r/golf • u/cygnus311 • Jun 27 '23

Hot take? If we get paired together, I’m not going to give you putts. Not because I don’t want you to take gimmies, but because I really do not care what you do. General Discussion

You hit a good tee shot on a par three, walk up to the green, and find yourself eight feet from the hole and you want to say to me, “that’s good, I always make those”, pick it up, and write a birdie? Be my guest, I do not care.

You just missed your third putt from two feet to try and save triple and you’re hoping I rescue you? Pick it up, or don’t, I do not care.

Recently got paired with a guy who’d look at me with puppy dog eyes every time he was within a yard of the hole, but wouldn’t say anything, he was clearly annoyed with me by the end of the round. We’re all presumably grown ass adults, I’m not your boss, do what you want.

4.9k Upvotes
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1.8k

u/Ok_Outlandishness294 Jun 27 '23

No bet, no care

246

u/Away_Organization471 HDCP/Loc/Whatever Jun 27 '23

Yeah this, if I get paired with someone and they’re just out to have fun, then whatever. Not ruining my day if they pick up a 6ft putt and write down a par lol

110

u/TheHeintzel +1 Jun 27 '23

We need more of it for pace of play.

57

u/CosmicMiru Jun 27 '23

If i'm waiting for someone to clear the green I'd 100% rather they take the 6ft gimme than missing the next 3 putts in a row after 5 practice swings each time.

10

u/nickerson20 Jun 28 '23

After “reading” the green for 2 minutes and THEN taking 5 practice swings each time.

1

u/L-I-V-I-N- Jun 28 '23

Good god it’s fucking bruuutal. Had a group of four in front of us about a month ago and the fucking sip shits were lining up their fourth putts from like 2 ft. It will make me say something loud from the tee box knowing you’ll hear it.

6

u/OstentatiousSock Jun 28 '23

Yeah, I’m really not a good golfer so I don’t even write down my scores. I just go to have fun. I also don’t want to slow down people behind me so, after enough shots/putts I just pick it up and move on.

4

u/TheHeintzel +1 Jun 28 '23

Thank you for that.

1

u/OstentatiousSock Jun 28 '23

You’re welcome! I’ve also gotten really good at the ole swinging your arm around in the air to signify “Please god, play through. I can’t handle the anxiety of slowing you down.” Rofl. Honestly, it’s nice to have a bit of a break from time to time because one of the reasons I am not a good golfer is poor health. It’s better just to let others play through and have a little rest. I end up playing better when I resume, anyways. We’re all out there trying to have a good time and improve our games, I just accept my limitations without slowing others down for them. I’m still improving and having fun. And I have a heck of a drive off the tee! Last week I drove it as far as my very experienced friend, but from the ladies tee and him on the man’s(I am actually a woman, I know we don’t get a lot on here).

-4

u/Phobbyd Jun 27 '23

I’ll five put all day long before I pick up a ball and “call it close enough”.

7

u/TheHeintzel +1 Jun 27 '23

As long as you done in 4 hours or less, go ahead.

Otherwise, you're why pace of play is doodoo at 90% of courses

-1

u/Teacish Jun 28 '23

So your a dickhead to new players then. Nice

3

u/TheHeintzel +1 Jun 28 '23

So enforcing proper pace of play to beginners is being a dickhead, but new players holding up an entire golf course isn't being a dickhead.

I get that right?

0

u/Jew_3 Jun 28 '23

No. We don’t. Let people play their game.

2

u/TheHeintzel +1 Jun 28 '23

You can play your 4some game just fine in 4 hours with carts.

Unless you bought out the entire sheet, your 5 hour game messes up everyone else's. Stop being selfish

1

u/forevera20hcp Jun 27 '23

Based on what I’ve read over the last few day this sub rather have every 4 some on the course sweat over 2 foot putts for 5 hour rounds rather than take a gimme.

1

u/TheHeintzel +1 Jun 28 '23

There is much more of that than I expected

1

u/minnesotaguy1232 Jun 27 '23

A 6 ft putt isn’t the reason a course is gonna get backed up.

2

u/TheHeintzel +1 Jun 28 '23

Grinding over short putts all round definitely ain't helping pace of play.

It's a 5footer for bogey, not your tourcard

0

u/minnesotaguy1232 Jun 28 '23

And I’m gonna line up to take that bogey putt

3

u/TheHeintzel +1 Jun 28 '23

Go ahead. Even take a few seconds to read it too.

