Unsolicited Shot/Swing Advice

[bones75]

Is unsolicited shot/swing advice always a no-no? I often see folks offer advice to people who are clearly beginners, particularly if they are young. But aside from that, is it always bad manners?

Played with a guy today who was shooting ~100.  Looked like he played at least semi frequently (a weekend warrior perhaps). He was clearly lining up way right, and was hitting way right all day.  I dont think he was adjusting for a hook (or at least i didnt see a single hook/draw all day).   If anything i saw him slice a few.  I didnt say anything, but wanted to.

[dennyjones]

2 minutes ago, bones75 said:

Is unsolicited shot/swing advice always a no-no?  I often see folks offer advice to people who are clearly beginners, particularly if they are young. But aside from that, is it always bad manners?

Played with a guy today who was shooting ~100.  Looked like he played at least semi frequently (a weekend warrior perhaps). He was clearly lining up way right, and was hitting way right all day.  I dont think he was adjusting for a hook (or at least i didnt see a single hook/draw all day).   If anything i saw him slice a few.  I didnt say anything, but wanted to.

The general rule is unless somebody asks, don't tell.

[iacas]

Poll added.

https://thesandtrap.com/how-to/add-a-poll - Pretty easy to do.

[HJJ003]

I think it is "almost" always a no. Especially mid round.....

[bones75]

Tx for the poll.  Thought about it but wasnt sure how i would word it.

Im also curious what people would think/say in the situation in my original post.

[phillyk]

I’m in the middle on this. If I think someone like in the OP is in some serious need of help that doesn’t involve a drastic swing change, I’ll ask them if I can help them real quick. They almost always say yeah. I don’t like helping people often, though, on course because I get sidetracked on my own game. 

I wouldn’t say its bad manners if someone asks first if someone wants help, but just blaring it out would be. 

[mcanadiens]

10 minutes ago, bones75 said:

I didnt say anything, but wanted to.

I'll give you enough credit to believe you could have helped the guy out, but a lot of advice-givers have no idea what they are talking about. Taking unsolicited advice to heart (along with not having proper lessons) really set me back in my first few years. The guy meant well. He's still a friend, but his days as amateur swing coach are over.

Maybe taking advice from a scratch golfer would be a little different, but that should never happen mid-round. 

 

[Chasing_Bogeys]

24 minutes ago, bones75 said:

Is unsolicited shot/swing advice always a no-no? I often see folks offer advice to people who are clearly beginners, particularly if they are young. But aside from that, is it always bad manners?

Played with a guy today who was shooting ~100.  Looked like he played at least semi frequently (a weekend warrior perhaps). He was clearly lining up way right, and was hitting way right all day.  I dont think he was adjusting for a hook (or at least i didnt see a single hook/draw all day).   If anything i saw him slice a few.  I didnt say anything, but wanted to.

Unsolicited swing advice is damn nearly always a no-no. This situation moves towards "maybe." Would totally depend on interaction and attitude of other golfer. If he's saying things like "wow, I'd love to have your game" or "geez, I'm all over the place. I really wish I could figure this out," that might be a cry for help. In which case a simple "not sure you're aware of just how far right you're aiming when you setup, but maybe aim a bit farther left?" wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

[p1n9183]

I always just worry about my game, i can hardly fix my swing that I know a lot. How could i try to fix someone elses swing i don´t know anything about? Moreover they probably don´t want my advice. If they ask i would just point out some major fault, but let the sutil fix to the pro.

If someone try to gave me an advice i will respecfully thank him and tell him that i don´t swing conventionally so i don´t care about swing mechanics, just about club path and face angle.

[Patch]

I voted it's a "no- no", only because I think for most, it is. Me personally, I don't care one way or the other if someone offers up some advice to me. What I do is always on me, and what, and how I am doing it.  

Although I am some what vigilant of others' games, I never offer any help unless I am asked. I tend to mind my own business (game) when playing/ practicing around strangers. 

Now, when I am with my golfing buddies, all bets are off. Offering suggestions, and/or talking smack is pretty normal for us. 

[Rkrider99]

I want to say I never give unsolicited advice if not asked. However, I have a golf buddy, and he and I go back at least 30 years. When he struggles with his game, if I see something obvious, I will point it out.

[GolfLug]

Yes, it's tough sometimes but almost always a no-no. Even by a great stroke of luck you diagnose one correct flaw out of five others, and with an even greater stroke of luck you give them the correct prescription, chances of them actually executing it are next to nothing.

Lot of folks are sensitive to advice anyway. I would NEVER take a chance on finding that out the hard way especially someone you have just met.

[chspeed]

Definite no-no to strangers. With golf buddies, saying something like "hey, you're aiming right" if they keep pushing the ball, is totally fine though.

[colin007]

1 hour ago, dennyjones said:

The general rule is unless somebody asks, don't tell.

Keep it like the army.

[iacas]

I give advice now and then… but it's not necessarily "unsolicited" as it's with students who have almost implicitly asked for it, as they've paid for it, albeit not always when we're playing. But I try to sense whether they're open to it or not, and when I sense that they're not, I don't.

[jimnm]

No I don't ever give unsolicited advice. If I'm asked, I'll do my best to help... but I don't have a lot of insight to offer. 

On the flip side... I absolutely do not like being given unsolicited advice.

[bkuehn1952]

I do not give unsolicited advice.  Unless I am playing or practicing with a golf professional, I really prefer to not receive unsolicited advice.  People who give advice are virtually always well meaning and occasionally offer up something on point but I try to ignore tips and advice from random sources. 

[chspeed]

1 hour ago, jimnm said:

but I don't have a lot of insight to offer. 

Good point. Me neither.

If asked, which only happens if they're total beginners or haven't seen my swing yet 😜,  I usually just jocularly say they're asking the wrong guy and change the subject.

1 hour ago, iacas said:

as it's with students who have almost implicitly asked for it, as they've paid for it

What kind of students don't want advice even though they've paid for it? 😉

Edited January 23, 2019 by chspeed