In your opinion, what makes someone a good golf partner?

[hwturner17]

What are some of the traits you think a good week in and week out golf partner has? I don't mean someone who is a decent addition to your group. I mean someone who you really want to play with and can play with any random people that may tag along. No drama and always a great addition. 

 

Just to name a few off the top of my head;

• I feel like everyone may agree that they don't have to be great at golf, but they cannot be slow. 
• Gotta be on time
• Can't be the guy who bails night of or morning of. Hate that guy

 

 

[davep043]

A couple more come to mind:

• Cares enough to want to play well, but doesn't get too down on himself when he doesn't.  
• MUST be able to take good-natured ribbing without being insulted.
• Wants everyone in the group to succeed, never roots for someone's failure out of competitiveness.

 

[hwturner17]

7 minutes ago, davep043 said:

A couple more come to mind:

• Cares enough to want to play well, but doesn't get too down on himself when he doesn't.  
• MUST be able to take good-natured ribbing without being insulted.
• Wants everyone in the group to succeed, never roots for someone's failure out of competitiveness.

 

Those are all good. I think I've been guilty of your first point unfortunately

[Hawkeye77]

Interesting . . .

 

Treats those in the group and at the course in a friendly and respectful way whether it's basic golf etiquette or ordering from the beverage cart.

If you want to dish a little out, then better be able to take a little as well 'cause it is coming!  If you don't want to "engage" that's fine, too.

Keeps a pace reasonable for the day - sometimes a good pace, sometimes have to roll with the slow.

 

Most of all --- loves golf!

 

Edited May 19, 2021 by Hawkeye77

[davep043]

Just now, Hawkeye77 said:

Treats those in the group and at the course in a friendly and respectful way whether it's basic golf etiquette or ordering from the beverage cart.

Absolutely, I've played with one or two who treat the course staff like they were "servants", or worse.  Those folks are making my life better by doing their jobs, they deserve respect.

1 minute ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Keeps a pace reasonable for the day - sometimes a good pace, sometimes have to roll with the slow.

Similar to my thought of not letting his poor play ruin MY day, he's gotta tolerate slow play without complaining too much.

[Pepperturbo]

I am not going to list all the qualities of the idealistic golf partner. 

All I care about IS, he's NOT a quitter, wants to win, mature and knows how to get along with others, faces challenges and allows for differences.

 

The rest doesn't matter. 

[Blonde Line Lizard]

The only thing I care about is if we enjoyed our time together and had fun.

[Hawkeye77]

9 minutes ago, davep043 said:

Absolutely, I've played with one or two who treat the course staff like they were "servants", or worse.  Those folks are making my life better by doing their jobs, they deserve respect.

Similar to my thought of not letting his poor play ruin MY day, he's gotta tolerate slow play without complaining too much.

Yep!

[MelloYello]

Ideally, she's gotta have a thick....oh, wait....

 

 

Well, I think we all know there are some obvious dudes out there that are annoying as heck:

 

(A) Rage guy
(B) Rules guy

(C) Let-me-tell-you-what-I-did-on-that-last-swing commentary guy

(D) Slow play guy

(E) Leave the cart 50-yds short of the green back in the fairway guy

 

They all suck and we probably avoid them as a matter of course or just tolerate them when we have to. But I think there are some more subtle things I'm now increasingly annoyed by now that I'm becoming a more dedicated player.

 

I can forgive a lack of skill / talent. I certainly love it when a player is laid back, chill, funny, has good rhythm, knows how to get back into position when they're in trouble, rarely hits a clunker, etc. All of that is great. 

 

But I do notice certain things that are negatives. I have to admit, while they don't "annoy" me, they certainly disappoint me. 

 

#1

The guy who says F it on hole 4 and starts hitting full-bore drives on every hole like it doesn't matter to his playing partner(s) that he's selfishly making his carelessness a distraction.

 

I just feel like this is so immature but it's how a lot of 80's shooters are. If they aren't playing great, they just stop caring. I won't say anything, but it's annoying. It's like they have no idea about the collective momentum of the group. 

 

#2

The inexplicably bad wedge guy. I can't tell you how many people I've met that can bomb a 300-yd drive but can't hit a decent wedge 100-yds. I'm so sick of seeing this. What's worse is usually that they always act shocked like "how did that possibly happen" even though it's usually a hall-mark of their game.

 

#3

Speaking of which, how about the guy who hasn't figured out how to manage his miss? How many times have you seen someone who hits a beautiful draw with the driver one day but then hits nothing but snap hooks the next like they can't break 100? 

