Why are people A-Holes when playing MATCHPLAY?

[Doon frae Troon]

I recall playing a nice young lad who had not been playing very long.
I was giving him more than a stroke a hole and the poor chap was shaking with nerves
On the first green he putts up to about 4 feet from the hole.
'Is that OK' he asked.
I thought he meant was it on my line and needed marking.
'It's fine' says I
So he picks his ball up.

 

[Orikoru]

I recall playing a nice young lad who had not been playing very long.
I was giving him more than a stroke a hole and the poor chap was shaking with nerves
On the first green he putts up to about 4 feet from the hole.
'Is that OK' he asked.
I thought he meant was it on my line and needed marking.
'It's fine' says I
So he picks his ball up.

Oldest trick in the book!

 

[Petercool]

So my club is in its Matchplay phase and I played round one last weekend.

I am totally new to Matchplay and only been playing golf for 3 years.

The guy I was against was off 11 and me 13 as he decided we should play off the very back competition tees.

He told me as he had the lowest handicap, he got to select what tees to play off. I know that's BS now.

We played the back 9 first and then the front 9. I got a shot on the 12th (par 4) and 8th (par 3).

He tells me he will score for us but I did know that the MISCORE app we use in Australia has a feature where it scores matchplay so I just used it to keep track. (tell you this for a reason later on)

The *** experience begins here.
I say, "I'm new to the club as I've only been here 8 months so never played in the matchplay comp"
and he responds, "Oh you cant play matchplay unless you've been here 12 months".
"Oh well they took my entry so I'm playing.

I have a 2 wood mini driver (taylormade burner), so I am about to hit, I've addressed the ball and he goes, "We are playing off the black tees not the ladies".

Anyway I lose the first 2 holes and win the next 2.

more comments like
What football team do you support, I reply I don't and he goes, oh so you are gay. I ignore him (I'm not gay).
I just counted your clubs and you have too many. Me: really? I only have 12 in the bag. How many do you have? he just smirks.
I've just remembered you can't use an electric buggy for matchplay. You should have carried them like me. thats a walkover win for me. I ignore him.

Over the first 16 holes its just back and forth with me going 3 up and then starting the 8th where I get a shot, I am 1 up but he has the honors.

Anyway, he absolutely nails his shot to 1 mtr of the pin. Sadly I put mine in the short side bunker. I get it out about 5 mtrs from the pin.

It is now he goes to me, "That has to be the worst looking putter I have ever seen and your grip is all wrong. I am surprised you've even sunk a putt today with that grip". (FYI Its a normal grip)

but go on to 3 putt as I might admit he did get into my head. He pars and wins the hole.

We walk to the last / 9th on our course and he goes he's 1 up. I look at the app as I was sure it was even especially as I was pissed for not winning on the previous hole when I had the extra shot on him.

I say no we are even, he says we arent and I said we can go thru it when we finish the last. He grunts and looks at his card again.

9th hole he absolutely BOMBs a drive down the middle. I spray mine to the right. Worst tee shot all day.
I then have to hit a 7 wood over a tree but I then hit the second tree and it drops to the ground in the bark lie.

He hit his second into the left green side bunker.

I am thinking that I am so sick of this and I'm either going to win with glory or go out in a blaze of fire.

I thin my sandwedge into a tree that the ball bounces off and then it runs thru the right side bunker and come to rest 1 mtr from the pin.
He hits his bunker shot out over the green into the rough on the other side of the green.

I go on to get a par (4) and he gets a 6.

View attachment 57951

So I win.

Not as far as he is concerned. So we sit down and go thru each hole and after doing this twice, he admits I've won and just stands up and walks off. Never to be seen again.

But here's the kicker to the story

The pro shop guys see me walking into the club house bar with the other 2 guys from our group and 2 of them come out to ask who won. I tell them the above and they then tell me he is the biggest cheat in the club and he has won everything other than the matchplay championships. They then tell me his handicap is usually 6 but he has been blowing it out for 6 months in preparation for the MatchPlay champs.

I only played matchplay so I could meet some new people in the club. He is the first ahole I've come across in the 8 months Ive been there.

The really funny part was I didnt care if I won or lost.

But to the title of this thread.

Why are people like this? Its just a game of golf.

Well round 2 yesterday and managed to win on the 18th hole.
Played against the nicest young guy. 21yrs.
Great banter and laughs.
He was up early with my losing the first 5 holes and then I slowly came back with some lucky long putts.

Kinda feel bad for him as we were playing Stableford at the same time and he finished on 37 points and me on 31.

Off to round 3

 

[chico]

If your playing against an a***hole keep playing your own game, it will annoy the life out of them.

 

[Petercool]

If your playing against an a***hole keep playing your own game, it will annoy the life out of them.

Yeah I did that in round 1

 

[cookelad]

I agree, but its tough giving a higher HC player a shot on the holes where you would normally get/need a shot yourself. If it was played with both players getting all their shots, you would be giving shots on the easier holes, so (a) you might still have a chance of being competitive despite giving a shot and (b) the higher HC will have an advantage on holes where they stand a better chance of scoring lower.

I get the logic, there isn't an ideal solution in my view!

