A fave & a peeve about your regular partner…

[TomRUtah]

Pro: Easy going

 

Con: Every comment is a joke of some sort, even with other golfers on the course who are in earshot.  He tries too hard to be witty. 

[driveandputtmachine]

I have a pretty regular foursome.

5 HNDCP, 16 HNDCP, 28 HNDCP  our personalities all mesh pretty well.

 

5 - 

Pro - great driver of the ball, decent iron player.  I've watched him hit 13 or 14 fairways and 12+ greens and shoot 85

Con - his putting is atrocious, gives all five footers to everyone.

 

16 - 

Pro - Great mentality, has horrible equipment for his game. The items I have gotten him to purchase he hits great.  Listens to advice.

Con - shows up to the course with 5 minutes to spare every time.

 

28 -

Pro - fun, likes beer

Con - golf.  

 

I have another friend that use to be as bad, they always play straight up.  The other guy has let me work on his swing and clubs.  Mainly chipping and putting.  He is now a 22 and whoops the 28 constantly.  The 22 will be down to a 15 before long.

[betarhoalphadelta]

For my regular foursome: 

 

Pro: Just a bunch of good guys that enjoy playing together. A little random too. Three of us are technically coworkers but we don't talk work on the course, one of the coworkers is the other's son. The fourth is a guy from my homebrew club. Despite being a strange dynamic, everyone gets along great and we have a lot of fun.

 

Cons:

Father coworker: Never takes enough club. Heck, this could apply to all of them, but misses the green short about 85% of the time. He's got a good short game but he'd save strokes if he'd actually take enough club to make the green.

 

Son coworker: Just completely not self-aware about not talking during someone's swing. I don't think he's doing it maliciously, he just simply doesn't even think about it.

 

Homebrewer: Shows up at the course in a t-shirt. I've never seen a course turn him away (despite the "official" dress code at our typical course not allowing t-shirts), but a little more decorum would be nice. 

 

[Long_Left]

My primary opponent is a 10, I play off 6 and he gets 2 a side, matches are very competitive... we play a $5 nassau with an extra $5 if you lose all 3, of probably 100 of these matches played, I'd guess that there is less than a $100 difference in total money exchanged. He's been a friend for over 20 years.

 

Pro: He's a great human being, honest and doesn't take himself too seriously. Fun to play with and compete against, can take and dish jabs as well as anyone.

 

Con: Loves to watch YouTube to work on his game... has a different "magic bullet" about once a month, refuses to take a lesson. Also, he's good for at least 2 miracle shots a round where he hits an impossible shot to a foot.

[Abh159]

Pro: He plays fast and is a very solid player (+ cap)

 

Con: A few bad shots and he starts to get mad. Not club throwing or breaking mad, but super down on himself and starts complaining about every shot.

[rooski]

My best buddy and I live a ways away from eachother now but are good for at least a solid few rounds a year one way or another

 

PRO: Great player, and a hilarious easy-going attitude. He will get up and down from anywhere. Always willing to either have a serious focusing round or a closest to the pin for a shotgunned Bud Light round

 

CON: His preshot routine is exactly the same every time and it has got to take at least a minute. 4 or 5 full slow practice swings including divot on every shot. There's no changing it at this point. When we all get together for a golf trip, our rounds are at fastest 4:40 and there is just nothing I can do about it cause nobody else seems to care. My preferred 4-some in carts time is closer to 3:30 so it is really hard for me to focus on my shots when I see groups behind us.

Edited July 20, 2021 by rooski

[ZacR88]

One of my friends on and off the course. Plays to a 12HCP, he is really a 15 or higher but whatever. 

 

Pro: good friend who I enjoy spending time with. 

 

Con: Cant play golf for s*** and thinks he knows it all. Hence why he never gets any better but is very quick to tell you what is wrong with your swing.

