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The Company You Keep...

tyno

tyno

War Eagle's friend
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As mentioned in the Golf Superstitions/Mannerisms thread: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/showthread.php?30680-Golf-Superstitions-Mannerisms, golf is a crazy game...but sometimes the golfers themselves, are even crazier.

I would call myself more of a "routine" golfer, rather than superstitious, but there are somethings that I always wonder about, and if they have any facts behind them. One thing I always think about is the company one keeps on the golf course, or your playing partner, regular two-some or four-some or a random pairing for any event or simple round and how it affects how you play.

I imagine that everyone is different and has their own opinions about who they play with and how they may affect your performance, so let's discuss them here.

For me, tnolan, I find that I play the best when I tee it up with other players who are equal to my skill level. The majority of the time, I tend to shoot to my competition. Any given day I could beat them or lose to them, but it makes for a good round of golf in all aspects. I find that I also play well when teeing it up with players who are a good 10-15 strokes worse than me, but also have the skill and ability to hit shots every so often and know the dos and don'ts of golf etiquette. Lastly, I find that I play the worst when my group consists of players that have no knowledge of rules, etiquette, procedures or anything. You'll find that I don't let too much bother me on the course, but it does get frustrating and sometimes can throw me off my rhythm or routine when others will hit out of turn, walk thru lines, and have no concept of speed of play. It may not be all the time, but if there was ever something that would bother me...that would be it.

So let us know what you think about your usual playing partners or getting teamed up with a random group and how you think that their skill or play affects yours. And before you are quick to dismiss this...and reply that you play the same no matter what, ask yourself if you have ever played with anyone that consistently shoots in the 60's or 70's.......for 9 holes.
 
I usually play a bit better with my friend and best golfing buddy. We're very competitive. Either way, I choose not to blame a bad or good round on who I'm playing with. It might actually affect my score, and probably does, I just choose not to attribute it to my partners. It's all on me. Good thread though. I'm curious to hear some responses.
 
Cool thread and I will agree that people play towards the skill level of the playing partners. I play with the same two guys every Thursday afternoon. Two of my best friends actually. One shoots in the mid 80s - 90 and the other is a 90 - 95 shooter. I am a good player and shoot in 60s probably 10 or so rounds a summer. But none of those rounds in the 60s ever come on Thursday afternoon. Part of the reason is we joke around a lot and might have a few pops also. Maybe I need to put this to the test. Tomorrow, I will tell them I am playing tournament mode and do not speak to me and see what I end up with:act-up:
 
I play best when I can get out alone. Better golfers help me play better for some reason, and worse golfers well, they help me play worse. The etiquette and pace of play is probably the reason, it is much easier to play with someone who is on the same page as me. I try to emulate the better golfers I play with and that ends up being a more evenly paced flowing round, one hole to the next.
 
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My two friends that I golf with the most are very different, and I definitely do play differently when comparing the two rounds.

Let's call them Greg and Jim, because, well... their names are Greg and Jim. Greg is a good player. Great ballstriking and driver distance, struggles with short game. He tends to be methodical in his preparation and routine, so while his routine seems long to me, because he plays well the round doesn't really take very long. Jim is a duffer who plays ready golf. He might have the right club in hand for a given shot, he might not... but he's gonna hit what's on hand. Four shots will usually get him to any green. No routines or rituals to go through, and the round is very relaxed and light hearted, so it seems like we're playing faster than we are.

I play better with Jim due to the relaxed nature of the round, until I start to feel like we're getting pressure from the group following us. I turn into a first tee jitters mess, no matter that the first tee is long gone. Also, when I'm playing with Greg I feel like I need to step up my game, which causes me to lose focus and mishit the ball. That's why I've been working on my swing this year, and progress is definitely being made.
 
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For the most part, I am equally bad, but I always play to a special level of bad with Jrod.
 
Wet Doggg said:
I play with the same two guys every Thursday afternoon. Two of my best friends actually.
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Yeah, I'm in a group that meets up and plays Wolf and front/back/overall every Thursday. Most of us are probably in the 12-16 range. One is a 9 and one a 20 or so. Generally, we're pretty evenly matched on any given Thursday. Win a couple bucks one week, lose it back the next, and so on....

Now on weekends, I'll play with a guy that can shoot 77 one day and 95 the next. Depends on his swing/mindset, I guess. But when he plays well, I generally do, also. (not a 77 though!! I wish!)
A really constant partner of mine just got reassigned (USAF) to PCB, FL but we played together a TON. He is/was probably a 8 and I played better with him around, I think because of his deliberate style and still-casual attitude.

