Mulligan rule and myth. discuss.

[golfortennis]

I just don't get the attitude of some of y'all on this forum. I know we go and temper our responses with "I'm no golf elitist but.....", but I don't get how some of you guys care so much about how other people play the game. It doesn't affect you in the slightest.....but some dude says how he accepts gimmes or how he may take a mulligan, and it's an attack on the game itself.....as if the game of golf is coming to an end...

 

I wish how other people played didn't affect me...I probably wouldn't have a chip on my shoulder about it. I don't know about you, maybe you've got your own private course, or maybe your local course is always empty and pace of play is not even an issue...BUT wherever I play, there's always lots of people on the course, meaning that when any group plays slow IT TENDS TO AFFECT ALL THE GROUPS BEHIND IT.

 

And also to say that these things don't have an influence on the game itself in the long run, that is short-sighted. Things like tradition, and standards mean nothing if people don't maintain them.

 

Good point. I hear what you're saying. And again, keep in mind that for myself, I never take a mulligan. I wouldn't cheat during a round even if I was playing by myself with no one around, just because if I shoot the round of my life, I would always feel that I didn't accomplish it legitimately...

 

In New York, I can imagine that a mulligan WILL affect all the groups behind it. And going back to every response I've written, I never stated nor implied that a mulligan in your types of situations would be OK. In the OP's situation and on a course where people are waiting on the tee box or even if they are putting out on the green behind, I DO NOT think mulligans should be taken. I'd agree that mulligans are NEVER OK if a group has to wait even a couple of seconds because of that mulligan.

 

But my disagreement with your response lies in the sweeping generalities that you make about mulligans. To say that there isn't a player right now, somewhere, all alone on a course is...well.....baffling. Not everywhere is crowded as New York is. To say that this person is destroying the traditions of golf by hitting another drive is equally baffling. And no, Xan, I'm not talking about us here in Hawaii either. I think the Ala Wai Golf Course on the outskirts of Waikiki was once tabbed as the busiest golf course in the U.S., yet it is rare that a round will get much longer than 4 hours. And, no, mulligans are neither accepted nor tolerated there.

 

I do see what you mean re: your argument that allowing mulligans is not holding these people up to standards of golf. And in a case of a player counting his score as official, I would have to agree....a mulligan is cheating. But the majority of people who take a mulligan, I would guess, are people who are simply looking to improve their tee shots....they're practicing. I love the game of golf as well, but if we're trying to preserve tradition, there are bigger fish to fry than bitching out people who want to improve their driving. Cell phone users, not raking the trap, the foot wedge, taking a drop instead of re-teeing, people who ride their drivers like a horse, etc.

 

 

 

 

Here's the problem with your line of thinking. It sounds good on the surface. Why should T care if Joe takes a mulligan? He'll likely never play with him again, and they're not competing, so what's the big deal? After all it's just Joe taking a mulligan. Except that it's not. Joe brings one of his friends out to play for the first time, and he hits a bad drive way off into the trees. Joe's proper response is, "under the rules of golf, you would need to re-tee and be hitting your third shot because your ball is lost. But since this is your first time, go ahead and hit another one and that is a mulligan. You will play with some people who will insist you play it as your third shot, and they will be right. Ok?" Is that what Joe says tohis buddy? Not a snowball's chance in hell. "Ah, tee up another one, that one doesn't count. We do it all the time." So now, not only Joe, but Joe's buddy thinks its ok. Joe's buddy doesn't think he will need to learn how to hit his clubs, because the balls that disappear don't count.

 

It's the multiplier effect that is really the issue. The other thing is, when Joe's buddy goes and plays with someone who knows the rules, now that person is in an awkward situation, because he, as a total stranger, has to point ou the rules to Joe's buddy, when Joe shoud have done it(and it is much easier to tell your buddy the rules than a total stranger.)

 

If Joe knows and plays by the rules, then the people Joe brings in are quite likely to do the same. But if he doesn't.....

 

This is why the "it doesn't affect your game" argument is BS. That, and, like I've said before, what makes you thinka person who has no regard for the rules is going to have any different view on etiquette? And that absolutely affects my game.

 

If they are practicing, why aren't they on the driving range?

[obsessed_golfer]

In a practice round when you're not holding anyone up, no problem playing 2 balls.....I do that a lot myself, hitting different clubs for each ball or trying something different near the green.

