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General Consensus on being paired up with Beginners

I play golf for exercise ad to have fun. I find most beginners more fun than most regulars. I have had a couple this year that were given a hard time about pace and all by other people they played with but they played at a pretty good pace as far as I could see.

I just relax and remember they came and paid to play and they will get better with encouragement and positive encouragement faster than with negative.

Most of all I remember that there are two things you don't have to be great at to have fun and one of them is golf.
 
I don't mind it at all as long as they're not searching for balls when there's no luck of finding them and lollygagging all over the place with no regard for anyone else in the group. I love giving tips when they ask and seeing them experience the highs and lows of the game.

I'll play with any skill level out there.... I'd rather play with a 30 hdcp that is a good guy than a +2 that's a complete jerk or hot head.
 
No issues at all. We all learned sometime.
And I find that if I'm doing all the right things (keeping pace, ready golf, replacing divots, repairing ball marks) THEY will pick up on it and start doing the same. Gotta love that.
 
Funny that I responded to this thread yesterday . I played 18 today with a very newbie who was on his 4th round ever. He was fun and is eager to learn. He was respectful and was happy to learn the etiquette of the game while still playing at a good pace. He had no problems picking up and hitting from where I was when someone was behind us. Plus he is a Military guy so I paid for his round to say thank you for his service. I shot one of my better games ever.
 
Boston_golfer said:
I found one of the biggest hurdles in starting off with golf is getting enough games under my belt. The first time I ever went out to play solo, I got paired up with 2 of the most horrible human beings in the world. They were very condescending and insulting, even though I told them before hand that I was new to the game, and had no problem with picking up my ball and moving on so I don't slow down their round. I could understand if I was wasting time searching for every ball, and hacking away for 15 strokes on a single hole etc, but I like to be as maintenance free as possible. Since then, I tend to just go to a local 9 hole par 3 that's usually dead, or a Muni 9 hole that's also close, that will usually let me get out alone...otherwise I have to wait for my buddies.

How do some of you better players handle being paired up with beginners? Any time me and my buddies are assigned a single, we are very friendly, and welcoming regardless of skill level. We even got paired up with a couple high school kids a few weeks back, and we had some good laughs with them about school, and college etc.

So, what say you?
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Yeah i've never really understood that attitude (by the people you were paired up with). New golfers is a good thing for golf and the more people we have playing, the moire courses will thrive and not shut down along with new courses being open. I started about 1.75 years ago at this point and I, like you, hav dealt some smart asses at the tee box and being grouped with. It's discouraging.
 
Like most doesn't bother me in the least. I will offer golf rule and etiquette advise only. Heck we were all there once.
 
The only thing that bugs me is slow play. I don't care if you are a beginner or a pro, but if it takes more than three hours to play a nine hole executive course, that's ridiculous.

I got out on Father's Day and got stuck behind two groups of people who were taking literally 25-30 minutes per hole. I got there at 4pm and left at 8:30pm. That's terrible.

On the flip side, I've gotten paired up with someone who literally was playing for the 2nd or 3rd time ever, and while he obviously wasn't great, he was a super nice guy and good company.

Good attitude and quick pace of play, that's really all I care about.
 
Seeing as I consider myself a beginner still... I like when i get paired with more experienced players. Everytime i have been they have been extremely helpful. Offering tips and fixes that have helped out quite a bit. Honestly some the the most fun rounds I have played have been with older more experienced players, between the fun banter and them offering there insight it has always been a very fun round. Yes i know this is the exact opposite of what was being asked but that's the only side i can answer from.
 
Everyone is a beginner at some point. Most amateur golfers that aren't on the internet aren't very good anyway.
 
I'll play with anyone as long as they aren't slow or belligerent.
 
My four some is always open to golfer's of all levels!
 
JB said:
Love it. Never bothers me at all.
You get to see all the emotions. The thrills, the anger, the disappointment and with proper encouragement, the fun times.
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Also: they see what can be achieved with training, you can help them with little pointers, it takes your mind of your game and your score. I love playing with beginners, it also trains me to play with slow players ;)
 
I remember the first time I showed up to the course as a single. It was hot and humid mid-morning. Got paired with 3 young 20 somethings who had partied together the night before. I chose to walk ( i now know better than to walk this course ) and they zipped up and down the hills in their carts on every hole ( i was hungover myself ). I hacked it up and they made fun of me, but they never tried to tell me how to play. Grateful I didn't have that to deal with that as well...

Now I love playing with new players. They just need their space to have fun. The greatest joys in life come through others.
 
