Things That Irritate You On the Course?

[Rusty]

How about the guys who couldn't hit the ball past 200 yards with a driver if their life depended on it waiting from 250 out for the par 5 green ahead to clear before they hit their next shot. It might be their third or fourth shot on top of that too. These are some of the same idiots who are also playing the back tees and have no business even looking at those tees, probably shouldn't play from the middle tees either.

I honestly don't mind this at all, and its kind of the rule of thumb when I'm playing. If the course is backed up, there's not much that can be done as long as the group in front of you is keeping up with the group in front of them. They are not going to fall behind just because they wait to play their shots into a par 5. Its actually kind of rude to hit your ball within 30 or 40 yards of the green when another group is still putting. Now, if the group in front of you did fall behind as a result of needless waiting, then I can see where you would get a little irritated.

I walked on and was paired with a single. We were behind a dad with three 10 year old-ish boys. They did a great job staying ahead of us. At like hole 4 a single female in a cart catches us. Being mindful of recent article about men not being particularly welcoming to women on the course and thinking it was just generally stupid to have a single in a cart behind us I invite her to join us. She hesitated ("I don't care") then joined us. We played together for two holes then as we're walking off the 6th green she announces she wants to play through because she's got a party at her house later that afternoon. I explained that there was a foursome in front of us, including three kids. She drove ahead, skipping 7 (our hole) and 8 (the dad/kids) and played number 9. I suppose this isn't the biggest deal in the world but for some reason it aggravated me, seemed a bit rude.

I kind of think that's rude, too. If she was in that big of a hurry, maybe she shouldn't even have been out on the course....or if she just wanted to squeeze in some practice holes then she should have just driven around you and the other group from the start.

I had some pretty weird pace of play issues I was dealing with yesterday, I was playing as a single, walking, and after an odd series of playing through a twosome, letting a single play through me, and then having the twosome get frustrated and drive around me, I wound up on the back 9 paired with a single in a cart who was very pleasant to play with. We were having a good ol' time until we got slowed down by a threesome, and then a young minister in a cart drove up and joined us. The minister was quite easy going and friendly....but he would not shut up. Since the other two were in carts, they were chatting quite a bit while I was walking, and the minister would just continue the conversation as I walked up and hit my ball. He would switch to his golf broadcasting whisper, but I could still hear him. I wish stuff like that didn't bother me, but it does. I couldn't bring myself to ask a total stranger to shut up, so I just proceeded to play the last 6 holes in 4 over.

 

[MarcH]

I couldn't bring myself to ask a total stranger to shut up, so I just proceeded to play the last 6 holes in 4 over.

I used to be like that, but now 100% of the time I will politely ask the person to be quiet. Its really not that much to ask of someone while you're hitting and if they get pissy about it they can kiss it! I like to have fun and talk and all that, but knock it off while people are hitting.

 

[Oregon Golfer]

Rain

Why does nature have to ruin a perfectly good day with rain?

I said a tap tap tappity tap

Amen brother... WTC?!!

 

[Smallville]

I used to be like that, but now 100% of the time I will politely ask the person to be quiet. Its really not that much to ask of someone while you're hitting and if they get pissy about it they can kiss it! I like to have fun and talk and all that, but knock it off while people are hitting.

What I usually do is stop and turn and look at them. When they look at me, I will say that I am just waiting until they are done talking.

 

[Rusty]

I used to be like that, but now 100% of the time I will politely ask the person to be quiet. Its really not that much to ask of someone while you're hitting and if they get pissy about it they can kiss it! I like to have fun and talk and all that, but knock it off while people are hitting.

When I'm playing wth my friends, I won't hesitate to say something. With strangers, there's a couple reasons I won't:

First, I'm trying to train myself to ignore outside noises. Its not working very well. I've always had rabbit ears when I'm standing over the ball, and the worst part is that once I hear something I really need to just back off and start my pre-shot routine all over again. Instead, I stand there thinking "Don't let that bother you", which means it has already bothered me, and my shot is pretty much already doomed. Instead of getting better at ignoring things, I may be getting worse.

Second, I would honestly rather just hit a bad shot, than stop, request total silence, and THEN step up and hit a bad shot. If this round was competitive at all, or if I was going for a personal record or something, I would do it. But when I'm just goofing around trying to ingrain some new swing fundamentals, and a nice guy joins along towards the end of the round, it just seemed like a bit much to get serious all of a sudden. It was really bugging me by the last couple of holes, but by then it was kind of too late to make an issue of it.

