Putting up with a difficult playing partner

[Moecat]

1. ... your partner claims to be a CEO ... of a hardware store

2. ... your partner demands that you don't stand at his 3:00, 6:00 or 9:00

 

(#1 happened to me; #2 happened with a friend of mine)

 

Any of you have similarly amusing/bemusing true stories about someone you had the misfortune to be paired with?

[Kanoito]

Thank God no!

But I just played a tournament last Saturday and quit after 9 holes. Waiting 10 minutes on each tee because 3 asses in front of us were searching for balls the whole day.

 

To my surprise, once I arrived at the club house, I saw 5 more people who also quit in the middle of the round and were having a beer. Why? The same 3 asses causing the traffic jam.

 

It was the first time I received a "no return" on my scorecard

[RookieBlue7]

I've been paired with those guys that have no etiquette, especially tee box etiquette. I never say anything, though, when they stand directly behind me. I just keep backing up before hitting the ball until I move them where I want them. Once they move, I then take my address, and if they return, I back off the ball and do it again. They get the point when you keep doing this without any verbal communication. I'd prefer someone being off to the side behind me or off to the right, behind me. Don't get directly behind me, that irritates me. I don't need your help watching my ball from directly behind, so don't stand there. Then there's those guys that don't fix divots. If they don't, and I'm on the green and they've walked past theirs. I generally walk to it and start fixing it and tell them, "I got your divot". After doing that a few times, they get the point again. Those are the two things that really BUG me more than anything. I don't care if you're talking during my swing, or your phone goes off, or anything else. But please don't stand directly behind me when I'm hitting the ball and repair your damage to the course so it'll heal faster. The only other thing that bothers me is the guy that thinks he's a teaching pro, especially the one that you're beating like a drum on the scorecard. Don't give me advice, please. (Oh, as an aside, my homecourse ordered sand for the carts, so we have it again. WooHOO!!!)

[JBones]

I got paired with a group of three guys and on the first hole, I was tending the flag for one of them that was about 50' from the pin. He hit his putt and it was doing about 200mph, so I just left the pin and got out of the way. The ball hit the pin and somehow only finished about 8" away. I said "I think that just saved you from going off the back of the green" (off the back of the green is DEAD it drops off about 20' to thick rough) and he replies "all it did was keep the ball from going in the hole". I was flabbergasted; there was no way in hell that putt would have dropped at that speed and the other guys (which were his friends) even agreed. He didn't say one word to me for the rest of the round, until the 18th, when we he was about 50' from the pin again. I said "you want me to tend it? I'll pull it as soon as you hit it this time." He replied with a scowling "no, thanks. Just pull it." I did an he missed horribly, as he was walking to his ball, I heard him mumble "I would have been closer if I could have seen the hole". He was truly a prick and I avoid him when I see him. He shot about a 95, so even if his ball had dropped on the first hole, he shoots 94.

 

I had another instance where I was playing with a guy that was WAY too bad to be as serious as he was. He was getting ready to hit his tee shot and I backed him off, right before he swung, because I had a sneeze that I could not hold in. I told him I was getting ready to sneeze and that I sneeze pretty loud, so just to wait a second. He was pissed and said "whatever", then proceeded to go through his routine again, so I just let him go. I sneezed right in the middle of his backswing and he shanked his drive right out into the range. He threw his driver at his bag while giving me a crappy look. I said, "I tried to warn you" and he told my buddy and I to "just play through". He had also asked me to move my bag on the first hole, because he could see it's shadow in his peripheral vision.

[RoverRick]

I do not demand that you not stand at my 3, 6, or 9, but I am about to started demanding that if you can not stand still when I putt to stand somewhere else.

 

Four times yesterday, just as I started the back swing with the putter this one guy, just on the edge of my vision started to walk off, or something to distract me. The first time, I simply missed the putt. The next time I stopped, glared at him, and then reset and missed the putt. The third time, I stopped, and said, "I better wait, I do not want my f&&^*ing putt to interfere with Terry's daily exercise or whatever it is needs to do." And the forth time, I said, "Why don't you go ahead and putt out and head on over to the carts and move on with your life since I am apparently holding you back."

