We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Perceptions, technology, and the golfer

SuperStroke
R

roadtripp

New member
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Handicap
36
I was up late last night with a cold that Nyquil couldn't soothe, so I went surfing and sniffling til the wee hours. I encountered another golf forum where a poster was making the observation that he felt the prestige and traditions of golf were disappearing due to all the developments in golf equipment. It caught my eye because he posted up a photo of my golf clubs and said that game improvement clubs such as the Cleveland Hi-Bore clubs (which I just received from my husband as a gift) bring in people that he felt shouldn't be playing golf.

OK, that really hit me hard. Could there be people in my golf club who look at someone's clubs and make an assessment that those kinds of people shouldn't be there? Then I thought, hmmm so what makes someone worthy enough to play golf? I love playing, my clubs made a huge difference in my enjoyment factor as now I am on the green in 2 or 3, not trying to tee off with a 6iron and whacking erratically down the fairway excited to get a +3. Sure I don't know all the obscure rules, but I do know to leave the green as I found it and to clean up and repair my occasional gopher pelts. Our club encourages Tee it up and Ready Golf, so we already do those things. I also let anyone play through or join me, and I don't spend 15 minutes looking for a ProV1 I slung in the woods. If I can't afford to lose the ball, then I should buy cheaper balls. :) I don't think equipment defines the person, but rather the persons actions are what defines the player. So I can't figure out why someone would think that "super game improvement" equipment shouldn't be made and how they attract a type of golfer that lowers the prestige of the the game.

Should I chalk up the sensitivity to some random internet rant to a nyquil haze, or is there really something valid in their comment that game improvement equipment opens the golf world up to people who would be better off not playing. Should I hide my Hi-bores in the closet and get some "proper" equipment and hate playing? And could anyone explain a logical connection between the type of equipment people play and their lack of respect for the game? I am new to this activity and don't want to offend anyone, so could your equipment somehow offend people or demean the sport?
 
Whatever dolt said that doesn't he realize that he/she is the reason why the game of golf is becoming less popular. That person, whoever they are, is useless to the development and expansion of golf.
 
Didn't you know that either you were born with the ability to golf or you weren't? Much like people who can curl their tongue. Either you can or you can't and if you can't you shouldn't bother trying.

(sarcasm laid on thick here of course. i am a hacker for now with aspirations of being a player, but not one of "those" judgy players)

My wife's grandpa once told me that you can learn a lot about a way a person golfs (or keeps score). Apparently you can learn a lot about a person with how they perceive golf too.
 
Wow that guy has a very close-minded view of the game. I have always played golf for fun. When I started I was shooting 120s with mulligans and stuff, but did that mean I shouldnt play? God I hope not.

I have worked hard to get to where Im consistently shooting 80s and low 90s and I use GI clubs as much as the next guy. IMO there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Anything to get more people playing is absolutely a good thing
 
roadtripp said:
I was up late last night with a cold that Nyquil couldn't soothe, so I went surfing and sniffling til the wee hours. I encountered another golf forum where a poster was making the observation that he felt the prestige and traditions of golf were disappearing due to all the developments in golf equipment. It caught my eye because he posted up a photo of my golf clubs and said that game improvement clubs such as the Cleveland Hi-Bore clubs (which I just received from my husband as a gift) bring in people that he felt shouldn't be playing golf.

OK, that really hit me hard. Could there be people in my golf club who look at someone's clubs and make an assessment that those kinds of people shouldn't be there? Then I thought, hmmm so what makes someone worthy enough to play golf? I love playing, my clubs made a huge difference in my enjoyment factor as now I am on the green in 2 or 3, not trying to tee off with a 6iron and whacking erratically down the fairway excited to get a +3. Sure I don't know all the obscure rules, but I do know to leave the green as I found it and to clean up and repair my occasional gopher pelts. Our club encourages Tee it up and Ready Golf, so we already do those things. I also let anyone play through or join me, and I don't spend 15 minutes looking for a ProV1 I slung in the woods. If I can't afford to lose the ball, then I should buy cheaper balls. :) I don't think equipment defines the person, but rather the persons actions are what defines the player. So I can't figure out why someone would think that "super game improvement" equipment shouldn't be made and how they attract a type of golfer that lowers the prestige of the the game.

