences, time allocations, etc.  I too have left a group early, especially those hawking balls.  And I don't give unsolicited advice on the course...some seem to want to.  My two cents.

Maybe this sounds like a dumb question, but bear with me. 

Why should I care about growing the game?   What's in it for me?  

 

[Hatchman]

5 minutes ago, Marty2019 said:

Maybe this sounds like a dumb question, but bear with me. 

Why should I care about growing the game?   What's in it for me?  

 

A good question.  Many depend on it however who work or support the field.  I don't have a dog in that fight.

 However, I referenced my home course because it's rated as a top course in Virginia and I own a condo on it.  The course owner wants to sell and/or re-develop.  Neighborhood courses in America that have shut down have depreciated the value of the homes approximately 30% on average, based on reports we presented to the association.  

Not a big problem for me, but the super seniors who made this their last move, and to play golf, it is effecting them by their discussions.

 

[Lihu]

28 minutes ago, Hacker James said:

I can honestly say that the only time I play golf is by myself or with somebody.

No argument there, and no matter how hard I've tried I couldn't do it any other way.

 

13 minutes ago, Marty2019 said:

Maybe this sounds like a dumb question, but bear with me. 

Why should I care about growing the game?   What's in it for me?  

 

Not having golf courses turn into walking parks much like one that I know of in Edison NJ.

[Patch]

13 minutes ago, Marty2019 said:

Maybe this sounds like a dumb question, but bear with me. 

Why should I care about growing the game?   What's in it for me?  

 

For the golfer who does not make a living (pay check) from the game of golf, growing the game would help with green fees staying low.. It would also help with maintenance, and other costs, that keep courses playable. Probably would ease over crowding, by keeping more courses open. 

[sjduffers]

5 hours ago, Patch said:

For the golfer who does not make a living (pay check) from the game of golf, growing the game would help with green fees staying low.. It would also help with maintenance, and other costs, that keep courses playable. Probably would ease over crowding, by keeping more courses open. 

All that, and besides, it's not all about what's in it for "me". If everyone kept thinking that way, we would have no society and the world would be a horrible place to live.

[Lihu]

Was on the range waiting for my kids to finish their league. Then a fight broke out between two parties. Punches were thrown, sunglasses flew off faces. First time I'd ever seen that.

My playing partner saw the entire incident. Cops were called. . .The folks playing with them were very embarrassed, and looked like they couldn't leave the course quick enough. Ironically, they looked like they were all part of one family?

[HitAndGiggle]

I've actually had pretty good luck being paired with strangers. Once got paired with a guy who had been a Mr. Olympia contender back during my gym rat years. That was cool - he was a good striker of the ball, surprisingly.

Oh, and I once got paired with a retired rodeo bull rider. That was actually life-changing for me. I had long suffered with severe neck problems from my sporting years. My doctor (I was about 30) just told me to start giving up on a few cherished activities due to it. Well, I got to talking with the retired rodeo guy about injuries and he showed me a neck stretch he used and the rest is history. 20 years later and I haven't given up a thing.

22 hours ago, Hatchman said:

A good question.  Many depend on it however who work or support the field.  I don't have a dog in that fight.

 However, I referenced my home course because it's rated as a top course in Virginia and I own a condo on it.  The course owner wants to sell and/or re-develop.  Neighborhood courses in America that have shut down have depreciated the value of the homes approximately 30% on average, based on reports we presented to the association.  

Not a big problem for me, but the super seniors who made this their last move, and to play golf, it is effecting them by their discussions.

 

This has been a problem (for golfers) around here, too. Several courses have shut down post-Tiger-mania. Sad to see. I did a thread on that here a while back "Courses I loved but lost...or something like that".

Edited March 13, 2017 by HitAndGiggle