subject: How to fit in on golf resort courses ? [print this page] How to fit in on golf resort courses ? How to fit in on golf resort courses ?
If you're playing with friends, you don't need any help from me. You know them, and they know you. You should be able to come up with a game by yourselves. And you'll be able to say anything to them, with no risk of offending anyone.
That's not the case if you show up looking for a game. Say you're at a public course and you've asked the starter to squeeze you in (a few bucks will usually get you going sooner rather than later). Tell the starter your skill level, and be honest. If you're a beginner, you don't want to be teaming up with three low-handicap players. Forget all that stuff about how the handicap system allows anyone to play with anyone. That propaganda doesn't take human nature into account.
Golf, like life, has its share of snobs. And some of the worst are single-digit handicappers. Most of them have no interest in playing with you, a mere beginner. They might say they do, but they're lying. They see 18 holes with someone who can't break 100 as four to five hours of torture. The same is true on the PGA Tour. Some pros genuinely enjoy the Wednesday Pro-Ams Mark O'Meara comes to mind but many would gladly skip them if they could. (They can't, because the tour requires pros to show up for pro-ams.) The only upside from their point of view is that it represents a practice round of sorts. Now that may seem like a rotten attitude, but it's a fact of golfing life. No one will actually say anything to you (golf pros are generally much too polite), but the attitude is there. Get used to it.
Maybe I'm being a little harsh, but it's a fact that golfers are more comfortable playing with their "own kind." Watch a few groups play off the first tee, and you'll soon spot a trend. Almost every foursome consists of four players of relatively equal ability. There's a reason for that. Make that two reasons: No one wants to be the weak link in the chain. And no one wants to play with "those hackers who can't keep up."
So let's say you're paired with Gary, Jack, and Arnold. Introduce yourself calmly but quickly. Tell them what you normally shoot, if and when they ask, and make it clear that you're a relatively new golfer. This fact is impossible to conceal, so don't try. They'll know within a couple of holes anyway. But don't volunteer any further information. Save that for during the round. Besides, you'll find that most golfers are selfish they really don't care about your game. They'll make polite noises after your shots, but that's the extent of their interest. You'll soon be that way, too. There is nothing nothing more boring than listening to tales about someone else's round or game. Of course, boring your buddies that way is part of the social order of this game. Golf stories are endless, and most are embellished, but they promote the bonding done over beers in the clubhouse bar, which is also called the 19th hole.
Beginners sometimes do things that mark them as misfits on the course. Avoid these blunders at all costs:
Don't carry one of those telescoping ball retrievers in your bag. It suggests that you're planning to hit balls in the water.
Don't wear your golf cap backward. Ever. No exceptions.
Don't do stretching exercises on the first tee. Find a place a few yards away, where it won't look like you're auditioning for Richard Simmons.
