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The Company You Keep...

saturday i played 18 with my one friend who is just getting into golf. he is really driven and is really starting to improve and is open to any/all help. he never gets all that worked up or frustrated over much either, which is a great quality. his average now is probably 55-60 per 9 holes. i have no problems playing with him. he can be a little slow at times though. our round on saturday was fun, i shot well and it took about 4 hours...which is still too long for 2 people IMO.

sunday he wanted to meet up with his friends and play a different course. his friends were worse than he was, but i didn't know this going in. he said he wanted to see me kick their arses, so i figured maybe they were good. wrong. it was awful...the round took a grueling 5 hours that felt like 8. there were times that i'd hit my drive and not get to hit my approach shot for another 10-15 minutes. if i told you it didn't affect my play, i'd be lying...but only a little bit. i still tried to stay within myself and play my own game. i ended up not playing all that great, but shot about to my average, but man was it rough to watch and witness. never again...
 
I've noticed that I play much better when I am with my friend jason but when I play with my other friend Tim and the bosses, I get really nervous and suck. Last week I didn't find but one fairway. I don't know if it's the competition or what exactly but it's hard to play with some people and when I play with people I don't know it's even worse!
 
I do my worst when playing with younger guys that can hit a lot farther than me. I try to kill it and put it in the woods or do the 5 step walk of shame to get the ball I just hit.
 
I find I play a lot better when I play with people a lot better than I am. I also play better when something is on the line, even if it is only a dollar or a beer.

I think that is just the competitive drive that I have always had in other sports growing up.. (Only been playing golf for a few years).
 
Like it was said elsewhere, I am too old to care about the ability of anyone playing with me. I try to focus all ,my attention on my game. That being said, the best rounds I have is when I am out with my younger son. He's 24, plays to a 7 or so and just just hits the ball a mile. It is totally relaxing, we give each other tons of crap, although lately he dishes it out a lot more than me. On a recent round, on a 145 yd par 3 he asks, dead face serious..."So old man, driver on this hole?"
 
i typically play great with anyone BUT my dad. his anxiety about his game is constant during the round, regardless of if he's doing well or not. i play best when i'm playing with someone who hits further than i do, because for some reason i put more focus on my shots b/c i think subconsciously (he's longer, therefore a better golfer than i am) that i have to shoot more accurate and precise to score better. some reason it works. lol and with my buddy matty, i putt lights out...no matter what the greens are or what, i always average less than 28-29 putts (it's a bit ridiculous)
 
I cant find anyone worse than me to golf with lol

My buddy is a .4 handicap and the other is a 4 and we play a lot often. The .5 I call him Kryptonite cause every time I golf with him, its bad score city...not sure why

Golf with Canadan sometimes too, hes super good, Im usually somewhat decent when I golf with him, except in Beavercreek last year with my infamous 13 penalty strokes
 
I usually play better when something is at stake. Whenever we are playing any kind of gambling mini-game, I find that my game improves. I think it helps me focus more on each shot.
 
tnolan said:
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.

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.
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I usually play with a group that gambles but will also play casual rounds with random golfers when the course pairs my twosome up with a single or another twosome.

I prefer playing with golfers who have taken the time to understand the etiquette of golf, if not the rules themselves. I only mind playing with beginners if they don't understand the concept and courtesy of picking up their balls and are plumb bobbing their 12th stroke on a par 3.

To generalize even more, I prefer playing with older golfers as they tend to be more mindful of golf etiquette and are less likely to smash their drives wildly into the trees (which always requires our group detouring to look for their errant driven balls).

After saying all that, I don't let these things impact my game as they aren't bothering me directly (unless they happen to drive in front of me further down the fairway right before I'm ready to hit).
 
