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

[Gator Hazard]

On March 9, 2016 at 1:50 PM, Ernest Jones said:

Mean but funny.

Yeah yeah yeah, (I know this is waaaay late to respond but I've been really busy at work and personally). Your an arsehole @Ernest Jones, but, you're my kind of arsehole and I would have cracked me one too for that babble. 

Special note to moderators, I'm just having fun, I don't really think that about ol Ernest...well wait, let's see his response and then go from there.  Cheers Ernest can always count on you to call them as they are. 

Edited April 9, 2016 by Gator Hazard

[Ernest Jones]

8 hours ago, Gator Hazard said:

Yeah yeah yeah, (I know this is waaaay late to respond but I've been really busy at work and personally). Your an arsehole @Ernest Jones, but, you're my kind of arsehole and I would have cracked me one too for that babble. 

Special note to moderators, I'm just having fun, I don't really think that about ol Ernest...well wait, let's see his response and then go from there.  Cheers Ernest can always count on you to call them as they are. 

Arsehole. 

[Gator Hazard]

It's been a while since I have posted in this thread. In general I have been paired up with some pretty good people. 

This past weekend was a different story however. Played dawn patrol Sunday and got paired up with two guys. I introduced myself and let them know I wasnot a very good or experienced golfer. One guy you could tell was a bit of a jerk (started out with a dickish joke), and of the two was the alpha, his Toadie was not as bad but followed along. Anyway we tee off and mr big shot hits the tree right next to the tee box. His shot doesnt cross the ladies tee. His second one does, barely, but he shanked  it and it went into a backyard. Third or maybe his fourth finally goes about 160 wide right. No biggie!  I suck, like I said. But I did hit my drive semi decent. 

Second hole he pull hooks his ball way left. Third, a par three he comes up way short and right. Either fifth or sixth hole he pull hooks his first and second tee shots oob left. On the seventh tee I top it and it doesn't cross the ladies tee and he says to me in a dick way "you're ball didn't even cross the ladies tee *snicker snicker*". Rather than mention "you mean like your first drive douchebag?" I say "yeah, I told you guys I wasn't very good". The next tee he proceeds to hook it again, hey, at least he is consistent! 

On one occasion I belted a drive wide right on a short par four into a tree covered bunker. I got out but hit tree then on green and made bogey but the guy tells me that I hit it right because my feet were lined up that way. I did not mention to him that is precisely why he hooks his left. All. The. Time.

At a par five on back nine, 12 or 13, he tops his drive and it goes into a wasteland bunker.  It does NOT pass the ladies tee. He then plays a mulligan and hits it right overcompensating. I pulled up right next to their cart as driving up and Toadie picks up his ball for him. I look at the ball, at the ladies tee, at the ball, smile, and drive on without saying a word. On the green I had just missed long and had to chip with pin close and a lump of grass behind ball. My chip came out a bit hot, hits the flagstick about 2 feet above the hole and drops a foot from the hole. It was a long green and I was not too worried because I knew I had lots of room. Of course both shitheels are commenting on how lucky I was and how my ball would have probably wound up in the green side bunker (which was like 25 yards away) had I not hit the flag. As we are picking up alpha to Toadie "I got a seven, what did you get?"  Toadie responds 6 and they ask me (really one of only two times maybe asked what I scored) and I responded 5! Alpha really got a nine and the whole way to the green it was comical: thwack! "Oh noo"  thwack "oh no".  Thwack "oh no"  I actually laughed out loud after the fourth in a row.

Its just funny because they would make little comments like they were so much better. I never did or said anything disrespectful and was courteous and encouraging.  They must have gambled and they said they play two mulligans a side but I know they did more than that. They played honors as well and I had honors as many times as the Toadie and I hit second quite a bit. All in all I would guess Toadie beat me by a few strokes, captain shitheel probably didn't beat me straight up but somehow thought it a good idea to be rude and act superior.

I shot four under my previous best for that course. Golf was GOOD, the company was BAD, and one of them was definitely UGLY!

[CyboNinja]

I play alone almost exclusively so I'm always getting paired up with randoms. But I do have a funny story about one time that I felt was worth sharing. 

We didn't really get paired up we just got stuck waiting for the same twosome. He was in front of me and also alone and I eventually caught him on the tees on 8. I asked him if he was playing a full round and he said yes. I asked if he was playing straight through and he said yes again. So I suggested we pair up because I was also. 