The one that always got me, when I was a member at Sandiway, for example, I was told multiple times that the stroke index 1 (the 5th) wasn't the hardest hole but that the 14th was, but they had to switch their SIs round for shots in matchplay as there was the chance that in a match where only one shot was being given the match could be over by the time they got to the 14th.

If the match is over by the 14th is one shot hole going to make any difference!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I think my reaction would been to laugh at them and tell them that I can't wait to relay the episode to everyone at the club, so everyone can have a good laugh at them.

Mine would be to tell them that if they aren’t going to help look for our ball in rough then that’s fine, but we’ll be looking for their ball or balls no matter what…after all they could have played a good provisional for the ball needing found; find their ball in a terrible place, and then claim not to have found it so they could play their provisional.

 

[Bobthesock]

Mine would be to tell them that if they aren’t going to help look for our ball in rough then that’s fine, but we’ll be looking for their ball or balls no matter what…after all they could have played a good provisional for the ball needing found; find their ball in a terrible place, and then claim not to have found it so they could play their provisional.

If you are 3 off the tee you are losing the hole at least 9 times out of 10. I'm giving most people shots so if they pulled that on me I'd say whatever and go for a beer. Let them enjoy Thier hollow victory

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

One year found myself paired with a 16yr old lad in our 4BBB KO - he was really full of himself. It was, I think, his first foray in the comp. On the 1st one of our opponents missed a short putt and we won the hole. My partner celebrated exuberantly. I went to him and simply said ‘No…you don’t celebrate your opponents errors - ever’. He glowered and we moved on. Tee shot on 2nd was topped and just reached the fairway. He wandered up to it and with an almighty smash at it, took a big divot; stuck his club in his bag and stormed off up the fairway …I called after him - dont forget to put the divot back

 

[Klimski]

In my group of golf friends, we get all weird when we do our 2v2 Greensomes annual match. I tend to disconnect a bit, others get all wound up and start griping about the smallest things, like order of play when we're all over the fairway etc. The last comp actually got a bit out of hand..so we're wondering whether to keep playing a match at all. Which is sad, because I love matchplay - even though I don't really care about who wins. The focus of competition brings out a better golfer in me.

 

[nickjdavis]

In my group of golf friends, we get all weird when we do our 2v2 Greensomes annual match. I tend to disconnect a bit, others get all wound up and start griping about the smallest things, like order of play when we're all over the fairway etc. The last comp actually got a bit out of hand..so we're wondering whether to keep playing a match at all. Which is sad, because I love matchplay - even though I don't really care about who wins. The focus of competition brings out a better golfer in me.

This is what I dont get and I see it so often in posts here, where folk (I'm not meaning to pick on the OP) describe how a group of supposed "friends" ended up having arguments about things that are, in the grand scheme of things, utterly insignificant.

If you are friends....surely the latter scenarios dont really happen? Surely you just abuse each other with a smile on your face and get on with it?

 

[Swango1980]

This is what I dont get and I see it so often in posts here, where folk (I'm not meaning to pick on the OP) describe how a group of supposed "friends" ended up having arguments about things that are, in the grand scheme of things, utterly insignificant.

If you are friends....surely the latter scenarios dont really happen? Surely you just abuse each other with a smile on your face and get on with it?

I'm sure friends and family fall out a number of times throughout their lives, often over the stupidest of things.

And given golf is the sort of game that can be so utterly frustrating and can make you angry with yourself for duffing yet another shot, it opens up a lot of windows of fragility where there is more likely to be a falling out, even if something is said in jest. I suppose if you know people enough, you can pick your moments. I know people where it is easy to take the mick and it will diffuse their frustration. I know other people where it is best to stay quiet for a while, and let them go into their quiet place, maybe take the mick later on when the heart rate is back to normal.

Some people don't seem to have that filter, and despite being friends with people, will just say the wrong thing and the wrong time

 

[nickjdavis]

I'm sure friends and family fall out a number of times throughout their lives, often over the stupidest of things.

And given golf is the sort of game that can be so utterly frustrating and can make you angry with yourself for duffing yet another shot, it opens up a lot of windows of fragility where there is more likely to be a falling out, even if something is said in jest. I suppose if you know people enough, you can pick your moments. I know people where it is easy to take the mick and it will diffuse their frustration. I know other people where it is best to stay quiet for a while, and let them go into their quiet place, maybe take the mick later on when the heart rate is back to normal.

Some people don't seem to have that filter, and despite being friends with people, will just say the wrong thing and the wrong time

I guess so, if folk are having a bad game then yeah, sometimes you need to let them do their thing and I know a couple like that. Perhaps I focused a little bit on the fact that the group might fall out over the "order of play".

Maybe I just play with a group where if an opportunity to abuse someone isn't taken, then its seen as a disappointment by the wider group....if someone opens themselves up for potential abuse then it is considered wrong not to "put the ball in the net". Mind you...I've been playing with these people for the best part of 20 years so maybe my perspective is a bit skewed.

 

[Klimski]

This is what I dont get and I see it so often in posts here, where folk (I'm not meaning to pick on the OP) describe how a group of supposed "friends" ended up having arguments about things that are, in the grand scheme of things, utterly insignificant.

If you are friends....surely the latter scenarios dont really happen? Surely you just abuse each other with a smile on your face and get on with it?

Couldn't agree more, I realy don't get it. Because we are good friends, hehe