anyone else out there that hasn't had a great experience playing in tournaments?

[RoyalMustang]

I jumped into my first tournament today and can't say I enjoyed it. I usually play with a group of decent golfers and good friends: we all want to improve our games but also love to talk golf, life in general, and encourage each other.  At the high single digit/low double digit level, I figured any tournament that is handicapped would be similar: it isn't like an all-comers tournament where everyone competes against everyone and especially some sort of qualifier where legit players hang out.  Handicaps are self-reported and sandbaggers exist.  I just want to golf with fellow decent golfers and play a round, and like I said, we aren't really playing against the top people in a handicapped tournament.  

 

Anyways, maybe it was just my group, but things were WAY too serious out there. One guy was constantly cursing and slamming his club (he shot mid 80's and didn't look to have the game for a lower score) The same guy kept bugging me about the score I was keeping for another player, making sure it had been changed (it had-he miscounted). Another guy was constantly re-checking another person's score, as if they assumed cheating was going on.  The ball drop rule was another dude running over and doing the tee width thing when a quick explanation of "anywhere in this approximately 7 feet is where you can drop". Only one guy was someone I would care to play a round with or have a beer with.  

 

I figured, based on my typical random pairings on weekdays, that most golfers were pretty cool, but perhaps the weekend-warrior amateur player crowd takes themselves way too seriously?  I mean, it was my 1st tournament and I was leading my flight after 9 holes, but even if I had won shooting an 80 or whatever, who gives a whoop?  There were 20 guys in better flights shooting under 80!

 

I raced a bicycle for a decade (was elite-pro most of that time) and it was very social and communal, especially in cyclocross.  Sometimes you puncture out of a race: it happens. Almost nobody melts down.  You typically go back to your team tent, cheer on your friends in other races, and drink beer.  Same for autocross (although the beer drinking happens off-site).  People show up in Auto-X specific cars and want to drive really freaking fast, but afterward we are all friends (and would BS between races if we weren't back to back in heats). 

 

Perhaps I just got a lousy group today.  I may give it a shot again but if that is the general tournament crowd, I would rather just pay 1/3 of the entrance fee and join up with a random 3-some. Yesterday I played golf with a music teacher and a physicist. Super interesting group and I really enjoyed the round.  Plus, the music teacher could play!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[2bGood]

If you want a fun relaxed round, don't go in a tournament. 

 

The events I play in I find all types, but pretty much everyone is trying to to play their best and shoot their lowest score.  They mostly all take the rules seriously. Some are fun to play with, some aren't. Many that aren't fun to play with are really fun after the round.

 

Regardless I don't play events for the company but because I want to compete. If I want to play for company I play with my friends. 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by 2bGood

[dantheman415]

I started playing tournaments when I was seven. Over the past 30 years I’ve played in tournament rounds with strangers that have been awesome experiences.  Ive also played with strangers and people I know that have been super frustrating and just outright not enjoyable. My best advice is that when signing up for tourneys there’s always a chance your playing partners will be people you never want to tee it up with again. Just try to figure out a way to use that as motivation to beat them.  
 

ps.  Try to find a local skins game. I’ve been a regular at several games at several courses over the years and usually the groups of guys playing are cool and like to have side games within your 4some which makes things competitive.

[MtlJeff]

Yeah it's really a mixed bag. You get all kinds in tournaments so you cant judge too much on one experience. I've played in some tournaments where guys were really nice, even under some fairly competitive situations. Have played some where we had beers and joked afterwards etc..

 

I've mostly had good groups. But i've had some friends tell me funny stories. This past season one of my friends played in a match play tournament and the guy walked up to him on the first tee and said "i don't give ANY putts and i don't want to speak to you"....LOL

[RoyalMustang]

10 hours ago, 2bGood said:

If you want a fun relaxed round, don't go in a tournament. 

 

The events I play in I find all types, but pretty much everyone is trying to to play their best and shoot their lowest score.  They mostly all take the rules seriously. Some are fun to play with, some aren't. Many that aren't fun to play with are really fun after the round.

