The point of 'No Returns'...

[JezzE]

Morning all,

Just a quick post to gauge the depth of feeling one way or another on the following issue - is it ever acceptable to NR?

Two or three of the most witty, astute, pertinent, shrewd or opinionated responses will make it into the bottom panel of our new-style 'debate' page in the May issue.

Please note, this is open to all posters, however regular or irregular their contributions to this forum.

 

[Screwback]

I would say that during summer qualifying competitions you should never NR as it is like admitting defeat and therefore showing you have poor positive mental attitude.

 

[USER1999]

If I lose a ball (which I thought I would find, so no provisional played) going down 18, with a score nearing the ton, why hold up the whole field walking back to play another one, when I am going up 0.1 anyway?

How do you N/R a stableford? I've seen it done.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I have done it but not proud about it. I think you owe it to the rest of the field and the CSS to grind a score out no matter how painful. I do agree though that losing one halfway down the 18th and wandering back to the tee (although why didn't you play a provisional murph) when the score is nearing three figures does smack of an exercise in futility.

 

[USER1999]

Thing is though, going down 17, you can see the bar. Why bother with the 18th at all?

 

[freddielong]

I don't think you should ever NR it doesn't teach you anything, You have every right to be out there so I do not get the holding every one up excuse, IMO you should finnish every round and you should try to put the best score you can in, even if you turn up without your A B & C game.

 

[Screwback]

I once was on an awful score going down 18 but i was playing with someone and i really wanted to beat him gross. I had a 3 shot lead going down the 18th and promptly lost my ball after 5 mins of looking i thought a par with my second ball still beats him so turned round went back to the tee and made an easy 5 (birdie with second ball). Never give up.

 

[AuburnWarrior]

At my old club, many years ago we had a lad who was about to turn pro. His final amateur ambition was to win the club championship. He practiced loads, got himself a caddy (one of the other members who couldn't participate in the CC) and even wrote his speech for when he won!!!
The day arrives - he's one of the first out - and the first back in. He was 24 over after seven holes!!!
I think that's reason enough for a NR.

I've had some NRs - my trolley broke half way round and I had a bloody great tour bag on it. I was a weeny thing back then so I had to drag both the trolley and the bag back to the clubhouse.
Another time, I'd got a new set of graphite shafted irons which, unfortunately, were too long for me so everything was shanked. On the 5th hole I took 24 shots - that was enough for me.

A NR should only occur when something exceptional happens.

 

[thecraw]

I hate NR's I would rather hand in 105 than NR.

 

[MarkE]

I don't believe a NR is acceptable in any circumstances (barring illness). Just take it on the chin, hand in your card and move on. It's all experience.
I think they should bring in a rule. NR and barred from entering the next comp.

 

[Dodger]

Nothing wrong with an NR IMO.If i am having a nightmare and lose a ball and it is a walk back to the tee job I will NR without hesitation and use the rest of the round to a)make my 3 ball move quicker than it was when I was holing out and b)try and sort out what the hell was going wrong.

All this owing it to the rest of the field is nonsence,I play golf for myself and nobody else when it is medal/stableford play.Also if I have NR'd before the turn I won't hesitate packing in and heading home to do something useful with my weekend rather than torture myself with a pointless further 9 holes.My weekends are short enough without wasting time chopping around!

 

[USER1999]

I don't get what the issue is with N/Rs. I don't do it often, and don't like it, and would never walk in leaving the others out on their own, but sometimes grinding out a rubbish card, getting more and more frustrated is pointless. Better for your playing partners to bin the card, have a hole off, and then knock it round with good humour.

A mate of mine got stuck in some deep rough in the last medal last year. 7 shots later he was still in there. Should he still be there now, playing shot 113,002, or pick up and n/r?

 

[Fyldewhite]

I don't get what the issue is with N/Rs. I don't do it often, and don't like it, and would never walk in leaving the others out on their own, but sometimes grinding out a rubbish card, getting more and more frustrated is pointless. Better for your playing partners to bin the card, have a hole off, and then knock it round with good humour.

A mate of mine got stuck in some deep rough in the last medal last year. 7 shots later he was still in there. Should he still be there now, playing shot 113,002, or pick up and n/r?

Fully agree. I just don't get the stigma associated with it as it's often the sensible thing to do. What so many people don't realise though is that it is still possible to make the buffer zone or even get a handicap reduction despite a NR on one hole.

 

[viscount17]

really thought hard about it after a total wreck on the 1st, thoroughly demoralising and it wasn't even qualifying -but I just couldn't do it. kept at it and though it wasn't a brilliant total some half-decent putting could have made it a great recovery.

 

[doc17]

AN ODE TO N.R. by DOC17


Twas on the great GM Forum debate,
that many described their ill gotten fate.
To be or not to be N.R?
This will ramble on and on by far.

Whilst stood on the 18th tee,
I wasn’t aware that it went O.B.
Now if I had been a traditional,
I would have declared and hit a provisional.

It wasn’t Stableford so I couldn’t blob,
this is for pleasure and not my day job.
Home is in sight with the call of the bar,
or do I pack my bags and get straight in the car?

Am I worried about spoiling everyone else’s fun?
The rules say I will be going up by 0.1!
Much ado about nothing? Bah
After all it’s only a N.R.!!!

Enjoy your golf everyone.

 

[DCB]

I have NRd on occassion after a bad day turns into a nightmare courtesy of a lost ball and a 7 or 8 on a bad hole in the back half. I'll still record the other scores and submit the card though. I've walked off twice after a NR due to injury, but on a normal day, I'll play out the rest of the round to try and work out what my problem is on the day.

 

[funkyfred]

I wrote this post back in October and got many replys saying that I done the right thing in carrying on, although there were a couple who thought I was wrong.


''Background, I play of 26 h/c, on a course which I think is quite tough and measures over 6600 yards of the whites. Par 72

Saturday was monthly medal day and i decided to play in gale force weather, I was reliably informed that we had winds of 40 mph.

Obviously I struggled badly, and on one tee I actually hit 5 tee shots (we actually found my 3rd ball) I think I ended up with 10 penalty shots and ended up with a gross 128 net 102. I apologised continually to my 2 fellow players who both encouraged me to carry on, and we let two groups through.

But my question is, was I right to carry on? I was determined to put a card in and not N/R. One of the guys who we let through said that he N/R on the second hole? and the whole group had N/R by the 8th. I haven't seen the final results but someone said on Saturday that over 25% of the field had recorded N/R''

Personally I think you should try as much as possible to finish your round with a score, but wouldn't it be better to give people a score of say +3 on a hole where they are having a bad time. That would mean everyone would have a score for their round, and it would speed things up a bit.

 

[brendy]

As the saying goes, "there is no room on the card for pictures"
When it comes to NRs, I wish there was as so many folks find it acceptable to just give up over a lost ball. NR's should be made to explain themselves which I reckon even just the situation of having to do it may prevent them from doing it again.

 

[USER1999]

But what is there to explain? Bad round, up 0.1. End of. It isn't like you have done anything wrong?

If you didn't go up 0.1, then yes, it would take some explaining, but you do.

 

[bobmac]

NR, to me at least means...
I've given up.
I'm playing rubbish
Don't want to play anymore.

Can you just walk off in other sports like football for example if you're having a bad game?