 

 

The more I think about it, a lot of this stuff seems to come down to the same thing. It's lack of focus. It's carelessness. It's kind of the expression of a fundamentally lame attitude. It's rare to meet a good player you honestly find annoying. They do exist, LOL. I played with one recently. Super talkative. Real slow at times. Real reactive. 

 

Like golf, finding the right partner(s) is a lot about eliminating the bad, unwanted parts. It's shaving off the crap that doesn't work. 

 

Shots are rarely perfect and very few people are either. 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2021 by MelloYello

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

The guy that’s just a little bit worse than me at golf.  
 

But seriously, there have been a couple good points made here already. 
I really enjoy a fun person that’s competitive and can trash talk. 
I have a lot of respect for grinders that accept they have a bad day and adapt, instead of dragging the rest of the group down with a „screw it“ attitude and deliberately play carelessly. 
 

I also like good strategists who are playing with a plan. Love talking about different ways to tackle a certain hole. My group usually whacks away and are astonished when it doesn’t work out- again. I don’t understand this attitude, the game is hard as it is, at least try and play smart to avoid easy mistakes. 
 

Another thing: realizing that after 3-4 hours you haven’t touched politics, work troubles or too much gear/technique talk and still had a great time. That’s hard to find in a partner. 

[Flip4000]

For me positive attitude and being a quick player are my top 2.

 

It's amazing how much better the vibes are when you play with people who are happy go lucky or are positive despite bad shots. Usually if the vibes are good, I play better too.

[hwturner17]

33 minutes ago, Flip4000 said:

For me positive attitude and being a quick player are my top 2.

 

It's amazing how much better the vibes are when you play with people who are happy go lucky or are positive despite bad shots. Usually if the vibes are good, I play better too.

Having just played with someone who brought the vibes waaay down after they didn't start the way they wanted, I promised myself I wouldn't ever get to that point again. If my round is trashed, just enjoy the day. Find something to enjoy

[samwm]

Good player, bad player, doesn't matter to me. Keep it light and enjoyable out there. If guys on Tour can laugh off missed shots that directly represent $100,000 dollar swings, you should be able to shrug off your skulled wedge that cost you a shot at your $5 front nine Nassau.

 

My golf game got infinitely better once I started working on my mental game. Playing with anyone who isn't in control of that end of things is always difficult, or worse, downright unpleasant. 

[hwturner17]

I have this one guy I play with that would be lucky to break 100, which is absolutely fine. He only started playing maybe 2-3 years ago and he acts like he SHOULD be a single digit, yet he's never taken a lesson, doesn't care to learn on his own and gets so frustrated on the course. It's a very entitled attitude. 

 

Edit: forgot to mention, this guy also does the Hidecki move and lets go of the club on the follow through on a bad shot but actually let's it go. He grazed one of our buddies the other day and didn't even apologize. 

 

On the other end of the spectrum, I have another guy I play with who is the same skill level but he's fully aware of his current capabilities. His expectations and reality are more closely aligned than the first guy and he takes the odd lesson and practices. He's also quick to pick up so he doesn't slow the group down. It makes suuuuuch a huge difference to their playing partners AND to their own performance. They just don't realize it

Edited May 19, 2021 by hwturner17

[Golferguy209]

- Similar level of skill (desired but not required)

- Not afraid to play courses based on price

- Open to playing new courses

- Free to play on the weekends, planning in advance without bailing, or on short notice

- Good conversation on course

- Doesn't get too upset at his play or create a tense environment

[r3www]

Doesn’t take it too seriously is up there for me. When they start yelling and cursing I feel like I have to walk on egg shells the round and feel guilty for hitting good shots myself

[elwhippy]

Honesty. Humour. Keeps up with play. Doesn't boast when they hit one long drive a round. Knows where the bar is. 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

6 minutes ago, elwhippy said:

Honesty. Humour. Keeps up with play. Doesn't boast when they hit one long drive a round. Knows where the bar is. 

 

And remembers where his wallet is once there.

[Soloman1]

 

 

Last, but not least, she's drop dead gorgeous?

[miamistomp]

5 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

 

 

Last, but not least, she's drop dead gorgeous?

 If that is the partner qualifier , it explains the Soloman thing ...