Should I chalk up the sensitivity to some random internet rant to a nyquil haze, or is there really something valid in their comment that game improvement equipment opens the golf world up to people who would be better off not playing. Should I hide my Hi-bores in the closet and get some "proper" equipment and hate playing? And could anyone explain a logical connection between the type of equipment people play and their lack of respect for the game? I am new to this activity and don't want to offend anyone, so could your equipment somehow offend people or demean the sport?
Click to expand...
There's another golf forum?
 
Elitists, they are always going to be around to turn up their nose at anyone who doesn't measure up to their standards. If you enjoy playing golf with your clubs, forget 'em, and keep on enjoying the game. If they give you any trouble, just tell them its a good thing your not doing this to please them, but for yourself.
 
I work at a golf course and have been a member here for over a year now. I would say that person is definitely in the minority. I play what's best for my game and could care less what anyone else thinks about it. What I care about is how well I hit the ball and the end result. BTW, those HB3s are great clubs! I'm testing the Adams a12 OS and love them. Stick it close for the win!

:beauty:Kelly
 
I like this thread and I like a lot of the thoughts that the OP has brought into it. I've never really been interested in what is in someone else's golf bag. Funny thing is, I love equipment but when I'm at the course, ready to play, I'm far more concerned about getting ready for my round of golf. There will always be critics in every realm of sports and this guy obviously doesn't remember his days as a beginning golfer. Enjoy the equipment that makes this game easier for you.
 
Golf used to be a game for the landed gentry and the only way that 'normal' people could get on a golf course was by carrying the bag for one of those toffs.

Thank God times have changed.

Golf is now very accessable to the masses, but I think that TV has more to do with that than golf technology alone. Golf technology is almost certainly allowing people to compete with thier peers in a way never heard of before. If the person from the other forum is that bothered about the traditions being eroded, there are still several shops in St Andrews selling Hickory shafted clubs at a reasonable price if he wants to buy some and look a bloody fool when he hits it 150yds down the fairway with a feathery ball.

Here in the UK, there are still clubs that do NOT like women playing. That is totally wrong, and those clubs a in a very small minority. Yes there are people who will look at someones golf gear and make judgements as to how they play without even seeing them play.

The mad guy from the other forum probably only really has problems with this new breed of golfer goining his club and beating him. That is why he hates it. He really does need to get a life and enjoy golf for what it is today. A great sport that so long as the golfer enjoys themselves the score is to some extent irrevelant. Golf needs plenty of new blood to keep the sport flourishing and I am all for ANYONE having a go so long as they respect the rules and respect other golfer around them.

ALL sports change over time and technology always evolves.
 
I have played all over the country sometimes with really good players and sometimes with really bad players. It has all been fun and that is all that matters.

I see a lot of people on here raving about elitist attitudes. In my experience, there are far fewer elitists than there are people who resent people they believe to be elitist. I don't like the attitude of either group, I just prefer to enjoy the game and ALL the people who play the game with me.

It is the same advice I used to give teams before games, relax and have fun.
 
Well thanks all. I will continue to use my uber-game improving clubs and enjoy the game. Golf has its image issues much like sailing as a sport does. Sailing really swung from one extreme to another as a competitive sport though about 20 years ago. It went from a tradition based, gentlemens sport that was a fairly closed loop to what it is now.

As more disposable income became available to folks and a variety of smaller sport boats came on the market we encountered a new generation of sailors on the course. Those younger sailors who were not brought up around the water and were of a new age of sailor brought some interesting dimensions to the sport. Some of it has been good, and some has been a little bizarre. I never would have considered it appropriate to be steering an owners boat while snorting a line of pharmaceuticals off their deck. I figure if someone is letting me drive their 80K$ boat around other 80K boats I probably shouldnt be high. It also brought vulgar swearing, blatent sexism (not the quiet insidious kind), more protests, and more collisions. On the good side, it has brought more young adults and collegiates into the sport, the demand has pushed for improvements in sails, gear, and hull design. It has also improved clothing and safety gear keeping us warmer, drier, and more likely to survive if we end up in the water. It became clear that us that the older sailors and those who grew up racing needed to educate and encourage the newer sailors or what made sailing great would disappear. We do that through working with the youth and coleegiates, we mentor newer adult racers, and we work to make sure that sportsmanship is not forgotten in the heat of competition but rather part of the tradition of the sport.