[rooski]

Another answer, this time about the person I play with most, my pops

 

Pros: It's my dad so all the obvious pros, taught me everything I know about the game for the most part, very positive and wants me to do well more than I want myself to do well out there

 

Cons: Hard to play against, pure golf magic the likes of which you've not seen before. Before his injuries he had a private sponsorship onto the PGA tour, shot 59, 60, 61 at courses all over in his youth with a pure feel swing quite similar to Arnold Palmer or Jack. Apparently Palmer taught his grandad directly and its travelled down a couple generations. He's older and hurt now so he hasnt practiced in probably a decade, gets in around par from the tips though. If he has a 60 foot putt or a 35 yard chip from a waste area to win an important bet, it will with absolute certainty go in every time. Luckily he doesn't too often turn that on against me because I think secretly he wants me to win

Edited July 21, 2021 by rooski

[vandyfan]

I have a buddy who is a really nice guy and generally fun to be around. However, we both started as 25 HDCPs and now I am a 5 and he is...a 26. He gets annoyed about that but refuses to take lessons and instead prides himself on being a "self-taught" golfer*. Which, again, is fine but he is pretty slow because he is always working on some "tip" that is going to help his game but he doesn't practice so he's always trying stuff out on the golf course. It used to be funny but now I just wish I had more single HDCPs to play against. It's not really fun to play someone who you are giving a stroke (in some cases two strokes) on every hole. I don't like playing for much money (I have never understood guys that have to play for $50+ to remain interested) but I do enjoy a gentle competition. 

 

*Which, sidenote on being "self-taught", I understand how it is used for people who have never taken formal lessons but unless you grew up on a deserted island and no influence from anyone else then you're not really self taught. Do you read instruction books/magazines, watch other pros, watch youtube instructional videos etc? Then you're learning from them but I digress....

[larrybud]

Fave: Dude is funny, and gets all my seinfeld and simpson references. Plays fast, doesn't have to be "baby sit" e.g. watching his ball, etc.

 

Peeve: He's a drunk.

 

[sittingbull]

Pro** has worked hard on his game for the last 4 years and now is a 6 but more like a 10

 

Cons** thinks 3 footers are good and gives them in leauge to our opponents..

Edited October 28, 2021 by sittingbull

[RobS]

Pro: Great conversationalist and a great story teller

Con: Starts talking when it's his turn to hit instead of hitting first and talking on the way down the fairway

[The Pearl]

Reading through this thread and reviewing my playing groups, I am convinced that very few golfers really want to get better. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

2 minutes ago, The Pearl said:

Reading through this thread and reviewing my playing groups, I am convinced that very few golfers really want to get better. 

 

I think that's quite accurate. Some of them will tell you they want to get better, but most just want to go beat a ball around a course and get away from real life for 5 hours. 

 

Like the playing partner that @blackbdmillsaps is talking about. That guy doesn't really want to get better. He SAYS he wants to get better, but he's not willing to put in the time, effort, and WORK to do it. He's probably griping a little bit because he and @blackbdmillsaps started the same time and now he's a little jealous of their score differentials--but not jealous enough to actually do anything meaningful to change it.

 

Whether a golfer really wants to get better will be exposed by their actions, not their words. If they're not actually practicing and working to get better, well then you know what you're dealing with.

[The Pearl]

1 minute ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

I think that's quite accurate. Some of them will tell you they want to get better, but most just want to go beat a ball around a course and get away from real life for 5 hours. 

 

Like the playing partner that @blackbdmillsaps is talking about. That guy doesn't really want to get better. He SAYS he wants to get better, but he's not willing to put in the time, effort, and WORK to do it. He's probably griping a little bit because he and @blackbdmillsaps started the same time and now he's a little jealous of their score differentials--but not jealous enough to actually do anything meaningful to change it.

 

Whether a golfer really wants to get better will be exposed by their actions, not their words. If they're not actually practicing and working to get better, well then you know what you're dealing with.

 

I have a long time buddy I have played with for over 20 years.  He should easily be a 4 or 5 handicap, always talks about getting better, goes to the range, plays a couple times a week, but DOES almost everything in the book to self-sabotage.   And by self-sabotage it is all "low hanging" fruit.  His regular life is a bit chaotic by his own doing and so is his golf game.

 

You are correct, I think he purposely tries to self-sabotage his golf game so he doesn't have to think about other things, yet still maintain his comfort zone of constant low-level anxiety.  He could cut 5 or 6 strokes off his game in one day if he would simply get his act together.  

