We've done things similar to this before, but I thought I'd start a thread where people could discuss what they like, dislike, pet-peeves, etc. in a regular playing partner.
Of my old foursome, one moved to Tenn., another is often unavailable due to work (I play exclusively during mid-week afternoons). I'm basically down to 1 guy, a retiree who plays everyday, travels to play and often has other plans.
I played yesterday with a friend from church for the first time. He's a great guy. He's 68 and had a quad-bypass last year. He's a rangy old country boy who was a bar bouncer for decades. He still hits it a ton, 270+ off the tee and I'd guess him to be a 5-7 H/C...quite a bit better than me. He is also, coincidentally a ranger at my favorite nearby public course. He is also very competitive.
I had one of the best 9s of my life on the front. It was only a +5(40), but I had 2 doubles due to a couple of brain farts. I was 3 up on him. I could tell it bothered him some and said he must be my good luck charm because that is as good as it gets for me (which I demonstrated on the back ). Early on he "diagnosed" a couple of mis-hits I had. That soon stopped thank God, but he kept up an 18 hole running commentary about how good he usually plays, how far he used to hit it (300 +), how he "lost" his swing after 27 holes last week , blah, blah, blah... I have NO doubt that it is all true after watching him hit. He wound up beating me by 4 anyway 87-83 with is "bad" game. But I'm thinking... you're better than ME with your current game. I get it. You don't have to try to impress me.
We're playing again next week with the other 2 guys. Hopefully a foursome will change the conversational dynamic, because I'd have trouble listening to that for 18 holes every week and there is no way out of playing with him if it continues. I just wanted to get that off my chest.
I like my three weekend playing partners.We are all positive and encouraging to everyone in our group. We all play between 9-18 hcp wel play for that days bragging rights. We encourage each other and compliment everyones shots. No one wants anyone to play poorly because if you win that day you want to have had everyone played thier best. We don't give strokes and we still play for a 2.00 nassau. After we're done we go to our local sports bar for beers and a burger where we then tease about each others poor shots etc. I guess I'm lucky to have these age 40 something guys to play with. I think golf would be a drag to play after hearing some of the stories I've read around here lately.
Way too many pet-peeves to mention. I could go on forever with maybe hundreds. One that sticks out is the guy that spends 10 minutes lining up his quadruple bogie putt. Or the high-strung idiot that expects par golf out of himself, but has a 16 handicap and can't handle the fact that it's a game and bad holes are out there.
As far as a good playing partner. I believe it's the individual who is :
1) Humble- knows golf is difficult and can laugh at himself.
2) Goes out for the asthetics the surroundings hold.
3) Gets as much enjoyment out of his friends as the game itself.
I think all the other physical aspects such as etiquette and level of play are secondary to the person him or herself. I would rather spend my free time with an enjoyable person far and beyond golf's "rules."
Unfortunately, it can be like finding a needle in a haystack. These people are hard to find. Nice thread.
I've got about 6 people I play with regularly. We all know each other pretty well, range in age from 30 to 45, range in handicap from 5 to 15 and none of us work together. We all follow the proper ettiquette codes and we all know and follow the rules. We play a $2 or $5 nassau with $1 junk(we use handicaps). Money has to exchange hands, even if it winds up being a dollar. We believe it's truely a different game when money's on the line. Of course there are times when someone's annoying or is being a jerk, but that's OK, we get over it. We may disagree at times, but never fight. We all respect each other and the game of golf - and that is the key.
I play with a variety of golfers. My regular group consists of three retired pilots: one USMC, one USAF and one Navy - I'm the ground pounder, retired Army. With our shared military background, we get along very easily. One day a week I play with a very old friend whose political views are exactly opposite mine. Other days include two retired businessmen who are miles beyond me in financial resources and a retired club professional. My other playing partner is my wife who took up the game years ago so we could enjoy it together several times a week. We all understand the game and behave towards each other as the spirit of golf intended (as lady and gentlemen). I've eliminated a few folks over the years who treated the course as though it were a hockey rink. Life is too short for me to accomodate continued inappropriate behavior in this wonderful game.
I can excuse a guy (or girl) almost anything as long as he has fun, doesn't take it too seriously, and keeps the GAME in perspective (and, uh, is patient with my somewhat **** play/understands I'm still learning).
I'm luckey in that we have a usual group of about 20 players so we are always mixing it up and don't get to the point where you play with the same person week in and week out.
For me a pet peeve is someone who is way to serious. This is usually a player who thinks they are better than they really are.
i play with my bestfriend on the weekends. he likes to walk just like me, the only difference is the 4-1 shot ratio, i'm currently a 7hcp and he shoots anywhere from 180-220.
i play with my bestfriend on the weekends. he likes to walk just like me, the only difference is the 4-1 shot ratio, i'm currently a 7hcp and he shoots anywhere from 180-220.
Looks like he needs to spend more time studying your game and less time studying how you walk.
All kidding aside, I don't mind playing with anyone so long as they play at a reasonable pace and respect the game, the course and me.
Just as long as they don't play slowly i'm usually good. Although, one of my pet peeves is when people say "nice drive/shot!" right after I make contact and the shot ends up way off target. I don't really know why it bothers me, but I can tell as soon as the ball leaves my club if its a good shot or not, and when someone says "great drive!" and i know it's not, it drives me crazy :-o
Don't really have a pet peeve but I found this funny. I started playing the game with a buddy of mine who got me into it when I was 16 am 23 now. We both went out and bought a cheapo walmart set since well we were 16, and not sure if this was gonna be a game we would stick with. We are pretty evenly matched since he was my only playing partner and vice versa. Well we got fairly good and pretty much maxed out those walmart clubs. Then we stopped playing for a while. This year I finally got some spare time after I got into grad school, have to love the lsat. So I went out and bought a nice set of irons, new bag, driver, putter, the works. Called my buddy up and told him I got new equipment and was going to really get back into golf. He went off about how it's not the clubs it's the player, etc, etc. Well the next time we played about 2 months later let's just say I now have the edge on him, and guess what ended up happening. "Let me try out that driver", "let me use your hybrid" So he ended up changing his mind on the equipment fairly quickly
May 26th, 2006, 01:00 PM
). Early on he "diagnosed" a couple of mis-hits I had. That soon stopped thank God, but he kept up an 18 hole running commentary about how good he usually plays, how far he used to hit it (300 +), how he "lost" his swing after 27 holes last week , blah, blah, blah... I have NO doubt that it is all true after watching him hit. He wound up beating me by 4 anyway 87-83 with is "bad" game. But I'm thinking... you're better than ME with your current game. I get it. You don't have to try to impress me. 
Linear Mode
Similar Threads
