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Golfing with new people, good or bad?

Hackin_Away

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
337
2
I have noticed over the past couple seasons, and my round on tuesday, that I play quite a bit worse with people I don't know. I'm sure its something to do with not wanting to look like a total hack, but it makes me end up looking like one. A lot of times they aren't even THAT great either, but man, ill be damned if it doesnt throw a wrench in my brain. As i said, i shot a 43 the other day by myself walking (in diff post), golfed with my buddy and his dad (who I have golfed with one other time last summer), and i was pretttty bad.

Kind of a dumb thread, but makes for interesting outlooks on it. LOL...but does anyone else have this problem? Or for some of you, do you step up and play better? I think I am just not clutch!
 

extremeVFT03

golfaholic
Supporting Member
Apr 22, 2007
909
15
Country
United States United States
i play better with strangers then the one's i know. i don't get off track with new people as where with Friends I'll start messing around and there goes everything.
 

gwlee7

Ho's from Rocky Mount, NC
Supporting Member
Jun 15, 2005
1,402
1
The more experience you get in "unfamiliar" situations, the easier it will become. As I started playing in tournaments, I had this problem of "blowing up" because I was so worried about not looking bad. Over time, I got used to the "unfamiliarity" of it and then started playing much better or if I played poorly, it was because I sucked; not becasue I was nervous.

I think most people will have experienced the same thing as you but I know that for me, it got a lot better.
 

VAGolf

MHS Varsity Golf 09'
Aug 15, 2008
93
1
Im about to present my theory:

Play with people you are friends with, but have never played golf with before.
 

ezra76

Well-Known Member
Feb 5, 2006
12,412
16
I have no problems. I'd rather play with decent golfers though. For some reason I really step it up when I'm playing with players better than me. Not that it bothers me to play with guys who aren't so good. It does get tiresome if you get paired with like a 2some that both players are terrible though. I feel like I have to rush my shots to make up the pace.
 

Augster

Rules Nerd
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
1,473
23
i play better with strangers then the one's i know. i don't get off track with new people as where with Friends I'll start messing around and there goes everything.

I am exactly the same way. I don't prefer to play with nobody I know, but I generally do play better.

After most people see one drive go an ACTUAL 250yards (it'd be 310 on the internet :biglol:) they think you are Tiger. It's nice to have a gallery.


It is also nice to have zero pressure. Whenever I play with anyone I know we always have SOME money on the line. Even if it's just quarter skins it's still money. And pressure.
 

fisher

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2008
1,263
0
I play way better wth strangers especially if they are good golfers. I find that I play up or down to the level of people I am playing with. Playing with good golfers elevates my game.

When I play with my friends I tend to be unfocused on playing golf.
 

SiberianDVM

I love Hooters
Moderator
Jul 25, 2005
8,783
1,539
Augusta, GA
Country
United States United States
I had the exact same problem about 3 years ago, or about a year after I started playing on a real course. I would get so tense that I would go a whole round hitting bad shot after bad shot. Rarely would I break 100.

My cure was to start playing tournament golf. Then you get to see what even a little bit of pressure does to everyone else's golf game and your own.

Besides making you physically tense and incapable of swinging a club freely, pressure and stress can cause you to make some really dumb decisions, a la Phil Mickleson. How many times have I stupidly pulled out the 3 wood to "go for it" on a par 5, when all I really needed to do was get the ball in the fairway 100 yards out?

So, instead of an easy wedge and possible birdie or more likely par, I find myself hitting my 3rd out of the woods or even my 4th after a drop from the hazard, and looking bogey, double or triple dead in the eye.

At the hacker level (mine), birdies don't win tourneys: par golf does. Why can't I remember that when I step up to the tee box?

So, my recommendation is to find a local amateur tour, like www.amateurgolftour.net and learn how to cope with golf stress by upping the ante a bit.
 

limpalong

Mental Ward Escapee
Supporting Member
Oct 18, 2006
13,821
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I forgot!
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It still amazes me how my game can change, depending on the group I'm playing with. I've met some really great folks on the golf course. I used to play a lot at public courses, walking on and getting paired with other folks. My game... then and today... seems to mirror the ability of those with whom I'm paired.

I've been playing a hacker's game this past few weeks. 3 weeks ago, I had the chance to slip out on a Friday afternoon. Got paired with two good sticks... young flat-bellies... who played from the back tees. I shot one of the best rounds I've carded in the past 6 months!!! 38/39!!! From the blues!!! I'll NEVER do that playing with my regular group!

Likewise, if I get paired with some beginners or those who are having great difficulty getting the ball to the hole, it seems my game suffers. Sometimes, it's just the mental issue. No! It's ALWAYS the mental issue!!! I allow my self to become impatient or I lose focus and I'll hack my way to something in the upper 80's to low 90's.

Our regular Saturday/Sunday group has a mix of golfers that will shoot from the upper 70's to the mid 90's. Week after week after week, I'll card my usual 82 to 84. Boring.... I just have great difficulty scoring low with a group where we all know each other and have some good social interaction during the round.

I think that is one of the things that really impresses me with those who play at the professional level. To play with different personalities each day... to not allow another player's game to get into YOUR head... to be able to focus and repeat low round after low round takes a mental toughness this old man will never learn to accomplish.
 

Dave Ireland

I'm sizzlin tonite
Aug 31, 2004
1,388
0
I tend to play better when 1. I get off to a good start and 2. when I don't have to mark the 4 scorecards of our group irrespective of who I'm playing with ... there is side issues with hunting in the trees for partners balls, but really if I'm playing well - 30 secs is all it takes to tune back in ..
 

Pa Jayhawk

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2005
7,196
62
Country
United States United States
I probably play better with strangers that are not distracting as I think I focus more than with a foursome of friends, probably play worse with ones that are distracting in some way. Although if I am just paired with one person I know, I play better.

I also almost always play better when playing with people who are better than I, I think I better evaluate my own decisions when I see how theirs pan out.
 

warbirdlover

Ender of all threads
Supporting Member
Jul 9, 2005
19,151
5,601
central Wisconsin
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I enjoy meeting new people and it seems to take the pressure off as others have said since I probably will never see these guys again. Best time was last year when I was really playing well. The guy and his son I played with said "nice playing with ya Tiger" when we were done. That made my day (year?) as these guys were not too bad. :) And a couple gorgeous babes sitting in the cart waiting on us (we had a slow group ahead) "clapped" after I crushed my drive down the middle on the last hole. One day like that a summer keeps me coming back. :killersmiley:
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
I always play better alone. But one of the things I like best about golf is that 90% of the people you share a round with are good people, and I enjoy meeting good people.
 

JArmour

Go VOLS!
Jan 2, 2008
1,069
0
I usually do better when I play with better competition as said by most before. When I get paired with people I don't know that are a little behind where I am skills wise I suffer a lot.

Yesterday I played 9 and shot a 49 which is not terrible but way over where I've been the past two months. I've been between 39 and 44. These guys were just slow and topping everything, it got to where like EZ said I was rushing shots to keep from holding the groups behind us up. I was walking and there were two guys in one cart and a guy and his girlfriend just riding in the other. I knew when I got paired up with them it was going to be bad. They kept asking about my clubs and where I got them, how much I paid for them and all these random questions.
 

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