are you really that good??

[sem i3]

Are you really that good if you can sink that $2 3 foot putt but tremble and sweat all over when you have to put the little white globe in the hole to square a $200 or whatever amount that will hurt your wallet/wife freak out if she knows skin?

I see guys giving high fives when they make birdies but when I ask what are they playing for they tell me its $2 skins.

I dont know, maybe its just me but lets hear what you other guys think.

I use to play with a friend who beats me all the time for $5 skins but when I upped the ante to $50 he just choke and cant even make a 2 footer putt maybe 6 out of 10 times.

I really admire those PGA pros when they have to play for tens of thousands of dollars and still being so compose and steady when they putt.

So are you a $2 winner but a $50 choke?

Cmon guys, put your egos aside and come clean, just for fun and curiosity sake anyway.Your playing partner dont have to know.

[EnglishBob]

So far i have consistently choked the Birdie putt...WITH NO money on the table LOL.

[Swingtheclub]

Its not a matter of being that good but a matter of experience and gambling takes practic.

I once won several grand off a guy . Now I had a backer but it was still a lot of pressure.

Most I ever played for my money was a 100 a hole. Ended up beating a guy out of about 900

But I have been playing for big money since I was sixteen.

Just the same today a big bet for me is five bucks. Mainly I know gambling can cost you friends and it is not worth it to me.

Handling pressure is not a matter of talent it is a matter of practice and confidence.

[PurePursuit]

The same principal that applied to Poker works here. Never bring more than you can afford to lose tot he table. If you keep that mindset, that you can truly afford to lose the money then it should bother you. However money aside, nerves can creep up on me while playing with nothing on the line but pride.

[sem i3]

Glad to hear your opinions guys.Yes, gambling can really cost you friends and I've found that out myself too more than once unfortunately. Gambling has seen me through college and my first car too but i've also seen my fair share of losses too.But golf is still new to me(18 handicapper) as Ive only been playing for 1 year plus and i wanna beat all my mates at it even if we are only playing for beers!

If you lend a friend 100 bucks and you never see him again, consider it money well spent!!!
Cheers and seasons greetings to all!!

[bmaas03]

There is a difference though, between playing for money that you never had vs playing for money that is in your pocket that you might have to give up.
Sinking a putt to win $1,000,000 vs $500,000 could theoretically be easier than trying to sink a putt for $500 against your buddies, when that $500 might be required for your next house payment.

[sem i3]

Yes pride and this when I'm gonna break this !@@##$ 90 score??? If only i didn't choke and..........

[sem i3]

I've been a hustler/gambler whatever you wanna call it playing pool/billiards before and I really hope that nobody has to go through the ordeal when you have to put your house monthly payment or children school fees on the line. As much as I like winning, even against buddies, i've learn to draw the line when it comes to gambling. But if I find out that it is between buying that diamond ring for the wife/girlfriend anything goes. What are friends for if not to get you in trouble right?

[R Stones]

The cash on sunday dont come out of there pocket.

[Young04]

there is a big difference between gambling what you have and playing to win something. i think we'd find our jobs much more stressful if it wasn't a matter of getting X as a paycheck, but if screwing up your job meant that you actually had to PAY someone. that said, PGA players are professionals and they're big boys. the rest of us - we may be big boy professionals at our day to day jobs, but just cause anyone sucks at a hobby doesn't mean that they're not people of substance. if i suck at poker, you going to call me a choke too?

[dlygrisse]

A few of our games were starting to get out of hand. We always start with 50 cent low ball low total or skins but sometimes the presses keep coming. We finally had to put a limit on it when the last hole was worth well over $100. With me and my buddies you rarley see anyone lose more than $50, but in the past before we started the 2 press limit per person feelings were starting to get hurt.

As far as pressure....I have stuffed a wedge to two feet to win $200 out of someones pocket, and I have choked losing $2. It is all about how confident you are at the time, and like Ken said how much experience you have at gambleing. I was playing with a guy and I started a wager for 50 cents a hole and he was playing out of his a$$ and taking my money. I pressed the bet and he almost came unglued and crapped his pants. The idea a pressing was so foreign to him he totally fell apart, and the added "pressure" totally got to him. In reality he owed me like $6 when the day was done, a loss he could certainly afford, I know the guy loses hundredes at the casino on a frequent basis.

To me the real pressure is playing in a tournament and having to post a score, the last time I played in the city championship, I won my flight (1st flight, not championship flight) I thought I was going to die on the last 4 holes....I choked like Dottie Pepper's dog coming in, but held on for a tie. The guy I was playing against was in my group and was so drunk by 18 he knew no pressure and almost took it from me..

It's all relative.

[BFC]

I don't bet what I can't loose so it's just fun to me. I'm competitive by nature so I always play to win, tic tac toe or golf don't matter!

Wasn't it Trevino that said, when asked baout the money pressure on the PGA, real pressure is betting $500 on a game with $5 bucks in your pocket.

[Pepperturbo]

Based on what I've encountered and how I behave, .50 - $2 Nassau's are to easy to ignore for most. I suspect it doesn't affect concentration or make them worry if they lose. I've played in the $100-$200 Nassau range, had as much as 5k in a pot per player with 12 players in the game and played in some pvt Calcutta's with the pot reaching 50k and my cost as 3k. I've come to learn, money doesn't affect my game thinking - since I've blown a great deal on cars and boats and what not without affecting my home life.

