Does Playing with Buddies Make you Play Better or Worse?

theoverswinger

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I've got a buddies golf trip coming up. This happens only every 4 or 5 years so it's a big deal for me.

It's a chance to show how my game is coming along, but at times it's just looking forward to seeing good friends whom I haven't seen for years.

Oddly though, my best games were games that I wasn't playing with my buddies, which allowed me to focus on my game and nothing else.

Which begs the question: Do you play golf better or worse when you're with your buddies? And why is that?
 
Typically a couple of shots worse. Likely due to the significant increase of chatter resulting in a little less concentration. There is also a much greater likelihood that alcohol will be consumed during the round.
 
I play about the same regardless.
 
If im not playing with my buddies im playing with my son and thats just awesome in itself. So i would have to say that i play the same when im playing with my buddies
 
I'm usually a couple shots higher when playing a friendly with buddies. I tend not to be as committed to each shot and at times try to get a little more out of the drives to try and show them up. If it's a match play or money game I'm all concentration so about the same.
 
All I do is play with my buddies so my level of play stays the same. When I used to host a guy's trip, it was about the trip and th antics. Golf with old friends and tons of laughs. If someone shows up with a stepped up game, we were sure to make his drinks doubles.
 
I play the same around my buddies.
 
It depends, but more often than not a few strokes worse.
 
I play most of my rounds with buddies and my game isn't any different. I do tend to score better when playing with low single digit strangers but this doesn't happen more than once every few years.
 
Both. I set my PB with some good buddies on a new course. I've also let the wheels come completely off when playing with those same friends. The common theme is that I couldn't care less, playing with friends is more about our friendship than some golf score. Do I want to beat them? Absolutely, but not at the price of a couple beers and a full day of laughs.
 
only time i play worse is if i get wasted face at night before we play! as long as i can manage that, i'm fine.
 
Worse, and I've tried to convince my friends that it's true, they don't believe me.

I play my best golf when I'm a solo joining a group, and I know they do to.

I think it's just the relaxed, let's have fun swing that tends to get loopy, and when you're with strangers it's on, focused.
 
Depending on the friends,it could change. I like to practice alone, but play along side friends

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My play doesn't really change regardless of who I am playing with, some days it might be better than usual but other days it might be worse - that is just the game that shows up on any given day

All I do is play with my buddies so my level of play stays the same. When I used to host a guy's trip, it was about the trip and th antics. Golf with old friends and tons of laughs. If someone shows up with a stepped up game, we were sure to make his drinks doubles.

Sounds like the tactics El B uses in his kangaroo court over here when we have our UK get together.....
 
Depends on the buddy. One of my very best friends has a longtime habit of giving "swing advice", voluntarily. It used to be EXTREMELY taxing to play with him. Most friends I really enjoy playing with and I usually don't have issues.
 
For me it depends on what we're comparing it to. I play my best golf when I'm by myself and have a clear course in front of me (no waiting). I play worst when I'm by myself and keep having to wait on or play through other groups. Playing with buddies (or anybody else) is somewhere between the two. I certainly enjoy it more when I get to play with buddies, though.
 
Both. I set my PB with some good buddies on a new course. I've also let the wheels come completely off when playing with those same friends. The common theme is that I couldn't care less, playing with friends is more about our friendship than some golf score. Do I want to beat them? Absolutely, but not at the price of a full day of laughs.

Me too.
 
almost always worse. There was a spell where a few of my better guy friends really got into golf and we went almost every weekend and I was playing really well. They kind of got out of it after a few months and I went back to playing with random people for a while before joining a club and playing with a regular group, but not my close friends. I am pretty consistent with those guys, almost always within 6-8 shot range.

Nowadays, on the rare occasion that my buddies and I do play, it's a real mess due to the booze and the general lack of commitment to playing well and just looking to have a good time. It's fun, but I do have a hard time focusing like I normally would.
 
I go on yearly trips and meet up with my friends. My scores have dropped significantly from when I played with my buddies, so when I show up to the golf trip, I'm always amped up and trying to show them how much better I've gotten. This leads to too much excitement and then disappointed because my game never comes with me on these trips. lol
 
I've discovered that when these buddies I haven't seen for a very long time and I'm keen on showing them how well my game has been doing, I tend to play well under these circumstances.
 
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