Dear Mr. I think I'm a Tour Pro in front of me

[slickpitt]

Dear Mr. I think I'm a Tour Pro in front of me,


I understand that there can be a certain satisfaction attained by playing from the tips. I understand you like to "challenge yourself." I also understand that no matter how much you try to look like a tour pro, with your matching all-one-brand set of the latest clubs, with your shirt and hat to match, your 2-dozen ProV1's you just bought, that you are still no better than a 20 handicapper. I beg you, if you MUST play from those tees and spray the ball all over the place, if you MUST spend 10 minutes carefully looking at each putt only to run it 15 feet by, if you MUST throw grass up in the air on a calm day to judge that 3 mph gust, PLEASE let me by. I, who have been waiting patiently on you. Also, can you please not act like a smug ******* when you DO finally let me play through?

Thanks,
Golfer playing within his skill range


P.S.
I just birdied the hole you let me around on :P

[Fairway_CY]

One of the things I hate the most about playing as a single and being paired up is getting paired up with these fools.

The course I typically play at has two sets of tees that, while not overly different, offer a different course setup. The white tees play, obviously, a little shorter than the blue tees. But, there isn't quite the same carry over hazards, etc as there is with the blue tees. My handicap is nearly 26. Although I don't FEEL like I play to a 26... apparantly I do. So, typically, I prefer to play the white tees, so I'm not losing balls in hazards or whatever. I am not averse to playing the blue tees because, I can carry the hazards, it's just a mind thing with me. But - then, we offer the black tees... the championship tees. They add about 1100 yards to the course. These tees have you coming out of chutes barely wide enough to drive the golf cart through. The carry on some holes is insane. It's just a totally different setup.

Seems like one out of every three times I play, I get paired with some dipstick who feels like 'taking on the tips'. They'll typically tell me, "I'm playing the blacks, you want to join me there, or are you going to jump up to the 'other' tees?" I always tell them "good luck, but I'm playing within my game" and then let them have at it.

I'd estimate I've played maybe eight rounds with guys like this. Of those eight rounds... I've seen TWO guys finish the round on the blacks. It's stupid and I don't understand it. In the end, most of the people I get paired with (of course there are a few exceptions) play about the same as I do. Our drives end up in similar places and similar distances (if we were playing from the same tees)... our putting sucks equally... we can't judge the difference between 85 yards and 115 yards... so - stay off the tips.

They are for the championship flights. Period. Our flight would play off the blue tees. Let's stick to that, huh?

CY

[warbirdlover]

The biggest hold up I've found is these groups taking over 15 minutes on the greens, lining up putts, adjusting the line on their ball, only to send it 15 feet by the cup and four feet off line. Then they do it all over again...

They see this when watching the pros on TV and can't understand that "normal" golfers don't have the luxury of taking 10 minutes over a putt.

And when one is putting the others haven't even lined up their shots or read the green yet.

If they can't putt to start with all this "Ed Norton" ("the Honeymooners" for you young guys) pre-shot routine is a waste of time.

[SilverUberXeno]

The maximum time I'd take to read a putt is probably 60 seconds. Crouch down behind ball, walk around it, taking notice of the view from the lower side of the hole, then crouch down behind the hole. Return to ball, pick a line on the break which I should have a good understanding of now, a few speed-feels in practice strokes, and pop.

That's only for a 10ft+ putt, too. On a 5 footer I don't often look from behind the hole.

[SiberianDVM]

One time at band camp, er, one thing I noticed at the LPGA Ginn Tribute was that while the lady pros were very deliberate and slow on the greens, they were fast on the teeboxes and fairways. They were figuring out their yardages and clubs while the other ladies were hitting.

Being able to stand near their balls without worrying about being struck by the other pros' ball helped, as well as having a caddie who already had it figured out for you.

[gpo]

People need to learn how to play ready golf. That means whoever is ready hits the shot no matter who is out. Also if you are in a cart and you drive up to your partner's ball, please either take the cart or walk over to your ball and get ready to hit.

[Clugnut]

Originally Posted by slickpitt

Dear Mr. I think I'm a Tour Pro in front of me,


I understand that there can be a certain satisfaction attained by playing from the tips. I understand you like to "challenge yourself." I also understand that no matter how much you try to look like a tour pro, with your matching all-one-brand set of the latest clubs, with your shirt and hat to match, your 2-dozen ProV1's you just bought, that you are still no better than a 20 handicapper. I beg you, if you MUST play from those tees and spray the ball all over the place, if you MUST spend 10 minutes carefully looking at each putt only to run it 15 feet by, if you MUST throw grass up in the air on a calm day to judge that 3 mph gust, PLEASE let me by. I, who have been waiting patiently on you. Also, can you please not act like a smug ******* when you DO finally let me play through?