 

Regardless I don't play events for the company but because I want to compete. If I want to play for company I play with my friends. 

 

 

 

Yeah, I like to compete too. I will shoot my lowest score if I am relaxed and loose....and if I am not playing well, it could be worse!  A bad day at the golf course beats a whole lot of other things....

[RoyalMustang]

1 hour ago, MtlJeff said:

Yeah it's really a mixed bag. You get all kinds in tournaments so you cant judge too much on one experience. I've played in some tournaments where guys were really nice, even under some fairly competitive situations. Have played some where we had beers and joked afterwards etc..

 

I've mostly had good groups. But i've had some friends tell me funny stories. This past season one of my friends played in a match play tournament and the guy walked up to him on the first tee and said "i don't give ANY putts and i don't want to speak to you"....LOL

 

People taking themselves too seriously. When I raced bicycles the biggest group of a-holes were the 40-50 year old master's racers. Several had gotten divorced because they would rather have been married to their bike saddle and people getting popped for doping was a regular occurrence. odd! 

[Petethreeput]

Here is my theory, and as a competitive racer you may agree.  I played a different sport at a high level through and after college. I know how to compete, but golf is for fun for me, I was an athlete a long time ago.

 

this is a jerky thing to say, but many who haven’t experienced athletic success, see the tournament as a way to prove themselves to either themselves or others. So the demeanor changes, and frankly isn’t that fun for others.  Consistently those with whom I most appreciate playing with are either very good golfers who have experienced golf success OR athletic success in other endeavors.

 

This isn’t always true, but in our handicap range this is how it feels to me.

[MtlJeff]

4 hours ago, Petethreeput said:

Here is my theory, and as a competitive racer you may agree.  I played a different sport at a high level through and after college. I know how to compete, but golf is for fun for me, I was an athlete a long time ago.

 

this is a jerky thing to say, but many who haven’t experienced athletic success, see the tournament as a way to prove themselves to either themselves or others. So the demeanor changes, and frankly isn’t that fun for others.  Consistently those with whom I most appreciate playing with are either very good golfers who have experienced golf success OR athletic success in other endeavors.

 

This isn’t always true, but in our handicap range this is how it feels to me.

 

Pretty true in most adult sports. I used to play in men's basketball leagues aswell as Flag Football leagues. The guys starting fights were never the ones who played in college or other high levels. For those guys this was a way to stay in shape....The guys starting fights were the guys who never made the team but got in a bit better shape as they got older, and now this is their super bowl. 

 

I think golf is similar. Whenever i am paired with former really good juniors these guys are usually talkative and very nice. FWIW guys who've played in 1000 tournaments and are 50 years old are usually very nice too and i don't always know these guys sporting backrounds beyond golf. But by then tournaments are old news to them and they are just usually cool

 

In my experience, the worst guys are men between 30-49 with handicaps between say 2 and 10. It's a big generalization i know....But typically guys with low indexes have been there before. Rare to find a +1 playing in his first tournament, and after a while people mellow (mostly). 30-49 is right in that age where every has road rage, and job rage, and hates their wife, and they just want to pick fights with people LOL

[GHIN n Juice]

It probably depends on the state but my local tournament circuit is usually the same guys so after a few events you have met enough guys to have conversations, friends, etc.  Since it’s the same guys people are fairly respectable when it comes to rules and such.  You don’t want to be that guy that no one wants to play with all summer.

 

Now, back in the 90s and 2000s tournaments were huge and it could get pretty testy.  Then again the purses were bigger.

[lefthack]

I would like to try a tournament for fun but fear it won't be because of who I get grouped with. I generally don't keep score but I think I am close to single digits. I certainly wouldn't sandbag, but I'm not a dick about it, either. 

 

There is a Spark tournament in a couple weeks I might try.