[Righty to Lefty]

I personally like it that me and my buddies are super competitive and once the tee goes in the ground it's on but once the last putt drops only the funny memories will persist and be saved to memory.  We then go to our lil golf email group and tell the rest of the fellas how things went down shot for shot often times!! Then everyone reloads for the next time.  I enjoy playing good golf and not just playing golf and that's what I always strive for.  There are moments we are laughing and joking and there are moments we are dead silent cause we are all focused and I rather enjoy both.  I love it that playing with my buddies turns on the competitive fire in me because I feel that is needed in life in some aspect or things become stale and it keeps me striving for improvement within the game constantly and continually.  

 

A female that loves golf and could really play would be the jackpot in my opinion.  I couldn't imagine me and my woman beating the brakes off my buddies in a heads up match...oh the banter!! Troy Mullins, Cassandra Meyer, or a Paige Spiranic type would fit the bill nicely!! 

[jomatty]

As long as someone can keep pace and not be negative then I enjoy their company.  Folks complaining about every little thing wrong with the course and acting like they would never miss if the course was a little better gets old.  I like folks that like to play a match.  Doesn’t have to be for a lot, but I enjoy playing for something, even if it’s literally just a drink or something.  I have a great regular match play game on Wednesday where we play for a Gatorade and love it (I enjoy playing for $$ more in general but this is a good competitive match that is always fun).

 

things I need to work on:

1.  Not getting down on myself.  I finished a round recently when I realized I was such a bad playing partner.  Went in playing really well and with expectations.  It made me really act like a baby and I went home feeling foolish.

2.  Not babbling about equipment.  I love gear and sometimes I mistake a question like “is that the new sim” to mean “tell me your thoughts on drivers and what you were playing and why you switched”. This is annoying.

3.  No one needs to know that the shot I just hit in the bunker was an issue because I was in between clubs and tried to hit a knockdown 7 iron instead of a big 8 because of the wind or whatever.  No one cares about whatever nonsense is going on in my head.

 

just to be clear, I think I’m usually a fairly good playing partner.  I play fast, generally can keep my mouth shut, or carry on a conversation, depending on what others seem in the mood for, and play competitively but not take it too far.  That said, I do have my days and some tendencies that I have to watch out for...

[ezpz]

Don't whine, don't be slow. Unfortunately many people in golf believe they are "competitive" or have "winners-mentality" or whatever they carried over from their carreer/college bro days however this will mostly manifest in them whining or raging uncontrolably when things start going the wrong way instead of doing everything they can to make the most out of a bad round. 

[caniac6]

Positive attitude, and a good sense of humor. Doesn't have to be a speed demon, but being fairly quick is a plus.

[lefthack]

I enjoy spending time with them, then I generally don't care. But if folks I play with are slow, I will hassle them. If they are a jackass, I will call them out on it. A bunch of my friends that used to golf have given it up for fishing, so there is that. 🤣

[dugue4]

8 minutes ago, lefthack said:

A bunch of my friends that used to golf have given it up for fishing

What's wrong with both?

[Fairway14]

Mostly what I hope for in a playing partner is someone who strikes lots of good shots. It definitely helps one's game to see good shots from others.

Also, I hope for proper etiquette, including a minimal amount of talking and knowing where to stand on the tee boxes - greens when others are playing shots. 

[MelloYello]

Being willing to pair up with other players is a good quality. For me, the ideal playing partner is someone who prefers to pair up (assuming the other folks are reasonable).

 

Some people just don't do this. For instance, yesterday evening I teed off as a single behind a 3-some of guys (my age!) who all looked at me and kept right on going. I wasn't going to invite myself into their group but the idea of being at a private club and ignoring someone who's 20-ft away and not including them kind of stinks. 

 

Being willing to bet is nice. Whether it's $1/hole or a $5 Nassau, it makes things much more interesting to feel like you won/lost something. It keeps you focused and makes the 18-hole journey feel like it matters. Otherwise, why are you keeping a handicap?! 

 

[double_d]

• #1: Partner is ready to tee off, done, warming up, done putting etc... a minimum of 8-10 minutes before tee time. My biggest pet peeve in life, is lateness. If you want to hit balls and warm up or hit the putting green, by all means, do it. But, if our tee time is 10am, I want you ready to tee off at 9:52 am.
• The rest of these are going to be a very distant second, third, etc.. but, the usual, don't talk in my backswing, rake the bunkers, mark your ball, just typical common sense stuff.

Really not much bothers me but, lateness.

[miamistomp]

 Show up on time, be ready to play, be aware of your surroundings

 Don't make a scene when you hit a bad shot, play the correct tees for your game

 Don't worry about my game and I won't worry about yours