Scrambles, now, is another story. I can usually pull off some crazy shots in a scramble, so long as I'm on a team that can do the same. If it's three hi-cappers, then I'm contstantly trying to keep us in it. If allowed to swing free and easy, I can do well. Somehow that free and easy can't translate to my normal game, though.
 
If I play with my regular group, I am usually around a 36 or 37 on our little par 35 9 hole course.

If I am with my friends that like to golf but don't golf regularly, for some reason I shoot mid to high 40's, sometimes low 50's.

I find its based on routine and tempo. I know how fast my regular partners play, and where they are generally hitting the ball. Walking as a 4some, we take about 1hr 45 mins for 9. If I am with the "non-regulars", we regularly top 2hrs, sometimes 2:15. My play is terrible, my playing partners are all over the place, and for some reason I follow suit..

Nothing screws up my game more than having to search for people's golf balls. A good round can go in the tank by having to look for balls 3 times on a hole. If I lose one in the bush, I accept it. I don't jump a fence into a pasture to try and find my ball. Its OB, deal with it. Non-golfers, in my opinion, stress out about losing their golf balls too much. Take your medicine, get up and down for a bogey or a double and move on. Odds are you aren't going to be better off if you try and hit it out of the woods/reeds/swamp. Accept it, and try to make the best of it.
 
Hawk said:
For the most part, I am equally bad, but I always play to a special level of bad with Jrod.
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Likewise, but atleast we usually have fun doing it.

At the Iowa outing I shot 88? with Hawk and then when we split groups I shot a 76 in much worse conditions.


It's ok buddy I still like you.
 
I'm actually terrible in scrambles for some reason. I can honestly say that I've never played well in a scramble. It's weird.

I find that I play better with certain people. I usually play really well with my oldest brother. I always play well with my buddy that I used to coach with. I never play that well a certain friend of mine. It's weird as well.
 
For some reason I tend to play better with people who are worse than me (who are kinda hard to find). With better players I think I try to hard to keep up and put excess pressure on myself.
 
I will play with just about anyone. I seem to play my best when paired with a player that is better than me, that I don't know.
It just seems to elevate my game.

I do play a lot with my wife and then I also get out with the guys from work on occasion.
 
I think I play better with better players or at least that is what it seems like lately. I would also agree that I hardly ever play well in scrambles...seems like you are going for the "hero shot" all the time and not playing your own game...if you end up in a group of bigger hitters you suddenly find yourself trying to keep up with them....just not good for my game.
 
I play better when I play with others who are focused on the game in hand. They still like to have a good time, but also take it pretty seriously. I have a hard time concentrating when others around me don't really care how they play.
 
The 2 guys I golf with most are a 2 handicap and a 6 handicap respectively.

I tell the guy thats a 2 that he is Kryptonite cause any time he is around my game bottoms out.

Not so much with the 6 handicap, different person, acts differently and we are never in a hurry compared to the other guy.

I seem to play best with random strangers or by myself though, not sure why, just seems to be that way thus far this year.

but as a few on here can attest, Im pretty even keel, im not good, so I dont get too mad when I have a rough hole or round, just out to enjoy the game.
 
I play better with my friend jason, and him and I always practice together and during scrambles we are really competitive and we usually give whoever we play against a run for their money, we have had some great rounds against other golfers. When I play with other people, like the boss and all, I get a little nervous and don't play as well it's a superstitious thing.
 
I play skins on the weekend with a group of guys that range from age 16 to 70...something. Handicaps range from 30 to +2. These guys are Dr's, farmers, factory workers, truck drivers, school teachers, retired, students.....you name it.

I play about the same, day in, day out no matter who I play with. I have my great, well under my index rounds and I have my complete blowup rounds. Who I play with has zero effect on me. I'm way too old and been playing way too long to be bothered about anyone elses game. Same can be said of the ladies I play with. There is one I have never beat in twenty years of playing with her now and then. With a scratch index, not many guys can beat her. Such is life.....
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I play skins on the weekend with a group of guys that range from age 16 to 70...something. Handicaps range from 30 to +2. These guys are Dr's, farmers, factory workers, truck drivers, school teachers, retired, students.....you name it.
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This describes my regular weekend group as well, we are all different ages professions and skill levels and we still enjoy a nice round together, we don't play for money but a year long cup net scores.