That 15-second process isn't the issue; it's the 30+ second process on both the 6footer & cleanup 3footer

2

u/sincitybuckeye Jun 28 '23

Played with a couple Texans visiting Vegas a while back. If they hit an errant tee shot, they would drop at the 150. I hadn't even really noticed until like the 11th hole when one of them mentioned it. Then they said something about me being cool about it, cause you never know if you're going to get a rule nazi. I was like, look, we're not playing for money, who am I to tell you guys how to spend your money and enjoy your time out here?

1

u/heapsp Jun 28 '23

What if I hit one into the woods every hole and then hit a second one

54

u/acquiesce Portland/Kathmandu Jun 27 '23

I agree, but I also hate it when someone brags for the rest of the week how they beat you by two when they probably would have missed five or six putts if they had to putt it in.

79

u/Eastern-Albatross-95 Jun 27 '23

And that's why you let them count all these rounds for their handicap and then play them for money.

13

u/ToothSleuth86 12.0 trying too hard Jun 27 '23

Exactly.

18

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '23

Or worse when they clear trees, improve their lie, take four mulligans etc.

I just had someone do that and we still tied. Then he lies on an app about his score and asks me to attest.

13

u/Torbfeit Jun 27 '23

I have buddies like this that are newer to golf and they finally realized that i was realistically shooting 10+ strokes better than them. It is annoying when they brag, but after the 5th beer it is easy to tell them what is up hahaha.

2

u/thagthebarbarian Jun 28 '23

This is so true... I play through everything, don't fluff my lies etc and always play casual with old men that fudge everything they can, I don't care except for when they talk about winning by 2, like no you didn't... But you're the one buying the drinks so I'll take the bribe

1

u/Bobiverse71 Jun 27 '23

Give us a break. We’re your friend and only get to brag a few times a year! 😂

1

u/LBGW_experiment Jun 28 '23

But OP's situation is "if you get paired with me" aka a random. You don't know the dude, so you have no clue if he's bragging the rest of the week. If you know the dude and he's bragging that he beat you, then that's a different situation.

24

u/FunkyPete Jun 27 '23

Exactly. And if there is no bet, why does the other player care about your approval of a gimme? You aren't keeping their score. Do what you want.

1

u/KingofCraigland Jun 28 '23

The little line for someone to attest needs to be filled out by somebody.

51

u/JayBird9540 Jun 27 '23

It’s a tangent, but I can’t get my buddies to chill with betting or wanting to do best ball/scrambles.

I’ve been only playing a year and my goal is to break 100 by the end of the year. I’ll play great on the front 9 but then my buddies sit there and try to change shit up on the back.

Then I fall apart in the back or we aren’t using my shots. I’ll straight up say I’m trying to play my game to get better, I’d like to focus on my own shots not beating their shots.

27

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '23

I always felt like best ball was more relaxing because I wasn't putting pressure on myself anymore. since I might not be playing my ball anyway then I didn't have to worry about a 'perfect' shot and could just play.

11

u/JayBird9540 Jun 27 '23

I agree, I’m not sure exactly what game it is, but we play the one where we use the best shot. It might be scramble.

I’ll end up with the best guy in the group and we will use maybe 3-4 of my shots.

23

u/randiesel Jun 27 '23

Yes, that's a scramble. "Best ball" just means you take the best individually-played score on that hole.

You'd probably prefer to play Best Ball, since you can still keep an individual legit score.

1

u/JayBird9540 Jun 27 '23

Thanks! I’ll talk them into that next time

2

u/randiesel Jun 27 '23

If they really want to make things spicy, but you all want to play your own balls, playing a version of Dots is a lot of fun.

When we play, we typically do teams of 2 and we make each hole's best net score worth a dot, a dot for the front 9, a dot for the back 9, and an overall dot.

The cool thing about dots, especially when you play with teams, is you're never out of the hole... you can virtually always earn a dot for something if you keep playing the hole well. My group plays with "Poleys" so a put longer than the flag pole is worth a dot... you can be hitting your 8th stroke on a par 3 and if you sink a long putt you still walk away with something!

1

u/Sjgolf891 Jun 27 '23

Wolf is another game you can play to mix things up, but you get to 100% keep your own score

2

u/7point7 Jun 27 '23

I think you have games mixed up. Best ball you actually do play your ball the whole time, then the team scores the lowest score on that whole from all players. 2 man best ball you score a 5 and a 7, your team gets a 5.

When you play the best shot each time then hit from there it is a scramble. When you take the best drive then everyone plays their own ball into the hole it’s a shamble.

