Are Golfers Touchy?

Maybe this is more the tour pro. Maybe it includes people at the courses you play. But, are golfers a bit touchy? When I was thinking of this it was primarily in regards to the reactions to noise. But you could also include where people stand while someone is attempting a putt.

In basketball, people do stuff behind the goal while a player is attempting a free throw. Would that same scenario effect you on a 10 foot putt?

I mean to a degree I get that noise could be a distraction. But I also think I could hit a drive while a crowd was having a conversation behind me if the conversation was on going before I tee it up. Putting, I don’t see any real effect of someone standing behind me.

Maybe. I know for sure I will look for anything to blame a poor shot on. That source usually isn't the problem.

Conversation while I'm teeing up is fine, don't start it in the middle of my swing though. I can usually tune out noise for the most part.

Are a lot of golfers way too touchy? Yes, IMO.

Most of the guys I play with regularly don't fall into this category at all.
That said, I've played with enough guys who literally need their own planet to play on in order to not be bothered by something that I would say yes to this.

the margin for error is infinitesimal in golf. you don't basketball type of distractions in darts or billiards or archery.


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c.a.eleric said:

the margin for error is infinitesimal in golf. you don't basketball type of distractions in darts or billiards or archery.


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I get your point to a degree. But even with something like archery, if there’s a crowd gathered around the archer, making noise as he prepares and then releases... not sure I by that it should make a huge difference.

Also, I would give much more leniency to an iron shot than a putt.

Some are uptight in my opinion. Buy maybe they are that way in life in general.

If the noise is constant then I have no problem, but if it's quiet and at the last second I hear a loud noise right when I swing or putt it screws me up.
Then again if you're talking in my backswing to another person I become more interested in the conversation I'm hearing than hitting the ball.

Yes, a lot of golfers are touchy. Golf is a static, quiet game so sudden movement and unexpected noise can be bothersome to some players.

As long as nobody does anything to bother them then they are not touchy...lol

The ones I play with are the opposite of touchy. As I've gotten older I've mellowed and so have the type of friends I hang out with.

I think over all golfer's are "touchy" when it comes to noise and where people stand. I'm pretty durable, and I don't care where people stand as long as I don't get a moving shadow and I don't care if someone is talking when I hit (if already talking), just don't start talking or kick off a cart break right in the middle of my swing. That ticks me off. I also don't really want to hear music on the course from someone. Plenty of time to jam away in your vehicle or at home. Same with cell phones. Just leave it in the car, or put it on silent. You're not that important that you can't live without for a couple of hours.

I don't mind constant noise. It's the one off noises in the middle of my swing that bother me.

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I don't know if it's considered touchy or being a traditionalist. I'm pretty laid back when on the course but I have a brother that is really by the rules. He thinks of it more as how going is supposed to be, more of a traditionalist mindset. I agree though, he's being touchy.


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I don't care where you stand or how much noise you make, as long as there is no sudden movement or noise during the swing.

mski said:

If the noise is constant then I have no problem, but if it's quiet and at the last second I hear a loud noise right when I swing or putt it screws me up.
Then again if you're talking in my backswing to another person I become more interested in the conversation I'm hearing than hitting the ball.

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You can talk before,during, and after my shot.
Just don't start in the middle, and I won't "goose" you in the middle of your swing.
One reason for me is my hearing is horrible.
Industrial equipment had made me 80% deaf.
If someone says something, my first reaction is to look at their face to read their lips.
So, if you say something I automatically look at your face.
Also, a guy sliced a ball at our tee box a few years ago.
He hollared fore, but we had a blabberhead talking so loud and fast, that no one could hear him.
His group said the old man, and one other, yelled.
But our blabberhead was so loud they could hear his regular voice echoing.
I think some of it is creating pro conditions.
People want to emulate the pros in every way.
When the pros get ready to hit, the (quiet) signs are held up to the gallery.

KEV said:

I don't know if it's considered touchy or being a traditionalist. I'm pretty laid back when on the course but I have a brother that is really by the rules. He thinks of it more as how going is supposed to be, more of a traditionalist mindset. I agree though, he's being touchy.


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I don’t really have a big problem with somewhat of a traditionalist mindset. And, I’m a pretty big proponent of playing by the rules of golf. I like the integrity of the game. I like the gentleman aspect of the game. One of my favorite aspects of golf because of a rule is/was (may have changed/be changing in 2019) the fact that if you drag your feet on the green and cause the grass to stand up you should fix it because the golfer behind you can’t. It’s not that I love the rule, but I like the influence it places on the feet dragger to do right by the players behind him.

What I’m getting at by touchy is the feeling that a person standing in a certain place is a strong enough distraction to rattle the person putting.

I also agree with what some have mentioned in regards to feeling like I could hit a shot fine if there’s constant chatter but may be annoyed if it starts in my backswing.

Another example is the #2 par 5 at our regular course.
There are train tracks that pass about 20 foot from the RH side of the fairway.
If a train goes by, that's ok.
I hear it coming in the distance, it gets louder, it goes by.
No problem. I play ok, and knew it was there.
If some smart aleck engineer is driving, and blows the horn when he gets close to us, that's different.

