The "friendly wager" dilemma....

[jkelley9]

Strangers I'll never bet. 

People I know and play with often, sure. Often times not a lot of money changing hands.

If they're (strangers) persistent, which has only happened once, I have no problem telling them no a couple times and then making it a problem. If someone is badgering, they're badgering. Usually no way out of it unless you get confrontational to some degree. The one time it happened I said "If you want to play for money, play in another group, I don't mind playing by myself." He did end up leaving because he was miffed at my response.

[DeadMan]

I play a decent amount of golf with total strangers, and I don't think I've ever been asked by one to have a bet. I'd maybe play for under $10, but anything more would be a non-starter. I can put enough pressure on myself to mimic the experience!

[NCGolfer]

Never really been asked by a stranger and I wouldn't ask them. If they did I wouldn't do anything more than skins.  Maybe throw in $5 or $10.

Not sure I'd ever play a net game with someone I don't know.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, David in FL said:

Not even a small bet, just for fun?  I'll do a straight $2 Nassau with anyone.  Negotiate strokes on the first tee, then have fun.  

The amount of money has nothing to do with it.  It just adds some interest.  

Some people become dicks over $6. And what do you do when they roll their ball?

Sometimes it's more fun to just play and not worry about the problems other people can cause over trivial sums.

[DaveP043]

2 minutes ago, iacas said:

Some people become dicks over $6. And what do you do when they roll their ball?

This is the thing with strangers, you never know anything about them.  I don't mind losing a beer to someone whose understanding and adherence to the rules is different from mine (a polite phrase for cheater), but any more than that would bug me.

[Patch]

When with my usual group we sometimes exchange monies. Even when we probably know who is going to win. 

I hardly ever bet with strangers. I politely tell them no thanks. If they continue to bring up the subject, I know how to be not so polite. It doesn't come up that often. 

What I might do sometimes  is just bet a drink, or lunch based on total score after the round, but like I said, the issue does not come up that often. 

The funniest bet I ever saw was when a friend and I were paired with a two out of towners.....tourist. One of them kept wanting to put some monies down while we were waiting to tee off. The guy kept saying " come on it's Vegas". My friend who is known to have more money than sense, reached in his pocket and threw down a money clip, with maybe $500 in it, and told the guy to match it, that he was right "it is Vegas". The other twosome declined his bet, and the issue was settled. . Good thing they did decline the bet, as they were better golfers than we were. 

Edited July 20, 2017 by Patch

[colin007]

I'll bet $1 with a friend on closest to the hole on 18 if we have similar distance and lie on our approach shots.

[Fairway_CY]

I'll absolutely put some cash up when it's against guys at the club I belong to or against some of my buddies.  Strangers, though... not happening again.  

When I was 17, my buddy and I were at a local course just playing to get some practice in.  We were both on our high school golf team... but we were both bad.  Like, if we broke 100... it was a career day type of bad.  

Anyway... we were told by the starter to head to the first tee and join a couple of guys that were set to tee off.  We made our introductions and away we went.  Through the first few holes, everybody was struggling.  I believe we made the turn and each of us was somewhere in the 55 range for the front side.  

These guys were in their early 20's or so and we were all having a good time up to that point.  As we hit the 10th tee, they asked us if we wanted to play a best ball match on the back side for $5 a hole.  We honestly figured it wasn't a big deal and that, at worst, we'd lose maybe $10 each.  

Well... we caught fire and reeled off a string of best ball pars and birdies and we won all 9 holes on the back side.  By the time we got to the 14th tee, we asked them if they wanted to just call it off because it was a little ridiculous how lucky we were getting.  They declined.  

At the end of the round, the guys each took out $45 and literally threw it at us.  They told us we were lucky we were just kids or they'd have kicked our teeth in.  We tried, multiple times, to give them back their money... but they drove off, kicking rocks up in the gravel drive on their way out.  It was the most uncomfortable I've ever been on a golf course and I genuinely didn't enjoy it even though I played pretty well on the back side.  

For reference... I still shot over 50 on the back as did my buddy.  We just made pars and birdies on the holes where the other struggled.

I made it a point to never bet with a stranger again.  If I'm paired with random people somewhere and they want to throw $1 on a closest to the pin or something... I'm game.  I just won't agree to any kind of bets that require more than a single shot when asked by a stranger.  

CY

[Jeremie Boop]

5 minutes ago, Fairway_CY said:

I'll absolutely put some cash up when it's against guys at the club I belong to or against some of my buddies.  Strangers, though... not happening again.  

