paininthenuts

Yes and no. I don't really care who bats off first because at the end of the round it makes no difference. I don't really care who putts first either. However, there are things that annoy me, like people wearing jeans, and golfers who won't let others play through. Last week I played another course and witnessed the worst piece of etiquette in the world. There is a small cafe on the 12th where some golfers stop for a coffee etc. The 4 ball which were about two holes in front of us had stopped for a break, and as soon as we got to the 12th hole they all stood up and went to the tee. It would have been so easy for them to remain in their seats for 5 minutes whilst my friend and I teed off. Instead we had to wait for 15 minutes for them to get out of reach. They were all women, and in my experience it's women who have the worst etiquette.

I regularly play against a guy that doesn't fall into any of these categories, but I dearly want to sink my putter into the depths of his skull. He only has to be walking towards the general direction of the tee and if anyone makes any sort of noise he shouts "quiet at the tee please". If you dare stand forward one inch of him when he is going to hit the ball he shouts some sort of obscenity. What makes it worse is that he is a really bad golfer !!

I was out on the course playing 9 holes with an inexperienced high handicapper woman the other month. Now, I am only a 20 handicapper, so I don't claim to be any sort of expert. To be honest she was pretty awful and struggling to hit the ball. There were endless amounts of problems I could have pointed out, but knew if I gave her to many at once it would make things worse, so I just pointed out the most obvious. I told her to tuck in her right elbow and it would help make her swing more consistent. She instantly saved a shot a hole.

I listen to absolutely anyone. To believe that advice has to come from a pro a low handicapper is bonkers. It may well be that 90% of a high handicapper may tell me is rubbish, but the remaining 10% could knock a shot off here and there. Also, most high handicappers get their advice from better players, so all they are doing is passing on information

I am only 60, but a good friend of mine is well in his 70s. He went for a fitting and was advised to buy Ping ladies clubs. His distances improved considerably

Today I hit a 3 hybrid 240 yards. I am nearly 60 years old, play off of 21, and don't have the flexibility to use a full swing. My norm in these conditions with this club is about 180 yards. I think sometimes everything comes together, whilst for a pro it just happens a lot more often.

I think it's because they whack it harder

Buy a set of Ping Karstens and let them do the work for you

A social handicap is something between friends and nothing more. I refuse to play off of one because I feel it makes a mockery of the correct system

Here is a question for you all. On a weekly basis my golfing friends and I argue about my handicap, in fact we stopped playing for money a few months ago because of these discussions. My friends feel I should have a lower handicap, and if the club won't give me one they think I should play off of a social handicap. Firstly, I don't believe in social handicaps, as it's my belief that if the handicap system is working correctly a player only needs one handicap, and that shouldn't be played around with in any way what so ever. I accept that when I am playing well I can smash my handicap, I also accept that my swing is probably better than most people with my handicap of 21, and I admit that I quite often play better shots than someone with my handicap would normally play. However, the fact is that I am totally inconsistent, and still prone to playing a lot of costly shots, and thus my average score reflects my current handicap. The fact is that my friends believe my handicap should reflect my ability on a good day, along with my potential, and I believe it should reflect what is written on the score cards. So what do you think ?

In my experience it is quite good fun, but in reality is nothing much like golf.

The side of the 9th green has been attacked by moles, not ideal, but that's life. I should also point out that's it's March and the course is still flooded.

I actually take the greatest care of all my clubs. Because it is used at nearly every hole I take the head cover off. On the day in question it had quite a lot of mud on it, and let's be fair, it's about 8 years old

So we have both taken our drives, and both were pretty decent. There is about about 90 yards to the green which can only be reached by pitching over water. I take my shot and it ends up on the edge of the green. ken takes his shot and duffs it into the water. I walk to the green crossing the bridge to the right of the fairway, by which time I forget Ken has to drop a ball in front of the hazard for what will be his 4th shot. Once at the side of the green I here "FORE", and then hear a clatter. This is where the ball landed. Yes, right in my bag, which was sat in my trolley, which I was pulling. LOL

I find this breaking 90/80 quite strange. Surely it depends on the course, and how often you do it. In reality the thread should be about handicap. I am nearly 60 and was playing off of 21 after 15 months. In reality that means I was regularly hitting early 90s during the summer months, but have come in below 90 a few times. Today I hit 91 on a course that is no more than a giant pond. Ummm. If you are between 20 and 40, play regularly and have some degree of coordination, I would say that you should be playing off of about 20 withing 18 months or so. In the UK you can't have a handicap of 88