Thanks,
Golfer playing within his skill range


P.S.
I just birdied the hole you let me around on :P

Bravo!

I love it.

[Highdraw34]

I'm going to take a different approach just for arguments sake. What is your hurry? You got something better to do than be outside playing golf? I'm a quick player and I don't really mind if people hold me up as long as it isn't something ridiculous like sharing clubs or leaving the cart 100 yards behind you. Those people paid the same amount of money you did. If they want to line up their putt that is their right. So what if the miss it. They are trying to do the right things in their mind to get it close. Most courses have a Marshall and a set expectation for pace of play. If someone is within those parameters then you have no argument.

The exception is when there is an open hole in front of someone and an open hole behind the person trying to get through. If this is the case then obviously let them through. If the course is 4 on each teebox it doesn't matter if you go through one group.

So everybody settle down, learn some down time games like hitting your ball at the tee markers with your driver like a putt. You could be stuck in traffic or shopping with the wife or something awful instead so slow down and enjoy it.

[keithpbz]

I dont mind slow play but it really bothers me when a foursome gets done on the green and one guy wants to stay back and take practice putts that he just missed as i am standing on the box ready to hit and then take his time to walk to the cart and wipe his clubs off and putt his head cover back on the putter and then drive to then write down the score and to then finally drive away from the green so we can play.

[Highdraw34]

Originally Posted by keithpbz

I dont mind slow play but it really bothers me when a foursome gets done on the green and one guy wants to stay back and take practice putts that he just missed as i am standing on the box ready to hit and then take his time to walk to the cart and wipe his clubs off and putt his head cover back on the putter and then drive to then write down the score and to then finally drive away from the green so we can play.

That stuff gets to anyone and is lunacy. If I see someone take a practice putt while a group is waiting I say that is green light to hit.

[King Par]

Originally Posted by Highdraw34

That stuff gets to anyone and is lunacy. If I see someone take a practice putt while a group is waiting I say that is green light to hit.

Okay Officer Contradiction.

The people lining up their putts for 5 minutes are usually the ones that took 7 shots to get to the green. There is usually a set time of 15 minutes per hole. Thus, so everyone can finish in 4 and a half hours, which is usually the "normal" amount of time people take. When you take 7 shots to get there, there's a big chance you're already over your 15 minutes. When you line up your putt for 5 minutes, youre definitely over your 15 minutes. No one goes golfing and expects 6 hours out of their day to be gone. Sure we're there to play golf, but most of the guys that golf have other commitments. Whether it be kids, a wife, etc. So that extra 1.5 hour you take for lining up your putt for 5 minutes each hole, eats away at our golfing time. Part of golf etiquette is being considerate of others.

[Wi-Golfer]

Today there was 4some in front of us & it was pretty apparent 2 of the women had never swung a club before. 15-30 yd hacks at a time, finally reaching the green 10-15 strokes later. My buddy & I actually watched one women 6 putt from 5' away & never did get it in the hole. Then her girlfriend & herself would stand on the green & talk while we stood there 80 yds out waiting for our shots. Thankfully we only had to deal with that crap for the final 2 1/2 holes but that was more than enough.

Great, you scored 127 for 9 holes, now please go back to the mini golf course or at the very least the driving range & take some lessons on etiquette.

[mont86]

Love the guys that read the putts like Tiger only to run thye ball 10 ft past and re-read and run it 3 ft past...Lovely

[gpo]

Originally Posted by Highdraw34

I'm going to take a different approach just for arguments sake. What is your hurry? You got something better to do than be outside playing golf? I'm a quick player and I don't really mind if people hold me up as long as it isn't something ridiculous like sharing clubs or leaving the cart 100 yards behind you. Those people paid the same amount of money you did. If they want to line up their putt that is their right. So what if the miss it. They are trying to do the right things in their mind to get it close. Most courses have a Marshall and a set expectation for pace of play. If someone is within those parameters then you have no argument.

The exception is when there is an open hole in front of someone and an open hole behind the person trying to get through. If this is the case then obviously let them through. If the course is 4 on each teebox it doesn't matter if you go through one group.

So everybody settle down, learn some down time games like hitting your ball at the tee markers with your driver like a putt. You could be stuck in traffic or shopping with the wife or something awful instead so slow down and enjoy it.

All I can say is if your group can't play in 4.5 hours when no one is ahead of you then there is a problem.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by Highdraw34

You could be stuck in traffic or shopping with the wife or something awful instead so slow down and enjoy it.

I think this is an excellent observation. We can't do anything about what other people do, we can only control our reaction to it.

I hate idiotic slow play as much as the next guy, but I try not to worry about it.

I will get pissed about people who push when there's nowhere to go...