Let’s look at it from the other point of view, as we know so far many here don’t get bother by noise and where people stand. Why do people have the urge to talk loudly or move so close to someone while they are hitting the ball. We are talking about tees and greens.

I'd personally like to not see nor hear anyone while I'm swinging. I never understood out off all the places someone could stand how they have to stand right behind my ball or in front of me. That aside if you have to stand there pleas don't be moving or talking. Admittedly I am sensitive to noises. I try to make sure as a member of a group I don't do anything to contribute to anyone not performing well or enjoying their day. I appreciate I when others are as respectful. Golf is hard enough.

golfiers are among the touchiest, least tough mentally sports people out there. the need for no shadows, movement, sound while striking an immobile object at the time of their choosing...not just that, on this very forum I once had someone say they enjoyed the game less when they saw someone on the course wearing clothes that are not traditional golf attire...wow, really? someone not in your group you have no interaction with made your round worse?

music being played on another hole, which, by definition has a steady, predictable sound affects your shot?

I could go on, but those are plenteous examples. I am not arguing golf is easy. Most of us don't have repeatable swings or consistent results. even the best in the world sometimes play poor enough to miss cuts at tournaments with vastly inferior golfers. And I am hardly one of the best golfers, I suspect I am below average. Nevertheless, golf hardly requires the concentration of some of the more difficult moments in sports. Like that #$%^& Odell Beckham falling backwards being interfered with by the cornerback at full speed reaching up with one hand to take in the Manning throw while crashing to the ground against my beloved Cowboys. How in the bloody blue smurf did he pull that off and stay in bounds? Just think of the plays he could make if the fans would just shut up, not move around, the opponents respectfully stayed out of his way, he did not have to adjust his stride and angle to match where the throw was going and could actually concentrate.

someone mentioned basketball. nobody is defending a golf shot, pushing, shoving, dislodging the ball, contesting the release while thousands of fans try to set sound records. in baseball they are trying to hit a ball that might alter speed by 20 mph from pitch to pitch while also changing eye level, location, spin, and movement while not just fans are moving, taking pictures, yelling...but players are moving, often in line of vision...even teammates if say...guy on second heads towards third...I have sat and watched Kershaw against the Giants and for the life of me, I don't see how anyone ever gets bat on ball against that filth. But despite the distractions...they do it. Often.

yet golfers go ballistic if someone takes a picture in their backswing or a bird tweets or their partner twitches or a car drives by or...

golfers are extremely touchy but a lot of that is because of the traditions of the game...we have been taught that. We have been taught that if you do not have "properly" clothed people standing in specific places in total silence there is no hope of actually making a good golf shot.

It is training just like anything else in sports. when you are trained for something it comes true, as a self fulfilling prophecy if nothing else

The noise doesn't bother me, it is the sudden noises during the backswing that annoy me, heck I was having a conversation with my golf coach whilst hitting balls at one point last week during my lesson

Having said that, I have played with some people who get annoyed if they can hear someone talking on the next fairway over which I personally found irrational as you are never going to have complete silence in the outdoors

darthweasel said:

.....Nevertheless, golf hardly requires the concentration of some of the more difficult moments in sports.....

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I would disagree slightly here, but only because you are trying to hit an object that is less than 2 inches in diameter, with a club head that is probably no more than 4 inches(?) from heel to toe and has travelled somewhere around 20-30ft in an arc during the swing depending on the club used and length of the club shaft

A golf coach I talked to said that this is one of the biggest reasons why the golf swing is so difficult to repeat as the smallest fraction in variation can result in wildly different outcomes even if you think you have swung the club the same way

My most frequent playing partner gets quite upset if anyone talks ( or even whispers) while he is getting ready to swing or during his swing. I, on the other hand, am not bothered at all by people talking or laughing while I swing. I can even be holding a conversation while starting my back swing but if a bird flies by in my line of vision or someone throws a broken tee or cigarette butt within my line of vision, it messes me up. My eyes tend to (for an instant) follow the moving object and that's more than enough to mess up my swing. On the other hand, while in high school I could shoot a free throw while anyone was moving in my field of vision and not be effected.

I think being frustrated with noise is just a result of the history of golf. It was a "gentlemen's" game; not a rowdy viewership sport.

It's a battle of whits between between individuals, not teams. Team aspect brings in the need for vocal communication. I think this is probably why noise is considered a distraction in golf. I find that older players tend to favor more serious and quiet golf. That's just a result of how golf was for them. It's not necessarily a bad thing. With the younger generation (let's say, 90s kids and up), they aren't always brought up in programs that teach the same etiquette taught before. They just decide to play golf at their local municipal with their friends on the weekend to have fun.

I realize I made a lot of generalizations, but this is just my 2 cents.

Talking when I am hitting or putting doesn't bother me. My golf buddies frequently chuckle at me because *I* am most likely to be the one talking during my swing (I'll usually pause a second for the actual shot). I tend to prefer a little bit of chatter. I also ALWAYS have music going in the cart -- not loud by any means, but enough to be heard near the cart. So constant noise doesn't bother me. HOWEVER, this past Saturday I was playing in a scramble at a course with train tracks nearby. A train was going through, which didn't bother me at all. What did bother me, however, was the the deafening horn that blew right during my backswing on my tee shot. I was completely rattled and hit the shot very fat, ball into the water. That was annoying.