High Handicappers: Why count Three off the Tee during practice?

Tim — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:11:59 +0000

First of all, I'm a high handicapper. Currently I float around 20-25. I do NOT count penalty strokes when my tee shot goes out of bounds when practicing (I count all other penalties, just not that one). I don't count those because they inflate my handicap. When practicing, I've got my driver out every hole except for par 3 holes simply because I can - not because it's the smart play. If you slice 50% of the time and the right side of the teebox is out of bounds (and the subsequent 250 yards are also out of bounds to the right) - the intelligent thing to do is take out your 4 or 5 iron and put it on the fairway. That's exactly what you would do during competition play. But when practicing, every time, without fail, I'll sacrafice 2-3 balls to the right lateral hazard. Technically, that's 4 strokes - tee out of bounds, drop, tee out of bounds, drop, etc. But that shouldn't be factored in to my handicap. Basically, if you take a risk during practice that you wouldn't take during competitive play - I see no reason to rack up stroke and distance penalties. You're better off (in my opinion) just saying to yourself "lesson learned - don't do that," dropping another ball and practicing the safe and logical play.

Expanding on that theory - is it technically "sandbagging" when you make stupid decisions (i.e. hitting the shot that has a 50% chance of failure)? Like if you have strokes to spare, you might as well just go banannas and screw around - you're not intentionally dumping, it's just that you're level of risk aversion went down.

Or maybe I just practice wrong and you're supposed to practice like you'd play in competition. But then how on earth would you ever figure out how to manage that driver? You practice to get better. You certainly count every single penalty under USGA rules during competition play, but I don't feel there's much need to be anal about it when you're practicing. Really, other players would prefer you had a low handicap anyway Personally, I'd prefer to not play with the 34 handicapper that just makes the smart play during competition play, shaving off 10 strokes automatically because he isn't slicing in to the weeds out of curiosity.

Customer Service at the Golf Course (the customer is NOT always right)

Tim — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:00:45 +0000

In most businesses, the name of the game is giving the customer what they want when they want it. Putting the right opportunities in front of them at the right time. At the golf course (the elitist ones), the game changes quite a bit. Take the Pro Shop for example - everything is overpriced, at least 20% above what you could get it for at TGW or GolfGalaxy. Why? Because if you're in need of something before a round and you remember just as you're standing in the pro shop, you're certainly not going to hop in your car and head over to GolfGalaxy - you just buy it there, you're trapped more or less. Don't even bother trying to work with the pro shop guys on the price either, they could care less. Which brings me to my second point - the staff.

In most businesses, the staff is friendly and there to serve your every need (within reason) - here, at the golf course, the staff appears to be convinced that you are there to mess up their course. It is your priveledge to play on their course - not your right. Paying your greens fees in no way gives you the right to run amok leaving divots, unraked bunkers, and unsightly walking paths through all the hazards. There is quite a bit to be said for cleaning up after yourself on the golf course - a few irresponsible patrons can do some pretty serious damage to the course. But really, most golf course staff take it way too far. Yesterday I showed up late for a tee time (by late, I mean on time - i was supposed to be on the tee box when I was paying my greens fees). The pro shop guy started spouting off about how horrible this situation was, then I went on to say I was solo for the day, while my tee time was reserved for two. Which, of course, led to a lecture on how much money I just cost him. Playing as a single, the course goes pretty quick - the only issue is that you do take up the space between the group in front of you and the group behind you. Regardless, the pro shop guy felt the need to ask the twosome (who had taken my slot on the teebox) if I could play with them. They agreed (reluctantly - again, the staff pretty much tells you the way it is - they didn't have much of a choice). So I played the first hole with them and jumped ahead to the 2nd hole once they both found the green. Unfortunately, this is where I found the two foursomes in front of me and I got stuck there for the front 9.

I know, I shouldn't have played ahead and subsequently made the group behind me wait to tee off until after my 2nd shot, but I didn't come to the golf course to play with these two guys - and they didn't come here to play with me. This isn't to say that two singles don't often find each other and have a nice time playing together - I'm saying that when a group comes to the course, they come to play together - not with strangers. Singles are a different situation.

It is your duty as a responsible golfer to always replace divots, rake bunkers, and avoid tromping around in the weeds needlessly (usually hunting for balls, sometimes your own). It just bothers me that the golf course staff, more often than not, seem to assume the worst about you.

tim laqua dot com » Golf

High Handicappers: Why count Three off the Tee during practice?

Customer Service at the Golf Course (the customer is NOT always right)