Unpopular opinions you have about golf?

[NCGolfer]

7 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

This is a bit of a struggle for me because my home courses' greens are extremely slow. That said, we have some public courses here (usually more expensive ones) that rival the speed of private greens. I just can't afford to play on them very often.

 

I understand your point of view.  There are plenty of public courses that have fast greens and some private courses that don't.  I'd focus on the fact that this is from my own experiences and I admit its a generalization.  Also, I think my last sentence sums it up:
 

Quote

 

 if you want to keep advancing your game you need to put yourself in difficult conditions.

 

 

The unfortunate side of this (as you point out) is that those places are normally more expensive. One interesting development in this part of the country (North Carolina) is that a lot of courses are putting in the newer strains of Bermuda for greens.  This stuff can be cut really short, stands up to the heat and doesn't show the beatings that bent does after hundreds of rounds.  It is also much cheaper to maintain as well.  The result is there are some places now that have reasonable rates with greens that are getting closer to par with some of the private places.

I know this doesn't help you but I think it bodes well for the golf industry.

[Blackjack Don]

Dude, that is great news. Thanks for sharing. Lately, we don't hear much good news about golf, do we?

[Marigold_Sparkle]

Jimmy Walker has the posture of an undertaker.

[Bucki1968]

Golf should not take four hours to play 18 holes. I know this has been beaten to death Pick up the pace.

[Blackjack Don]

Yesterday I played 15 out of 18 holes. The most I played in order was four, and the average was three. The course I play on was so packed, there were usually 2 groups on every par-3 tee, waiting for a group to clear. So I would drive around and skip three groups, play a couple of holes, until I ran into it again. I managed to get fifteen in 3 hours this way. Not exactly the way anyone wants to play, and I couldn't have if I didn't prefer playing alone.

The problem with slow play is bad golf. Really bad golf. One group in front of me, this very petite Asian lady hit every shot straight. Fifty yards. Her husband overhit everything and was everywhere. But they had to stop often for her to knock her ball another fifty yards. Was this bad golf? Not really. Just the way she can play. I wish my wife would try this hard.

There is no answer to any of this. Not when I see guys my age insisting that they are still good enough to play the tips.

My contribution to unpopular opinions today: Golf causes delusions.

[Aflighter]

On 12/5/2016 at 5:39 AM, Marty2019 said:

 

I agree with you.  The people who agonize over "growing the game" are the club manufacturers, the ball manufacturers, the golf course owners, people in the golf business.   They benefit from growing the game.   The people who suffer from growing the game are the people who play.   Growing the game just means the courses are more crowded with bad golfers.   That's my opinion. 

Do we really need so many different golf club manufacturers, basically making the same club?   Do we really need all these golf ball manufacturers?   Is there a serious difference in all these golf balls? 

And then I read articles about how the problem with golf is that it's too hard, that the solution is to make the hole bigger, or to change the rules.   I hate all these ideas about how to grow the game.  

Yes, we need serious young golfers coming up to keep the sport healthy, but the way to do that is to donate clubs to First Tee or something.   Get the youngsters to the driving range.   That's fine.   Grow the game organically, naturally, don't try to pump air into the thing with weird changes.   Leave it to grow naturally.  

 

Yeah, what he said.

[CptShankapotamus]

More of an off-the-course unpopular opinion: I think the sales pitches and presentation of a lot of equipment is just so shallow and seems negligible when it comes to the average golfer. Sure, there is equipment that is better than older stuff (club tech for example). But now I just shake my head at everything that promises MORE DISTANCE! STRAIGHTER SHOTS! WOW! I understand that it is the job for retailers and organizations to sell their stuff and appeal to golfers. Just practice and dial yourself in with the stuff you have because a more expensive driver is not going to eliminate your devilish slice. 

 

 

........although some of the new stuff looks so sick. 

[Rayrobinson]

Maybe because I don't hit it 300 yards , but drivers now are just so big , plus the pro v 1 going 40 yards further than the old ballata ball.

Scores  have got better but swings haven't  

[boogielicious]

15 hours ago, CptShankapotamus said:

More of an off-the-course unpopular opinion: I think the sales pitches and presentation of a lot of equipment is just so shallow and seems negligible when it comes to the average golfer. Sure, there is equipment that is better than older stuff (club tech for example). But now I just shake my head at everything that promises MORE DISTANCE! STRAIGHTER SHOTS! WOW! I understand that it is the job for retailers and organizations to sell their stuff and appeal to golfers. Just practice and dial yourself in with the stuff you have because a more expensive driver is not going to eliminate your devilish slice. 

 

 

........although some of the new stuff looks so sick. 

I think this is a very Popular opinion that most of us share. 

[DaveP043]

About pace of play....The folks who say that golf should never take more than 3-1/2 hours are WRONG.  The folks who say 4 hours is too damn fast are WRONG.  For every course there is a reasonable time to play.  Sometimes 3:30 is reasonable, sometimes 4:20 is reasonable.  If you're always waiting on every single shot, and complaining the whole way around, slow down a bit.  If you NEVER wait on anyone in front of you, learn to play faster, and learn to invite faster groups to play through.  

I figure if I insult players at both ends of the spectrum, the opinion is bound to be unpopular.  

[Hacker James]

Golf is fun.

[colin007]

I think people mark their balls unnecessarily on the greens. Wastes time. It's frequently not necessary. 

Also, don't flirt with the cart girl. She thinks you're disgusting because you are.

[Hardspoon]

We are really stretching the definition of "unpopular" at this point...

[Strandly]

Unpopular opinion?

Golf isn't actually that hard.

 

The sport seems to have a particularly nasty reputation for being difficult but if it was half as difficult as people think nobody would even play it, imo.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Strandly

[iacas]

9 hours ago, Strandly said:

Unpopular opinion?

Golf isn't actually that hard.

The sport seems to have a particularly nasty reputation for being difficult but if it was half as difficult as people think nobody would even play it, imo.

Opinions can't really be "right" or "wrong" but that's as close to "wrong" as they can get.

It's arguably the most difficult sport to play well in the world.

[jbishop15]

22 hours ago, colin007 said:

I think people mark their balls unnecessarily on the greens. Wastes time. It's frequently not necessary. 

Also, don't flirt with the cart girl. She thinks you're disgusting because you are.

That drives me nuts when some guys in the group flirt with the cart girl. She's 19, for god's sake. If I, at 24, find it skeevy to flirt with her, perhaps someone at 40 should too. 

[Blackjack Don]

17 hours ago, iacas said:

Opinions can't really be "right" or "wrong" but that's as close to "wrong" as they can get.

It's arguably the most difficult sport to play well in the world.

Ted Williams said the hardest thing to do in athletics is to hit a round ball with a round bat. If sixty year old guys tried to hit a 95 mph split-finger fastball, I doubt they'd agree that golf is harder. Golf is hard in comparison to the pros who make it look so easy.

It's possible it's hard because we think it's hard, and like to think it's hard, and are proud to do something we think is hard. YMMV

[iacas]

40 minutes ago, Blackjack Don said:

Ted Williams said the hardest thing to do in athletics is to hit a round ball with a round bat. If sixty year old guys tried to hit a 95 mph split-finger fastball, I doubt they'd agree that golf is harder. Golf is hard in comparison to the pros who make it look so easy.

It's possible it's hard because we think it's hard, and like to think it's hard, and are proud to do something we think is hard. YMMV

That's a 65-year old versus a player in his prime. They'd be foolish at almost anything.

Countless all-star type athletes who take up golf have said golf is the hardest sport of all.

That's all I'm saying.