Dude was very cool. Turned out my good friend was an old coworker of his. 

Anyway now for the funny part of the round. 

15 is a blind dogleg left. We each tee off and head over the bridge to see how our drives turned out. Mine caught a bit of the trees on the left and lost quite a bit of yardarge. He was sitting pretty on the right side of the fairway. We each had our own carts so I told him to go ahead take his shot when ready and I'd see him shortly on the green. My lie was light rough on the side of a hill left of the fairway maybe 200 out. I watch him take his shot then setup for my own. I took one last look at him and he was just putting his club back so I decided to let it fly. Being on the side of the hill I didn't compensate enough for the crooked launch angle. So I look up to track my ball and of course it's headed straight for him. At the point he is in his in his cart driving full speed toward the green. My ball came out too far right. I yelled "FORE" and watched as my ball perfectly bounced off the roof of his cart, while in motion. It looked like a 180 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers I swear. It starteled him pretty good and we both had a great laugh about after. In fact I still laugh to this day whenever I think about it. 

Edited August 1, 2016 by CyboNinja

[Gator Hazard]

6 hours ago, CyboNinja said:

I play alone almost exclusively so I'm always getting paired up with randoms. But I do have a funny story about one time that I felt was worth sharing. 

We didn't really get paired up we just got stuck waiting for the same twosome. He was in front of me and also alone and I eventually caught him on the tees on 8. I asked him if he was playing a full round and he said yes. I asked if he was playing straight through and he said yes again. So I suggested we pair up because I was also. 

Dude was very cool. Turned out my good friend was an old coworker of his. 

Anyway now for the funny part of the round. 

15 is a blind dogleg left. We each tee off and head over the bridge to see how our drives turned out. Mine caught a bit of the trees on the left and lost quite a bit of yardarge. He was sitting pretty on the right side of the fairway. We each had our own carts so I told him to go ahead take his shot when ready and I'd see him shortly on the green. My lie was light rough on the side of a hill left of the fairway maybe 200 out. I watch him take his shot then setup for my own. I took one last look at him and he was just putting his club back so I decided to let it fly. Being on the side of the hill I didn't compensate enough for the crooked launch angle. So I look up to track my ball and of course it's headed straight for him. At the point he is in his in his cart driving full speed toward the green. My ball came out too far right. I yelled "FORE" and watched as my ball perfectly bounced off the roof of his cart, while in motion. It looked like a 180 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers I swear. It starteled him pretty good and we both had a great laugh about after. In fact I still laugh to this day whenever I think about it. 

Lol!  I have a similar story. Got paired up with three guys in late twenties maybe early thirties. They were off on right hand side at about my 3 o'clock and I shanked a heater about 70 yards in their direction.  I had forewarned them that anything was possible when I had a club in my hand. By the time I yelled fore the ball had hit inside the cart next to the really, really big dude's head. I felt like shit but they were totally cool guys. They laughed about it pretty good and offered to buy me a beer. 

[Joe92385]

Like most people posting in this thread, I usually have a pleasant (or at least neutral) experience getting paired up.  The only recent story that stands out in my mind is the golfer who offered a joint just about every third hole - I'm still not sure if he was messing with me, or if he had just smoked so much weed that he couldn't remember the previous 6 times I'd declined the offer.  Sadly, even high as a kite, he was better than I am.

I didn't personally witness this one, but my buddy and I got paired up with a friendly couple in their 40's, about 8 years ago.  On a fairly long, very downhill par 3, my buddy and the husband and wife all hit their shots into a wooded, but playable area on the left side.  I couldn't see them from where my ball was.  After the round, my friend informed me that he had been invited back to their house for "some fun" after the round... he was absolutely convinced that they were propositioning him for a threesome.  I'm fairly certain he misunderstood something - partially because it would hurt my ego to believe that he received such an invite instead of me, haha - but he definitely believed it based on the look on his face for the last few holes.