[RoyalMustang]

5 hours ago, Petethreeput said:

Here is my theory, and as a competitive racer you may agree.  I played a different sport at a high level through and after college. I know how to compete, but golf is for fun for me, I was an athlete a long time ago.

 

this is a jerky thing to say, but many who haven’t experienced athletic success, see the tournament as a way to prove themselves to either themselves or others. So the demeanor changes, and frankly isn’t that fun for others.  Consistently those with whom I most appreciate playing with are either very good golfers who have experienced golf success OR athletic success in other endeavors.

 

This isn’t always true, but in our handicap range this is how it feels to me.

 

This really sums it up well!  The people who are complete bad-a***es are easily recognized as such and don't need to be jerks about it.  Even if they were at that level in a different sport, they know success and it doesn't define them.  

 

I remember a story a friend told me. His uncle was working on Yosemite for the summer season in some capacity and met a guy at breakfast one morning in the cafeteria in Yosemite Village.  They hit it off, had breakfast together most mornings, and hung out occasionally for the next 4 months.  Over that time, they talked about everything and anything.  He knew the guy's name was Ron but nothing more; professions never really came up. It wasn't until a few years later that my friend (who was getting into rock climbing attending UC Berkeley) figured it out when he saw a picture of them together.  He told his dad "you were having breakfast with perhaps the top free climber in the world-Ron Kauk! He put up Astroman!  And you guys never talked about climbing?".  His uncle said "nope-the guy looked super fit but it never came up".  

 

Those are the kind of guys that have been there, done that! 

[MPAndreassi]

3 hours ago, MtlJeff said:

 

In my experience, the worst guys are men between 30-49 with handicaps between say 2 and 10. It's a big generalization i know....But typically guys with low indexes have been there before. Rare to find a +1 playing in his first tournament, and after a while people mellow (mostly). 30-49 is right in that age where every has road rage, and job rage, and hates their wife, and they just want to pick fights with people LOL

I feel personally attacked by this because it’s true. We are the worst. Also why I spend my free time on an internet forum arguing with strangers. 

[Warrior42111]

So probably a generalization / observation from playing competitive sports in college and then coming out to the real world.

 

I think most people do not know how to get the most out of their game. Now I understand everyone is different, but just thinking playing football (american) in college. You're not 110% focused, hyped up ect for all 3 hours of the game. Maintaining that level is pretty much impossible. You need to be focused 10 seconds at a time pre snap and during the play then reset your body. It seems most, not all, of the best golfers today are like that too. Unbelievably focused and such from pre-shot and into execution then slightly more laid back until they get to the ball again.

[MPAndreassi]

34 minutes ago, Warrior42111 said:

So probably a generalization / observation from playing competitive sports in college and then coming out to the real world.

 

I think most people do not know how to get the most out of their game. Now I understand everyone is different, but just thinking playing football (american) in college. You're not 110% focused, hyped up ect for all 3 hours of the game. Maintaining that level is pretty much impossible. You need to be focused 10 seconds at a time pre snap and during the play then reset your body. It seems most, not all, of the best golfers today are like that too. Unbelievably focused and such from pre-shot and into execution then slightly more laid back until they get to the ball again.

This is a great observation and couldn’t be more true. 

[me05501]

I've only played in one stroke play tournament and I didn't like what it did to my brain. It turned something I always enjoy into something more like work. I'm not cut out for it. 

 

I have had fun playing in some member/guest match play tournaments, but even when the stakes are that low it seems like there are always guys who take it too seriously. 

 

I'm not sure which is worse: A) that guy who is absolutely determined to catch and expose cheaters, or B) the ones who think they need to try to get in your head. 

[RmoorePE]

I play in maybe 10 tournaments a year where you get paired with random people and have occasionally gotten a rotten egg in the foursome. It seems like I get at least one of the guys who no one ever wants to play with on the second day of the club championship.  The only way I deal with it is to accept that we got a weirdo and focus on myself.  I have also found most of the generalizations above to be true (but racist?).

