This Weekend I was "That Guy" (Your Worst Nightmare)

Long story but on a day where the course was full I was playing with an experienced (high handicap) golfer (clearly not a problem), a guy who had played 2 rounds in his life (he last played in 2017), and a guy who had never in his life had taken a swing at a golf ball (or baseball or tennis ball or ... - not a US native). It wasn't my choice, BTW.

If I had it to do again I would have played 2 man scramble golf, but this was a last minute thing and it just didn't occur to me. I was busy trying to create a set of golf clubs from the clubs that were laying around in the attic. Fortunately the 2x golfer is sensitive to pace of play and could typically advance the ball in roughly the intended direction. The newbie, while he had no clue at all about the game, was willing to follow directions. So we got through the round without mucking things up for folks behind us, but that did entail skipping 2 holes and some other 'rules' about balls in the bunker and stuff like that.

I would not have enjoyed the experience that the 'newbie' had, but he seemed to find it fun. And he is a most pleasant and conscientious type - which is probably the reason that this actually kind of worked.

dave

I played with a new golfer a couple years ago. She had a whole bag of brand new clubs. But she only hit 3 of them. The rest still had the plastic shrink wrap on them. She told me her teacher hadn't taught her to hit those clubs yet so she didn't see a need to unwrap them. She was so happy to be on the golf course. She'd give herself 3 or 4 tries to get to the green and then pick up and drop on the green. She had a certain flair that everyone else on the course noticed. She forgot her headcover on a hole and ran back to get it. The guys on the tee behind us offered me a shot from their flask to help ease the situation. She insisted we take selfies on the 18th green to commemorate her first round. Reminded me that we play this stupid game for fun.

We were all first time on the golf course people at one time.

real men wear wool knickers, drink Scotch and take care of new golfers

First, I gotta stop shaving down there.

With my wife learning to golf over the course of the last couple years, I'm very cognizant of your last point. The first thing I taught her was that pace of play is HUGELY important. If you can keep up the pace, and don't slow the group down, most people will be very willing to play with you and very tolerant of the fact that you are learning to play. She has a great understanding of ready golf, doesn't agonize over shots, and would pick up and play from my ball or near the green when she was really struggling (she has now gotten good enough that she no longer needs to do that). None of my friends ever mind when she joins us for a round, even the most hard-core guys, because she never slows us down. When she first started playing, she was very self-conscious, and got very nervous playing with other people, even friends. Now, we'll be on vacation and get paired up with random strangers, and it doesn't bother her at all. I sincerely appreciate every person that didn't mind playing with her when she was a terrible beginner, because that was a big part of her learning to love the game (which means that I get to play a TON of golf :) ).

Picking up and moving along, and not taking a long time to look for lost balls, are the keys. But I've seen new golfers on a course be clueless and really delay play, and those are the ones I wish would either learn more about on-course etiquette or spend more time at the range before playing a course.

Or play with experienced helpful golfers who can help them learn how to handle the golf course. Four beginners is a potential nightmare, but a beginner with 3 "guides" has a good chance of learning the right way to play.

The fact that you are even thinking in this manner makes you not "my worst nightmare". At least you understood this situation, its potential impact on others, and worked to mitigate that impact. I'm willing to put up with that for quite a long time.

This one kind of violated one of my 'personal rules' that (when the course is crowded) you just don't take a golfer onto said course to learn the game without at least one range session (not including time spent at the range before the round). But it worked out OK.

dave

Well said. It's people like you and your wife that gave my wife the encouragement to keep playing until she improved. This is the attitude we should all take toward beginners (provided, of course, said beginners are willing to listen and learn). We owe it to the game to foster new players.