Playing To Win? Or Is It Just Gamesmanship?

[golfinnut]

Playing the other night with a few guys, (mind you we are playing basically for a beer) but something got to me & was wondering if I just over reacted.

How many people have you played with that during a match, 2 vs 2, are constantly asking you before you hole out .... "so what's this for?" or "what are lying here?" or "You putting for a par or bogey here?" All before you actually hole out and finish the hole!?
For some reason this just annoyed the hell out of me because it happened more than once during the round. Each time it seemed as though he was doing it on purpose. 
Grant it, I should have played better and blocked it out. If I was playing better and would have made the putts then maybe it wouldn't have annoyed me as much but it did. So if he was trying to get under my skin then he accomplished it. Played one of the worst rounds of my life. What got me the most about it was, for the majority of the time, he would ask me as I was addressing the ball, just about to take the putter back. He did it a few times this way. Probably on purpose. I know you are allowed under the rules to ask during a match play situation, but why not have the courtesy of asking AFTER the hole was complete ... say after the ball has hit the bottom of the cup. "Hey what was that for?" 
I never said anything to him in the end but asked other guys later around the bar & they said "yeah, he's known for doing that." It may be some sort of low-level gamesmanship but. 

I know, I know ... block it out & just play better. But everything was wrong again that day & I had to put some blame on someone other than myself, ya know! HA! 

So what would you have done? Would you have said something to him politely or just ignored it? Am I wrong and over reacting? I would think that it would be just common courtesy to settle all scores off the green or after everyone has holed out. It's not like the scores will change. 

Thoughts?

[Kenny B]

He likely knows exactly what your putt is for.  If he said that to me, I would ignore him; back off the putt and go through my routine again; and after the putt tell him what that was for.  If you don't react to him, he should stop asking. 

[GolfJunkie302]

That is so annoying! I mean, did he at all recognize the fact that this match was supposed just for fun?!

 

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[TheWahoo]

Based on the scenario described, because of the timing of the questioning, you were playing someone less than a good sportsman.  Such questioning was totally inappropriate, in my opinion.   As others have suggested, do your best to ignore it.    However, such questions at the appropriate time and circumstance can be understandable in match play because putts can be given or holes conceded.  However, in stroke play, there is no need for such questioning.  

[Golfspy_CG2]

I will OCCASIONALLY ask someone what they lie in a match play situation.  And it almost always results in me telling them to "pick it up"  It's not too hard to keep track of someone's count during a hole.   I hate making anyone putt for bogey or worst, in my mind it should just be givien, if I can't beat a bogey then I pretty much should lose the hole. 

 

But for the most part, I'm worried about my score, and then let the chips fall where they lay.  If I was asked that repeatedly on almost every hole, I'd probably take Kenny's approach.  

[PlaidJacket]

I play with a guy that usually a few seconds before I make a putting stroke says, "Put er in there." And I usually do. Ha! But it bothers me just the same. I ignore him.This same guy also likes to stand behind me when I'm hitting a tee shot. I usually stop and ask him for the 100th time to please stand to the side. He says he can't see/follow the ball from the side. Tough. He's not obligated to. He also likes to know either immediately before or after holing a putt... "what's that for." I again ignore him until everyone has putted out. Sometimes I'll raise a few fingers.

During a match I tend to keep my mouth shut more than open. I don't follow each shot a guys hits by saying "good shot." Occasionally yes. Golfinut I might suggest that going forward if you want to get under a guys skin starting saying, "bad shot" instead of good shot. See how he likes that. From my experience guys hit more bad shots that good ones. Including me.

[golfinnut]

I play with a guy that usually a few seconds before I make a putting stroke says, "Put er in there." And I usually do. Ha! But it bothers me just the same. I ignore him.This same guy also likes to stand behind me when I'm hitting a tee shot. I usually stop and ask him for the 100th time to please stand to the side. He says he can't see/follow the ball from the side. Tough. He's not obligated to. He also likes to know either immediately before or after holing a putt... "what's that for." I again ignore him until everyone has putted out. Sometimes I'll raise a few fingers.

During a match I tend to keep my mouth shut more than open. I don't follow each shot a guys hits by saying "good shot." Occasionally yes. Golfinut I might suggest that going forward if you want to get under a guys skin starting saying, "bad shot" instead of good shot. See how he likes that. From my experience guys hit more bad shots that good ones. Including me.

I like that approach best!  I think I'll try that in a few weeks if I play him again.

 

Incidentally, he still lost 1 up  

[mrsmith123]

I do it a few times a round because I literally don't keep track of another team's score. For someone like me, I ask purely to know and has nothing to do with trying to screw with a competitor.

 

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[StrokerAce]

slow down... way, way, way down.... eventually he'll get frustrated and quit?

 

or take it the other way and before he even gets a chance to ask the question say firmly "this is for _____ "

[Rusty1885]

I got into that situation a few times usually playing with older buddies, playing skins. This one guy, likes to call himself a guru, couldn't stop yappin, about anything. Where you should aim, how fast the green, and the wind, yap, yap, yap.

 

I'm the youngest in the group so I'd just back off the shots and start over not saying anything to him or even look his way. The message was I'm going to take as long as I need to clear my thoughts before I commit to my shots. Usually a few a few shots other spoke up and told him to shove it. I have time and thick skins, you are not going to get to me.

[Canucklehead]

Based on the timing, I'd be willing to bet he knew what it was for. Personally I'd be a little miffed. But would've just ignored him and redo my routine taking my time.

 

If you regularly play against that guy, you should find those beaded stroke counters (in hot pink) that attach to a bag and hand them to him before the match begins. Might throw him off a little bit too lol

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

Tell him "it's for for an 8" every time, or tenure it back around and ask him what his is for. Just go back and forth. If he wants to act like a 5 year old, then talk to him like one

[downlowkey]

Match play is always a weird social experiment; but all gamesmanship absolutely has to stop before you address the ball. I would return some serious eye contact in complete silence and hit reset on the pre-shot routine.

[ole gray]

I would have told him to shut the eff up.  We'll talk about all the specifics after the round.  Done deal.   All the guys I play with know when I give them the stink eye, they need to move on with caution.   I don't put up with that shat.   Or maybe you need to have a come to Jesus meeting with him before you tee it up and lay out the ground rules.   If he doesn't like it, you don't need to play with em...   

[JAGolfore]

In our group we get asked this every hole. It's a net game and we do play for a little money. But it's almost expected and almost always asked before you step over the ball

 

 

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[revkev]

I wouldn't even give it a second thought.

 

People are people, we all act and think differently. If I'm playing golf with people they are bound to do things that annoy me and I'm likely to do something to annoy them at some point. If they point out what I'm doing that's annoying I will try to avoid it.

 

If it's gamesmanship and you keep making the putt it will stop.

 

 

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[Camcmart]

I agree with most in that I would just start my routine all over again without acknowledging him at all. There's always gonna be that one guy that spits in the mashed potatoes and then no one wants to eat them, that's just life. You could stoop to his level, but I don't know where your morals lie so I won't advise that. In the end, he still lost so who's the REAL winner here?

 

 

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