 

I play in a men's Basketball league and there are two or sometimes 3 divisions. The first division typically has guys who played in college or who flunked out while playing in college. This division is hyper-competitive, and ROUGH. My team bounces between 1st and 2nd division depending on the roster that year and every time I play a game with those guys I am astounded how much of a beating I take. There is a ton of trash talking, hard fouls and scrappy play. But at the end of every game, it is hand shakes, hugs, and both teams headed to the bar.

 

In the divisions where you have a mixing of guys who were not athletic when they were younger, and never played in a game with real pressure, or fans, or newspapers - we get fights all the time. The refs hate doing these games because these 40 year olds who run successful businesses whine like toddlers over ticky tack fouls. One game we had a player on the opposing team tell our point guard he was going to go get his gun and shoot him.

 

I think it is just experience and the ability to see the big picture of what these games and tournaments actually mean (nothing to 99% of the population).

 

I can come home from a golf tournament and tell my wife "I won" and she won't even look up from her phone to say "good job." If I came home from getting last place and tell my wife "I got last place, but I did the dishes" I would get a big kiss. I would imagine guys who are jerks during tournaments wives are just happy they are not at home.

[Roody]

I've played in probably a dozen or so tournaments over the past few years. Things from my club championship, to our area's mid-am championship, to even something as small as a "play day" tournament hosted by our local golf association. And I think even though my sampling size is rather small, I feel as though I've seen it all ways from my playing partners. Most are nice, but some can turn into real jerks too. As for why that is, it's hard to say. 

 

My wife and I even played in our first couples club championship last year, and we were paired up with another couple whom we played a lot of casual rounds with before. During the round the husband of the other couple was kinda berating his wife when she didn't hit a good shot. Telling her to "get her head in the game!", and other things like "c'mon, we need to take advantage of your handicap!". The air got very tense and awkward. She started to snap back at him at times, and he deserved it. But part of my point is that he was never like this towards her during casual rounds, it seemed like the competitive nature of the round brought this nasty side out in him. I kinda lost some respect for the guy after that. 

 

 

[jvincent]

I've seen both extremes in tournament play. There are some guys who just take their games way too seriously and get bent out of shape when they play poorly. Thankfully they are in the minority.

 

I'll add my experience as it relates to other sports/beer leagues.

 

I played minor hockey at a pretty high level. In university we had a very competitive campus hockey league. Full contact, very fast, generally excellent hockey. Clean and no goonish stuff. All the guys on my team played AAA or AA when they were younger but were now in school to become accountant, engineers, etc. so had nothing to prove hockey wise.

 

After school I played a bit in a beer league for a couple of years. The stickwork was terrible. It was like dude, you're not going to make the NHL, just chill.

[Warrior42111]

44 minutes ago, me05501 said:

I've only played in one stroke play tournament and I didn't like what it did to my brain. It turned something I always enjoy into something more like work. I'm not cut out for it. 

 

I have had fun playing in some member/guest match play tournaments, but even when the stakes are that low it seems like there are always guys who take it too seriously. 

 

I'm not sure which is worse: A) that guy who is absolutely determined to catch and expose cheaters, or B) the ones who think they need to try to get in your head. 

C) the guy who slows down to snail pace and makes it a 5+ hr round for a $20 game between 3 groups. Proceeds to whine that it's not fair to rush him when ranger steps in.

[Abh159]

Although most of what I have to say has already been said, I'll add my 2 cents...

 

The whole point in playing in a tournament is to try to win (whatever flight you might be in) so if you're just wanting a fun round it might be best to stick to your local group. If you're wanting to add some real competition then sign up for tournaments.

 

Tournaments are mixed bags. Most of the people will be fun, enjoyable guys who you like playing with, some will take things wayyyyy too seriously, and others are just there to try and "sandbag" and win some money/credit.