If you haven't been exposed to tradition and manners, how could anyone expect you to know what is right? As far as my ugly swing, well its a work in progress and my instructor says eventually I will be able to use my super-powers for good rather than evil. :) My husband says he will buy whatever is needed to keep me enjoying the game and playing. He does draw the line at knickers and longs socks for him. The fun part is that he has been playing on the golds with me using his Mashie to tee off and irons for everything else. He says he doesnt care what tees he plays off of, just that he enjoys spending time together.
 
TC said:
I like this thread and I like a lot of the thoughts that the OP has brought into it. I've never really been interested in what is in someone else's golf bag. Funny thing is, I love equipment but when I'm at the course, ready to play, I'm far more concerned about getting ready for my round of golf. There will always be critics in every realm of sports and this guy obviously doesn't remember his days as a beginning golfer. Enjoy the equipment that makes this game easier for you.
Click to expand...

I agree with you TC, but I think it is because we are lefty and aren't looking in other players bags to see if they have anything we may want to try. hehehehe
 
roadtripp said:
He says he doesnt care what tees he plays off of, just that he enjoys spending time together.
Click to expand...

You have yourself a good one, Tripp.

Please do not bring your HB3 monstrosities to my club though. Anyone not playing blades is not allowed on the course until after 4:00.:D

99% of golfers only care about the good company of their foursome. Who cares what clubs they play?
 
roadtripp said:
I was up late last night with a cold that Nyquil couldn't soothe, so I went surfing and sniffling til the wee hours. I encountered another golf forum where a poster was making the observation that he felt the prestige and traditions of golf were disappearing due to all the developments in golf equipment. It caught my eye because he posted up a photo of my golf clubs and said that game improvement clubs such as the Cleveland Hi-Bore clubs (which I just received from my husband as a gift) bring in people that he felt shouldn't be playing golf.

OK, that really hit me hard. Could there be people in my golf club who look at someone's clubs and make an assessment that those kinds of people shouldn't be there? Then I thought, hmmm so what makes someone worthy enough to play golf? I love playing, my clubs made a huge difference in my enjoyment factor as now I am on the green in 2 or 3, not trying to tee off with a 6iron and whacking erratically down the fairway excited to get a +3. Sure I don't know all the obscure rules, but I do know to leave the green as I found it and to clean up and repair my occasional gopher pelts. Our club encourages Tee it up and Ready Golf, so we already do those things. I also let anyone play through or join me, and I don't spend 15 minutes looking for a ProV1 I slung in the woods. If I can't afford to lose the ball, then I should buy cheaper balls. :) I don't think equipment defines the person, but rather the persons actions are what defines the player. So I can't figure out why someone would think that "super game improvement" equipment shouldn't be made and how they attract a type of golfer that lowers the prestige of the the game.

Should I chalk up the sensitivity to some random internet rant to a nyquil haze, or is there really something valid in their comment that game improvement equipment opens the golf world up to people who would be better off not playing. Should I hide my Hi-bores in the closet and get some "proper" equipment and hate playing? And could anyone explain a logical connection between the type of equipment people play and their lack of respect for the game? I am new to this activity and don't want to offend anyone, so could your equipment somehow offend people or demean the sport?
Click to expand...
That person is what we refer to as a, "golf snob". They speak about things like tradition but really all they are about is keeping golf exclusive and not wanting a lot of people on, "their" course.
I wouldnt pay people like that any attention because they are living in a fantasy land. If you like your clubs, who cares what anyone else thinks.
 
My first set of clubs were blades with absolutely no forgiveness...I stuck with golf for about 2 weeks and quit because I just couldnt play with them. I got my R7 CGB Max's about a year later and was finally able to do decently on the course and had more fun so I worked at getting better. If it werent for clubs that helped beginners there wouldnt be anyone playing this game these days.
 
If there wasn't game improvement equipment, there is absolutely no way I'd still be playing. Why play if you can't enjoy it first and foremost, and secondly, I can't imagine those "golf snobs" are probably all that great of players themselves. Not that it matters, because THP has opened my eyes and thought process to what I thought were negative perceptions about golf.

If you enjoy it, and it makes you more successful, then forget them!
 
blugold said:
Whatever dolt said that doesn't he realize that he/she is the reason why the game of golf is becoming less popular. That person, whoever they are, is useless to the development and expansion of golf.
Click to expand...