 

It is comical and tragic.

[MikeW2]

On 7/19/2021 at 8:35 AM, sekrah said:

 

This is a weird peeve to me.  Are you offering unsolicited advice?  99% of the people I know despise that.

 

We played today and on the range before he asked me to “caddy” for him, basically club him and guide him around the course. He shot 85, 84 with two three putts each 18. First time to break 90 for him and he smashed it twice. Pretty happy for him!

[ZA206]

I've got several I can write about, we play all the time:

 

JB-

Pros: Good player (we are close in ability), fun, likes to play lots of different courses, always up for a trip and can be serious about playing (as can I). He wants to WIN that damn member-guest!

Cons: Ultimate passive-aggressive trash talker... it threw me off when we first started playing together, now I laugh at his comments. They aren't direct digs, but super subtle little jabs through out the course of the round! I'm much more direct in my trash talking, his style is like a shrink trying to needle into your head.

 

DG-

Pros: Funny guy who knows tons of rich people and has amazing stories and seems to be on permanent vacation playing golf and traveling with these other people (not me, dang it). Great sense of humor and talks great trash during the round, he can also handle tons of abuse and laugh it off.

Cons: Crazy swing I can barely stand to watch, I mean kinda Matthew Wolf crazy (I typically won't watch and if I do, I have to focus on not laughing). In fact, he's got his eyes closed or looking up when hitting the ball.... He STILL manages to be a 10 handicap or so and occasionally wins money off me. Dat swing tho!!!

 

RP-

Pros: Another comedian. LOUD, LOUD LOUD, loves to gamble, always has a new "game", good player, he's "that guy" in our group. White belt guy, obnoxious golf outfits, blaring music. Easy to manipulate if he's not playing well, can easily be derailed with some  well timed digs and a few clutch putts by a competitor. 

Cons: Sandbagger and prone to club throwing and occasional tantrums.

 

-ZA

[rooski]

On 7/20/2021 at 5:07 PM, rooski said:

Another answer, this time about the person I play with most, my pops

 

Pros: It's my dad so all the obvious pros, taught me everything I know about the game for the most part, very positive and wants me to do well more than I want myself to do well out there

 

Cons: Hard to play against, pure golf magic the likes of which you've not seen before. Before his injuries he had a private sponsorship onto the PGA tour, shot 59, 60, 61 at courses all over in his youth with a pure feel swing quite similar to Arnold Palmer or Jack. Apparently Palmer taught his grandad directly and its travelled down a couple generations. He's older and hurt now so he hasnt practiced in probably a decade, gets in around par from the tips though. If he has a 60 foot putt or a 35 yard chip from a waste area to win an important bet, it will with absolute certainty go in every time. Luckily he doesn't too often turn that on against me because I think secretly he wants me to win

 

Went out with the aforementioned playing partner yesterday to test out my new clubs. I played alright shot a 74, wasn't super hot though swing was lazy.

 

Beat him on the front side for a couple bucks but we upped the bet for the back 9 and then he shot a 30 with a bogey? It's a shorter course but still.. what a jerk. We play $5 a hole $2.50 trash and somehow I lost like $45.00 on the back?

[Primo1868]

Pro: our games are fairly equal, we have so much fun playing together, we balance each other nicely 

 

con: we don’t play much anymore now that he has had his second child 😢

[nitram]

Never says no but farts in bed.

[z71bcm]

On 7/18/2021 at 1:57 PM, Valtiel said:

My uncle is probably my most common playing partner, been playing with him since I was little. 

Pros: Always a good sense of humor and the trash talk always feels natural and never goes too far. No etiquette or social issues really (save for below) and he is pleasant to play with regardless of how he is playing. All of this is especially true since he got sober right before the pandemic (auspicious time to do so). 