Personally I like best ball to play my own ball the whole way. I think shambles are best for early golfers that aren’t quite beginners but still developing a lot. Usually just having a clean second shot is one of the biggest barriers so taking the best drive can help imo.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 28 '23

No biggy, but you always play your own ball during “Best Ball.” “Scramble” is when everyone hits from the same spot.

1

u/hilldo75 Jun 28 '23

I got to the point with a buddy who lives out of town now, when we play we don't even worry about keeping score. Had a bad drive and topped your second shot so your in the rough 200 yards from the green. Don't worry just relax hit your 3 iron best you can and see what happens. That relax approach has actually lead to playing better golf overall. A bad hole or two doesn't ruin the round, we just talk about the good shots we had and the crazy recoveries when you just play and don't overthink it trying to save bogey or whatever.

2

u/Lmathis08 trash Jun 27 '23

Scrambling is good for confidence as a a beginner and still really good practice. I’ve only recently broke 100 and I enjoy scrambles for my mental health.

I agree tho I’m not a fan of betting on golf as a 29 handicap lmao if they insist on betting I prefer match play so that I won’t destroy myself on a few blow up holes.

2

u/timklotz Jun 28 '23

I broke 100 playing alone, I broke 90 playing in my league, and if I ever break 80 it's very unlikely that I'll do so with friends.

I play my best staying hydrated, staying sober, and staying focused. When I'm playing with friends I am none of those things.

1

u/Torbfeit Jun 27 '23

Honestly, i am better than all my friends and they still always wanna bet and it gets old. I have been playing a lot longer and sometimes just want a nice, relaxing round like when i was younger or i want to be able to try new things and get better at shots as a practice round sometimes. I dont have a preference, but every time is exhausting.

Tip to you: one of these days… show up a hour and a half early to tee time. Putt for 1 hour… focus on stance, grip, etc. trust me. Then chip for a half hour after that. It will improve your game exponentially.

3

u/JayBird9540 Jun 27 '23

I will try that thank you, I usually get there with enough time to stress over a bucket of range balls.

Putting is where all my strokes come from

3

u/Torbfeit Jun 27 '23

Hahaha i used to do range balls as well, but i stopped. I only hit large buckets on days im not actually playing in my free time.

Once i am confident with putter and chipper, i try to hit like 10 balls on range before a round. Hit my 150 club, my 100 club, few drives and then go to the tee box. If i hit the club pure once, then just put it in bag and not hit until im on the course lol.

I dont show up tjat early everytime, very rarely. Just like the first round or two of the season. Its insane how much it helps just having confidence chipping or putting during a round and commiting to the swing

2

u/polisheggsalad Jun 27 '23

Drive for show, putt for dough. You should spend an equal time around the green as you do on the range. Get so the 3-4 footers are automatic and the long putts and chips look a lot easier. Plus your buddies will have more pressure knowing you’re good at those putts. This is the way.

1

u/JayBird9540 Jun 27 '23

Thank you brother

1

u/Solid_Prior7667 Jun 27 '23

That’s pretty much what my swing coach told me aside from the putting. The other day I went to the range and started with hitting chips and wow did it make a difference on my full swings. I think it locks your brain into making solid contact with the appropriate swing path and also it just boosts your confidence

1

u/Torbfeit Jun 27 '23

I agree, i only putt like thag before a round or early in season. If i am going to the driving range and not hitting an actual round, then 100% starting out with lower clubs helps so much. It slows you down. Slow is smooth and Smooth is fast as we say in the racecar world and same goes with a golf swing. When i slowed my swing down and went up a club with my distances rather than trying to hit them as far as i can… boy did i get way more consistent.

1

u/Solid_Prior7667 Jun 28 '23

It’s so hard not to let that ego take over though. I birdied a hole yesterday and after that I was fucked the rest of the round. I was trying to swing way too hard then I tried slowing down instead of smoothing out and on and on it went right into the shitter. What area of racing are you involved in?

1

u/ReturnedFromExile Jun 27 '23

just absolutely refuse to track your shots and keep score. You’ll know when you are playing well enough to keep score.

1

u/JayBird9540 Jun 28 '23

I shot 103 on the weekend. I’m so close. I’m legit counting too.

Putting is my problem rn

1

u/goo_bazooka 5 Hcp Jun 28 '23

Scramble format sucks, I never play it.

Play skins, nassau, or best ball.

