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What is a Hacker?

When I top in in the hazard on my second shot on the par 4 16th, I'M a hacker!
 
Thanks to THP, I'm a Hacker, I'll always be a Hacker, and darn proud of it!!!
 
InTheRough said:
Aside from the obvious of shooting 9 hole scores of 60 or over, there are other reasons for being a hacker. When you play "fun golf," you're a hacker. Fun golf involves that you realize you're never going to play in a state or possibly even in a local tournament and are just out there because you're retired and enjoy the sunshine.... and it's about the only sport left that you can play. If you've modified some of the rules among other things, you're a hacker - some examples are:

1) first hole mulligans - while it's nice to play it strict, sometimes you arrive at the course an hour early to warm up, and you get called to the tee an hour early because a few groups cancelled. No warm up time. You dribble your first shot less than 10 yds off the tee or don't even see where it went. You take your do over. It's a game. I'm retired. If you do this you're a hacker.

2) If your ball lands in the middle of the fairway but in a divot or on the right side of the fairway directly behind a root, you move it. No nearer the hole, but you move it. You don't want to spend the medical bills for hitting the tree root. You don't take a stroke penalty. You're a hacker.

3) You dunk your ball in the water. You dunk the next ball in the hazard. You drop your next ball on the other side. Why not? You already spent $7 on that hole. Or you pull out your trusty scuffed up Noodle shag ball you found in the woods a few holes back and hit it onto the green, then putt out with your Callaway without regard to that rule. You're a hacker.

4) You're a hacker if it's summer and you still fluff your lies.

5) If you use a foot or hand-wedge you're a hacker.

6) If you don't hit a provisional ball when you think your ball may be lost in the woods, and instead drop a ball with a 2 stroke penalty approximately where you think you lost it, you're a hacker.

7) You're a hacker if you hit more than one provisional ball off the same tee for the same reason.

8) You're a hacker if two or more clubs in your bag are "free trial" clubs from a mail order company.

9) You're a hacker if you've identified every single French drain or drain field on your home course so you can get a free drop.

10) You're a hacker when you know that playing up the adjacent fairway is the shortest path to the green.

11) You're a hacker when you have to triangulate the NPR from the parking lot.
Click to expand...
I'm 7 for 11!!! What do I win?
 
For me it's just a light hearted term used for any amateur golfer. It's similar to weekend warrior for me and shouldn't be received as offensive.
 
Anyone not playing for a paycheck or for their livelihood. ... they should be considered a Hacker. I will always be a Hacker because I will never be consistent enough to play with the best golfers. .. is what it is and I'm OK with it.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Lynchburg14 said:
I think a hacker is someone who does not really practice the game and only plays it here and there a few times a year. They show up swing however hard they want, drink what they want, drop a ball when and where they want. Their goal is to not get better but to play because they want to be out of the house or its a buddies party type kind of thing.
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O'Carroll said:
I almost feel like it's a blanket statement for when things don't always go our way on the golf course. "I really hacked it around out there." I also think it could mean 100 different thing to 100 different people.
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Agree with both thoughts (and others have said the same things here). Lynchburg, you comments reminded me of George Leonard's book called Mastery where he defined a subset of people who are NOT on the path to mastery as Hackers:

"The hacker is willing to settle for a static[relationship with golf.]...he is willing to stay on the platueau (to learning) indefinitely. He doesn't mind skipping stages essential to the development of mastery if he can just go out and hack around with fellow hackers."

So by this definition, most everyone is somewhat of a hacker here. But in another sense, many THPers are not really hackers because they want to improve, they are actively taking the steps to improve and get better, they are not willing to settle for status quo. Which means O'Carroll is right too - "hacker" means different things to different people. Heck, it means different things to me! I'm proud to be a hacker at THP and I'm trying hard to improve as well.
 
When your divot goes farther that your ball hacker might apply to you.
 
Deep down inside we are all hackers! Golf is day to day. Good one day, hacker the next. Accept it and move on.
 
nailed it IMO

golfinnut said:
Anyone not playing for a paycheck or for their livelihood. ... they should be considered a Hacker. I will always be a Hacker because I will never be consistent enough to play with the best golfers. .. is what it is and I'm OK with it.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
InTheRough said:
Aside from the obvious of shooting 9 hole scores of 60 or over, there are other reasons for being a hacker. When you play "fun golf," you're a hacker. Fun golf involves that you realize you're never going to play in a state or possibly even in a local tournament and are just out there because you're retired and enjoy the sunshine.... and it's about the only sport left that you can play. If you've modified some of the rules among other things, you're a hacker - some examples are:

1) first hole mulligans - while it's nice to play it strict, sometimes you arrive at the course an hour early to warm up, and you get called to the tee an hour early because a few groups cancelled. No warm up time. You dribble your first shot less than 10 yds off the tee or don't even see where it went. You take your do over. It's a game. I'm retired. If you do this you're a hacker.

2) If your ball lands in the middle of the fairway but in a divot or on the right side of the fairway directly behind a root, you move it. No nearer the hole, but you move it. You don't want to spend the medical bills for hitting the tree root. You don't take a stroke penalty. You're a hacker.

3) You dunk your ball in the water. You dunk the next ball in the hazard. You drop your next ball on the other side. Why not? You already spent $7 on that hole. Or you pull out your trusty scuffed up Noodle shag ball you found in the woods a few holes back and hit it onto the green, then putt out with your Callaway without regard to that rule. You're a hacker.

4) You're a hacker if it's summer and you still fluff your lies.

5) If you use a foot or hand-wedge you're a hacker.

6) If you don't hit a provisional ball when you think your ball may be lost in the woods, and instead drop a ball with a 2 stroke penalty approximately where you think you lost it, you're a hacker.

7) You're a hacker if you hit more than one provisional ball off the same tee for the same reason.

8) You're a hacker if two or more clubs in your bag are "free trial" clubs from a mail order company.

9) You're a hacker if you've identified every single French drain or drain field on your home course so you can get a free drop.

10) You're a hacker when you know that playing up the adjacent fairway is the shortest path to the green.

11) You're a hacker when you have to triangulate the NPR from the parking lot.
Click to expand...

Guess I'm a hacker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
golfinnut said:
Anyone not playing for a paycheck or for their livelihood. ... they should be considered a Hacker. I will always be a Hacker because I will never be consistent enough to play with the best golfers. .. is what it is and I'm OK with it.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yep, I'm a hacker.

JM
 
I go with the viewpoint that the term "hacker" has many different meanings depending on your viewpoint. For me, it means someone that plays the game no matter how good or bed they might might be. A hacker knows without a doubt he or she will never get paid to play the game and it has never really even entered their mind that it was even possible to get paid to play. A hacker plays for just the sheer fun and love of the game.
 
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