What annoys me is generally I am the giver of strokes; which I have no problem with knowing most of the players I bet with... However what might get under my skin are those players that I don't know yet need to give them 2 strokes a hole per side I know in those cases if I make 2 errors I can be easily out of the game - paying at the end...

[dlygrisse]

Someone asked Lee Trevino once if he felt a lot of pressure sinking a put to win a PGA tournament and winning a big check and Lee's response was something to the effect of: pressure is when you have a putt for $50 and you only have $10 in your pocket.

[Sean2]

I seem to play better under pressure. I focus more, at least more than I do during a casual round.

[Veritas]

I have never had the money to bet on a golf game. I can never afford to lose any money beyond what I'm already paying for greens fees. I can see how betting could add more to the game but for the most part I don't think it would add to my enjoyment.

[Swingtheclub]

Heres some Trevino quotes

I remembered him saying pressure was a downhill put for a hundred bucks when you had dust in your pocket.

[url="http://golf.about.com/cs/legendsofgolf/a/trevinoquotes.htm"]http://golf.about.com/cs/legendsofgolf/a/trevinoquotes.htm[/url]

[XYB34A]

I have won a couple of cars before gambling. One a junker but one was a toyota camry. I made the guy sign the title to it in the parking lot and made sure he had a ride home. My most favorite game is 50 dollar a hole skats. Not skins. Someone can s*** into skins with a super lucky shot. No carryovers. Pick up after your par attempt. Winner is par or better. Sometimes u throw in 500 dollar hole in ones. I dont play this with my friends. I play with people that think they are good. Its funny to watch someone that says they shoot in the 60's to choke on a 3 foot straight in putt. And I dont gamble like this unless I have the money in my pocket to start. I have lost before but have won far more. More or less by my "I dont give a d*** attitude" I love the adrenaline that can make you hit one 350 or honest to goodness hit that "170 yard pitching wedge" that people say is full of crap. U can hit it two or 3 clubs longer at times. You can slice it off the world or duck hook it so hard that it still rolls 250 in the left rough. Its just plain fun. Like the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded 3 runs down. 3 and 2 count. Your mouth is dry. Your hands are sweaty. And when u pull it off. Then its better than the "dirty deed". But then I play poker too. Poker is not a game of cards. Its a game of people, just as intimidation is in golf.

[larrybud]

[quote name='sem i3' post='811111' date='Dec 3 2007, 03:47 PM']I really admire those PGA pros when they have to play for tens of thousands of dollars and still being so compose and steady when they putt.
So are you a $2 winner but a $50 choke?
Cmon guys, put your egos aside and come clean, just for fun and curiosity sake anyway.Your playing partner dont have to know.[/quote]

I've always played better when there's a little money on the line, but I've never played for so much that it would matter to me if I lost it.

[stevestrike]

[quote name='sem i3' post='811146' date='Dec 3 2007, 05:20 PM']Yes, gambling can really cost you friends and I've found that out myself too more than once unfortunately.[/quote]
Tell me about it. We played $1/hole 2-man scramble with a couple of friends recently. You wouldn't believe how tense things got after we were up 6 straight holes. Meanwhile, the other two guys are drinking the $2.75 beers like there's no tomorrow.

My friend started yapping [u]while I was putting[/u] and I had to tell him to shut it! It got ugly as it often does when guys drink too much (I don't drink on the course) We won a few dollars that night, but lost a couple of friends over nothing.

[ej002]

[quote name='stevestrike' post='811572' date='Dec 3 2007, 11:57 PM'][quote name='sem i3' post='811146' date='Dec 3 2007, 05:20 PM']Yes, gambling can really cost you friends and I've found that out myself too more than once unfortunately.[/quote]
Tell me about it. We played $1/hole 2-man scramble with a couple of friends recently. You wouldn't believe how tense things got after we were up 6 straight holes. Meanwhile, the other two guys are drinking the $2.75 beers like there's no tomorrow.

My friend started yapping [u]while I was putting[/u] and I had to tell him to shut it! It got ugly as it often does when guys drink too much (I don't drink on the course) We won a few dollars that night, but lost a couple of friends over nothing.
[/quote]

I hate taking money for my friends... unless they are asking for it. But really, sometimes some people get so crazy over a few bucks a hole.

But playing for thousands would be cool - especially if it was not your money

[sem i3]

I think its ok to win that couple of bucks from your friends. Just remember to pick up the tab at the clubhouse afterwards for lunch/dinner/drinks whatever.That way as long as you are playing with friends, especially close ones you dont feel bad about taking their money. But this does not apply to big bets I guess unless you guys have millions stashed in some swiss accounts.

[jamesduncan]

"dont worry about the money - put the ball in the hole"

Moe Norman (from his "ideas" print out)

[indruf]

I'm not a good putter.

Once when I was standing over a 3 footer for about $40 my opponent loudly announced to the group, "there is no one that I would rather having putting this than you" --- I missed it.

This season, in our big member-guest tournament, I made a 5 footer to send our match into sudden death and then a 4 footer to win the overall.

[sem i3]

No matter how much money is at stake, putts between 3 to 6 feet are the most preassured.
I guess fear of being dissapointed makes the putt so much harder than it actually is.

[Swingtheclub]

was it not Pelz that said statistically that the tour misses inside 5 feet half the time?

[sem i3]

Now, That is good news! Thought it is only me!!