Playing with the boss on Friday in a four ball from work. he's the boss 3 times removed aswell!!!!!!Apparently he's cr@p - should I just play my game or give him a chance.
I have over 200 bosses, or clients as I call them. I've yet to play with one that expects me, or anyone else they are playing with to lay down for them.
If I ever did meet one though, I'd hope that I would drum him right into tomorrow. Anyone wanting a fellow golfer to lay down for them I would view as a serious character flaw, and someone I wouldn't be doing business with for very long either
Play your best and you'll be okay - he will be able to respect you as a good golfer. Only sticky situation is if he's rubbish he may have no idea about rules and start to invent his own which places you in a similar dilemma I've had in the past so depends how much you need a pay rise if you're going to re-educate him.
Way out of this is to pre-empt the situation. Club house first for a drink and bring up the subject of poor players not following rules/lack of etiquette etc.
Play your game as above, if you win and win well he'll want to play again and maybe strike up a better personal relationship or at least a more competitive one. If you play badly and lose, it will make you more competitive too.
Play your normal game of golf as you would at any other time. As far as my experience tells me, any other relationship disappears once on the course and we are all golfers. I have played against my bosses, with staff and with clients and never have I felt the need to lower my game to suit others (not that it has much lower to go) nor have I expected others to do that for me. If someone wishes to correct me on a rule then I am happy to hear it.
Thnaks for your suggestions and interest. The game went well, helped by some local rules I drafted before we played - no excessive work talk, plenty of banter on the tee, the boss gets the post match drinks in etc to make it more fun. He zig-zagged a bit but did OK for someone playing a new course with people who he knew were better/more consistent.
We are planning on doing it again - so can't have been that bad. Can it? Still got my job anyway!!!!