 

I'm a low handicap so I'm usually paired with the better players. Typically the better players (+ to very low digit caps) are going to be fun and don't really care all that much about the outcome. You'll have to occasional one who thinks he is a lot better than he is and acts like every putt is to win a green jacket, but other than that I've rarely encountered someone who was truly awful to play with. 

[CactusGolf]

Pretty much the same experience I've had when I've played in some state-association events.  I thought the rounds were too long, handicaps were sandbagged to an amazing level (guys with 15 handicaps were shooting low 70s by magic), playing partners in the group were miserable to play with and WAY too serious, and generally...just not a good time. 

 

It got to the point where I would sign up for the event just to play courses where I would normally not be able to get on at that rate (only did that when the events were still open to not take a spot away from serious players).  The rounds were pretty much slog-fests.

 

Felt the same way when I was playing in amateur baseball leagues for a few years.  I was just thrilled to get out and play again, but there were many on my team and others who were washed out independent league and D3 players that took enjoyment in arguing with umpires for the entire game.  Completely miserable experience.

 

I'll play in work events, charity events, but other than that, I'll never play tournament golf ever again.

[Bad9]

On 3/28/2021 at 10:44 AM, MtlJeff said:

"i don't give ANY putts and

In matchplay I don't give putts but I'm not telling anyone that on the first tee.

[Bad9]

1 hour ago, Abh159 said:

Typically the better players (+ to very low digit caps) are going to be fun and don't really care all that much about the outcome. You'll have to occasional one who thinks he is a lot better than he is and acts like every putt is to win a green jacket, but other than that I've rarely encountered someone who was truly awful to play with. 

I really must play at the wrong place. Here(and its been like this since I've been playing here the last 30yrs) the low cappers/better players are the slowest, most miserable sob's to play with, tournament or otherwise. I need to move.

[ChipNRun]

On 3/27/2021 at 10:42 PM, RoyalMustang said:

I jumped into my first tournament today and can't say I enjoyed it.

 

I play a lot of one-day and a couple of two-day tournaments in our local amateur circuits.  For starters, you (and lots of other people) must suffer through the First Tournament Blues.

 

The spring opener tournaments, although they count for points and the day's prizes, are almost like spring training in baseball. You have returning regulars, and a fair number of people who are trying the circuit for the first time. All the regulars have to suffer through that first six-hour round. Contributing factors:

• Players just flat don't know the rules. Someone will call for the rules guy to come over for a simple penalty-stroke drop out of a hazard. After a stern lecture, being announced post-round as a slow play source, or on occasion DQd, the gadflies either get with the program or don't show up in Round 2.
• Players have reality problems. When their tee shot still rising when it crosses the OB line, they ignore the obvious. They will cart 200-yards down to the impact point, say "Omigosh, it's OB!" and then drive back to tee box to reload. Provisionals, anyone?
• No ones and fives...  Bring some $1 and $5 bills, and give the grill clerks cash rounded up to the nearest dollar. Too many golfers show up at Monday tourneys with ATM $20 bills and drain the snack bar of change.
• No-cash clubs. Some clubs have a ritzy "no cash" policy, including credit cards. If you get food or beverages, they expect you to "sign it back" to your home club. But if you play semi-private or muny golf, and don't have such an account, the staff has a case of the vapors on what to do. Playing an event at a private club? It's best to call ahead and see if they will "run the plastic" or "take green" for such purchases.

On 3/27/2021 at 10:42 PM, RoyalMustang said:

Anyways, maybe it was just my group, but things were WAY too serious out there. One guy was constantly cursing and slamming his club (he shot mid 80's and didn't look to have the game for a lower score) The same guy kept bugging me about the score I was keeping for another player, making sure it had been changed (it had-he miscounted).

The guy cursing... I got to play tournament with The Guy (he's real!) in both 2018 and 2020. Both times he got upset, and stormed off the course before the end of the round. This creates problems with transfer of scorecards, etc., and spoils the mood of the day.

