Ever been called a Bandit and how did you react?

[Stuey01]

I get called a bandit regularly when people see me strike a ball. Sadly there is more to the game than that. And the observers tend to forget the bad ones and only remember the drive piped up the middle.
It's usually said in jest.

 

[Fader]

When I first started playing and became a member which is nearly 3 years to the day.. My first handicap was 19 and the club rule was you could play in club comps but weren't qualified to win in the first 3 comps you played as new member.

I'd spent a lot on lessons before I joined and saw some good score coming in the comps in fact of my first 4 I played in I came 2nd in every one. Was told I was a bandit by a committee member and that my handicap should be reduced, what he didn't account for was that 2 of my card for initial h/cap were done by the club captain whom saw how I played.

The more I played the better I scored and by then end of that year (4months after joining) I came down from 19.1 to 11.2 and came close to winning some comps yet I was continually labelled a bandit and was not protecting my handicap as I was coming down, yet I played with a couple of guys who when they realised they coudn't win NR'd to get 0.1 back so they could start going up in h/cap but no-one called them bandits.

By the end of last year and my last year as a member of that club I was down to 8.2 and was still getting jip from some people who said I purposely putting poorly to not get lower than 8 so I could have a shot at big comps... I would love to be a great putter and have been off Cat 1, in fact i've put so much work into my putting this year its been to the detriment of my long game. But hopefully now I can start piecing it all together and see it flourish.

But thankfully no one calls me a bandit now and I've never called anyone a bandit as a result of how it can be construed.

 

[JezzE]

Those who've played with me won't be surprised to learn that I've never been called a bandit... whatever the opposite of 'bandit' is perhaps - i.e. how the hell do you play off 6 with that swing?

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Is it actually against the rules of golf to keep your handicap high, ie, miss putts on purpose etc?

If not, why should you care about the accusation?
If it is, the other person should report you rather than moan about it.

 

[Wooky]

yep...someone told me "you dont strike the ball like a 21 handicapper" as I was hitting well off the tee. Then called me a bandit as I had a couple of nice holes. I explained that I'm not consistent but could tell he thought I was up to no good.

My short game/putting then let me down throughout the round and he actually apologised at the end.......I've never played at that club since. Cant be doing with people like that.

Exactly my problem (inconsistency) although it's getting off the tee that let's me down, the rest of my game is pretty good.
On a good day, I can put a stonking round together & have been called a bandit many a time.
My problem is that I seem to have more bad days than good.

 

[Tiger]

Those who've played with me won't be surprised to learn that I've never been called a bandit... whatever the opposite of 'bandit' is perhaps - i.e. how the hell do you play off 6 with that swing?

To be fair Jezz they might think that until they see you around a green wedging it close or slamming it home with a putter with one foot in a bunker and the other around your ears! If there was ever a golfer who represented the mantra 'drive for show, putt for dough' you would be it!

 

[rosecott]

I don't agree with that. My playing ability is anywhere between a 12-14 handicap the problem is the six inches between my ears. If I was on my game I'd be close to racking up a half century of points...

The 6 inches between your ears is part of your playing ability. If you play qualifiers regularly then your handicap reflects your playing ability.

 

[Hunka Turf]

I've had my handicap questioned after my 1st tee shot. I was off 14 and didn't even hit a great shot, it was about 240 but down the middle and he said "what do you play off?" and tutted when I told him! There are plenty of genuine bandits out there but some people seem to think you can't be capable of decent golf unless you're Cat 1

 

[Tiger]

The 6 inches between your ears is part of your playing ability. If you play qualifiers regularly then your handicap reflects your playing ability.

Disagree I'm with Hawkeye. To me playing ability is your ability to execute a shot technically. Mental ability is your ability to deal with issues that may happen during a round, maintain concentration and course manage. I strongly believe that if I had a caddy, a good one, I could threaten to break 80 rather than struggle to break 90.

That's a bold statement but one I feel confident enough to make.

The other question is do I play enough qualifiers? At the moment no. Should be 2/3 a month currently playing 1 a month

 

[Andy808]

Used to get it when I was off 24, still got it when I was off 22, now get it at 19. I doubt it will ever end so it goes straight over my head!
My best answer is "I play off this handicap because I'm not good enough to play off a lower one yet."