I seriously don't understand how people can be so mean to new golfers.

Like I get it, some people are slow, we had one in our group yesterday. But just be nice, try to play as fast as ya can with reason, and understand that some people play at different speeds.

I understand that some might get frustrated and silently to themselves maybe are a bit upset. But to be openly rude to someone trying to play the game is unreal to me.
 
rlewis1323 said:
I seriously don't understand how people can be so mean to new golfers.

Like I get it, some people are slow, we had one in our group yesterday. But just be nice, try to play as fast as ya can with reason, and understand that some people play at different speeds.

I understand that some might get frustrated and silently to themselves maybe are a bit upset. But to be openly rude to someone trying to play the game is unreal to me.
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I love playing with beginners it is fun to see someone get excited about things that a seasoned golfer may not. Refreshing

That said the only thing I dislike about playing with many and not just beginners is the lack of etiquette. I get it some things are odd but many of those are not what bothers me. The stuff that bothers me is the safety issues walking in front of someone hitting a shot. Hitting because they don't think they will reach the group ahead when they shouldn't be etc. If people don't know how to act on a course then they should ask or shouldn't come out on the course. That is not just beginners though that applies to all golfers in my mind
 
jmatt said:
No issues at all. We all learned sometime
And I find that if I'm doing all the right things (keeping pace, ready golf, replacing divots, repairing ball marks) THEY will pick up on it and start doing the same. Gotta love that.
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This ^

We all had to start somewhere so as long as they have the basics of etiquette then I am happy to help with anything they might ask
 
Seeing as everyone is a beginner at some point, I don't care and would care either way. I'm more concerned about having a good time and keeping a reasonable pace than someone's skill level
 
I tend to walk a lot and don't mind playing with begginers. I don't think I could cart with a begginer though. When I try to grow the game I take friends who never player before to a par 3 and we will walk.
 
I took two of my long-time friends out to my home course today, and neither of them had played a full round of golf in their lives. I definitely had some frustrations with their ignorance of etiquette and slow play. Of course, these are men I've known for well over 10 years and would happily call them brothers... I'm not sure if that lessened my frustration with them or made it worse :).

Playing with beginners is just that - playing with beginners. We just have to remember that every single golfer is a beginner until he's not. Rules, etiquette, skill... none of that is instinctive. We all have to learn some time, somehow and somewhere. I hope that each of us had someone in the early stages of our careers as golfers that was patient with us and took the time to explain the little things (and not so little things) about being on a golf course. I know I had those people, and I'm very happy to be that person for someone else, given the opportunity.
 
I like playing with all skill levels. I would rather play with beginners that are having a great time then a single handicap golfer that ******* about turning his wrists on a mishit and insists on trying to fix my mishit (I know what I did wrong but unlike you I keep it to myself).
 
I enjoy it, as long as they dont spend the whole day swearing and getting frustrated.
 
The only thing that annoys me (in a light hearted way) about playing with my friends who are beginners is when I pull off a great shot but they're a bit too raw to understand the difficulty. Not for the kudos mind you, just to avoid the criticism.

I was greenside once in some gnarly rough with the ball sunk low and short sided myself. Green also sloping slightly away. Anything within 10' and I'd be ecstatic, it was that tough a shot. I managed to pop the ball up, landing it on the fringe and it rolled to a stop only about 3' away.

My buddy says teasing, "I thought you were good. You were so close to the hole, you should have made that. That was an easy one."

Only, he wasn't kidding, LOL....
 
MPlefty said:
I enjoy it, as long as they dont spend the whole day swearing and getting frustrated.
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I agree with this. I generally enjoy playing with beginners just as much as "good" players. If the newbie acts like he expects to go out and break par though, then it's a different story entirely.
 
Since you asked better players, perhaps, I'm not qualified to answer. I have no problem playing with beginners. Moreover, I think it important that I assure that they have a good time. On some Sunday's, I just go the the local course as a single, and get paired with another twosome or threesome. It is extremely rare that I get paired with some real jerks. But I have noticed that the jerks usually have something in common--they are typically not as good as they think they are.
 
Thought about this today. Got paired up with a 60ish couple and their friend. All started playing 2 years ago.
Were they good? No. Was it enjoyable? Absolutely. No agonizing over bad shots, they made cursory looks for lost balls and then moved on, and one guy got his first birdie ever on a par 3. Good times.

A little cavalier about walking in people's lines, but no biggie. That'll come.

Would I play with them every day? Probably not, I do enjoy some heads up competition at times, but I can find that when I want it. For a day out playing a round for fun, no issues at all.
 
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