Golf Torture

[Bravo]

On Saturday, five players in our group showed up and the course does not permit fivesomes on Saturday mornings...so I volunteered to play with two other guys that I know...who had a 3rd player with them I did not know.

I got in the cart with this guy and he was horrible. When he hit the ball to the very best of his ability, it would go about 130 yards. Of course when he did not hit it to the best of his ability, it was not uncommon for him to get 60-80 yards from a shot....and he was driving.

So this is what happened on the first hole.

I hit a good drive that probably went about 250 and landed in the middle of the fairway....he dribbled his down to the ladies tee. We get in the cart and drive to his ball. He gets out and hits one about 80 yards. He ambles back to the cart and drives to his ball...hits it another 80 yards and back to the cart.

The entire time I am sitting in the cart just watching this process of shitty shots with him waddling back and forth from the cart to the ball. This finally drove me up the wall and I got out most of the time and walked to my ball and watched him wack and waddle his way back and forth to the cart.

The 17th was a classic example. This is a 490 yard dogleg right par 5. He hit four good shots and was left with 80 yards to the green. After I hit my drive, I got my 3 wood out of the bag and walked the entire hole. Hit a driver and a Fat 3 wood and had a wedge in for a routine par...

The round was pure torture....it really goes to show you that who you play with can make a big difference.

 

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Yeah, I remember playing a round with a kid who I don't think hit a ball farther than 100 yards the whole day. I feel your pain here.

 

[DouginGA]

Short hitters that hit it reasonably quickly and STRAIGHT dont bother me as much as the gorilla that hits three hundred of which 150 of that is sideways, then wants to look in the woods, brush, and stickers for each ball. But yeah, playing with people that are close in skill to your own is definately the way to go.

 

[DaveE]

Having to ride with him is what would have really bothered me. It's not that bad if you can concentrate on your own game when someone else is struggling but having to ride along and witness each shot would have been torture.

 

[Farquod]

Ouch. I'da been carrying my bag by the second hole.

 

[Davebud]

Well from the other side

Being the guy who hit 116 the time before last when I went, I really enjoyed playing with a couple of guys that hit in the low 90's last time I went. I got a 101, and while part of that was me, part of it was trying to keep up with them. They sort of pushed me to excel, and I was thankful for that and told them so.

 

[SiberianDVM]

How long had he been playing? I remember my first 18 hole round last year. I thought I was ready after 6 trips to the range, but I shot 121 on an easy course. I had several tee shots thet didn't even make it to the ladies tee that day.

It takes time for your body to develop rythym and tempo.

 

[Chas]

People shouldn't leave the practice range and go out on the course until they are ready. I say that for their own enjoyment as well. Anyway, my wife and I once got behind a (get this) sixsome of six women with one set of clubs. It was ridiculous. Where was the starter?

 

[Bravo]

This guy was a 63 year old fat Anesthesiologist wearing a goatee and a leather Harley Davidson vest. His belly was so big, he had to stoop way over to get his club on the ground.

Ball position: 2 inches in front of the left foot.

Clubhead position at address: 4 inches behind the ball.

He should have been the one walking, but I guess he was too fat to walk...and it WAS the riding in the cart that drove me out of my effing mind.

Hit the ball 80 -100 yards, waddle to cart, drive to ball, get out with club, hit the ball 80 -100 yards, waddle to cart, drive to ball.....arrrrggghhh!!! And of course half the time he hit it almost sideways...

How can people like this enjoy the game?

And putting!! He would be 10 feet away and knock it 6-7 feet past...I'll bet he three putted 8 greens and four-putted at least 3-4 others...

He claimed he used to shoot about 90 or so, "before his second divorce"....

 

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

He claimed he used to shoot about 90 or so, "before his second divorce"....

Probably his 9-hole score, and he improved when after the divorce he got serious about the game.

 

[Bravo]

Probably his 9-hole score, and he improved when after the divorce he got serious about the game.

Spot on!!! LOL...

 

[Silver]

People shouldn't leave the practice range and go out on the course until they are ready. I say that for their own enjoyment as well. Anyway, my wife and I once got behind a (get this) sixsome of six women with one set of clubs. It was ridiculous. Where was the starter?

While I agree the women is a ridiculous scenario, you may want to clarify what you mean by "shouldn't leave the range until they're ready" means.

I disagree with that entirely, I think it's important that people actually get on the course and get used to hitting under the pressure of other people being around and with the intention of actually getting the ball into a specific place (the hole, for example). Granted, they should do their best not to slow down their playing partners (so should probably play with people closer to their own skill level at times that aren't going to thrown the whole course into disarray) and be willing to pick up their ball when it's becoming unreasonable.

The best way to learn to play is to actually PLAY.

 

[SiberianDVM]

This guy was a 63 year old fat Anesthesiologist wearing a goatee and a leather Harley Davidson vest.

Aha! That explains it.

He was a wannabe surgeon.

 

[Chas]

While I agree the women is a ridiculous scenario, you may want to clarify what you mean by "shouldn't leave the range until they're ready" means.

I disagree with that entirely, I think it's important that people actually get on the course and get used to hitting under the pressure of other people being around and with the intention of actually getting the ball into a specific place (the hole, for example). Granted, they should do their best not to slow down their playing partners (so should probably play with people closer to their own skill level at times that aren't going to thrown the whole course into disarray) and be willing to pick up their ball when it's becoming unreasonable.

The best way to learn to play is to actually PLAY.

Yes, the more you play the better you get, I can't think of another way. What I meant was, in the very beginning when you are still learning. It is maybe best then if you stick to the range until you feel confident enough that you are ready to roll. Otherwise, it drives the other golfers crazy, and, I think it would probably demoralize the beginner. Anyway, thanks for your post, point well-taken.

 

[Silver]

I think the key for the above is to have beginners play with someone a bit more experienced to guide them through the etiquette of picking up and moving on.

"Don't worry, it's just fun, grab the ball and we'll go on" kinda thing.

I do agree that someone who's never swung a club before shouldn't be hitting up Spyglass or anything like that...