Bill Pennington, a golf blogger for the New York Times, has complied a list of The 10 Simple Habits of Popular Golf Partners. Some I agree with and some I don’t care about so I thought I would share my thoughts.
1.) Be on time– This is my number one pet peeve on the golf course. I hate when my playing partners are late. I try to get to the course at least 45 minutes before my tee time if not an hour and when one of my friends comes strolling up when we are suppose to be teeing off just gets under my skin more than anything.
2.) Be quiet, Be quick– This doesn’t really bother me that much. The digging through a golf bag when I am trying to hit or taking a little time to chat it up on the tee box doesn’t really get to me. As long as nobody is behind us pushing us.
3.) Know when to speak up and what to say– My friends and I talk junk to each other the whole round. Even when you are just kidding around, sometimes it does get a little dicey out there and you do have to know when not to say something. So I agree with this one to an extent.
4.) Mind the flagstick– If your ball is closest to the hole when everyone gets to the green, you tend the flag. Bottom line. If you are first to hole out, you get the flag It’s as easy as that. Just do it.
5.) Watch the flight of everyone’s shot– I don’t know about this one. I do watch everyone’s shot and where it goes, but sometimes I just get distracted.
6.) Help others look for lost balls– I do help out most of the time, but for only a minute or two. Drop, play it as a lateral hazard, take your penalties and let’s go.
7.) Don’t make everyone look for your lost ball for 10 minutes– This goes with #6. We are not playing pro golf, there is no 5 minute rule. But come on, let’s keep playing. Drop, play it as a lateral hazard and let’s go.
8.) Maintain a good attitude regardless of how you’re playing– I need to improve in this category. Sometimes I get pissed and I cuss or maybe slam a club down.
9.) Avoid giving unsolicited advice– I don’t like people telling me what I am doing wrong. But I will help out a friend if they ask what did I do wrong there. But I won’t do it unless they ask.
10.) Be generous, Be honest, Be nice– Pennington is right in the article by saying the game is hard, so be generous with praise. But again, when I am playing with my good buds there is a lot of ribbing going on. Of course a good shot is praised but a bad shot is often praised as well!!
Bottom line, it depends who you are playing with. If it is the regular Saturday group, there are different rules. If you are playing with 3 new business partners, manners come out a little more.
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