 

[impistolpete]

when people use a rangefinder when they're no more than 70 yards from the hole. or maybe the use of rangefinders in general. actually just slow play in general.

 

[Thechosen1]

when people use a rangefinder when they're no more than 70 yards from the hole. or maybe the use of rangefinders in general. actually just slow play in general.

I actually use my GPS on every shot even if I'm 50 yards out. Cause I want to know what I have left for that particular shot.

 

[spazzdog]

when people use a rangefinder when they're no more than 70 yards from the hole. or maybe the use of rangefinders in general. actually just slow play in general.

I understand irritation and not intending to diss yours, but that's what rangefinders are for... To get accurate distances for all your shots. And, some folk don't judge distance well, so the rangefinder is an aid.

 

[Smallville]

when people use a rangefinder when they're no more than 70 yards from the hole. or maybe the use of rangefinders in general. actually just slow play in general.

All you gotta do is look at the screen on a GPS to get your yardage at any time. No extra time taken. A laser, I can partly understand.

 

[Buckjob]

when people use a rangefinder when they're no more than 70 yards from the hole. or maybe the use of rangefinders in general. actually just slow play in general.

I use my rangefinder inside of 100 yards all the time. I know my distances with my AW 55* and 60* with full 3/4 and half shots. I wanna know the exact distance to make the best shot to get it close. I don't take many practice strokes and I guarantee I wouldn't hold you up. Plus if I hit a good shot because I got the distance right I won't slow you down with a green side chip. It really only takes a few seconds.

 

[TIGolfer1996]

What I usually do is stop and turn and look at them. When they look at me, I will say that I am just waiting until they are done talking.

I'll tell them I'm waiting for the wind to die down, if theres no wind it puzzles them and they shut up, if there is wind they notice I'm about to hit and shut up, so its a win win

 

[impistolpete]

I actually use my GPS on every shot even if I'm 50 yards out. Cause I want to know what I have left for that particular shot.

I understand irritation and not intending to diss yours, but that's what rangefinders are for... To get accurate distances for all your shots. And, some folk don't judge distance well, so the rangefinder is an aid.

All you gotta do is look at the screen on a GPS to get your yardage at any time. No extra time taken. A laser, I can partly understand.

I use my rangefinder inside of 100 yards all the time. I know my distances with my AW 55* and 60* with full 3/4 and half shots. I wanna know the exact distance to make the best shot to get it close. I don't take many practice strokes and I guarantee I wouldn't hold you up. Plus if I hit a good shot because I got the distance right I won't slow you down with a green side chip. It really only takes a few seconds.

It's just annoying when it leads to slow play. If you can use your laser, gps, yardage book, etc for every shot, and be ready to go when it's your turn, there's no problem at all.

 

[Rusty]

when people use a rangefinder when they're no more than 70 yards from the hole. or maybe the use of rangefinders in general. actually just slow play in general.

Like others said, I use my rangefinder the most from 100 yards and in. I have very precise clubs/shots I will use for anything over 20 yards. If you prefer, I could walk up to the flagstick and pace off the 70 yards back to my ball, but it takes me less than 5 seconds to pick up my rangefinder, get the distance, and put the rangefinder back down. If I do that 12 times a round, I have spent an entire minute getting my distances.

And Smallville, I am not debating rangefinders vs. gps, but my GPS tells me where the center of the green is, but cannot tell me where the pin is. With the rangefinder, there's no math involved.

 

[Rosey282]

Just reading through the thread which is great by the way, but I don't understand all the bickering with regards to the having the latest gear and nice clothing. My friends and I are by no means awesome golfers, but we work hard and love golf. We practice and take lessons but will never be low 70 shooters. We do however love golf equipment and clothing. We pride ourselves on the the way we look on the courses we play. We also love having new gear. I don't claim to be a better player than anyone, I just figure I could use the help from the latest technology. I guess if we get paired up with anybody we don't know we'll just throw a disclaimer out that although we dress nice and have nice clubs we're not scratch golfers.