 

Bugging about score... Both my circuits have very formal structure in their one-day events, use GHIN handicapping, etc. Likewise, they get tabbed to provide scorekeepers and rules officials for both amateur and regional pro tournaments. So, there's an emphasis on learning real-time electronic scorekeeping (cell-phone app), and obeying the rules exactly.

 

      Again, if it's an early "spring training" round, people are going to be touchy and clumsy in their reentry to real golf.

Edited March 29, 2021 by ChipNRun

[2bGood]

4 hours ago, Warrior42111 said:

So probably a generalization / observation from playing competitive sports in college and then coming out to the real world.

 

I think most people do not know how to get the most out of their game. Now I understand everyone is different, but just thinking playing football (american) in college. You're not 110% focused, hyped up ect for all 3 hours of the game. Maintaining that level is pretty much impossible. You need to be focused 10 seconds at a time pre snap and during the play then reset your body. It seems most, not all, of the best golfers today are like that too. Unbelievably focused and such from pre-shot and into execution then slightly more laid back until they get to the ball again.

For me past athletic success did not translated over to golf at all as far as an approach to competing. I was (in my glory days) a national level athlete in two contact sports. I was very good at building adrenaline and channelling it back into the game. The first time I played in a golf tournament this approach was disaster, and it took me a long time to learn how to be in the right mental state to compete well at golf. I still today have trouble figuring out how to channel nervous energy in big tournament, as I can't just go out and hit someone like back in my glory days 😀.

 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by 2bGood

[Bad9]

6 minutes ago, 2bGood said:

as I can't just go out and hit someone like back in my glory days 😀.

 

 

You could but they might not invite you back. 😉

[1t2golf]

Nonsensical posts pertaining to racism removed. Now let's get back to trashing playing in tournaments. 

Edited March 30, 2021 by 1t2golf

[MtlJeff]

2 hours ago, Bad9 said:

In matchplay I don't give putts but I'm not telling anyone that on the first tee.

 

I have no issue with people not giving putts , I have a friend who is the same way, never gives putts. He is a great putter and just feels over time this works out to his advantage. I totally get that

 

It's the way he was described as saying it lol. And the fact that the guy who told me the story also said it was a really crappy day overall. Little talking, little interaction, 6 hour round. For reference this was an interclub match in like group 13 of the Quebec system (re: not top clubs) and the pairing was in the 7 or 8 spot. So handicaps were around 5-7. Not exactly life or death stuff but I digress. That same day I played in group 1 and we had a great time. That wasn't life or death either. It just felt more like the guys "knew it". 

 

 

 

 

[Bad9]

1 hour ago, MtlJeff said:

 

I have no issue with people not giving putts , I have a friend who is the same way, never gives putts. He is a great putter and just feels over time this works out to his advantage. I totally get that

 

It's the way he was described as saying it lol. And the fact that the guy who told me the story also said it was a really crappy day overall. Little talking, little interaction, 6 hour round. For reference this was an interclub match in like group 13 of the Quebec system (re: not top clubs) and the pairing was in the 7 or 8 spot. So handicaps were around 5-7. Not exactly life or death stuff but I digress. That same day I played in group 1 and we had a great time. That wasn't life or death either. It just felt more like the guys "knew it". 

 

 

 

 

I don’t give putts because I’m going to miss so many myself I hope the opponent will miss a few to give me a fighting chance. 😄

[naval2006]

Sad story the 15ish handicapper taking aaaaaall the time for every shot and swearing because round hasn’t come up as planned. I’ve seen my pile for years. And the pro wannabes that can’t take the slightest sound from a chirping bird. And the guy with a bag full of excuses because of the day’s sour game.  And so on and on and on. I love competitions and I play to win, but if you’re not a gentleman, especially in front of strangers, you miss it big.  

 

I know this guy who’s 82, plays a lot of tournaments, he can keep the pace with the best and the worst and he is always in a good mood on the course, even on his most off days. The most popular guy at my course.  Everybody wants to play with him. The power kids and club champions always keep a spot for him on tournament days.