 

There are two guys, also lower cappers, that would do it just to mess with me, but I was putting for 3's and this guy was putting for 5 or 6's everytime. I do not mind that we have have to go look for his ball everyhole. Hell, we occasionally have to look for mine and everybody's. I do not mind you telling me how much is riding on the putt before I set up. I do not mind dropping the flag stick during the early part of putting routine. We do this as gamesmanship. But I get extremely pissed off when someone does it out of stupidity.

 

And there is really the issue. You can mess with me and that is ok, but in addition to it being distracting it is rude. I also get pissed off when someone does it in someone else's stoke. I get really mad when I do it. And have often apologized for scratching my nose or something when no one else saw it but I try to stand perfectly still.

[RookieBlue7]

That's another one I forgot to mention, people walking around behind me or where I can see them during my swing/stroke and doing it unknowingly, or out of stupidity. Yep, forgot that one. It bugs the crap out of me too.

[BK in TEXAS]

I can't recall ever played with a true jerk. Some turned out to be jerks off the course, but cool when playing.

 

That's another one I forgot to mention, people walking around behind me or where I can see them during my swing/stroke and doing it unknowingly, or out of stupidity. Yep, forgot that one. It bugs the crap out of me too.

Same here. You can literally stand a foot in front of me or 10 yards behind me.....just stand still. Movement changes my focus to something besides the ball and it gets ugly.

[apprenti23]

I can't imagine getting paired up with an idiot for a normal casual round of golf, when playing in tournaments though, it is sometimes expected. I do know that I would nip it quick though! Definitely not good at keeping my mouth shut! Ahhhh wait! I can remember playing in the State Am Qualifier when I was 15 or 16 or something. Had this one guy probably 30 years older than me who, before he hit, would take his bucket hat off and whip it a good 20-30 feet away from him. That was a part of his pre shot routine. One time I was about 100 feet or more away from him and started walking forward toward my ball, he whipped his hat and got set, I kept walking, and he gave me a "Please stop moving!" so I replied "Just hit the F*CKING BALL!" haha, he didn't bother me again the rest of the round!

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Been fairly lucky - have never been paired with anyone I really wanted to strangle. Played with a guy a few times last year who drove me crazy - not due to lack of etiquette but due to the fact that he wouldn't stop talking. He was a nice enough fellow, had a pretty good game but there's a time and a place.

 

First time we played we shared a cart and he dropped me off so I could look for my ball - I took a couple of clubs and figured he'd drive off to find his, but he followed me - in the cart - and didn't break the monologue until I found my ball. It must have looked kind of ridiculous -- one guy marching off into the rough looking for his ball, the other guy slowly following in the cart, right on his heals.

 

Like I said, the dude didn't have a mean bone in his body - and the rest of his golf etiquette was impeccable. Our on course personalities just didn't mesh. He probably thought I was a non-communicative jerk (my wife would agree), but it was just one of those things...

[JBones]

JB, the "sneeze" is the best!..Seriously, I just let some guys at the club read it on my phone...The "Sneeze" in combination with what I picked up from you on the "Cart Girl" thread, well Dude, you've prettty well locked yourself in as my MGS Man Of The Year!...And it's only July!...God, I love this site!..lol.....

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever.....

LOL. My sneezes are obnoxiously loud and I can't help it, I get it honest from my dad. I'm pretty sure someone could here me about 2 holes away. I don't sneeze very often, but when I do, it's a doozy.

[JMiller]

I have all sorts of great stories, I tend to putt up with a lot during a round filled with weekend players and people that have no golf etiquette.

 

1) Playing a guy for money, I had a putt that was on his line that was about a foot longer. At address I saw that he was standing directly behind me on the line, I backed off the putt and told him to move his a$$ over to my 8 o'clock. It flat out amazed me that someone you are playing for money would get any edge they could s*** it was a $1 a hole and this guy is loaded so not like he really needed the money anyways. He just had that big of an ego to cheat and attempt to beat me. Saw him improving his lie in the rough and in the fairway a ton. That was the last time I played him for any money even $1 a hole, I wouldn't even played him for a penny for a round, that is just silly.

 

2) Same guy as above one other time was continuously talking in my pre-shot routine and while I was addressed over the ball. I literally backed off the ball stood behind it and just stared at him and waited for him to finish this all important conversation he was having. He literally stopped talking looked up to me and said "are you going to hit your ball", I fired right back "as soon as you are done talking I will". That was the last time I played golf with the guy, he was super self centered and had a HUGE ego when it came to competitive activities.