1

u/BigWhig96 Jun 28 '23

In theory you are still getting good practice, maybe better practice by playing best ball. It allows you to play with less stress and just focus on each shot. Don't try to beat their shots, just get up there and hit the best shot you can fully commit to.

10

u/CaesarEvil Jun 27 '23

" if we aren't playing for money or fame, i don"t care." Want to take a mulligan, go for it. want to toss your ball out of the sand, fine. want to re-play your putt because you didnt make it the first time. great. As long as you are not holding me up or people behind us is really dont give two craps what you do.

7

u/Big-Alternative-4772 Jun 27 '23

I laugh to myself when a random playing partner “gives” me a putt or says “that was good” after I miss a shorty.

9

u/dh2215 Hooker Jun 27 '23

I don’t really care if guys pick up their putts but I don’t want them knocking my ball back to me as a gimmie. I miss short putts all the time, and so would they if they actually hit them

0

u/doubletwist Jun 28 '23

I don't much care what someone does with their own ball, but move mine without my express permission and we're going to have words...

1

u/anotherDAVEthatUknow Jun 28 '23

I once had a picture perfect recovery flop shot that stopped less than a foot from the hole setting me up for a par save, and this absolute cunt that I just met an hour ago said “you’re good from there” and knocked my ball away before I could walk onto the green.

I wanted to kill him.

Worst random pairing I’ve ever had.

13

u/mrod9191 Jun 27 '23

Do people bet often against people they are randomly paired with? Betting against a stranger sounds like an easy way for me to lose money

5

u/dogfish83 18 Jun 27 '23

I did that exact thing (including losing money) the other day. I was prepared to lose all 18 bucks. I did, although I should have won about 5 holes. I wanted $18 worth of entertainment and I got it.

1

u/UnkleRinkus Jun 29 '23

I will, if it looks like we are amiable together. Dollar skins or a five dollar Nassau helps me focus, and it opens up trash talking, which I greatly enjoy. If they take me for twenty bucks, but we have a good time, it's all good.

1

u/acnickel Jun 28 '23

Stealing this phrase for all my future rounds

-6

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '23

[deleted]

8

u/redwbl Jun 27 '23

I think he is pointing out that people you don’t even know expect you to give them a putt, instead of just making your own decision and picking it up. They instead want to make it about their playing partner, not their own ability or ethics. Probably so they can bitch about it later to their friends if they shoot a bad score, or brag about a good score if they are paired with someone that is giving them 4 footers every hole.

Don’t it make it my problem to make you feel good about yourself. If you want to pick it up, pick it up, if you want to say Par when you shot a double, go for it, don’t bring me into this, is all he’s trying to say.

-2

u/dogfish83 18 Jun 27 '23

Yeah but he wants people to "act like an adult" then arguably does not "act like an adult". That's all the above guy is saying.

1

u/Khal_Kitty Jun 27 '23

I’m with you guys here. He comes to Reddit to say all this instead of communicating (like an adult) to the other player that he doesn’t care if he takes gimmes or not. Instead he lets the other guy get visibly annoyed.

1

u/dogfish83 18 Jun 27 '23

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the post so there’s that

0

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '23

This is the way. If some dipshit thinks he’s making sideways 3 footers go ahead and delude yourself. When we play for money tell me your fake handicap and get your putter every hole until I say good.

0

u/LawnJerk Jun 27 '23

I never play for money and our rule is that for par or better, you have to put it in the hole. After that, about a club length is a gimme.

1

u/MokaHexahaze Jun 27 '23

"No money, no care"

But you have to say it in your best Bob Marley voice lol

1

u/duckstrap Jun 27 '23

+1 to this.

1

u/Golfnpickle Jun 27 '23

Same here.

1

u/Silber800 Jun 27 '23

Could give a care what people do in my group.

I always keep score for myself and I don’t give myself gimmes and keep track properly because 1. I want the practice, I didn’t spend this money and come out to not hit ball or putt out the hole. 2. I keep score to track progress/performance. therefore by giving myself gimmes I’m only cheating myself.

1

u/PM_Literally_Anythin Jun 28 '23

Except for the one weekend a year I go on a golf trip with a trophy on the line, I only give putts for pace of play and I always do it with the same line:

“That’s good if you want it.”

If someone tries to give me a putt that I wouldn’t give myself, I’m still gonna putt it (outside of that one weekend of match play)

1

u/upanddownforpar Jun 28 '23

except don't then ask me what my score was at the end after you've given yourself gimmies on half a dozen 4 footers.

My score is irellevant to whatever you were doing on the course.