When I was 17, my buddy and I were at a local course just playing to get some practice in.  We were both on our high school golf team... but we were both bad.  Like, if we broke 100... it was a career day type of bad.  

Anyway... we were told by the starter to head to the first tee and join a couple of guys that were set to tee off.  We made our introductions and away we went.  Through the first few holes, everybody was struggling.  I believe we made the turn and each of us was somewhere in the 55 range for the front side.  

These guys were in their early 20's or so and we were all having a good time up to that point.  As we hit the 10th tee, they asked us if we wanted to play a best ball match on the back side for $5 a hole.  We honestly figured it wasn't a big deal and that, at worst, we'd lose maybe $10 each.  

Well... we caught fire and reeled off a string of best ball pars and birdies and we won all 9 holes on the back side.  By the time we got to the 14th tee, we asked them if they wanted to just call it off because it was a little ridiculous how lucky we were getting.  They declined.  

At the end of the round, the guys each took out $45 and literally threw it at us.  They told us we were lucky we were just kids or they'd have kicked our teeth in.  We tried, multiple times, to give them back their money... but they drove off, kicking rocks up in the gravel drive on their way out.  It was the most uncomfortable I've ever been on a golf course and I genuinely didn't enjoy it even though I played pretty well on the back side.  

For reference... I still shot over 50 on the back as did my buddy.  We just made pars and birdies on the holes where the other struggled.

I made it a point to never bet with a stranger again.  If I'm paired with random people somewhere and they want to throw $1 on a closest to the pin or something... I'm game.  I just won't agree to any kind of bets that require more than a single shot when asked by a stranger.  

CY

It should have been obvious to them that you weren't hustling them when you offered to call it off. Of course their pride go in their own way when they declined. When people want to bet they should be accepting the idea that they will possibly lose, but more than likely they are going into it with the idea that they'll most assuredly win. I'm not willing to lose any amount of money, even when I'm fairly certain that I'll win. There is a pair of guys at league that always play par threes as "dollar holes" where if anyone pars or better the other's pay a dollar.... These guys are not good and if I actually took part I'd win way more often than I'd lose, but the chance of winning money has never been worth the chance of losing money to me. Perhaps it's because I've almost always struggled with money that I'm so disinclined to risk it on wagers, but it's also because I don't ever want someone to feel like I hustled them. There have been too many rounds where I start like total crap only to turn it around and look like a completely different golfer.

[Gator Hazard]

I dont have a problem saying no to someone and if they press I have even less of a problem communicating it more clearly to them. "I already gave you your answer, if you have to play for money perhaps you should find another group" etc. I dislike people like that. When I was young we used to play a lot of pool, mainly for fun,but every once in a while you'd get some moron who thought they were going to be the next Earl Strickland and who wouldn't take no for an answer. I never felt sorry taking those guys money. 

Overall betting with strangers is just no fun to me, it's at best semi cordial and somewhat awkward and usually at worst can get extremely uncomfortable. I'll bet a beer or wings or something with a guy I play with (and he is a lot better than I am), but that's different, I know him. 

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Some people become dicks over $6. And what do you do when they roll their ball?

Sometimes it's more fun to just play and not worry about the problems other people can cause over trivial sums.

Exactly! Been there done that in the billiard world. You never know who you're going to get. 

16 minutes ago, Fairway_CY said:

I'll absolutely put some cash up when it's against guys at the club I belong to or against some of my buddies.  Strangers, though... not happening again.  

When I was 17, my buddy and I were at a local course just playing to get some practice in.  We were both on our high school golf team... but we were both bad.  Like, if we broke 100... it was a career day type of bad.  

Anyway... we were told by the starter to head to the first tee and join a couple of guys that were set to tee off.  We made our introductions and away we went.  Through the first few holes, everybody was struggling.  I believe we made the turn and each of us was somewhere in the 55 range for the front side.  

These guys were in their early 20's or so and we were all having a good time up to that point.  As we hit the 10th tee, they asked us if we wanted to play a best ball match on the back side for $5 a hole.  We honestly figured it wasn't a big deal and that, at worst, we'd lose maybe $10 each.  

Well... we caught fire and reeled off a string of best ball pars and birdies and we won all 9 holes on the back side.  By the time we got to the 14th tee, we asked them if they wanted to just call it off because it was a little ridiculous how lucky we were getting.  They declined.  

At the end of the round, the guys each took out $45 and literally threw it at us.  They told us we were lucky we were just kids or they'd have kicked our teeth in.  We tried, multiple times, to give them back their money... but they drove off, kicking rocks up in the gravel drive on their way out.  It was the most uncomfortable I've ever been on a golf course and I genuinely didn't enjoy it even though I played pretty well on the back side.  

