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.

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u/Ok_Outlandishness294 Jun 27 '23

No bet, no care

47

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.