I'm jekyll and hyde when playing with friends, my Maryland friends are pretty big trash talkers and our round usually consists of high scores and some serious laughing at foulness and vulgarity, my Floriday friends are pretty reserved and not that good at golf, but they're great company. I usually play well with them. My son is the one that brings out the best in me, when we play together i'm usually sniffing around par and sometimes better, I got both my hole in ones playing with him, he can talk some trash too lol.
 
i have to put my playing partners into categories lol
family
my brothers/cousins play everytime we can get together.
one brother is a bomber and is a strong 3hcp the other is probably a bogey golfer. my cousin is a bomber who is horrendous at scoring
when we get together scoring just goes out the window. all of us may have had the best weeks of golf scoring wise right before we play together but when we get together we are on the edge of not breaking 100.
something about playing each other takes us completely out of our games and we try to "outdo" each other in everyway except scoring lol
friends
i tend to play bad with close friends due to the fact we screw around alot and drink alot more lol
randoms
this is tricky because it all depends on the person and not how well they play
ive been around single digit guys and ive played terrible and vice versa
been paired with guys who've never played and either played worse than them or im like tw to them lol

either/or as long as im having fun with whoever i play with... i can only blame my score on myself
thats why i love this game
 
I am very fortunate that my closest friends take golf as seriously as I do. This probably comes from the fact that all of us played on our high school golf team together. We have a very competative foursome because all of us have very very similar skill levels. The matches become very intense because there's usually a different winner every week, it is so much fun.
 
I play with my husband on a regular basis and he is much better than me (6 handicap) but his game is so much different, so I keep my head down and play my own game. I don't have to wait for him and (hopefully) he doesn't find I doddle too much. Most of the time it is just he and I.

I know it shouldn't affect me, but getting teamed up with slow people has ruined a round or two for me. I know I should be the better person and not let it get to me, but it does. I'm not saying don't take a practice swing but please... enter & exit the green quickly. Have your ball, tee and club ready while you are waiting for others to hit. Don't write your score down on the green, write it down as you are walking to the next hole. When you are walking up to the green, bring your sand wedge AND your putter so you don't have to run back to your bag. These are all things that the Belbs taught me and I strongly feel that all new golfers need to be taught this. I'm a high handicapper, but high handicappers don't have to be slow. If you are having a blow up hole, by stroke 9 or 10, pick up your ball and move on (unless in tourney).
 
futureoffantasy said:
I usually play better when something is at stake. Whenever we are playing any kind of gambling mini-game, I find that my game improves. I think it helps me focus more on each shot.
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I am the opposite. One time I was out with my boss and two other colleagues. All three of us were playing better than my boss. By the 10th hole, he said, how about we put $2. on each hole? Well... my game fell apart over $2/hole.

Needless to say, I am not a gambler though I have been known to win a game of Texas Hold'em once or twice.
 
I find I play best when I go out on my own and walk. I don't know what it is about walking but it helps me somehow. I usually play my worst when I play with my boss, who's also a friend. I don't know if I'm too busy trying to impress him or if I'm subconsciously thinking "don't beat him or he'll never bring you out to play again" :D but playing with him definitely brings my game down.

The two people I play with the most are both "worse" than me though not by much. One I enjoy playing with a lot because he's quite laid back, enjoys his time on the. Purse and never gets too up or down. The other, while one of my best friends, annoys me on the course because he likes to talk . . . a lot. I try to be as quiet as possible during people's swings but he just chatters away about this or that. I find when I play with them I tend to be right where my handicap puts me, which can be frustrating if I'm not showing improvement or if I'm making some bad shots.
 
pdgoblue25 said:
I am very fortunate that my closest friends take golf as seriously as I do. This probably comes from the fact that all of us played on our high school golf team together. We have a very competative foursome because all of us have very very similar skill levels. The matches become very intense because there's usually a different winner every week, it is so much fun.
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These are the best foursomes. It's great to find a competitive group with similar playing abilities (or even better).
 
I've noticed that when I play with the bosses I play much worse, It's really hard to keep focused this way! I hate playing with them cause they are intimidating. I play much better with better players though
 
I would have said that it usually helps if I am playing with good players but my best 2 rounds in competitions this year have come while playing with guys off 26/28. I do find that if I am playing with people who are playing well it can help you and vice versa.
 
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