Cons: He has ONE specific habit that sometimes drives me nuts. It doesn't matter who is putting, but if the ball is on the way and anywhere near the hole he'll go "It's in......IT'S IN......IT'S IN!" or "Got a chance.....GOT A CHANCE.....GOT A CHANCE!!" in a rising level of excitement implied by the font, lol. The problem is, 95% of the time its not, nor is it even particularly close, which is especially irritating when the putt is clearly coming up short. And the weird thing is, he often WON'T do this on the putts that actually do go in or ARE extremely close, which suggests the he actually knows what the putt is doing and I don't know....tries to will them in with excitement? I don't care most of the time, but sometimes he'll go on a long stretch of doing this on lousy putts and you have to make a comment on whether or not his eyes are working correctly today. 😅
 

lol this is hilarious

[Warrior42111]

Pros: Similar playing abilities, good fun to be with can, feed off of each other

 

Cons:  Complains of miss hits on low toe shots with no spin that run to 280-300 yards

[buckrogers71]

1 buddy that I almost always play with.

 

Pro: Pretty much always available and will play expensive courses despite being cheap.

 

Cons: Will announce when he's hit a bad shot "Oh, thats going right!!!!" then says "I'll own that." Uhhhh, yeah b/c I certainly didnt do anything to cause it. Or he gets super competitive and doesnt say a word after the 6th hole.  

[OnTheBag]

I play with the largest collections of misfits and oughta be convicts in history.  Just kidding.....mostly.

 

Hard to describe all 8 of them, so I'll give the highlights.

 

#1.  Another former tour caddie.  My regular partner in crime. 

Pro:  Known each other for about 35 years and used to travel together, especially in Europe.  Tons of stories about each other.

Con:  No longer cares unless there's money on the line.  Will go from "Whatever" to hyper competitive when someone whips out a $20 bill.

 

#2.  Old guy that lives in my neighborhood.

Pro:  Was probably scratch at one time.  Swing is starting to show its age now.

Con:  Smokes these nasty, cheap cigars constantly.  I won't ride in the cart with him.

 

#3.  Former PGA player, now retired (I bagged for him at one time).

Pro:  Absolute beast when we are hustling.  He was never a household name, just a journeyman tour guy, so no one recognizes him.  Eats unsuspecting tourist for lunch.

Con:  Horribly moody.  His mood changes like the clock.  Still can't read a putt to save his life.

 

#4.  Former LPGA player (and my boss for a long time)

Pro:  Known her for years.  Great friend and the biggest source of my career income.

Con:  Doesn't live locally year around.  Limits how much we play together.

 

What others would say about me

Pro:  Decent player that doesn't get too up or down.  My game is what it is now that I'm on the wrong side of the age curve, but I can still hold my own.

Con:  I play too fast sometimes and tend to get impatient.  I really dislike tourists that show up with all The Gear and then shoot 100+, while we are standing there with mismatched clubs and clothes at 6 over par.  I'm an a****** in general and don't have a filter on my mouth.

Edited December 9, 2021 by OnTheBag

[finleysg]

Pro: my fourball partner and I are both 3-4 caps, but we punch above our weight. I think it's because we trust each other to play hard, have fun, and never get bent out of shape when the other has a bad stretch. We also have the exact same birth date, which is kind of crazy. 

 

Con: he may move south soon. I doubt if I'll find another partner that I enjoy playing competitive golf with as much. A comfortable fourball partner is a treasure  

[Pulledabill]

Pro: We play at similar pace, we encourage, and only offers advice when I ask or when something is way off. 

 

Con: Feeds me drinks when Im on the verge of beating him. 

[KingstonGolfer]

My pet peeve- Switching who is driving randomly 

[dannyhorn]

joined a private club this year with some solid guys I play with regularly, handicaps ranging from 3-17. 

 

pros: awesome guys that work hard outside of golf and then really enjoy golfing and getting to relax

cons: no one can stay sober

 

(everyone is still respectful, as I am half joking as a "con") 

[Subsonic]

Pro:  Knows all the etiquette.  Good guy to hang out with

 

Con:  Used to be fast till he bought a rangefinder.  Put that thing down for crying out loud!

[OnTheBag]

2 hours ago, Subsonic said:

Con:  Used to be fast till he bought a rangefinder.  Put that thing down for crying out loud!

The ones that kill me, spend 5 minutes trying to determine a +/-5 yard differential.  I hate to tell ya buddy, but you've only hit 2 greens all day.  That 5 yards ain't gonna make a difference.  hahaha.