Playing with better golfers

[JustOne]

Does the reverse of this also happen? If you are a good low handicapper, does playing with a hacker ruin your game? Does the high handicapper bring you down to their standard?

Maybe JustOne could asnwer this?

Ha! It has nothing to do with h/caps, it's all about focus.

I'm crap at focusing because I'd much rather have a good time if I'm paying money for a day out... smash it down a few fairways and try to make birdie on every hole.... normally score about 25pts

Put a h/cap card in my hand and I'll play totally different, I probably wouldn't even talk to you apart from the common courtesys... doesn't sound quite as much fun does it?

My lifetime best round was with CrapHacker who is off 18, as soon as I went 2 under par the game-face came on and we were like Furyk and fluff for the rest of the round

 

[Robobum]

To be honest Johnboy, I don't pay much attention to what my playing partners are playing like regardless of their hackerishness or not.

If they have (to me) a dodgy swing or tempo I don't watch them while they swing it.

If looking for a ball becomes a regular event, I'll go to help them straight away in the first few instances, then if it (unfortunately) continues i will go to my ball first and drop my bag off before wandering over to help them search. Some of the search time will have been used up in that time so don't have to spend full 5 mins on every one. (Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh to anyone)

 

[Smiffy]

Does the reverse of this also happen? If you are a good low handicapper, does playing with a hacker ruin your game? Does the high handicapper bring you down to their standard?

Maybe JustOne could asnwer this?

Not putting myself in JustOnes low handicap status by any stretch of the imagination, but a few years ago, (when I was very (very) useful off my handicap) I played in a corporate day at Foxhills with a "true" 28 handicapper and two guys who had never picked up clubs before in their lives. One of them was playing in an unzipped leather bomber jacket, he was that clued up.
Every single hole it was like watching the fecking red arrows off the tee, balls flying in every direction and after about an hour of this I was totally pissed off. Any concentration I might have had totally deserted me, and I just didn't want to be there.
Bear in mind it was a "best 3 out of 4 scores count" competiton and I was the only one lumped with two guys who had never played golf before and you can see why.

 

[lobthewedge]

Last year I played with a new member who had just taken up the game, turned out he has mild tourettes, and laughs/shouts any time you miss a putt!

Think I got it round in about 6over, but that was a true test of patience and concentration. Needed a few beers that night!

 

[mat1978]

Last year I played with a new member who had just taken up the game, turned out he has mild tourettes, and laughs/shouts any time you miss a putt!

Think I got it round in about 6over, but that was a true test of patience and concentration. Needed a few beers that night!

my regular fourball must all have tourettes then LOL!

 

[ScienceBoy]

My Usual 4 ball is 3,8, 15 and 24.

We have a great time, usually do a match of hackers vs pros

Win rate is about 50/50

I feel I have learnt a lot from the two low players, as we are all the same ages and are in similar places in our lives we all get on VERY well and no one minds searching for the odd ball or two.

I think the lower guys get the pressure of having to beat the higher players but also the more relaxed atmosphere of not playing against other single figues. In other words its the score on the card that counts not anything else, ue GIR, putts sank, distance off the tee, club to green etc.

It removes the macho element and provides a great balanced atmosphere.

 

[barrybridges]

I really enjoy playing with better players; not so much because I can learn from them, but that it's a good starting point to aim towards. My aim is to play my neighbour (who plays off 7) one day and beat him! At the moment I'm some way away, although if he's having an off day and I'm playing ok it's not too many miles apart.

I've found playing with better players really helps me do well; I seem to respond to pressure. My best rounds have been with others; when I'm on my own I tend to rush and things drop from there onwards.

That said, I do like playing with a fellow hacker like me as it removes the guilt if I'm fluffing shots!

 

[heronsghyll]

Does the reverse of this also happen? If you are a good low handicapper, does playing with a hacker ruin your game? Does the high handicapper bring you down to their standard?

Maybe JustOne could asnwer this?

I have another angle to suggest......

In my experience if I want to REALLY play well, I need to play with strangers. It does not matter whether they are high handicap or low handicap golfers. When I play with my mates I am often "too relaxed" and casual. When I play with people I do not know - or at least not too well, I seem to concentrate more and pay attention to my game/course management rather than trying to be funny and contributing to the banter.

My best ever rounds always seem to occur when I am not playing with the regular week in week out, best mates.