 

3) I about got into a fight with one player, he was a Duke student on the Rugby team. That is a long story the dude was spending more time talking about Darwin and Philosophy then playing golf and had a major "my s*** doesn't stink" / "I'm untouchable" type of attitude. A long story short the guy would walk literally 50 to 100 yards past his ball talking to his friend then relieve that he needed to hit a golf shot. We got into it on the 4th tee box and I let them play through I still remember that guys face and name, trust me when i say that he burnt a bridge that day with me. As they say you can tell more about someone's personality faster in 18 holes of golf then 1 month of business negotiations.

 

4) Being a member on a public golf course on the weekend gets you surrounded with drunken weekend players 90% of the time. People yelling "get in the hole" off a tee box is by far the one thing that just makes me want to punch that person in the mouth. I lost a hole for money one time on number 10 green when a guy hit a drive off 18 tee box (maybe 60 yards to the right of 10 green) and his friend yield "get in the hole" I tipped my putt from flinching at the yell. I said load enough to my playing partners so that they could hear me "maybe I should go ask them for my money that I just lost thanks to them yelling and being rude as f***!". My group burst out laughing.

 

 

I would have to say the number one thing that I have to deal with is just people talking during my swing. The other thing is people walking on my line on the putting green. At least my home course is so bumpy already some soft spikes won't do anything to the roll but still one of those things.

[dru_]

You know, I find it fascinating that so many people find movement distracting. I don't even see it, music, talking, movement, none of it. When I am addressing the ball, there are only two things relevant and impacting my field of vision, where I am and where I want to be. While these things don't bother me, I don't do them to other people, but sometimes you find people that get all out of sorts over the smallest things.

[Kanoito]

Movement and talking doesn't bother me either, but slow pace of play kills me.

[JMiller]

I think it is not the constant sounds or movement that bothers people, it is the sudden movements and sounds in the transition that gets you every time. Tiger Woods is the only person I have ever seen with the ability to check swing in the down swing when sounds are made at the top of his back swing that grabs his attention.

 

I am right eye dominant as a right handed golfer so I have a larger field of vision to my 6 o'clock so i can see a little more movement in that area then anywhere else, outside of 10 feet I wont see you on my 6 o'clock and could care less.

 

The story I was telling about the putting green I could see up to his knees in my right eye so he was only about 5 feet behind my ball, that is just ridicules on more then one level.

[HighFade]

I have to agree with Dru. I find it annoying as hell the pros complain that someone 40 yards away moved during their pre-shot routine. NBA players sink free throws with 1000 screaming idiots waving flags and being morons. When I stand over a shot, I concentrate.

[GolfSpy WD]

You know, I find it fascinating that so many people find movement distracting. I don't even see it, music, talking, movement, none of it. When I am addressing the ball, there are only two things relevant and impacting my field of vision, where I am and where I want to be. While these things don't bother me, I don't do them to other people, but sometimes you find people that get all out of sorts over the smallest things.

 

As JM said, it's sudden movement or sound that throws me off, especially movement in my peripheral vision. My son tends to do this to me because he wants to get to this ball . He's only 8 so it's hard to get mad at him because etiquette is hard at that age, but I remind him every time he does it. He's gotten much better this year, but when you think about it, you could fill a book with etiquette rules, so it's not surprising many weekend hackers don't know it.

[revkev]

I'm taking notes Rookie so that if ever we do get to play I'll know what strategies to employ. :rolleyes:

 

People are people - I try very hard to enjoy them for who they. When it's my turn I play pretty quickly, I don't take a full practice swing, just a half swing while I'm picturing my shot and I don't stand long over the ball so I tend to get a lot of talking and movement while I'm playing - I'm used to that. Like Jmiller I'm fine if it's constant - it's the sudden stuff in the middle of a swing that stinks. Since I started looking at the hole when I putt very little is going to distract me there.

 

I try to know the pecularities of the folks whom I play with regularly and try hard to avoid stuff that might distract them - even the CEO's. Interestingly when I'm playing with my low handicap friens that is rarely, very rarely any sort of issues - those guys tend to just go about their business ignoring everything else.

