playing with someone better than you?

[DaGris]

when you are playing a round with someone better than you, do you get upset when they play good or happy for them?....I always play with my father in law..he is more like a best friend than a father in law. We also have a couple of our buddies play with us every weekend....Everyone is real close in playing ability except my father in law....we all shoot boggie golf or maybe better from time to time and he's usually in the 70's..............he had two eagles on two par 5 yesterday.....Its just fun sometimes and watch him play.....

[lamebums]

Originally Posted by DaGris

when you are playing a round with someone better than you, do you get upset when they play good or happy for them?....I always play with my father in law..he is more like a best friend than a father in law. We also have a couple of our buddies play with us every weekend....Everyone is real close in playing ability except my father in law....we all shoot boggie golf or maybe better from time to time and he's usually in the 70's..............he had two eagles on two par 5 yesterday.....Its just fun sometimes and watch him play.....

Not really. Any good feeling I have for watching them play well is probably overridden by how poorly I am playing. I tend to go to pieces when playing with someone better than I. I, two or three strokes back, will try to save one stroke by risking another four or five. And then when I lose on that attempt my concentration goes to hell and the ball starts going all over the place.

[SiberianDVM]

I tend to try to drive too long and become erratic off the tee if I'm playing with a long-hitting 70s shooter.

Otherwise, they are playing their game, and I'm doing my best to play mine. Which, when I don't have my head up my ass, consists of:
driving in the fairway,
trying to hit the green and usually missing
trying to chip in from off the green
trying to make my putt.

[warbirdlover]

If I don't try and drive the ball or hit as long as them it usually helps me score better. When I play with someone worse it tends to bring me down some if I let myself get sloppy. Playing Byron ("The Bomber" in here) usually helps my game. He also keeps me laughing when he's "manuevering" the cart.... (or keep me trying to stay alive)... ejdaul21 is getting so much better he'll be beating me shortly. sssmokin and I always have a brotherly competition and it seems to go in peaks and valleys as to who beats who.

[JasonMacIsaac]

One part of the game I want to work on if not playing to the level of my playing partner. Its not bad If I am playing with a + handicap but when I play with a 5 or 6 handicap that drags into my game.

[kwcsports]

I like playing with better players, I learn something from them every round. It also gives me a gauge to see what I need to work on to go from a 10 down to 5 or better. The one thing I don't worry about is driving distance. Lots of lower caps don't drive the ball 300 yards. That only happens on internet discussion boards.

[eclark53520]

I like playing with better players. Its not often i get to play with someone that shoots regularly in the 70's so when i do get to play with them i take the opportunity to observe and take advice if/when they give it. I take it as an almost free lesson.

I dont usually have a problem playing my game while they play theirs...so i dont usually see a difference in score when i play a good player VS a normal player.

[DaGris]

My father in law and one of my buddies can out drive me 9 out of 10 times by 30 yards or better.....If they hit a drive 265+, I cant think about trying to keep up with them...if I try, I will suck it up..I just try to keep playing my game...hit it straight 230 and be happy with that. Every once in a while I'll "catch" one and get a 265+ drive but its rare.....I'm very confident in my 6 and 7 iron so if I leave my second shot 145-160 out, I'm ok with that...or on a par 5, I'll lay up...its ok (thats what I have to tell myself sometimes).


its funny,..if I play with my uncle (who has never broke 100),..I play great!......I guess because I know I'm going to whoop him so I have all kinds of confidence.....I'm very laid back and play great.

[zaphod]

For me it does not matter either way. It really depends on the personality of the golfer.

[BrandonM7]

I don't really have a good comparison, because I've never managed to find players worse than me to play with.

[West Coast Duffer]

I play to about a 15 and whenever I play with my uncle who is a 4 I always play my worst golf, I can out drive him easily but im trying to over do it to much and hurt myself, i prefer to play with guys my own handicap but even then I have a bad habit of making it a competition and making stupid shots.

[warbirdlover]

Sounds familiar. This year I'm going to just play against the course. And not worry what others with me are doing.

[chollyred]

I'm so inconsistent I'm bound to be playing with better players. If they're marginally better, then I'm okay. I'll concentrate on playing my game. If I'm playing with someone vastly better than me, I become self conscious about holding them up. Then I start rushing shots and trying shots out of my capability. (Hey! He can hit a flop shot from that severe downslope, why can't I?). They may not care, but I do.

Now if I were playing with that same person in a scramble, it wouldn't bother me in the least.

[goatster]

i play with better players all the time.if they are really having a great round i will be happy for them.but i am mainly concentrating on my own game.

[clemsonhacker]

i usually shot lower if i play with someone better than me..