Don't get me wrong I would not swap my mates for anything, it just seems I concentrate more when I am not familiar with my playing partners and the resulting scores are better. This has happened many times in club drawn comps and society days.

Just my view......

 

[Parmo]

I think people do play better with lower handicaps in tow, it also can work out of the opposite and be embarrassing at times though.

I need to focus on my game and concentrate fully when I get a handicap card in hand. All too often in winter when its 41/40 points for handicap I play in poor conditions in the comps, it’s always a .1 back and the add up, so all the summer hard work is undone for nothing. That said got my first win of 2011 the other week, net 70 in div 2 Monthly Medal lol SSS is 65, 5 over my handicap and I won lol crazy stuff.

 

[Whereditgo]

I have another angle to suggest......

In my experience if I want to REALLY play well, I need to play with strangers. It does not matter whether they are high handicap or low handicap golfers. When I play with my mates I am often "too relaxed" and casual. When I play with people I do not know - or at least not too well, I seem to concentrate more and pay attention to my game/course management rather than trying to be funny and contributing to the banter.

My best ever rounds always seem to occur when I am not playing with the regular week in week out, best mates.

Don't get me wrong I would not swap my mates for anything, it just seems I concentrate more when I am not familiar with my playing partners and the resulting scores are better. This has happened many times in club drawn comps and society days.

Just my view......

Exactly the same for me, if I play a medal round with the regulars it's just too relaxed, I always score better in the drawn comps, or when playing with people I am less familiar with.

 

[Leftie]

Lawrence

"Wasn't sure how it would translate to golf. In snooker I always put it down to the fact that I wouldn't take on silly shots as I knew when it went wrong you would be punished."

Take that thought on to the course and watch your scores improve

Totally agree with those recommending playing with better players.

 

[feary]

In the summer i regularly play with a scratch handicapper and me and him usually put a fiver on the game for gross score. I rarely take the money, but it's more because he plays better and I only play good.

 

[richart]

In the summer i regularly play with a scratch handicapper and me and him usually put a fiver on the game for gross score. I rarely take the money, but it's more because he plays better and I only play good.

Can see why he likes playing with you Feary.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

We have drawn comps and so it takes out the problem of playing a competitive round with regular mates and I think it helps. I do think there is something to be gained in watching better players close up. For me it seems that they are far more meticulous on the short shots from <100 yards including bunker shots and chips. If they do get in trouble they don't just pull a random club but really consider their options.

Mind you four hours in my company and I've usually dragged them to my level by the 18th

 

[rickg]

a few years ago, I played in a corporate day at Foxhills with a "true" 28 handicapper and two guys who had never picked up clubs before in their lives.
Every single hole it was like watching the fecking red arrows off the tee, balls flying in every direction and after about an hour of this I was totally pissed off.

How was their driving though?

 

[Ethan]

I have plyed with a wide range of players, ranging from PGA and European Tour players, +2 handicappers, right up/down? to players who would need a month with Butch Harmon to play to 28.

With the very good players, you see how playing golf is not the same as hitting a ball. OK, they hit the ball very well, but they plot a way around the course to minimise mistakes and maximise scoring chances, and leave very little behind.

I played a medal with a +2 at a course where I was a member. He hit his drives only a few yards farther than me, and may have been one iron club longer through the bag. He had a gross 64 on a tough par 72 course, and that did not involve holing any long puts or shots from off the green. Just fairways, greens, every putt running up to the hole edge with no putts short but none blasted 4 feet past either.

 

[MashieNiblick]

I agree that you can learn a huge amount from playing with very good players, especially about course management and simply putting a score togerther. On the day though it can be hard, especially if your game is not going well, to feel you can keep up, and it's easy to be intimidated or just forget your own game while you watch in awe as they hit great shot after great shot. They do tend to focus more and in comps that can be helpful to me as it makes me get more focussed too.

Looking back I think I've generally played my best golf when playing with guys a bit better than me (say 6-8 h/c). Not so much better that I feel completely useless but suffiently better to make me really try to keep focussed.

 

[Evesdad]

I def play better with better Players, though they are usually strangers so have to agree with both statements. I think more than anything it's makes you concentrate more to reduce the embarrassment. As I've just joined my club I play alot with people I've never met and I am now loving it after the original teperdation.blast week I played with an old guy who was ex county champion playing off scratch, it was great to watch him play, matched him on a few drives and got some free coaching on the way round to help my putting!