 

I don't like slow play but it's going to happen. I had an awesome offer of a clergy membership at a great club that would have virtually put an end to that issue but I'd miss playing with my friends so I declined it.

 

My goal when playing with strangers is that they would have as much fun as I'm going to have. I think if you start with that premiss you can't go wrong.

[Tyk]

I think you are right jmiller, I don't really care what someone is doing; moving, talking, driving their cart, music, whatever as long as they don't start doing it after I've addressed the ball. Even then, movement or where people are standing don't effect me, I really only notice a 3' area around the ball once I put my head down. Sudden noise however really can throw me off.

 

I'm pretty good at just avoiding people I'm playing with if I don't like them. If I don't know I'd enjoy riding with someone, I'm walking. Once I'm walking, I'll never see anyone I don't want to see except for the teebox and the greens. Fortunately this doesn't happen very often.

 

I really hate watching someone that is overly deliberate in their routine. Anything beyond 2 practice swings starts to test my patience, and if you back away from the ball and start over, you better have been stung by a bee or hit with a ball! It just seems inevitable that the guy with the ridiculous routine is going to be terrible at the game doesn't it? So you spend all freaking day watching some duffer take 4 or 5 practice swings just to top the ball or hit it out of bounds! Drives me nuts.

[revkev]

Unless I know he's or she is a good player I try very hard not to watch what my playing partners are doing while still watching for where their ball might end up.

[gdiddy]

I am a casual golfer and absolutely hate golfing with people who throw temper tantrums on every bad shot. I appreciate passion for the game and have as much as anyone, but that SH*T can really take me out of my game.

BTW I dont like golfers standing my 3 oclock. 12 or 6 ok but good lord my swing is bad enough I dont need that ahole watching from their. And when I ask them to move then Im the ahole go figure.

[gdiddy]

O Yeah dont tell me my score if I want to know I can add.

[JMiller]

A recall one year at Q-School a guy had hit a putt that disappeared bellow the surface of the green into the cup, then all of a sudden bounced out of the hole to sit on the lip. This cost him 1 stroke and he went on to miss his card by one shot that year. If you think that these guys are "over sensitive" that is because so much money and prize money is up for grabs, one stroke could mean a bonus of $100k or more.

 

I will be the first to admit if I can't get 100% focus on my visualization and feel of the shot over the ball, I re-set and back off the shot making sure to get my mental picture. I don't do it often once in a blue moon, maybe a total of 10 times in the last 5 years, always as a result of someone else distracting me. Such as conversations i can't block out, noises that grab my attention like "fore", stuff like this you really can't help yourself but to back off and reset. I am sorry but if I am playing for big money or in a tournament I completely expect the play to be a little slower. I am going to take a fraction more time visualizing, a fraction more time on the greens analyzing the line. When there is more then a golf score up for the grabbing it changes things drastically.

 

Again that is just my two cents on that situation, I am like rev I don't watch my opponents swings unless I know that they are a great player and have a tempo that is close to my own. I get in my own little world as much as possible on the golf course. I don't like feeling rushed but then again I am not slow either, most time I take on any shot is about 45 to 60 seconds, unless it is a wicked lie. On the green it takes a little longer but I do a lot of my reading of the green while other people are putting to help speed up play.

[RoverRick]

As many of you know I am an advocate of Instinct Putting as we now know it called. This means I look at the hole. This means that my field of vision on putts is much greater than most people. Since this came up a week ago I have paid close attention to see about people moving about when someone is putting. It is shocking how many times I have seen other people moving and walking off or even practicing while others are putting. This has become my new pet peeve.

 

I have noticed that someone can be on the fringe and the flag be in the cup. It is clearly their turn to putt, they are eyeing the putt, take their stance and some idiot say, "Do you want that in or out?" It has happened to me, and it has happened to others. Come on people, if they want it out, they will ask for it out.

 

Our club is near Interstate 30. We are 300 yards from the highway but there is nothing between the highway and the course so on two or three holes you can hear the cars and trucks. That noise is constant and I would bet that most people would say that it never bothers them. Even sirens and other things do not reall bother you because they are just back ground noise. But close movement and close sudden sounds do bother me. I was putting on 14 and someone's drive from 6 landed on the green about a foot from me on Saturday and maybe a half of second sooner I would have been very unhappy but I had completed the stroke but the ball was only 1/3 of the way to the hole.