 

[Zeff]

I am usually a pretty patient guy but I was partnered with a 72 year old guy today. And man he drove the damn cart like an old Chinese women drives a '62 Cadillac. Yeah, not politically correct I know. But this guy would stop the cart at every intersection and look for other carts!!!!! Jeees man just drive the darn thing. He wouldn't press to hard on the accelerator because he didn't " want the cart to tip over". Dude, hit the darn gas. He insisted on driving and I swear sometimes he raced me back to the cart so he could drive, 5+ hours to play 18! 2 foursomes we let play through and at 18 we still had 2 foursomes waiting behind us. Time for big vodka on the rocks!

 

[Esox]

I skimmed a little, so if this was mentioned I apologize. I'm going to say slow play.

Kevin

 

[Chunkylover77]

I skimmed a little, so if this was mentioned I apologize. I'm going to say slow play.

Kevin

That is a good one!

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[impistolpete]

Like others said, I use my rangefinder the most from 100 yards and in. I have very precise clubs/shots I will use for anything over 20 yards. If you prefer, I could walk up to the flagstick and pace off the 70 yards back to my ball, but it takes me less than 5 seconds to pick up my rangefinder, get the distance, and put the rangefinder back down. If I do that 12 times a round, I have spent an entire minute getting my distances.

And Smallville, I am not debating rangefinders vs. gps, but my GPS tells me where the center of the green is, but cannot tell me where the pin is. With the rangefinder, there's no math involved.

any shot outside of 20 yards? So 25 yards out and you're using the rangefinder to see if it's actually 24 or 26? Honest question. No mean for disrespect or anything, I'm just curious because from that length I've always played more by feel.

 

[InHartWeTrust]

The idiots who held me up the entire back 9, hit 150 yard drives from the white tees then waited for the green to clear from 300+ out on the par 5, who spent 10 minutes searching the weeds for balls between 17 and 18 and didn't tee up on 18 until my group was at the tee, and then proceeded to hack their balls and take mulligans while we sat there.

I told them how I felt, but it still didn't make me feel any better.

 

[Rusty]

any shot outside of 20 yards? So 25 yards out and you're using the rangefinder to see if it's actually 24 or 26? Honest question. No mean for disrespect or anything, I'm just curious because from that length I've always played more by feel.

It was just a ballpark yardage, but 20 yards is about the break point of where I will consider pitching instead of chipping. Depending upon the terrain, I can't always tell if the pin is 25 yards or 30 yards, or 35 maybe, and if I can get that variable out of the way I can more readily start figuring out what shot I want to play. I can walk up to the green and estimate the yardage, but its much quicker to use my rangefinder.

I play short game shots by feel, of course, but you can develop feel a lot quicker and with more certainty if you know your exact yardages. Hit enough pitches to flags that you know are 22, 25, and 27 yards away -- even with variable terrain issues -- and you will eventually know precisely how to hit a pitch 24 yards to a soft green at the bottom of a downslope.

Of course, for most of my golfing life, I did just walk up to the green and estimate the distances. The rangefinder is faster, and more accurate, and I got addicted to it in less than 1 round. My short game improved rapidly. I will admit, though, I feel like a total idiot when I take a measurement, take a few practice swings, and then scull one over the green or chunk it into the front bunker.

 

[Wake]

It was just a ballpark yardage, but 20 yards is about the break point of where I will consider pitching instead of chipping. Depending upon the terrain, I can't always tell if the pin is 25 yards or 30 yards, or 35 maybe, and if I can get that variable out of the way I can more readily start figuring out what shot I want to play. I can walk up to the green and estimate the yardage, but its much quicker to use my rangefinder.

I play short game shots by feel, of course, but you can develop feel a lot quicker and with more certainty if you know your exact yardages. Hit enough pitches to flags that you know are 22, 25, and 27 yards away -- even with variable terrain issues -- and you will eventually know precisely how to hit a pitch 24 yards to a soft green at the bottom of a downslope.

I have gotten to where I don't like to know exact yardage on pitch shots. I will grab a distance a few paces away with the range finder just to get a ball park to make sure my guesstimate isn't completely off.

What annoyed the piss out of me today, the course we played was great, and had in cart GPS's that had the pin marked on the GPS. There were multiple times where we got to the green to discover the pin wasn't at all where the gps showed it. It was frustrating, especially since the greens were well protected and hard to get a feel for the pin placement without it.