As far as my playing ability, I tend to play better by myself or with perfect strangers, it's when I play with my father in law's group, which is quite a bit better than I, that I tend to play worse.

I've tried to walk on my course as much as possible in order to meet more of the people get to know them more, and I've found I play a bit better with the new people I meet. Weird, guess I'm trying hard for that first impression.
 
I really prefer to play with people that are better than I am...it seems to help me try and step my game up. I'm by far the worst player in most of the groups I regularly go out in, so my playing partner is always the one with the lowest handicap. I don't usually feel any real pressure, but try and step it up a bit on at least a few holes.

I have a regular 4-some I go out with on occasion in the Summer, and I'm the best player in it...so I get the comments of "you're too good to play with hacks like us" and stuff...that can throw me off at times. And watching someone struggle really bad, I never know what to do. Just keep my head down and play my own game.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I play skins on the weekend with a group of guys that range from age 16 to 70...something. Handicaps range from 30 to +2. These guys are Dr's, farmers, factory workers, truck drivers, school teachers, retired, students.....you name it.

I play about the same, day in, day out no matter who I play with. I have my great, well under my index rounds and I have my complete blowup rounds. Who I play with has zero effect on me. I'm way too old and been playing way too long to be bothered about anyone elses game. Same can be said of the ladies I play with. There is one I have never beat in twenty years of playing with her now and then. With a scratch index, not many guys can beat her. Such is life.....
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HG -- Best wisdom I have ever heard and if most of us could have this mindset we would be much better golfers. :clapp: Rep added!
 
I always seem to play worse when I play with my dad. I like to impress him and then I go and shoot 81 when I shot 74 a week ago. It probably comes down to pressure but it's not a good excuse.
 
I usually play by myself and have way to much time to focus on the past shot or the shot at hand and just don't focus as I should. I enjoy getting paired up with some random golfer because I feel you get in a better rhythm. My only round under 80 came earlier this year playing with a good friend. We talked sports, women, beer more than golf. When I arrived at my ball, I focused for that 30 seconds to hit and then back to the BSing. I never looked at the scorecard or was concerned how the round was going. Conversely, I played with work buddies for the first time last week and pressed so hard to score good that I shot the worst for the year and totally embarased myself. Funny thing is I hadn't beat my first friend in 10 years and I layed it to him and the guys from work who I wanted to beat kicked my arse.
 
I've lost my regular playing buddies (mostly by choice) because one has absolutely no golf etiquette, and the other likes to gamble and doesn't play well unless something is riding on the outcome. The "no etiquette" guy follows internet sports betting on his smart phone during rounds, and I've caught him building a freaking sand castle in a trap in order to improve his lie - nothing better than teeing up your ball on a turret. I just tossed him a tee and told him it would be easier. No sense in telling him what he was doing was a 2 stroke penalty.

So I've taken to playing alone or just going out and meeting up with another group that needs a 3rd or a 4th. I like to play rounds that are fun and where people encourage one another. My game is maddeningly inconsistent and I can shoot anywhere from 40 to 57 per nine holes. But give me someone who's somewhat conversational, is serious about their game, even if they aren't that great a shot maker, and who is courteous and knows golf etiquette, and I'm good.
 
Used to golf with one guy from work regularly but he suddenly gave up golf entirely. Then last year I had a couple guys from work I went out with but they have not picked up their clubs yet this year so I have been booking on as a single and golfing with whoever.

One thing I always do is keep the golf talk on the course as positive as possible. The first way is calling a good shot a good shot, no matter who makes it. Apart from that just let the other guys play their game. Everyone I have been paired with so far has been pleasant and enjoyable company and we have had a good time during our round. The most fun i ever had was with my old buddy. We got paired up wit a couple of older guys one day and showed them how to play the course we were on. Both of them played one of the best rounds they ever played and we had a really fun round because of it.

I try hard to stay positive and relaxed and help keep my playing partners positive and having fun as well. I also try to maintain a routine and find that helps me get focused and ready to play the next shot. I try to have a focus for each round - right now it's on making good decisions and reducing/controlling blow up holes. I did that well in the last round. Once I have that down its on to making more 1 putts. Shouldn't be too hard, I am pretty good with a putter.
 
I couldn't care less how good or not my playing partners are, one day I'll shoot 90 and 75 the next. I do get nervous playing with complete strangers who are much better than me though, I feel like I'm holding them back and end up playing terrible because of it.
 
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