[Piz]

This is an absolutely true story as far as I remember.  We were playing the third hole when there was this weird noise and a funny kind of light.  This alien (dude?) appears and asks, telepathically, if it's like okay to play along for a few.  We think "okay" and ask like you know did you bring your clubs?  He/it holds up these like 9 foot arms with hooves on the end and we kind of go like duh.  The 4th hole is a short par four that bends right about 175 yards out.  From there it's about 140 to a small green.  Two small creeks bracket the green, front and back, before converging some 30 yards to the right.  Anyway...the alien (I'll say dude) does the old you-guys-go-ahead-thing and we do.  Then he sort of oozes up there, takes out one of his eyeballs and whacks it down the left side about 165. Good looking shot and pretty impressive for someone who, as far as we knew, had never played there before.  (There is plenty of room but the farther you hit past 160, or so, the worse the angle into the green)  We are all right of him so he goes last and parks it pin high about 8 feet above the hole.  Not bad but not good.  We all chip up/putt out as alien dude has to take a phone call. There is like a little rent in time and then there is alien dude lining up.  A voice goes "sorry guys...got to go" and he drains it...takes the eyeball out of the cup, puts it back in his head, gets all shimmery...and is gone.  

[Gator Hazard]

46 minutes ago, Piz said:

This is an absolutely true story as far as I remember.  We were playing the third hole when there was this weird noise and a funny kind of light.  This alien (dude?) appears and asks, telepathically, if it's like okay to play along for a few.  We think "okay" and ask like you know did you bring your clubs?  He/it holds up these like 9 foot arms with hooves on the end and we kind of go like duh.  The 4th hole is a short par four that bends right about 175 yards out.  From there it's about 140 to a small green.  Two small creeks bracket the green, front and back, before converging some 30 yards to the right.  Anyway...the alien (I'll say dude) does the old you-guys-go-ahead-thing and we do.  Then he sort of oozes up there, takes out one of his eyeballs and whacks it down the left side about 165. Good looking shot and pretty impressive for someone who, as far as we knew, had never played there before.  (There is plenty of room but the farther you hit past 160, or so, the worse the angle into the green)  We are all right of him so he goes last and parks it pin high about 8 feet above the hole.  Not bad but not good.  We all chip up/putt out as alien dude has to take a phone call. There is like a little rent in time and then there is alien dude lining up.  A voice goes "sorry guys...got to go" and he drains it...takes the eyeball out of the cup, puts it back in his head, gets all shimmery...and is gone.  

[Valleygolfer]

3 hours ago, Joe92385 said:

Like most people posting in this thread, I usually have a pleasant (or at least neutral) experience getting paired up.  The only recent story that stands out in my mind is the golfer who offered a joint just about every third hole - I'm still not sure if he was messing with me, or if he had just smoked so much weed that he couldn't remember the previous 6 times I'd declined the offer.  Sadly, even high as a kite, he was better than I am.

Dude he was just trying to help you with your game...

[Joe92385]

19 hours ago, Valleygolfer said:

Dude he was just trying to help you with your game...

Haha... probably couldn't hurt, just not my thing.

[Boucie]

I'm actually very lucky and live about 15 minutes away from a golf resort with 2 high quality courses on it. me and my brother are members there and since they get a lot of tourists coming through and are trying to make the most money possible they seldom (when its busy at least) have less than 4 people in a group. so long story short me and my brother golf with strangers a lot. and i actually quite enjoy it, now of course we've have a couple dick heads, but in general its a great experience being from canada I've got to meet people from houston, south carolina, maine ect plus wall the different people i meet from the other provinces. i actually love it i get to meet new people and new personalities and learn about where there from.

[Valleygolfer]

10 hours ago, Boucie said:

I'm actually very lucky and live about 15 minutes away from a golf resort with 2 high quality courses on it. me and my brother are members there and since they get a lot of tourists coming through and are trying to make the most money possible they seldom (when its busy at least) have less than 4 people in a group. so long story short me and my brother golf with strangers a lot. and i actually quite enjoy it, now of course we've have a couple dick heads, but in general its a great experience being from canada I've got to meet people from houston, south carolina, maine ect plus wall the different people i meet from the other provinces. i actually love it i get to meet new people and new personalities and learn about where there from.

Pretty much the same scenario here at my course. I have had a lot fun with some of the guys on the course. If I go up to the club house after the round, they are often buying the booze so I get a beer out of it too... I have played with quite a few Cannucks as well....

[Sidehatch]

A few years ago when I was living near a two-course venue, I went out and played the less busy one a few hours before sundown. I caught up to a guy in his 50s who was playing really slow by hole 4. He had a bad limp. 

Turns out, the poor guy had a really bad left foot (he's a righty golfer) with some post-surgical bone issues, and as you can imagine, that would just destroy about anyone's golf swing. He would shank about half of his shots, and then it took him longer than average to go find it and play his next ball. He really wasn't happy with this, and you could tell he was someone who used to play a lot and play much better than this.

