Do you play better or worse when playing with a good golfer?

I tend to play a little better I think. It's enjoyable playing with someone who is really good, often times they'll offer a helpful tip as well.
 
Come to think of it, I may play better with better players because I don't have to help them find their golf balls much, and I can just play my game.

I just say "shot" or "good putt."
 
I have a buddy who is scratch. I don’t get to get out with him very often but when I do, I don’t seem to play as well as normal. No idea why that is though since it’s not an intimidation factor or anything. Just haven’t had my game when I’m out with him.
 
Slow play tends to bother me

Crappy partners - rare - annoy me.

I try to put it out of my mind and think about more pleasant things.
The one scary (and annoying thing) for me is that if I want to play well I separate myself from the group... I walk alone down fairways and keep chats to a real minimum. The more I talk and laugh the worse I play. I don't enjoy that aspect of my game so I'll sacrifice a few strokes so I can yuck it up with buddies.
 
I have to play decently well or I'm losing my wallet, car, and house.
 
Better players, worse players, nothing affects me. Sometimes, not often, a better player will make me try to tighten up my usually very casual attitude.
 
I think it depends on how much better they are and their attitude as well. I tend to play a little better with better players, but I really play better when league playing as there is more pressure on concentrating and scoring low yet a comfortable relaxed enjoyable atmosphere.

I never played with a scratch player and have no idea what that is like. I have played with guys that are about 3-5 lower than me on the handicap scale and had no issues at all.
 
all of my best rounds i can remember came from playing with better players. my pb was played with an aspiring tour pro, a low single digit, and a latin pga tour player. my best round this year was played with a former college player. and one of my best rounds last year was played with a young lady who played for the junior chinese national team (or something like that).

on the flip side, i can't recall any really good rounds played with golfers with substantially higher handicaps than my own. i seem to play a bit worse in those situations, but can still have a lot of fun.
 
I usually play smarter. playing within my abilities.
Probably because they are playing smarter.
 
My best rounds lately have been while golfing with @Thechosen1 he just seems to bring out the best in my game, we have a friendly competition and a few bucks on the line.

My goal is to be able to play him straight up, no strokes and at least make him nervous, but he is so relaxed and easy going I doubt he would even care while he is hitting his 3 Hybrid past my best Drives..
 
I have not had the pleasure of playing with very good players lately. My playing partner is the best player I have played with this year and he’s only a shot or two better than I am at this time. I got paired with a guy who was a better senior player a few weeks ago and I played better than I had been playing during that round. Most of those that join up with us are higher handicappers that seemed to be effected by us more than we are by them. Some of the younger guys aren’t happy having two old guys show them how to play!
 
Playing with better players who I know and am comfortable with usually tends to elevate my game a bit.
 
Definitely better because I relax more and watch how the game should be played.
 
My normal playing partners are a 5 and 8 which are way better than me and I think it hurts my game, I try to do things that they do and fail most of the time. Things like 220 out on a par 5 with trouble all over the place and I watch them hit 3W or 3H and succeed but I break out the same club and plunk one in the water or pull/push it bringing the hazards back into play on my 3rd shot. Also they recover from bad shots much better than I do, I try stupid things like hitting over a tree from the rough instead of punching out to the fairway and taking my medicine because I see them do it with ease.

I play my best with my Dad who I don't think can break 120. (He plays fast though, knows when to pick up and when he's done with a hole) It just very relaxing to play with him, there is no competition or frustration just out there shooting the **** and having fun. He also is very positive and encouraging almost to a fault, sometimes I will hit the ball good but 40 yds off target and he will still say great shot lol. Can't wait to play with him this Sunday!

Not to say playing with my buddies isn't fun we have a blast out there I just take more stupid hero shots when I am with them.
 
I tend to play worse when I'm with better golfers. I feel like they will regret playing with me if I don't play decent, and it usually ends up making me play really bad instead of just being loose and playing normal like I do with friends/similar HC's. I'm sure most times the good golfer doesn't care at all about me or how I'm doing, but I get in my own head.
 
I tend to play better when playing with better golfers. I focus more on what I'm doing.

Truth is I prefer to play with better golfers. The lower their handicap, the better I like it. I like watching great golf shots.

A few weeks ago I was paired up with a scratch golfer. We had never met before. I scored one my lowest numbers so far this year, and he still beat me by 13 strokes with his legit 68. That was a fun round of golf for me personally. The guy was a shot maker.

I'm never intimidated on the golf course. Even if I have a bad day. Being a little better than average player means I still have some game....most of the time.
This. 110%.
 
no one else has any affect on my game either way. The only time I play worse is if the other person or people in my group are slow. I hate the pressure of knowing people are waiting behind. I much rather wait 8 minutes for it to clear in front of me than know people behind are waiting 3 minutes.
Whether someone is good or bad has no affect on what i do. As long as they are nice and fun to be with is all. Ive had less enjoyment whenever playing with anyone who is poor company. Thats all.
 
You'd have to ask them. ;)
 
I was playing golf with a friend and he said he feels intimidated when he plays with me in a way that adds too much pressure for him to try to match my game and says he plays bad with me.

I've heard this before. It's kind of soul crushing when you try to be a really good playing partner and friend. To me at least. In the end I can't control the pressure they put on themselves because of my play, so I try not to take it personally. I do whatever I can to make the people around me comfortable but sometimes you just can't.

As for myself, I love playing with good players. I'm always looking to learn something from how they do things differently. I love playing with good people that aren't good players too. It's rare bad play affects my scoring, but it can happen. It's mostly when I have to caretake, or someone gets a bad attitude and I'm just not having fun anymore. Thankfully those are pretty rare situations.
 
It depends. I generally would say better unless it is a friend. Then no matter their skill level I don’t play as well. I just get distracted and get to chatting and don’t focus most of the time. I am trying to work on that though.
 
Far better, I always play better with better players. The opposite with high cappers unless they have self awareness and play ready golf. If its where did my ball go, let’s go search for my ball it’s going to be a long day and generally not a good scoring day.


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I play the same no matter the ability of my playing partners unless it’s a stranger who has a bad attitude/temper. That can sometimes make me lose focus but luckily it doesn’t happen more than once every couple of years.
 
I play better.

I’m at a point I miss competition, and I take it where I can get it. I play with a couple of friends who are scratch as well as two of my former golfers who played in college and like clockwork I play better that day.
 
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