 

[Deleted member 1147]

... To me playing ability is your ability to execute a shot technically. Mental ability is your ability to deal with issues that may happen during a round, maintain concentration and course manage...

But when your head goes and you aren't concentrating well that can affect your technical ability. Old swing problems can come to the fore or you don't commit to a shot fully.

As such your overall ability is the combination of both technique and attitude.

 

[Martin70]

I won a boarded comp in pretty high winds off 18 with 39 points. I was chuffed to bits as it was the best round of my life. I thought 39 points wasn't going to get me too many comments but it turned out I won by 9 points. I played well for my standard obviously but all I remember doing was taking 2 clubs more or less than usual depending if the wind was behind or in front and it seemed to work.

I was genuinely shocked to be physically handed my new handicap of 15 as I was sat in the locker room before I had finished taking my shoes off! Heard a few mutters in the bar and I don't think I played many comps after that it put me off a bit and I stopped playing but that was more due to a new job.

Got the bug back now and have rejoined, it's a friendly club I guess everyone gets it at some point.

 

[woody69]

I think most "bandits" are nothing of the sort and it's a bit of a golfing myth that there are all these players out there deliberately massaging their handicaps in order to record a victory in a comp. Most of these "bandits" are guys or girls that have a round where they have genuinely played out of their skin. 99.9% of players are striving to get their handicap as low as possible because of the negative connotation associated with a high handicap and winning a comp from it.

Some might call me naive, but I think some people are paranoid IMHO and use the bandit excuse to deflect from their own poor performance or loss to someone that played above their usual level.

 

[Hobbit]

At an (away) Open I got heckled for 44pts in wind and rain, and one guy called me a bandit - sounded like he meant it too. When I made the thank you speech I asked him how many 4 handicappers did he know...?

I thought it quite sad that because I was a low handicapper everyone was saying "wow, well played" but if I'd been a high handicapper I'd have been a bandit.

 

[rosecott]

I was genuinely shocked to be physically handed my new handicap of 15 as I was sat in the locker room before I had finished taking my shoes off!

That doesn't sound right - unless you were the last man in and all the comp cards had been processed and they were just waiting for your scorecard - not very likely. It sounds rather like someone was doing just what CONGU forbids - a knee-jerk illegal reduction because your score was so much better than anyone else.

 

[Tiger]

But when your head goes and you aren't concentrating well that can affect your technical ability. Old swing problems can come to the fore or you don't commit to a shot fully.

As such your overall ability is the combination of both technique and attitude.

I'm not disputing that the two are intertwined. What I'm saying is that in my case I get branded a bandit because when the brain's not getting in the way I play good golf. In fact for 13 or so holes a round the grey matter is very well behaved. People judge your golfing ability on what they see technically. The problem with accusations of banditry is that it is implied that you deliberately play bad holes if you don't think you can win/don't want to win.

In my case my concentration issues are quite possibly related to my MS rather than getting ahead of myself and certainly not to preserve my handicap

 

[Martin70]

I'm sure we were the last pair on the course which helped a bit with the conditions improving late on.

 

[rosecott]

I'm sure we were the last pair on the course which helped a bit with the conditions improving late on.

What is the Par and SSS for your course?

 

[JezzE]

I think most "bandits" are nothing of the sort and it's a bit of a golfing myth that there are all these players out there deliberately massaging their handicaps in order to record a victory in a comp. Most of these "bandits" are guys or girls that have a round where they have genuinely played out of their skin. 99.9% of players are striving to get their handicap as low as possible because of the negative connotation associated with a high handicap and winning a comp from it.

Some might call me naive, but I think some people are paranoid IMHO and use the bandit excuse to deflect from their own poor performance or loss to someone that played above their usual level.

Agree with this 100%...

 

[Martin70]

What is the Par and SSS for your course?

All totally changed now it has expanded with new holes so I can't remember what it used to be.

All water under the bridge now, I am intending to get down further this time around and I still have my name on the board