He offered to let me play through, but I felt bad for the guy and proposed that we play together. I helped him find the ball, but I also remained stoic because I knew he wouldn't like being characterized as a sympathy case. At the end of nine holes or so, the sun was finally going down and it was time to head home. He thanked me, knowing that teaming up probably cost me about 4-6 holes of golf, and noted that most people didn't want to play with him due to his foot issues. I told him not to sweat it and that a I had a great time, which was true.

Honestly, it felt good to help out someone who was probably miserable with sitting inside while waiting for that damn foot to start healing, and he started playing better with a little help to find his ball. I'm sure he was in a decent amount of pain.

I am usually a very impatient golfer, and I have played a number of rounds in 3 hours or less. But this was a good way to help someone else while teaching myself to be a bit more patient. Since then, I've actually began to start putting up much lower scores when things slow down, as it gives me time to spend more time analyzing each shot and take a few practice swings. 

[Sidehatch]

On 2/28/2016 at 4:00 PM, SavvySwede said:

I don't see it as that big of a deal. I was never a fan of the "nice shot" comment, too many people say it far too early during the flight of the ball anyway. That's the real nuisance IMO.

I am one of those types whose enthusiasm/anxiety sometimes leads me into the "nice shot" category, which winds up having the opposite effect when a ball with great flight takes a crappy bounce or lands a little short. I usually catch myself after about 2-3 holes, and cease commenting on shots after the fact unless it's truly great.

[Sidehatch]

I just remembered my best pair up story - got paired up with a wealthy pair of business execs. One of 'em was British, and he was having an off-day. We both sliced our drives to the right of the fairway, his landing up against a fence. Mine wasn't too bad, so I hit my shot and pulled the cart up to around where he was. He was leaning over to his ball, and whispering to it, "You dirty little ****ing ****. Yes, you are, you dirty ****ing ****." Then he saw me nearby and pretended like he wasn't saying anything at all.

The four-letter word is one usually used to define a part of the female anatomy, and is quite popular in British culture. He was quite enjoyable to play with though, and while he wouldn't hold back his opinions and would curse a bit, he was respectful to the entire group. I guess you just don't want to be his golf ball.

[Elrey Desol]

just another data point:

played today at my local track. got out as a single, and by the third hole caught up to the 3-some in front of me. i was in no rush, and was happy to play (slowly) behind them. as i'm teeing off another single rolls up - we're both cart-golfing - and i invite him to join me if he's interested. we introduce ourselves, shake hands, and get on our merry way.

we spent most of #3 on opposite sides of the fairway getting to the green and wind up somewhat close together just in front of the green. he's away, maybe 30 yards to the hole from the fairway, and goes Texas Wedge uphill to about 15'.

Me: "Hey, not bad. I like the idea with the putter there. I'm going that way too."
Him: silence

we line up our putts. he's away and he rolls one just past the hole, barely missing.

Me: "Good roll."
Him: silence

#4 is a short-ish Par 4. he's up first, and puts one in the RH rough, a little behind a tree that i'm [seemingly] always dealing with on this hole.

Me: "Yeah, I know that tree well. I think you'll have a shot from there."
Him: silence

and it goes on like this for the rest of the round. me making routine positive comments about his good shots, saying nothing about his poor ones, and him tossing compliments around like manhole covers. one of the only times he even acknowledged me was after he made a birdie on #15 and I said, "There you go! Nice three!" and offered him a little fist-bump (which he responded in kind). he was, however, eager to complain about the group ahead of us playing slowly. not angry, just muttering-under-his-breath kinda stuff.

now, i wasn't playing all that well so maybe that put him off. or maybe he was hard of hearing: i'd say he's probably close to my dad's age...probably early 70s. and it wasn't like he was learning the game or didn't have on-course experience: his etiquette, mannerisms, knowledge of the rules showed he'd been playing for a while.

just weird not to have any kind of small-talk reciprocated for 3.5 hours. oh well. :shrug:

[Yukari]

Sounds like just an old grouch person. 

[Swungover]

I always play as a single, and have never had a bad experience.

For example, today I caught up with a twosome and asked to join. I warned them that I have a game that comes and goes. They immediately responded "We don't have a game!"

After a good laugh, we had a fun round together.