 

[impistolpete]

It was just a ballpark yardage, but 20 yards is about the break point of where I will consider pitching instead of chipping. Depending upon the terrain, I can't always tell if the pin is 25 yards or 30 yards, or 35 maybe, and if I can get that variable out of the way I can more readily start figuring out what shot I want to play. I can walk up to the green and estimate the yardage, but its much quicker to use my rangefinder.

I play short game shots by feel, of course, but you can develop feel a lot quicker and with more certainty if you know your exact yardages. Hit enough pitches to flags that you know are 22, 25, and 27 yards away -- even with variable terrain issues -- and you will eventually know precisely how to hit a pitch 24 yards to a soft green at the bottom of a downslope.

Of course, for most of my golfing life, I did just walk up to the green and estimate the distances. The rangefinder is faster, and more accurate, and I got addicted to it in less than 1 round. My short game improved rapidly. I will admit, though, I feel like a total idiot when I take a measurement, take a few practice swings, and then scull one over the green or chunk it into the front bunker.

I have gotten to where I don't like to know exact yardage on pitch shots. I will grab a distance a few paces away with the range finder just to get a ball park to make sure my guesstimate isn't completely off.

What annoyed the piss out of me today, the course we played was great, and had in cart GPS's that had the pin marked on the GPS. There were multiple times where we got to the green to discover the pin wasn't at all where the gps showed it. It was frustrating, especially since the greens were well protected and hard to get a feel for the pin placement without it.

I guess everyone is a little different. Anywhere inside of 75 yards or so and I'm more like "look at that spot on the green, hit it there" as opposed to thinking of a yardage. Maybe I'll find a rangefinder to mess around with one day, but as always, ready golf!

 

[Oregon Jack]

one thing i remember from the high school season up here in Oregon..
a sophomore i played with that goes to Jesuit (snotty private school) said that he played in the 18y/o and under tournament at Portland Golf Club, and "f***ing dominated......crushed them all. if they would let me play in the adult tournament, i'd crush their a**es too." for everybody up here in the NW that's played PGC, it's a very friggen tough course. i've only played in once for an invitational tournament, and i probably will never play it again (other than school tourny's. it's hard and expensive to be able to play there). i was just thinking- really kid? yeah, you're an OK player (he shot like 78 at heron lakes greenback, which is a decent score- not a hard course) but i can gaurantee you're not that good.

my point being- i HATE people who say they are good (or extremely good, like the poop-head i played with) but actually aren't. words don't prove anything- only actions do.

 

[Kobey]

Just reading through the thread which is great by the way, but I don't understand all the bickering with regards to the having the latest gear and nice clothing. My friends and I are by no means awesome golfers, but we work hard and love golf. We practice and take lessons but will never be low 70 shooters. We do however love golf equipment and clothing. We pride ourselves on the the way we look on the courses we play. We also love having new gear. I don't claim to be a better player than anyone, I just figure I could use the help from the latest technology. I guess if we get paired up with anybody we don't know we'll just throw a disclaimer out that although we dress nice and have nice clubs we're not scratch golfers.

Welcome to THP Rosey. I wouldn't let it bother you too much. I bought a lot of nice equipment and some clothing this year so now I just tell people I'm working on my game one step at a time. The people they are usually talking about are the ones that think they are tour pros because they have all that nice stuff and start giving you advice and talking about how good they are. It's funny how someone can go from being a scratch golfer to shooting in the 90's once they have witnesses. If our equipment had to reflect our scores I would be using some clubs from the 70's and wearing cutoff shorts and a wife beater.

Noise doesn't bother me when I'm hitting. We even have frog hunters on the course sometimes. It's lots of fun when a .22 goes off 50 yards from you during your backswing.

What bothers me the most now is when someone lets me through, I always feel like I have to rush so I don't keep them waiting. So if my drive isn't in the fairway I don't even bother looking for it. I just drop another ball where I usually hit my second shot from and keep going and when putting if I am within 3 feet of the hole it's a gimme. And no, I don't count a penalty for it on my scorecard.

I also hate when I am playing by myself and don't see where my ball went. The sun was in my eyes yesterday and I had to hit 3 tee shots before I saw one. I didn't count a penalty on those either.:tongue: It was starting to rain and the lightning was getting closer so I was hurrying to finish my last 3 holes.

 

[hereisnowhy]

Being sent off the Back 9 only to have the Marshall on your ass 4 minutes in claiming you're slow play is backing up the course. Seriously dude, I'm going to strangle you.

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