 

But as far as a mulligan, I think you'll more than likely hit the second ball in the same place as the first. So there's no value, as fat as I'm comcerned.

[xan_user]

(sic) And no, Xan, I'm not talking about us here in Hawaii either. I think the Ala Wai Golf Course on the outskirts of Waikiki was once tabbed as the busiest golf course in the U.S., yet it is rare that a round will get much longer than 4 hours. And, no, mulligans are neither accepted nor tolerated there.

(sic)

 

My vague point was not the Hawaii is any less busy than NY, but that the relaxed "Island" atmosphere is more prevalent in your neck of the woods, than the Island of Manhattan. You and Blue's discussion reminded me of that.

 

Ive played in both HI and NY, so I have a little understanding in the differing attitudes.

 

Playing golf in NY IMO is like driving there, hurry up and wait.

And in HI its more like "You want to drive to play golf?"

"Na', lets wait till tomorrow."

 

I wonder what they call a Mulligan in Jamaica? :drinks:

[Wookieedog]

our men's blitz plays hit 2 off the first tee and play your best ball, no other mulligan's permitted in the round. The reason being that the first hole is a 185-205 par 3 and there is no driving range built yet. With that being the case, and hole being a difficult and long shot for the first swing of the Saturday morning, I support this idea until the range is built so you can properly warm up first.

 

practice rounds, I call unofficial rounds, and I will play a mulligan if I am trying to work something out of my swing. Real or official rounds, mulligans do not exist in. If I am playing to try to score, and another guy wants to play a mulligan, I let him and do not comment on it. It is not my job to live with their actions, they are the ones that have to do it. I have enough stress in my life where I do not worry about what other golfers do or do not do on the course.

[armchaircaddy]

I played a round at The Revere Golf Club in Las Vegas with an older gentleman visiting from Scotland. I plonked one OB on a huge canyon hole. I asked him, "What do they call mulligans in Scotland?" He replied, "Hitting three!".

 

PS I've stopped taking mulligans.

[Snowdust]

Don't take them and don't offer them, but then again I don't keep the others score so they can do as they please as long as we aren't competing.

 

I have played alone, hit a bad really bad tee shot and thought about it, but then suck it up and play it. Second shot has been a "career shot" and led to a birdie and that feeling of not surmising to a mulligan was a great feeling.

[Bomb and Gouge]

I have played alone, hit a bad really bad tee shot and thought about it, but then suck it up and play it. Second shot has been a "career shot" and led to a birdie and that feeling of not surmising to a mulligan was a great feeling.

 

 

Exactly....that is what the game is all about.

 

I gain instant respect for someone when I see them dribble a tee ball into the rough before the fairway. And then they calmly walk over to the cart, get a new club and go hack it back into the fairway.

 

And then how good does it feel when you save par when something like that happens?

[GivemFitz]

A one-man scramble is  a variation of mulligan golf where you take two shots if you want and select the ball you want to play next. This process is continued finish the hole and record your score off the best balls played. This is often referred to as potential golf as it is a very good indicator of your golfing abilities. I play this format several times a year, but always when the course is wide-open 

 

[Mr. Bean]

On 6/11/2023 at 7:36 PM, GivemFitz said:

A one-man scramble is  a variation of mulligan golf where you take two shots if you want and select the ball you want to play next. This process is continued finish the hole and record your score off the best balls played. This is often referred to as potential golf as it is a very good indicator of your golfing abilities. I play this format several times a year, but always when the course is wide-open 

 

 

Some people do the opposite, they choose the worse ball and play it. That gives you an idea of your abilities to perform instead of your dream potential.

 

My home club has a 9-hole par3 -course and that is a magnificent place to use that training method.

[SNIPERBBB]

wow a 14 year old necropost

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by SNIPERBBB

[LKNgolf]

Mulligans are ok on the course with family or friends.  Or if I’m solo on a day the course is busy and it’s clear that the 5some in front of me will never ever consider letting me play through.  I might play two balls down every hole on the back 9.

However…They are not ok for anything official handicap tracking or tournament oriented.  
 

Charity outings captains choice and all that stuff is fine.  Buy and sell as

many mulligans as possible so you can give more money to kids with cancer.  Oh and if you win the 50/50 also give that to the kids with cancer.  That’s the classy move, which I see people get right only some of the time.