Agree and if he weren't a complete hypocrite then he would have to be playing with hickory shafts and feathery balls. This is like saying that only horse racing or yacht racing is pure sport as compared to car racing or track. The guy is an obvious snob and or an idiot and if he was really any good with a golf club in his hands he would be playing on tour so his opinion means less than nothing to me.
 
50 Eggs said:
You have yourself a good one, Tripp.

Please do not bring your HB3 monstrosities to my club though. Anyone not playing blades is not allowed on the course until after 4:00.:D

99% of golfers only care about the good company of their foursome. Who cares what clubs they play?
Click to expand...

I agree. I rarely look at another person's clubs when I am at a golf course. I am more interested in my game :bulgy-eyes:
 
Some people can't see past their own eye lids. We can only pray that person does not influence the youth around him. While I'd like to keep tradition and overall culture of the game intact, it is a game. Play the game the way that is fun for you.


iOS using Tapatalk
 
I'm familiar with the thread which you speak of. The "purist" you reference would probably disqualify a number of professional golfers since they play equipment that would not meet his guidelines.
 
FWIW the biggest tools and know it alls I have encountered on the course play equipment that is way beyond their abilities. X flex shafts for "control", blades for "feel", tour balls for "spin" (even though they have more sidespin than backspin), etc etc etc. They are the worst kind of cliche and if I didn't think I would make them lose their cool I'd openly laugh at some of the things these people can say. I just smile and hit em straight.
 
griff said:
FWIW the biggest tools and know it alls I have encountered on the course play equipment that is way beyond their abilities. X flex shafts for "control", blades for "feel", tour balls for "spin" (even though they have more sidespin than backspin), etc etc etc. They are the worst kind of cliche and if I didn't think I would make them lose their cool I'd openly laugh at some of the things these people can say. I just smile and hit em straight.
Click to expand...

Agree entirely and those knobs usually make the worst playing partners.
 
Much like a visitor to another country, some of us newer golfers do not know what the general feeling is toward newer golfers and the clubs they own. It would be sad to offend people just because the clubs are not "pro" used. I have made up my mind, I love my clubs. They might not be sexy, or what the cool kids play, but they are mine and a delight to use. I went out today sans spouse and played with a lovely couple who have been members since the year the course opened. Bless her heart, she hates her clubs. We ended up sharing mine for the rest of the game. She has decided she wants a set too. So there will be another set of those evil SGI clubs at our local course. Matter of fact the woman I played with last week has already ordered a set like mine (I should get a spiff from Cleveland) after playing with mine for a couple of holes. Like it or not, SGI clubs have made it fun to golf. And where I grew up games should be fun.

I am learning, and with no inherent athletic ability it is safe to say my name will never be on the LPGA roster, but that is not why I play. It's about the outdoors, the exercise, and the strategy that make this so much fun. Oh and it is pretty fun to go looking for your ball and then realize you are looking 25 yards short consistently and I made the hole in 2 on a par 4. That was cool, surreal, but very cool. Was it the clubs, or was it that every once in awhile a blind squirrel finds a nut? My vote is for the blind squirrel.
 
roadtripp said:
Much like a visitor to another country, some of us newer golfers do not know what the general feeling is toward newer golfers and the clubs they own. It would be sad to offend people just because the clubs are not "pro" used. I have made up my mind, I love my clubs. They might not be sexy, or what the cool kids play, but they are mine and a delight to use. I went out today sans spouse and played with a lovely couple who have been members since the year the course opened. Bless her heart, she hates her clubs. We ended up sharing mine for the rest of the game. She has decided she wants a set too. So there will be another set of those evil SGI clubs at our local course. Matter of fact the woman I played with last week has already ordered a set like mine (I should get a spiff from Cleveland) after playing with mine for a couple of holes. Like it or not, SGI clubs have made it fun to golf. And where I grew up games should be fun.

I am learning, and with no inherent athletic ability it is safe to say my name will never be on the LPGA roster, but that is not why I play. It's about the outdoors, the exercise, and the strategy that make this so much fun. Oh and it is pretty fun to go looking for your ball and then realize you are looking 25 yards short consistently and I made the hole in 2 on a par 4. That was cool, surreal, but very cool. Was it the clubs, or was it that every once in awhile a blind squirrel finds a nut? My vote is for the blind squirrel.
Click to expand...

Love your attitude and in 3 or 4 years time when you've played your Clevelands to death, there will be newer and better irons out their with your name on them!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top