For reference... I still shot over 50 on the back as did my buddy.  We just made pars and birdies on the holes where the other struggled.

I made it a point to never bet with a stranger again.  If I'm paired with random people somewhere and they want to throw $1 on a closest to the pin or something... I'm game.  I just won't agree to any kind of bets that require more than a single shot when asked by a stranger.  

CY

What @Jeremie Boop said. Besides, I'm sorry but if you suck so bad that you can't shoot sub 50 playing best ball on 9 holes, you shouldn't be betting that kind of money anyway. I would have laughed. 

[Fairway_CY]

28 minutes ago, Gator Hazard said:

What @Jeremie Boop said. Besides, I'm sorry but if you suck so bad that you can't shoot sub 50 playing best ball on 9 holes, you shouldn't be betting that kind of money anyway. I would have laughed. 

That's what has always made me laugh about it.  We knew we sucked.  On the front side, in the entire group, we probably made 10 pars or better.  We truthfully figured (and I believe they did too) that we'd probably have a handful of decent holes in each pair and things would come pretty close to a wash.  They didn't make anything better than a bogey the entire back nine (and they had more doubles and triples than bogeys) while we just managed to have one of us scrape a par or better on each of the holes on that side.

It was a fluke and that's why we offered to call it off and tried to tell them to keep their money afterwards. 

At the club I play at now, there's a pretty big money game on Friday afternoons.  When I say big, I mean in terms of people who play.  The standard bet is $5 with automatic two-down presses on the front and then it moves to $10 with automatic two-down presses on the back.  In most cases, there is about $5 or $10 exchanging hands.  I've had some rare exceptions in either way... losing $35 one time and winning $40 another... but usually, it's small exchanges.  

I keep track of everything.  So far in 2017, I'm up $157 in all of my cash bets.  That's over the course of 30 different rounds where there was some kind of bet going.  It works out to about $5.25 per round.  I don't mind winning or losing like that.  

I've heard tales from some guys at the club that they've been suckered into some bets where wives needed to be called to bring cash to the club.  In fact, one of the guys it happened to was out to dinner with a group of us and our wives.  When his wife was telling the story, you could see my wife's thought bubble saying that if that ever happened, I'd lose body parts.  

I'm not wired to play games like that.  

CY

[Shindig]

5 hours ago, scotth said:

Should have put that in topic opener.  Total stranger that just won't take no for an answer.

Not a chance.  Or I'd take the handicap strokes I'd be entitled to with them playing off a +4 (I figure any better than +4, they wouldn't be sandbagging, they'd be trying for a tour).  

And if they kept it up and I wasn't able to enjoy my round, I'd leave and ask for a refund.

[David in FL]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

Some people become dicks over $6. And what do you do when they roll their ball?

Sometimes it's more fun to just play and not worry about the problems other people can cause over trivial sums.

For $6, I wouldn't raise hell if a stranger rolled his ball if he's got the need to do that.

I just enjoy having something on the game.  Hell, a coke is fine.  

I don't disparage those that don't bet, and they're welcome to join me any time, but I'll throw a couple of bucks into the game if even a stranger asks.  

[Hategolf]

A friendly modest bet with familiar faces I would take just to be social. Never with strangers. 

I never suggest betting myself. The game is hard enough for me and the pressure to execute during my swing is always present, I don't need any added b.s. to distract me from playing the best I can.

When I play well I have the most fun..screw the bet.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Hategolf

[JGus]

I can easily say I rarely ever play for money, if I do it's with a few friends and we keep it simple to lunch or dinner or a couple of drinks.

And based on the fact that I don't understand any of the betting lingo in this thread,   I will probably continue to not offer up my cash. 

[DaveP043]

7 minutes ago, JGus said:

And based on the fact that I don't understand any of the betting lingo in this thread,   I will probably continue to not offer up my cash. 

Come back to Stoneleigh, I'll teach you some of the games and lingo 

Of course, knowledge comes with a price.

[JGus]

3 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Come back to Stoneleigh, I'll teach you some of the games and lingo 

Of course, knowledge comes with a price.

I'm sure you would, but if you are going to take my money, at least come play at my course so I feel at home and so I don't have to pay for the round as well 

[DaveP043]

Just now, JGus said:

I'm sure you would, but if you are going to take my money, at least come play at my course so I feel at home and so I don't have to pay for the round as well 

I'd love to work something out, and betting is completely unnecessary.  Anyway, lets not hijack this thread, I don't think we count as strangers.